The Camping Forum

[Wayne]

I like both, lots and lots and lots.

We just came back from the meet and what a wicked weekend we had, but I also love to have time camping as just a family and pleasing ourselves.

[CrazyCamper]

I've been thinking back to why I started camping and how it's changed to how I camp now....

Back in the beginning, camping to me meant going with a group as I was a cadet doing stuff like DofE awards and annual summer camps at RAF bases etc. All in groups of various sizes and in tents of varying types too. It was nice to be away from home and with others in a group under canvas. Found it very social, albeit somewhat functional back in those days.

Went on to try solo camping once I was yearning to return to my former RAF base in South Wales, and loved the notion of doing what I want, when I want - leading an independent lifestyle on a lovely site. Mixed with others on the site no problem once the ice had been broken (I was rather shy). Took my dogs with me a few times too for company...

In recent years, started doing volunteer work helping to run airshows at a nice Cotswold airfield, which meant campign on site to work there for up to a week at a time. That was in a social group clustered together amongst fellow volunteers so we had lots in common as we drank a few beers around a campfire - lovely atmosphere

Because I hadn't done any pure relaxing camping for a few years, I made the effort to try something a little different last year and helped organise a forum group camp at Hopleys (the location of this forum's campout that's just happened) in mid-November That was a crazy trip, but actually good fun to try camping out-of-season and brought people together who didn't really know each other off-line from a forum. Works well, as this forum knows

So I've tried it all different ways, socially, solo, functional etc - and loved every minute of it. I'm quite happy on my own, and equally happy within a social group too - it's what this camping lark is all about for me

[Rob-merlin1973]

We nearly always go with our friends and love the social aspect. We do sometimes get the odd weekend on our own and love that to but you can't beat having a group of you camping

YOU ARE ALL WELCOME

[craftynclothy]

I used to camp in groups with Guides, DofE etc. and really loved it then.

Now we're going as a family and it's nice to be able to do our own thing but it's lovely when you meet people on the campsite and their kids play with yours in the evenings so I think we'd probably like going to a meet too.

Next year we're hoping that one of our friends will come camping and pitch next to us with his daughter (our eldest's best friend) .

so, I think we like a mixture really.

[AlanI]

Well the wife and I can be placed in the 'loners' category.

Many years ago we met a nice couple whilst on holiday (non camping) on a Greek island and became good friends for a short while. As I had previously lived and worked on a small Mediterranean island we decided to holiday there once again and revisit several contacts. Upon hearing this our new friends decided to accompany us and this turned out to be a complete disaster with the wife hating the 18th century way of life and culture of the inhabitants. Her continuous moaning and complaining and overall dissatisfaction with the holiday ended up placing such a strain on our friendship that it very quickly died a natural death.

A few years after that we accompanied friends of long standing on holiday. Once again non camping but rather using a hotel in the Italian Dolomites as a base for daily hiking trips. However, their idea of hiking was at complete odds to ours and rock climbing certainly wasn't in our itinerary. Neither was cycling for which the son had brought along his racing bike. There were also one or two other matters of a more personal nature which I won't mention but all in all, whilst we still maintain contact with these friends it certainly isn't as close or as often as was previously the case.

As a result of these experiences the wife and I vowed never to go on holiday with friends, and when on holiday not to put ourselves in a situation where continued contact may lead to future holiday invites. In short then, we like to set off on our own with firm plans of what we want to do and places we would wish to visit. We enjoy the spontaneity of meeting and socializing with strangers shall we say when the occasion arises, but at the end of the day it's nice to shake hands and say that 'it's been nice to have met you' and then go our separate ways. From time to time we do meet people that we maintain contact with, with either us or them visiting and even perhaps enjoying the odd day out but anything longer than that is definitely out.

[craftynclothy]

Oh yes, Alan, you've just reminded me of our hotel holiday experiences .

We went to Tunisia (Sousse) for a couple of weeks and met a couple of teachers who had booked there last minute. They refused to leave the hotel site the entire time, while we went out and about everyday, then moaned the holiday was pants

And the time we went to Morocco and had a great time...til we met some bloke (luckily almost the end of the holiday) who decided his only conversation would be to moan that the food wasn't nice, it wasn't English enough , he'd had the runs, it's not like Spain...

[Gillsy]

We went abroad with another family once, their children were about the same age as ours (under 10). Their parenting style was so totally different to ours, we hardly spent any of the holiday with them (which suited me fine )
I had to edit that so as not to upset anyone

[camper fan]

Hi, I've never camped alone as in just me, I've always wondered if I'd get a bit lonely? Generally when we've camped in the past it's been the two of us, or we've been attending a day out with friends. I think camping even the two of us can feel a boy isolated depending on the site.

Last year we stayed on a site which I wont name in South Wales on the coast, was a pretty horrible experience and although there were several groups of people there, it had an overwhelming feeling of loneliness, plus we had to pay for toilet roll and considering how much we paid for the site was disgusting.