Camping weekend #1

We have planned three weekends of camping in a row, which have been in the diary for months. This weekends camp site had been booked since January - dreaming of June days in a Shropshire field, with a tinkling stream where the children could play and large skies where the adults could swap stories until the wee small hours around the fire. But as this Summer has proved so far, t'was a complete wash out. Not to say we didn't enjoy ourselves but boy, were we tested.

 

We arrived at our destination over 5 hours later, after many arguments with the sat nav, and a car laden with the bare necessities needed for one night under canvas. We briefly hugged hello to friends not seen for nearly 10 years. All of us once again a lot greyer, more tired and with an abundance of children. Before beer drinking and proper socialising could begin we needed to get the tent up, which we did pretty swiftly after a few years of no practice. But that good old friend of this Summer, the rain, did not help our efforts. The first couple of showers we giggled and huggled in the car, half way through putting the tent pegs in, the second down pour we smiled a little less, and after that, once our sleeping arrangements had been made, we resigned ourselves to sogginess. The kids where like bullets out of a gun screaming and running around the camp site with oodles of pent up energy, making friends quickly and excited by the change of scenery. Straight into the stream they went, with socks and wellies only to fall over and fill up the said boots so that they now had no dry footwear left. Brilliant, we had 23 hours to go. It was pissing down as we huddled under gazebos, packets of coleslaw slowly filling with rain, open bags of Kettle chips ruined and bread damp from the atmosphere - the saving grace was that the beers were nice and cold in the stream.

It WAS fun though. It is so refreshing to get away and discover another corner of England. And as we fell into the house last night, exhausted by our efforts (only to be greeted by two piles of cat puke - I told them not to eat it all at once - but did they listen? No) we slowly unpacked the filth that is camping and smiled. Once we had bathed, clean jim jams all round, a nice hot meal and clean sheets we all sighed 'Ahhhhh' in appreciation of all things homely. And that is why I like camping, it challenges you, makes you feel like you have had an adventure, we didn't take the easy road , we went ahead with colds and survived, home felt wonderful and safe. Its the yin and yang. Can't wait to go again next week, to a festival this time. Would it be too much to ask for maybe....a little less rain?