Carry on Camping (in a car)

I never went camping as a child. Indeed, to this day I don’t think I’ve ever seen my parents within 50 metres of a tent. I can recall setting up camps in my brother’s and mine bedrooms and the fun that ensued. A few times we even ventured out into the garden with some makeshift tent determined to camp out all night but then getting too scared as darkness drew near and returning indoors to the comforts of our beds.

Festivals, inter-railing, travelling, squatting, passing out on park benches et al soon put a stop to all that and now I really quite enjoy it 🙂

So here are my ‘once was a reluctant camper but reluctant no more’ 21 Top Tips and Equipment for Camping with Your Car:

*1 Be organised – this is without doubt my number one piece of advice. We have three big carry bags in one of the storage drawers. One is for food, one for cleaning stuff and one for cooking stuff. Within each big bag smaller bags hold different things. Teeth cleaning paraphernalia is all in one zip bag, medical stuff in another, separate shower bag etc. There is nothing more annoying then having to rummage around trying to find stuff or not knowing where something is.

*2 Have jobs – we affectionally call these ‘our chores’ and we each have particular jobs that need doing to set up and dismantle the camp. Of course these aren’t set in stone but it works well to each know what needs to be done each day for the camping experience to run smoothly and stress-free.

*3 Pack up after each day – at bed time we always make sure everything is packed up and put away. Two reasons: if it rains overnight you’re going to wake up to lots of wet equipment and because you never know if you will need to make a hasty exit in the night.

*4 Clean up straight away – hard though it may sometimes be we also do the washing up straight after any cooking. Things quickly get messy and dirty in the confines of a car so you need to be clean.

*5 Comfortable bed – I think this is probably one of the main reasons why I never liked camping. We devoted the whole back of the car to the bed, with all the storage underneath. We managed to recycle a mattress from an IKEA sofa bed that fitted perfectly – it is unbelievably comfortable!

*6 Wet wipes – we are never without these – packet up front in the cab and one in the cleaning bag in the back of the car. Cheap and available everywhere. Great for cleaning yourself with and when you can’t be bothered to wash up properly.

*7 Kitchen roll – fabulous stuff when camping – can be used for so many useful things. Again cheap and available everywhere.

*8 Basin – we have a small cheap plastic washing up bowl that also can be used for fetching water, washing the car, flannel baths etc and they take up little room.

*9 Bread recipe – flour and yeast are readily available in most countries in Europe and Asia so having a basic recipe for a flatbread is really useful as you only need those and water. Once you have made the dough (it doesn’t need kneading) it will keep for about two weeks in the fridge. Just tear off as much as you need, flatten and cook it for a few minutes each side in a frying pan on a burner. As near to toast as you’ll get (without a camping toaster that is!)

*10 Lighting – I can’t bare bad lighting in places and camp spots/the car is no different. We love our Snowpeak lights. They’re light, portable, magnetic and have different light intensity settings. Great for dotting about the campsite yet can be bright enough for seeing clearly. Head torches are obviously a necessity too.

*11 Antibacterial cleaner – it is incredibly easy for germs to spread when in such a small space as a car and constantly reusing the same utensils. Not having running water makes things even harder. We’re constantly using wet wipes and wash our hands regularly but we’ve both caught nasty bugs and the resulting upset tummies. We’ve just bought sterilising tablets too for a weekly sterilising session. You need to be pretty hardcore with hygiene!

*12 Ziplock bags are great – though get good quality ones – nothing worse than leakages. Better than endless Tupperware containers as they morph into different sizes and shapes. Tin foil is useful for the same reasons.

*13 A barbecue – charcoal seems readily available in most countries so we have had lots of barbecues. Great as not much washing up and food tastes delicious!

*14 Chairs – you’ll spend a lot of time in these so they need to comfortable and sturdy. We love our Helinox because it’s light, easy to erect and packs down really small. Actually, Captain has a cheap Chinese Helinox-copy which seems to work just as well.

*15 Whether you’re travelling with one friend or more, a lover or, indeed lovers, you must be certain that you will get along with each other. You will be living literally on top of each other and spending 24 hours a day in close proximity with each other for the duration of the trip. They’ll no doubt be times when you have a tiff but you have got to be able to get past any tension quickly. There’s no storming off to your mate’s house.

*16 Don’t be shy – you will get to know everybody’s personal hygiene and toilet habits – there’s no hiding from it…..release your inner hippie and run naked through the meadow. On the same note embrace being dirty: a basin bath doesn’t really do a thorough job.

*17 A fridge – we have a small 17L Engel and are so glad we got one. We don’t have a lot of space in the car and a fridge is expensive and is a fair weight so we did debate whether we really needed one. Well yes you absolutely do ‘really need’ one.

*18 Sat nav – Captain laments that it takes the fun out of navigating: if he had his way he’d be out with a compass and a road map at every turn on the road. However, getting lost in Mongolia and with only 500km-worth of petrol in Totty isn’t to be taken lightly. Being a born worrier I love her!

*19 Awning – This was our biggest oohing and aahing: was it going to be an accessory too far – baring in mind our car doesn’t have a seating area in the back like a lot do? Well no…..it’s so great in the rain or bright overhead sun that we’ve used it loads. The crux being is that it only takes 1 1/2 minutes to set up……so it’s incredibly usable friendly.

*20 Driving – An obvious one, some may say, but one that could easily get overlooked in all the excitement. You really need to actually like driving. You’ll be doing a lot of it and it can be pretty challenging and tiresome at times. I wouldn’t recommend an over-landing holiday unless you actually enjoy the open road!

*21 Bog roll – always carry loo roll with you in all available pockets.

A camping treat for those of you who got to the end of my Top 21 – a clip from Mike Leigh’s wonderfully funny and oh-so-English 1976 film ‘Nuts in May’ starring the brilliant Alison Steadman…..enjoy!