Family camping

 Camping is certainly a favourite way for us to spend time together as a family and see different parts of the country.

 My love for the UK is developing as we travel. Although I would happily board a plane to sunnier climes, there is always something utterly compelling that brings us back time and again to camping. When the weather is behaving itself, the views, the air, the beautiful spaces that make up this country are all worth it.

At the end of 2010 we took advantage of a sale (and my husband's redundancy money) and purchased our fanciest tent yet. It's got good sized bedrooms for our little, yet growing family and a good living area with (ha ha!) windows - and curtains!!! Gone are the days when I would sneer at anyone who didn't use a bed roll mat... We are the Family With Luxuries now. With a young family and UK weather, I have to admit it makes sense. I would never leave my airbed at home now and we even have facilities for hook-up now. Our morning cuppa is ready in moments, and, if we have the energy, we can stay up to the small hours enjoying the peace and quiet. Have to admit though, I'm not long behind the kids when it comes to camping bedtimes!

 Last year we took advantage of the tent no less than five times. Our maiden trip was to a favourite local haunt, Hulme End, near Hartington and the Manifold Valley in the Peaks. An absolutely stunning, and popular location.

Manifold Inn, Hulme End

 There are 2 campsites in the teensy village and we always choose the site behind the Manifold Inn. It is very basic and very cheap but we tend to go there for a couple of nights only at a time. There is plenty to do if you enjoy walking and cycling (it is conveniently placed at one end of the Manifold Trail) and the pub is an excellent find. Good ales, a fantastic menu and a charming beer garden. It's only a couple of miles from the lovely and popular  village of Hartington which is worth a visit. Can't recommend the place enough.

 Our next trip was a Busman's Holiday really. I work for a magazine publishing company and it was their annual Crich Festival for boat owners. I worked and Chris and the kids wandered about the site enjoying what the show had to offer...

The miniature railway at Orchard Farm, Filey 

This was followed by a weekend in Filey, North Yorkshire. Our group of friends is becoming more and more far-flung and we decided to meet up for a weekend of camping, kids, food and the odd drink. Or two.

Again, a lovely site and we were lucky with the weather. Orchard Farm was spot on, with excellent facilities; lovely site for the kids and it accommodated the (drunken) adults pretty well too!

Not having been to Filey in a very long time, we had a recce to the beach front and were pleasantly surprised by both the beach and the town. It's a lovely old fashioned beachside town and the park located very near to the beach is attractive and has lots for the kids to do. We enjoyed it so much that we vowed to make it an annual event. Unfortunately it's looking like this weather is putting pay to that idea this year...

Our fourth camping trip took us to a fantastic site in Cornwall. Treveague Farm, on the Rose Peninsular below St Austell, is wonderful and we're looking forward to our return visit later on this year. We had a fantastic pitch overlooking the bay which was good for sunsets and early morning mists. 

View from Treveague Farm, Gorran

Although a working farm, it is very much a campsite; friendly and with excellent facilities, a lovely cafe serving locally reared produce, coupled with a little farm shop and restaurant. Throughout the summer months they put on entertainment for the children - story time in the Teepee by a local storyteller -and a barn dance. There is also a hide for viewing the badger family which is very popular and the only place on the entire site where the kids are quiet for long periods! It is well placed for some amazing and not overly populated beaches. You can walk to some of the beaches but last year when we visited our little girl was eighteen months old, so these were largely off-limits to us. We had a brilliant time. Have I said that already?

Our final trip of the year took us to the Gower Peninsular, South Wales.

Rhossili Bay, Gower Peninsular

It's not an area that I was familiar with before and I was thoroughly amazed by the beautiful landscapes we encountered, from driving through the moors to get to our campsite, Bank Farm, Horton, to the the stunning beach at Rhossili Bay. The weather was very typical for Wales I must admit, although we were lucky for our trip to the beach.

Camping once more on a beach headland proved extremely hair raising at times due to some inclement (to put it mildly) weather. It was the only time I have ever felt unsafe when camping, so maybe next time we visit, it might have to be self-catering!

The campsite wasn't the best site we've ever been to. It had all the facilities you could need; swimming pool, laundrette, shop and bar but the bar in particular was grotty to say the least. There was some building work going on, so that may be behind them.

We also visited the picturesque Heritage Centre on the way to Swansea which is packed full of things to do. Adults and kids alike enjoyed it here (don't be put off by it's frontage from the road, it is huge, on a long site backing away from the road). We shall most certainly be returning to this stunning area too!