Two baby backpacks with rain cover and rain suit

1. Sleeping
Where will they sleep? Tiny babies who can’t roll over go in Samsonite pop-up cots and then their larger bubble cot, which accommodates them until they are 18 months old. Vaude and Little Life also make good travel cots to use from birth to about two years old.

Keeping children warm at night is crucial. Each my babies slept in a double-layered sleeping bag with zip-on sleeves. Doubling or tripling the number of children in one room also keeps them warm – like gerbils. I take small sheepskin rugs to go under the cot for extra insulation. For older children, thermarest trail mats suffice. They do not require as much puff as a standard blow-up bed.
Tents are hot places in the day, making afternoon naps a problem; I often wheeled the baby around in the buggy, letting them nod on as and when. A sun shade for the buggy is essential.
The worst part of camping with babies is traipsing around a tent in the middle of the night in your long johns looking for clean nappies, wipes or bottles. Try to keep the tent tidy and these essential items close to hand. Glow sticks make good night lights for toddlers and will give you enough light to change them by without startling them.

2. Eating
Breast milk is by far the most convenient food for a baby on holiday. There are no storage or hygiene issues to take care of.
Cleaning bottles and keeping enough milk is particularly troublesome at festivals; when I went to Glastonbury, I planned ahead and breastfed my youngest daughter, only knocking it on the head (breastfeeding not the baby) when I returned.

One top tip is to freeze the milk before you leave and then put it in a coolbag. The frozen bottles act as ice packs, keeping your other provisions cool.
At other times, I have nagged stall-holders for hot water to wash baby bottles with, and Math has even bought a glass of milk from them when required. For older, weaned babies make sure you arrive at camp with a couple of meals already prepped. Give them something to munch on while you pitch camp. They have no patience when it comes to their bellies, and will not wait while you struggle with the tent, so it’s up to you to have foresight.

3. Weather
It will rain and your baby will want to crawl out of the tent to play in the puddles; waterproof suits (Muddy Puddles and Bush Baby make these) and waterproof booties (Bush Baby, Togz and Barts all make these) are good protection. If it is sunny the usual sun-cream, hats, full body coverage applies. Wellies for everyone.

4. Playing
Babies love the outdoors: they love the sounds of birdies singing, moo cows mooing and the wind blowing through the trees. They are quite interested in sticks they find on the ground and they like pulling grass up in their chubby little hands. Let them; dirt and the fresh air is why you took them camping.

5. Pitching
It’s hard to pitch a tent and look after the baby at the same time, especially if your tent requires two pairs of hands to erect. Arriving late at night is always pretty tough. Try your utmost to get there in daylight hours. Do a dry run and practise pitching any new tents before you travel, even if it means pitching it in the local park.

More >>> 6-10 Tips for Camping with Kids

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Trangia, grill and campfire, small gas stove and camping kettle

Using the grill, the tin foil, with lock-and-lock containers and mixing bowl

Plates, bowls, melamine mugs and a chopping board
We experimented with folding plastic mugs and plates, which I was adept at assembling but which completely defeated Math. I replaced them with melamine equivalents that should last us until the end of time.

Cath’s camping gear checklist:
Camping Gear – Tent and the basics

Camping Gear – Camping cookware

Camping Gear – Food and drink

Camping Gear – Hygiene

Camping Gear – Sleeping bags and camping lanterns

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Cath demonstrates the camping water bag

Basic cooking ingredients
Olive oil, salt and pepper, butter and some tinned food. Amounts really depend on what you have to store it all in. Tea bags, coffee, sugar, of course.

Carbs and protein
I pack plenty of pasta, rice, couscous and even my campfire bread mix. Then some easy-to-store proteins like beans, chickpeas, halloumi cheese, tinned tuna, houmous, saucisson and anchovies.

Sauces etc.
My camp kitchen also includes tinned tomatoes and coconut milk, onions, carrots, garlic, chillies and fresh tomatoes. Prepared spices, flavourings and dressings such as salsa romesco, mustard, french dressing, garlic and ginger paste, garam masala and chermoula. I also stuff fresh herbs into one of my lock-and-lock containers.

Snacks
Something that is calorific and won’t melt in the sun.

Collapsible washing bowl
In which you can wash the dishes and the baby.

Booze
Ice is hard to come by at campsites, so you want a tipple that doesn’t require it, such as whisky or red wine. My friend swears by mead. Remember the trip to the toilet is further than the short hop across the landing, so don’t go overboard. The warming effect of alcohol quickly wears off, and leaves you colder afterwards.

Hot chocolate
The effort involved in making hot chocolate at night ensures it will be the finest experience you and chocolate will ever share. Don’t skimp on the cocoa and melt real chocolate drops in the milk for added pleasure.

Cool bag or box
Boxes take up space, but keep food safe from wildlife and leaks. Many sites let you chill ice blocks in their freezers, sometimes for free, sometimes for a price.

Frozen milk
Put milk cartons in the freezer for a few days before you go. Pop them in your cool bag and not only will they chill the rest of the bag’s contents, they will also thaw in time for you to drink.

Water carrier
A collapsible one with a tap. You want water to hand for drinking, cooking and light washing.

Water flasks
Bottled water is over. Refillable flasks are where it’s at, and you’ll need them as being outdoors all the time will make you much thirstier than usual. Make sure the kids have their own flasks.

Cath’s camping gear checklist:
Camping Gear – Tent and the basics

Camping Gear – Camping cookware

Camping Gear – Food and drink

Camping Gear – Hygiene

Camping Gear – Sleeping bags and camping lanterns

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Vaude Badawi tent in Lake District with camping chairs and camping table

Toiletries
Unless space is no problem, stick to the bare minimum. I have, in the past, taken a special wash that is suitable for clothes, dishes, skin and hair. Makes you wonder if this whole washing-up liquid, body gel, shampoo divide is entirely arbitrary. Our friend Tintin travels with nothing more than a toothbrush. You can buy camping towels that take up far less space than the bulky ones in your bathroom. They come in pink or blue. Some anti-bacterial hand gel is particularly useful at festivals. Some of you will want contraceptives, others will be packing nappies (for small children, I pack six nappies a day for each child).

Toilet paper
Three rolls.

Bin bags
For rubbish and for quarantining wet or dirty clothes in.

Toothbrush and toothpaste
Arguably, the most essential piece of camping gear. Even more than the tent. You can always borrow a tent.

First Aid kit
For bumps and scrapes. You want plasters, bandages and something to disinfect wounds. It’s also worth investing in a burns kit, which we’ve required on a number of occasions, not least the time a hot marshmallow stuck to the side of a child’s face. Also, a few precautionary sachets of paracetamol and ibuprofen in solution for children and adults.

Insect repellent
Citronella candles are particularly evil. There is something satisfying about the sizzle of a fat moth in a naked flame. Take something to repel the insects, and a cream or antihistamine to treat the bites or stings. An antihistamine is a miracle cure when the toddler goes face-first into a verge of nettles.

Washing line
For drying washing, rain-soaked clothes and tea towels. Don’t forget to take some pegs as it is quite hard tying undies to a line.

Solar powered shower
Sounds fancier that it is. Basically this is a black bag you fill with cold water and once the sun has warmed it up, you take it into the woods, strip off, hang it from a tree and let gravity do the rest. It’s not a power shower but is good enough to refresh you mid-festival. Festival showers struggle with water pressure and what may seem like an uninhibited playful exercise in communal cleansing quickly turns into three cold naked people huddled under a dripping tap.

Sun hats and sun cream
Because it is always a scorcher when you are camping.

Washing up kit
So that’s tea towels, washing up liquid, a washing up brush, some kitchen roll and even a surface cleaner, as you attempt to maintain a basic level of hygiene.

Cath’s camping gear checklist:
Camping Gear – Tent and the basics

Camping Gear – Camping cookware

Camping Gear – Food and drink

Camping Gear – Hygiene

Camping Gear – Sleeping bags and camping lanterns

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Thermals and a baby sleeping bag

Cath’s camping gear checklist:
Camping Gear – Tent and the basics

Camping Gear – Camping cookware

Camping Gear – Food and drink

Camping Gear – Hygiene

Camping Gear – Sleeping bags and camping lanterns

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Vaude badawi tent in Lake District

Tent
Before rushing out to buy the biggest tent in the shop, bear in mind that some of the more interesting campsites are quite small and will refuse entry or charge more for an enormo-tent. At festivals, a big tent can be a massive problem, as it will be far too heavy to lug from the car park and you won’t necessarily have a large enough pitch for it. Nearly all the family tents on sale play to the delusion that you are buying a house, in which square footage is important and weight irrelevant. You are not buying a house. You are camping because you want to be outdoors, not because you want to cover the outdoors in a giant bag. A well-designed family tent should have headroom in the living area, but low ceilings in the bedrooms to trap heat.

Tarp
A sheet of tarpaulin strung from a tree means you can cook in drizzly weather, and offers breezy shade when the sun is out.

Waterproofs
All-in-one suits and wellies for toddlers, all-in-one suits for babies, and waterproof jackets for everyone else. If you don’t want to wear waterproof trousers, then change into shorts. Walking boots or wellies are essential, especially at festivals, where the mud can be biblical.

Picnic rug
If you don’t want to bother with a table and chairs, take a plastic-backed picnic rug.

Table and chairs
We used to camp without a table and chairs, using a rug instead. After five years of eating off the ground, Math’s longing for a chair was so intense I was concerned that he would resort to theft. I found flat pieces of reinforced plastic that slid unobtrusively into my rucksack and could be folded into small stools, about six inches high, but the spectacle of him squatting on them only added to Math’s indignity and sense of failure as a man. Once we switched to camping with a car, he bought himself the biggest chair in the shop.

Cooking Matches
Long matches to light fires, stoves and barbecues. A cigarette lighter is not always suitable.

Ordnance Survey map of the area
Math is a great believer in the importance of orientating ourselves upon this earth.

Clothes
Don’t forget to take a big warm jumper; whatever the season, it gets cold at night. At bedtime, stuff the jumper into a pillowcase and rest your head upon it.

Cath’s camping gear checklist:
Camping Gear – Tent and the basics

Camping Gear – Camping cookware

Camping Gear – Food and drink

Camping Gear – Hygiene

Camping Gear – Sleeping bags and camping lanterns

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Cath’s campfire flat breads
This takes a bit of prep at home, where I weigh out the dry ingredients and store them in a sealed plastic bag. I also take a little extra flour in case my dough turns out a little too wet.
Dry ingredients:
500g strong white bread flour
1 1/2 tsp dried yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
What to add at camp:
300ml warm water
1 clove garlic, finely sliced
4 or so tablespoons of olive oil

Make the dough as soon as the fire is lit. You want it to rise before you cook it. In a mixing bowl, put the dry ingredients and mix the water in with your hand. You can knead the dough in the bowl. Do this for at least five minutes, ten if you can. You want a smooth dough, not too wet or dry. Add some more flour or water to achieve this. Leave it in the bowl covered with a damp tea towel by the side of the fire, so that the dough rises.
Leave it for at least forty minutes, longer if you can. Finely slice the garlic clove and mix it into the olive oil. Once you are ready to cook the breads, shape them by pulling off tangerine-sized lumps of dough, roll it into a ball in your hand and then flatten it as thin as you can, dip it into the garlic flavoured oil and throw it on the grill. Once the underside is browning and bubbling up a little, flip the bread over to cook the other side. Serve immediately.

Sliced aubergine grilled over the campfire
2 aubergines
Olive oil
1 clove garlic
Salt and black pepper

This is so simple. Aubergines thrive when cooked over a fire, getting just the right smoky crisp texture. Simply slice the aubergine 1/2 cm thick, brush with quite a lot of oil, but not so it is dripping. Cook over your fire until it is charring, flipping once. Crush a clove of garlic and put in a serving bowl with salt and pepper. When each slice is done on both sides, put it in your serving bowl with the salt, pepper and crushed garlic. Mix thoroughly, you can eat hot, warm or cold.

Abbey Home Farm


View Campsites, campfires, UK in a larger map

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

The serried ranks of tents at Glastonbury

We are heading to Glastonbury again this year. Math will be compering talks at the Free University of Glastonbury on the Saturday, 11am-2pm. Guests will include John Niven, Rob Chapman discussing Syd Barrett, and Joy Division and New Order bassist Peter Hook. The weather forecast for Glastonbury weekend is good, and Math is hard at work prepping for the festival. Here is his tip for pitching your tent at Glasto:

Pitching a tent at a festival

Since it is likely you will be returning to the tent at night and in a state of confusion, making the tent easy to find is your first concern. Some people make flags with distinctive homemade patterns. I can still recall the “horse, hand, star” crest used by my friends twenty years ago. Etch the flag with strips of fluorescent material. Others will pitch the tent in a memorable location, near to a thoroughfare or at the very back of the field. I disagree with this approach. The edges of the field, whether it be hedge or fence, will invariably become an improvised urinal – or worse – over the course of the weekend. And thoroughfares are absolutely to be avoided, as confused people are likely to blunder off the walkway into camp.

At a festival, the tent is only for sleeping in. Camp serves no other purpose. The enemy of sleep is noise. Camp as far away from the dance tent as possible, and steer clear of fellow campers bearing acoustic guitars or bongos, or indeed any individual who looks susceptible to paranoia, as nothing disturbs a good night’s sleep like a conspiracy theory concerning aircraft contrails and chemicals being sprayed over the city. Worse case scenario is a paranoid musician.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Sausage and wild garlic stew cooking on the campfire

A large patch of wild garlic leaves grows in the shady areas under the trees by the Tipi trail. You can smell the garlic as you approach; it grows in such abundance that we were allowed to gather as much as we wanted. It is the leaves that you cook with, treating them as you would spinach or as a strong salad leaf.

Wild garlic leaves at WOWO campsite

I took the toddlers and a carrier bag and collected enough for two ‘made up on the spot’ recipes. As Matthew set the fire, I washed and chopped a good handful of wild garlic leaves and some flat-leaf parsley. I then mashed it up with a fork along with a pinch of sea salt, a knob of butter and some lemon juice.

Cath and kids picking wild garlic leaves at wowo campsite

Sausage stew with wild garlic leaves for 4

The main course was a sausage stew with wilted garlic leaves. I had some Italian style sausages from Tablehurst Farm and decided to stew them rather than grill them over the campfire. They are meatier than British bangers and so stew well without falling to bits. I had a loaf of bread I made at home; I sprayed it with olive oil and toasted it over the fire. The garlic leaves give a fresh garlicky taste, not harsh at all and barely need cooking.

Ingredients
8 decent Italian or Toulouse sausages
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 sprig of rosemary
1 onion, chopped
Olive oil
Salt and black pepper
2 red peppers
2 handfuls of freshly picked wild garlic leaves, washed

Method
Roast the red peppers on the campfire until they are blackened, then skin and chop them. Meanwhile, heat the oil and gently cook the onion, then add the sausages and rosemary and fry for a minute or two before adding the tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and simmer covered until the sausages are cooked through. You may need to add some water if your stew looks like it may stick. Don’t forget to add the peppers when they are done. Take the stew off the heat and stir in the leaves, they will wilt very quickly. One last taste for seasoning and serve with toasted bread, pasta or new potatoes.
Tags: foraging, sausages, stew, one-pot meals,

Tablehurst farm

WOWO campsite

View Campsites, campfires, UK in a larger map

Bookmark It

Hide Sites