When my sister invited me to go to the Rewind Festival with her and a group of friends this year I said yes straightaway. She went to Rewind a couple of years ago and from what she’d told me about it I thought that I’d enjoy it – plus it was a chance for some […]
Bushcraft: fires and shelters
In Bushcraft course: part one I described my first evening in the woods and going to bed in a hammock. This is what happened next. Bushcraft course: part two I’m comfortable and cosy in my woodland hammock and I fall asleep easily. But two hours later my bladder wakes me up. The night air feels […]
Bushcraft: sleeping in a hammock
Bushcraft course: part one As I walk through the darkness of the woods to my hammock I wonder if I’m going to be able to sleep. I’ve never slept outside before. I’m wearing a thermal top and leggings, a long-sleeved cotton top, two wool jumpers, a pair of fleece-lined thermal trousers, wool socks, walking boots, […]
Holiday snaps: Dorset coast, England
I took this photo on a summer walk from Lulworth Cove to Durdle Door in Dorset, England. I was with my husband and children and we were staying on a campsite nearby for a few days. I think this may be the only summer when we’ve stayed in England for our main family holiday. We were lucky […]
Camping at Embers Bentley
‘If we were at home I’d be on the Xbox’ says my 11 year-old son. It’s a sunny, breezy, August morning and we’re in a lush, green field in the Sussex countryside. He’s sitting on a deckchair happily toasting breakfast marshmallows on the fire which he and his 13 year-old cousin have created in the […]
Embers: family campsites with campfires
When Murray McPherson took his children camping for the first time in the UK he wasn’t impressed. ‘It was awful’, says the South African, who’s been living in the UK for fifteen years. Murray wanted his children to experience camping like he had as a child back home. He wanted lovely spacious locations where his […]
Wild camping
Sponsored post Phoebe Smith loves wild camping so much that she’s written a book about her experiences: Extreme Sleeps – Adventures of a Wild Camper. In case you don’t know (I didn’t) wild camping is sleeping in remote places, away from campsites. Phoebe’s first wild camping trip was in Australia and that inspired her to repeat […]
5 ways to save money on family holidays
30% of us can’t afford to go on a one-week holiday, according to a UK report from the Office for National Statistics. This makes me sad, especially for families with school-age children. The travel industry’s school holiday price hikes combined with the economic downturn and the clampdown on parents taking kids out of school during term time […]
Cool Camping Cookbook
My 9 year old loves cooking and was delighted when I was given the new Cool Camping Cookbook to review. He’s dyslexic and cookery books are great for him as he’s so interested in them that he reads loads without thinking about it. He leafed through the book and decided we were going to build […]