Your Guide to Family CampingAlready thinking ahead to your summer holidays? With a new baby to care for, chances are you badly need a break. The answer might be closer to home - and cheaper - than you realise. If your vision of camping includes an ancient Girl Guide marquee or the sorts of creepy crawlies faced on I'm a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!, it's time for a rethink. A surge in popularity means camping and caravanning now account for 17 per cent of UK holidays. It can be as simple or luxurious as you want - so you can even pack your hair straighteners!
The good, the bad and the downpours
The downsides include the great British weather. If you really hate rain, camping probably isn't for you. We once endured a week-long downpour at a Highlands' campsite, sloshing about our awning in ankle-deep puddles . But the odd rain shower shouldn't spoil your holiday if you pack all the right clothes and plan your stay near good indoors attractions. The problem of babies not settling at night can also be magnified on a campsite, particularly with other young children needing sleep. My husband and I have taken our turn at many a groggy 3am stroll to calm a crying baby. We've also learnt the hard way to leave the buggy assembled in the awning, to avoid fumbling around in the dark trying to spring it into position! Sites for sore eyesIt's important to decide whether you want an all-singing, all-dancing site with family entertainment - or peace and quiet. Our friends favour sites such as Haven for the children's activities on offer and the alluring swimming pools. Personally we prefer smaller, quieter sites such as those run by the Camping and Caravanning Club, as they are peaceful and immaculately clean. It's best to browse websites and brochures first to see what's on offer, and don't forget to quiz family and friends for tried and tested recommendations. Which tent?
Go for a slightly bigger tent than you think you need. A four-person tent, for example, will fit four people and very little else, whereas a five-man tent gives two adults and two children plenty of room. Increasingly popular are models with a main living space and separate bedrooms. Beware though, of buying a massive tent, as many are too big for normal-sized pitches. We've seen families arrive on-site to find they suddenly have to pay for two pitches, so it's best to check size limits with site owners in advance. If possible, borrow a tent for weekend before you buy. They are a great long-term investment but too pricey to be used just once before gathering cobwebs in the shed. Camping abroadEuropean countries and even places such as New Zealand, America and Iceland are now realistic destinations thanks to operators like Eurocamp and Carefree, the overseas arm of the Camping and Caravanning Club. Eurocamp really does the hard work for you with its pre-assembled tents, mobile homes and chalets. Once we clocked the luxurious three-bedroom, fully equipped Eurocamp tents near our pitch in Interlaken, Switzerland, we really wished we'd taken the fly / drive option rather than driving 800 miles through England and France with an increasingly fretful toddler! Among Eurocamp's many pluses are pool complexes, spas, shops, bars, restaurants and a multitude of children's activities. Baby and toddler equipment such as cots, highchairs, potties and buggies can be booked in advance and a wide range of family discounts are on offer. Food, glorious foodThe easier, the better! But just because you're camping, don't think this has to mean bread and jam - it's easy to make healthy and warm meals on two camping stoves. For safety, set them up outside your tent, or at least in the awning, and ALWAYS change the gas cylinder outside and away from children. It's best to balance your stoves on a fold-up table (some sites have plenty of picnic tables) or at least find a level patch of ground, and never allow children to run nearby when you're cooking.
A simple cool box will keep everything chilled, but if you want to go a step further Argos does a great selection of mini-fridges, starting at as little as £19.99, which can be plugged into your car or linked up to the site's electric with an adaptor socket. Making up baby feeds is just as simple as at home by boiling water in an aluminium kettle (available from camping shops for about £10), but we always pop in a few boxes of ready-to-use formula for emergencies. To warm these up, just boil water in a pan then remove the pan from the stove and allow the bottle to stand as normal. Don't forget stacks of baby wipes for mopping sticky faces. Tommee Tippee makes a travel-friendly cold-water steriliser and Avent's pre-sterilised cups, which can be used up to four times, are invaluable for storing pureed food. Play awaySmall children are easily entertained with old favourites such as I Spy and staring at clouds to make out funny shapes. We always take plenty of paper, crayons and glue and our three-year-old loves collecting leaves and acorns with which to make pictures. Hopscotch can be chalked out on campsite paths and even chores such as refilling water carriers and helping to wash up in the open air can be great fun for toddlers. Essential equipment
Just as important is what you don't need. Many sites have extras such as hairdryers and baby baths in the shower block, so save valuable luggage space by finding out in advance what's available. What the experts say"Camping is certainly on the increase," says Ruth Walmsley of the Camping and Caravanning Club. "There are a lot of people like me who went camping when they were younger and are now taking their children. The equipment you can buy is phenomenal, and so family friendly. Things have changed - just step back in and look again." Eurocamp's head of sales and marketing, Ruth Start, says: "Camping is an ideal holiday for families, and with low cost airlines opening up the whole of Europe, more people are seeking out the sunshine on the continent and choosing a campsite as the perfect place to stay. Many people have preconceptions of camping but these days accommodation
has all the comforts of home." Page 1 of 2
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Camping
is very cost-effective, with holidays and weekend breaks easily affordable
once you've invested in the right equipment. It's also a great opportunity
for quality family time. You can take TVs, Playstations and laptops, thanks
to the electrical hook-ups offered at most sites, but if you can bear
to leave them at home it's a perfect chance for family walks, chats, games
and sit-down meals.
The
choices are just about endless and astonishingly cheap supermarket options
have really increased competition. Here, however, you get what you pay
for. I'd recommend an outer flysheet and an inner tent, to keep out rain
and condensation, and an awning in which to store all those wellies, bikes
and prams. 
Packs
of Pasta n' Sauce make a quick, filling meal as do cooked sausages and
vegetables or sauté potatoes. A children's breakfast favourite is eggy
bread - simply bread dipped in whisked egg and fried (lovely with cinnamon
or maple syrup!). The variety pack cereals are handy if you want to avoid
knocking over large, opened boxes, while Krisp-rolls or crackers are a
good substitute for toast.
