Our first camping trip of the year to the New Forest

Over the hot weekend we enjoyed our first family camping trip of the year to the New Forest. Since our first trips a couple of years ago we've spent a few nights at a time in the forest, staying at either Ashurst or Hollands Wood. Ashurst is slightly closer to us and feels a bit more open, to us Hollands Wood feels more foresty. Either site is lovely though, and for this trip we chose Hollands Wood Campsite, staying for one night.

We arrived on the Saturday in the early afternoon, a little later than usual as the children were taking part in a parade at home. It was very hot, but under the trees it was lovely and cool. After we had put up the tent, something that gets easier every time, the children busied themselves close by, looking for bugs in the tree trunks and undergrowth and building pretend fires with the sticks.

The children also sat still for ages reading their books which was lovely, I even had a little snooze! Then we headed out for a short walk for some tree climbing. We had a barbecue by the tent, then went over to the large open area for some football and frisbee. At this time of year it stays light so late that you can really make the most of the day. Mia was tired first and headed to bed but Harry stayed up reading as late as we did - way past his bedtime but he was so contented that we didn't have the heart to put him to bed!

The next morning fortunately the children slept until a reasonable time - all that fresh air worked wonders! While we were packing up Mia built herself a little shop on the tree trunk, I loved seeing how her imagination was sparked with the natural bits and pieces that she found around her.

I made a little video of some of the fun that we had in the forest, enjoy! We hope to be returning very soon.

If you want to try camping with the family you might like my post with some tips for trying out family camping!

Tips for trying out family camping

I wrote recently about how we'd spent a few nights camping as a family in the New Forest. Growing up I had a lot of camping holidays, but Ram is a more reluctant camper, and of course as adults you have more concerns about the practicalities of family camping. I don't claim to be anywhere near an expert, but I thought I'd share the ways in which we make the most of our camping experience without doing without our home comforts for long.

Firstly, begin by camping in the garden. You can test out your tent and be confident that it will remain standing, is waterproof, will fit all of your bedding, and that the children won't suddenly change their minds.

So far, we've only been camping away for one night. We arrive at the campsite soon after midday, pitch our tent, then we have the afternoon and evening to spend exploring the forest and having fun outdoors. We leave first thing the next morning, so there is no need for showers and we are home by lunchtime.

We eat a main meal out in the evening, so we don't need to worry about cooking, washing up, or transporting all that extra equipment. There is always a pub nearby with easy parking and a play area for the children. If we do progress to camp cooking then we'll go with a disposable barbecue, with plastic plates and cutlery. For lunch on our first day we take along some sandwiches, and for breakfast we pack some dry cereal like Cheerios in a plastic tub for the children and a selection of croissants.

We sleep on two double airbeds, and although it's not too much hassle to pump them up with a foot pump we recently invested in a cheap electric pump that runs from the power socket in the car which makes inflating a lot quicker. It also deflates, so you can easily remove all the air before trying to stuff them back into original packaging. We take our own pillows and we each have a cheap sleeping bag. We take an extra blanket or two and we dress warmly for sleep.

Something that we very much enjoy having with us is our folding camping chairs. It makes a big difference to your comfort when you have somewhere that you can sit properly and they have drinks holders in the arms for that all important 'Pimms in a tin'.

We have a torch each, and they are all wind up torches which are pretty cheap in Ikea. We're not very good at winding them up in advance so you need to wind them as you go, but they are fun for a late night walk in the forest. We also have a small battery powered lantern which hangs from the roof of the tent and makes getting ready for bed in the dark much easier.

We are very much beginner campers at the moment, and I'm not sure that we'll ever manage more than a couple of nights away, but even spending just the one night in a tent with the family can be really fun and it's a great experience to share with children!

Our first trips camping at Ashurst in the New Forest

Several years ago, Ram and I bought a small tent, with the intention of making camping a regular thing. We spent one night in the New Forest in late September, then it was winter. Come spring I was pregnant with Harry and didn't really fancy it, and camping with our up-all-night-screaming-babies-and-toddlers was out of the question. The tent has since been used for nights with Harry in the garden, but with the lovely weather we've been having lately we decided that it was finally time to give family camping ago.

So a few weeks ago we bought a smaller pop up tent and second airbed, loaded up the car, and headed off to Ashurst in the New Forest for a night's camping. It's where we stayed before, one of the closest campsites to us and has good facilities. When we arrived we drove around the site a couple of times looking for the perfect spot, finding a great space at the far edge of the campsite with a view out across the open land behind us and forest in the background.

We split up with an adult and a child in each tent. The children loved setting their beds up with their pillows and sleeping bags, and getting all their teddies ready. We let them go running off by themselves across the field, and they absolutely loved the freedom.

There is a footpath that leads from the campsite, and a short distance away there are fallen trees to play on and walk across. We spent ages here, and also found a geocache.

For dinner we headed to La Pergola in Lyndhurst just down the road. It was perfect for us, pizza to eat and a playground to keep the children entertained. It's very popular though, we arrived soon after six and the only seats were outside, but I can see why, the food was delicious. Then we had a quick drink at the pub next to the campsite while the children played in the playground there, before heading back to our tent.

We got the children ready for bed and then headed out for a pyjama walk with our torches. In retrospect it wasn't the best idea as Harry managed to step into a puddle and soak the bottom of his onesie, meaning that he had to sleep in his clothes as I'd only brought one set! They really loved the experience though. Then we finished the evening playing football in the open area behind the tents while the sun set, it really was quite idyllic!

The next few weeks we couldn't stop thinking about how much fun we'd had, but we knew that our tent set up wasn't really practical. The airbed didn't really fit into the smaller tent, and it has no inner lining meaning that everything was wet in the morning. Ram is always keeping his eyes open for a bargain, and was delighted to find a family tent at a reasonable price - we snapped it up, and found ourselves the new owners of an Urban Escape Atago 5 man tent. We were a little daunted by its size at first, but we practised putting it up and then chose another weekend when the weather was looking good (I'm afraid that we are fair weather campers!) and headed back to Ashurst. 

Our new tent is fantastic! It was so nice to be able to stand up inside and there was loads of room for all our things. The tent has two bedrooms inside, and even the smaller one easily fitted the double airbed. Our camping experience was definitely improved! 

We had another pleasant evening watching the children run about, this time very much enhanced by our fold up chairs and some Pimms from the Co-op down the road. It's such a nice time of year with the long summer evenings, camping is a great way to make the most of them. We'll definitely be back, and we already have a few more possible weekends pencilled down in the calendar. Perhaps next time we might even manage to stay for two nights!

We paid £23.20 each time for a night's camping at Ashurst Campsite in the New Forest. Ashurst Campsite is run by Camping in the Forest - you can find out more information on their website.