For the last couple of summers, we’ve wondered about getting the tent out of the garage and dusting it off to try camping with Seth. We’ve looked round outdoors shops with Seth and he’s taken joy and delight in looking around the tents, trying out chairs and hiding in camping beds. We’ve always found an excuse to stick to static caravans. When he was one, we said he was just too little, then when he was two, I was pregnant with Rory and wanted my home comforts; my own bed and a very-nearby toilet for the million times a night I needed to go to the loo.
So this year was the year, it really was, until Glenn’s accident and once again, camping was forgotten about.
Just recently my mind has been drawn back to camping, although I am still apprehensive about it and think our first outing would have to be a ‘glamping’ type set up – a wigwam or a camping pod. Our current tent wouldn’t actually fit our whole family in it anyway so we’d have an initial outlay if we did take our own gear so it definitely won’t be happening this year.
That is when I came across The Big Little Tent Festival; an event hosted by The Caravan Club in partnership with the Woodland Trust encouraging families to enjoy the great outdoors this coming bank holiday weekend by camping… in the back garden.
My earliest memories of camping involved camping in our garden. We’d have to beg my Dad for weeks to let us do it. He was a keen gardener and hated the thought of us ‘ruining the grass’ which resembled a putting green. After successfully chipping away at him, we’d drag out the tent that was about 20 years old, a thick canvas one, nothing like the super tents you get these days.
We’ve decided to give The Big Little Tent Festival a go. Our festival pack arrived this morning including a flag for the tent, bunting, festival wrist bands and a window sticker. I’ll be digging out the tent and pitching it out back on 30th August joined by lots of other families (in their own tents, in their own gardens). Fingers crossed for a BBQ or baked beans on the camping stove and outdoorsy fun, although it’s bound to rain! It may be just Seth and I, although Daddy seems keen. I’m not sure how Rory would manage in the tent, he sleeps terribly as it is! I can’t wait to introduce Seth to a night under the stars.
Do you fancy giving it a go? You can apply for a festival pack by filling in a simple form (it’s all free and easy to do). Click here to visit the website or look them up on Facebook or Twitter.
Let me know if you’ll be joining in, I’d love to compare notes the day after (if we survive the night!)
at home with Ruth 