Keeping Cosy While Camping
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Summer is well and truly camping season, and for plenty of us, it’s a chance to get away and escape from the modern world for the weekend. With plenty of events back on the calendar too, such as music festivals, there’s plenty of reasons to be looking forward to getting our tents pitched again this summer.
There’s nothing quite like the joy of being able to switch off and embrace nature - once you’ve got that tent up (hopefully not in the pouring rain).
Here’s a few key things to remember before your camping trip and help you pack so that you’re not left wondering where the nearest hotel is or why you left your favourite cosy pyjamas at home.
It’s going to be colder than you think - even if it’s blazing hot during the day or on the beach. The temperature can change quickly. Especially at night, when darkness falls and there’s nothing but you, the great outdoors, and the thin walls of a tent. So make sure you’ve got plenty of layers to wrap up in.That picnic blanket can double up as a handy extra layer to wrap around your shoulders, or if you’ve got a cosy oversized fleece jumper, it’s perfect for those chilly evenings. Keeping your feet warm with a pair of thick, cosy socks and maybe even your favourite hard-wearing slippers will help keep you cosy and stop you from ending up with soaked feet first thing in the morning when you step outside! Don’t forget your head too, your favourite fleece-lined bobble hat will come in handy, whether it's to keep your head cosy or cover up your hair so you don't have to worry about finding your hairbrush or braving the campsite showers.
Once the sun does set, and hopefully, you’re able to enjoy watching a beautiful sunset from your campsite or a local beach, then there’s nothing more magical than sitting and watching the stars twinkling in the sky. So many of us forget to look up when we’re going about our everyday busy lives. Taking some time out to sit and watch the stars can be truly relaxing. It’s amazing to consider how vast the universe is and that we exist in it. You’ll hear things too that you might not usually too, like crickets chirping and foxes and badgers rustling in the hedgerows.
You’ll soon adjust to life without your usual modern comforts (isn’t that the joy of camping?) - but don’t forget a torch for navigating those final steps into your tent or for guiding you home as you walk back from the pub. For a novel and hands-free torch and beanie combined, check out our LED light beanie hat! Something to help keep those insects at bay is helpful too - choose a spray or burner or essential oil - citronella is great for keeping bugs at bay- or even a special camping light designed to repel mosquitos. You’ll be glad when you wake up in the morning and haven’t been bitten all over. Something to soothe your skin if you do get bitten can come in handy too.
A travel stove and kettle is a must, especially if you rely on your favourite brew to keep you going through the day. These little stoves are often powered by gas, but you can get charcoal and wood powered stoves as well. Don’t forget your favourite teabags, plus something to brew your tea in! A hardwearing enamel mug is lightweight and perfect for that first thing in the morning coffee. After all, is there anything better than waking early with the dawn and watching the sunrise while drinking a warming cup of coffee? It’s a great way to keep warm too. Filling a thermos flask is a great way to keep a long-lasting supply of tea and coffee, ideal for long days out and about. You can also use your stove and kettle to fill up a hot water bottle, perfect for popping into your sleeping bag when you go to bed.
While we all hope for the perfect, long hot summer, the great British weather can be unpredictable and there’ll be some days when you’ll be resigned to hiding in your tent while it rains. When this happens, you’ll need something to keep everyone entertained. Why not go analogue and take a stack of books as well as some fun, board or card games that everyone will love. You could go truly offline too and take a proper camera, and not worry about charging your smartphone up to take pictures. You can still buy rolls of film or disposable cameras from camera shops and there’s a special kind of holiday charm to waiting for your camera roll to develop. If you’re going to rely on your phone, make sure to take a portable phone charger - you can get solar-powered chargers, which are handy to have.
Whatever your camping plans are this summer, then don’t forget to make sure you have everything you need to keep cosy.