The great outdoors...

A little background information...a couple of years ago, I persuaded my reluctant hubby-to-be that if we had a tent and some camping essentials we could enjoy many cheap weekend breaks, instead of wondering what the devil to do come Saturday morning. So, we embarked on our research and visited many camping stores to find the tent of our dreams...our main criteria were 1) we knew we wanted to be able to stand up and 2) we knew we wouldn't need a huge sleeping capacity...and so the Outwell Carolina M (unfortunately this is now discontinued) came into our lives. It's a 3 man tunnel tent with a "bedroom" type compartment to the rear, comfortably sleeping us two, and a large living area extending to the front. Three years on and several trips to Go Outdoors and Attwoolls later, our "essentials" list comprises of the following:

• Tent (inc ground sheet, poles, pegs & guylines)
• Tent footprint (inc pegs)
• Mallet
• Tent carpet/picnic rug (really helps with tent warmth under foot)
• Windbreak (for privacy/shelter)
• Tent lamp (spare batteries/cigarette lighter charger)
• Headlamp/torch - essential for returning from the pub/night-time toilet trips
• Air bed & pump (car/foot pump or, in our case, both)
• Sleeping bag/s
• Pillow/s
• Extra blanket/throw/duvet to chuck over the top of sleeping bags (if you have room)
• Fold up chair/s
• Storage unit/small table (not a necessity, but certainly helps)
• Stove & gas
• BBQ & charcoal
• Kettle
• Large pan (with lid) & frying pan
• Mugs
• Glasses
• Plates
• Bowls
• Wooden spoon/spatula
• Tongs and fish slice (BBQ-tastic)
• Mini chopping board
• Cutlery
• Sharp knife & scissors
• Bottle opener, corkscrew & can opener
• Washing up liquid, sponge scourer & dish cloth
• Tea towel
• Kitchen roll
• Foil
• Antibacterial wipes (handy for giving greasy stuff a quick wipe before washing up)

Everything listed above has been packed into both a Peugeot 206 and a Mini Cooper - surprising what you can fit in! Needless to say our list has grown a little due to experience, but it's quite easy to work out from our list what the actual essentials are. I would also say it's worth packing some "store cupboard essentials" in case there are no shops open, or you find yourself miles from civilisation (more on camping food in my next blog).

Up next....off to Byecross Farm x