camping Archives - The Melting Pot

It’s cold, damp, and still quite dark. The twinkly lights are down, and if you are anything like us, Christmas was a bit of a write-off thanks to Covid.

Who could blame anyone suffering a bit of January blues right now?

Camping Du Lac, Entreveux, France. Lake with mountains in the distance and kayaks on the shore

My top tip for making this month bearable – start planning your holiday(s).

How to beat the January blues – get excited about the trips you might be taking in 2022!

Who will be going?

Is it a family trip? Are you tied to the school holidays? Are you going with friends?

What sort of holiday will suit all the people as much as possible?

It’s easy to get rather rose-tinted spectacles when imagining your lovely family holiday. What’s the reality?

Some of us don’t get on well with the heat, while others in the family don’t consider it a proper holiday without some serious sunshine. If f we are on a hot holiday I ensure there are easy swimming options. Ideal for those that overheat.

Action-packed adventures or roasting on a spit reading the latest rom-com? There’s bound to be a bit of everything required.

It can be quite a responsibility to choose a holiday to suit all that are going.

What’s the budget?

Many of us may sit down at the beginning of the year and wonder if a holiday will be possible financially. They can be a huge investment.

Our philosophy has always been to make a holiday possible, even if we have to compromise on other things.

We love our holidays so much we decided that fewer meals out or cooking on a budget are well worth doing to achieve a trip away.

We love a bit of camping or glamping – here’s why.

For some, without a bit of luxury, you may prefer to stay at home. Staying at home doesn’t do it for me, especially when I’m trying to beat the January blues. If a full-blown holiday is not possible, maybe that a mini-break will be more suitable instead.

Where would you like to go?

OK, right now it may be a little difficult to pick any place and know with confidence that you can get there.

Let’s hope we can travel more freely soon.

Make a list of the destination(s) you would most like to go to for your holiday and get planning. Look up hotels, villas, or campsites. What are the local tourist attractions, what do the restaurants, cafes, and bars look like? This all helps in the getting excited stakes.

Do you need a backup plan?

The past two years have taught us that the best-laid plans don’t always come to fruition. Can you create a backup plan?

Highland Cow on the Isle of Mull — Isle of Mull

Would a holiday in the UK work for you?

Make a list of all the places that you haven’t yet visited in the UK that you would like to explore some more. Isle of Mull anyone?

If like us you have a dog, a UK cottage, or a camping break could be just the thing to get excited about and you know you are more likely to be able to go!

campsite in the mountains with sun setting — Austria

European Adventures

For years I planned our extensive camping trips all over Europe during the month of January. There will be more to come I’m sure, even if it sadly won’t be as easy as it used to be.

This involved choosing the campsites we wanted to visit in various destinations. I then worked out a route, with hotel stops, or mini-camps en-route.

It’s taken years of making mistakes to know what works best for us. Like not doing big transfers on a Friday or Saturday. Knowing how long we can spend in the car on a big trip, and how many stopovers will be required.

For hotels, I usually use booking.com as I want the flexibility of being able to cancel if necessary.

For camping, it’s Cool Camping all the way.

Eventually, everything would go onto an extensive itinerary which I would present to our friends (that we usually go camping with) and we all start to get excited.

The point of this is that there are not only different countries to get excited about visiting. There are the campsites, our epic journeys and quirky hotel stops along the way too!

Adding in some extras

It might be a weekend away with the girls or boys.

Bathtub on balcony. Treehouse in the woods

A treehouse stay in the woods with the dog.

An overnight stop in a City.

Any trip away can count in the beating the January blues campaign – come and tell us where you are planning to visit in 2022. Safe and happy travels to you.

We love a bit of camping in our family and have travelled all over Europe with our trusty tent.

Two tents, one small, one large with awning.

It was one of the main reasons I started my business.

I wanted to be able to take the summer holidays off and enjoy them with the children. Camping was an affordable and fun activity that made this possible. We didn’t quite achieve the whole six weeks in our tent, we did have regular three or four-week holidays to wonderful locations. It has created some fab family memories.

We still love camping!

Here are 7 reasons to try camping (and some of my fav campsites):

You can enjoy nature at it’s best

The top of the list has to be the campsite setting. You are in nature. It’s totally good for you to experience living outside. Enjoying a slower pace of life in wonderful surroundings with all that fresh air. Even if it’s raining, you can sit inside listening to the rain on the tent, playing cards, or reading your book.

Sunset over sea, with tent in the foreground — Photo courtesy of Troytown campsite

Sunrise, sunsets, watching the wildlife – what’s not to love about that?

Favourite spot for a glorious sunset – St Agnes, Isle of Scilly – Troytown Campsite.

It’s affordable

Admittedly you need to get your kit together and this can be a bit of an investment at the outset. We opted for a huge tent to accommodate our family of five. We each had a bedroom (more than we had at home at the time) and a huge living space for those rainy moments.

It has given us 10 years of fun and memories (so far) so it was well worth it.

You can stay in wonderful locations, for a fraction of the cost of a holiday rental. The shores of Lake Garda, the mountains in Austria, stunning beaches in Spain!

The best value campsite in a wonderful setting goes to Camping Le Brec in Entrevaux (South of France).

A natural lake, with a cool bar, swimming, free boats, mountains all around and very reasonably priced!

It’s worth the extra effort

Now, all that wonderfulness comes at the cost of a little more effort.

You need to plan where and when you want to go. In normal times, I will spend January pouring through books and choosing my favourite campsites. Then it’s plotting a route, trying to take in all those things we want to visit/see/do.

Getting all your ‘stuff’ together takes some effort too.

We have boxes of kit stored in our shed now, so we just take it out, give it a quick check, and pop it in the car.

A checklist is a great idea.

We swear by the people that are behind Cool Camping. Such accurate descriptions of sites, really well-researched, in great locations. There are helpful descriptions of the vibe and energy of the site included too. Something for everyone either on their website or in their guide books (I use both).

Although there are lots of more expensive Glamping sites covered now, you can still find affordable gems!

Best books/website: Cool Camping

Enjoy the community spirit

A friend once quoted a wonderful line:

“If everyone could camp together, the world would be a better place.”

I couldn’t agree more.

There is such a friendly, community spirit on a campsite. People wandering by, stopping for a chat. Sharing bathroom facilities and chatting while brushing your teeth (that takes some practice!)

We got chatting to a family on one campsite and he was a real gin enthusiast. He revealed his extensive gin bar and send us some samples over one evening. It was just like visiting the cocktail bar, with nice glasses, ice, and all the trimmings!

Most campsites will organise some activities like volleyball, boules, pizza nights, etc. It’s fun and friendly and you can mix in as much or as little as you want.

two marshmallows on sticks in front of a firepit

Camping is a real leveller.

Everyone is the same and that’s just great.

Most friendly campsite:

Parke Farm Campsite, Pembrokeshire (free tea/coffee and marshmallows delivered each night)

The world is your oyster

You pack up the car, and you take off and you can go wherever you are willing and able to drive to.

We’ve visited sites in the UK, France, Germany, Austria, The Netherlands, Spain. When you drive to your destination you get a sense of your bearings, the accessibility of other countries and cultures. When you jump on a plane and arrive at your destination, you just don’t get the same sense of where you are in the world.

We add the odd hotel stop en route for the longer journeys. You appreciate the luxury of your hotel room for the odd night here and there. We love a quirky hotel stop and try and avoid chains where possible.

Saying that some of the campsites we have stayed in have bathrooms posher than most hotels.

The prize for this has to go to a wonderful site in Austria, Grubhof. The gorgeous site is surrounded by mountains (lift passes up to explore the mountains are free) and with stylish, private bathrooms included too.

Campfire cooking tastes great

Nothing tastes as good as campfire-cooked food!

We haven’t worked out why, but cooking outside is a lovely experience, and whatever you make it seems to taste better.

We tend to go for one-pot wonders. When you have only two gas rings, you need to get a little creative when you are feeding a crowd.

There are some fab camping cookbooks you can pop into your kit too.

A great tip is to make some treats before you leave so that you have some lovely cakes and bakes to hand.

I have some wonderful chocolate recipes to inspire you.

Spend quality time together

There’s plenty of space, so you can invite your family or friends along too. The great thing is you can enjoy each other’s company and have a lovely sociable time. Eating, drinking, and playing together but then head to your tent for your own space.

Two glasses on a table with a view of the sky

Our great friends have been our camping buddies for many years. We cook independently (there are just too many of us) but time things just right that we can all sit and eat together.

Cheers to that

You miss the outdoors when you get home, all that fresh air is so refreshing. Having your own bathroom and being back in your bed is very welcome too. It makes you appreciate what you might take for granted otherwise!

I may have only come up with a list of 7 reasons, but the good people over at Sports Fitness Adviser have come up with 20 benefits, including some top tips for beginners.

Is there anything you’d add to the list? Pop over to Facebook and share your top tips.

Happy Camping.

How to beat the January Blues