Friday 27 July 2012

A Report from a Camping Virgin

It is NOISY in picturesque Dorset, most of the night with traffic noise and then early morning taken up by animals...cockerel, cow, peacock, dog...you name it. So for a good few nights, I couldn't sleep for the noise.

It rained most of time we were there.  The Purbeck Way looked like a permanent mud slide.

And the cow field we camped in...well, it smelt like cows! On the last night, a highland cattle wondered into our field, I think out of curiosity on her part. This was what she found in the Fire section. The dining shelters have already been packed up at this point.


We had a meal rotation where we dine with a different patrol every night. Before the trip, I worried most about this...I had some Immodium packed.  I shouldn't have...this turned out to be my favourite part of the trip.  The food was ok but I really enjoyed the conversations...the kids were A-MA-ZING! The highlight was when we talked about books and films, with amazing insight from the kids!!!

I opted for sleeping in a tent when the kids slept outdoors on survival night.  Come on, it was only my second night camping, I chickened out. We hiked for 3 days that went WET, DRYish and very WET. I was shattered at the end of the 3 days. I found out that even though I am not used to reading OS maps, I should have trusted my good sense of direction more.


We camped and played in the shadow of this castle. We played a "Lord of the Rings" epic wide game that went on till 3am. Doesn't it make a good Mordor ?


We are woken mostly at 7am (sometimes 6.45, sometimes 7.30) by the bugle and have to make our way into the next field for flag break. This was an exceptional photo though, taken on the last day when we were having a whole-of-troop photo session. Usually, it doesn't involve climbing all over the tree.


I found out that whilst I don't mind the early morning bugle, I don't like camp fires, especially as some goes on late into the night. This was our last campfire being lit, ready for a night of cabaret. This campfire is called the campfire of dreams but that's a story for another day.

What a journey of discovery. Watch out for some camping layouts.

5 comments:

Mel said...

Well done for surviving. My husband is on a big camping trip at the moment and so i have been able to enjoy some dry and comfortable scrapbooking!

Sian said...

This took me right back! I'll always be grateful to the Guide leaders who took us camping when I was a teenager - your lot will never forget this!

I'm looking forward to the layouts..

Simone Wilson said...

We're going to be camping next month. Can anyone give me tips on things you would normally forget to pack so I'm well prepared. There's going to be water parks, and rides, plus the traditional camping stuff like fishing. We're going to be staying in tents, not a cabin or RV so we won't be needing any kitchen stuff I don't think. Any ideas would be great, thanks!

alexa said...

Well done on surviving! I don't think I've ever camped in the UK ...

Lisa-Jane said...

Ahh camping. It can be fun but often it can be a bit hardcore. Well done for giving it a go!