So after being dry for weeks we promised the kids we’d camp this weekend. Its pissing down and is liable to be later on when we set up! Joy!
Who’d still be going?

The kids won’t care that it’s raining. They will care that dad cancelled their trip 🙂

Set up a tarp/gazebo next to the tent for cooking and sitting around etc. Get a wee fire going underneath and it will be great!

Its a decent site so it’ll be table tennis o’clock as soon as we’re set up. Bikes are coming too so some mud scrambling action in the woods behind will no doubt be on the cards tomorrow. Roll on the summer 😆

I would, but then I have a warm cosy dry caravan 🙂

A tarp is a good idea. When we camp we have a 3m x 3m tarp we can set up, ideal for this situation. Outside, but dry.

Something like this:

Sods law dictates that if you don’t go the weather will actually turn out to be not as bad as predicted.

Go, before we know it summer will be gone!

It’s camping, who cares what the weather does.

I camp all year round, rain is part and parcel of the experience the kids won’t care, go for it and have fun.

We are off camping this afternoon as soon as the kids finish school. Whats the worst that can happen 😀

I’m thinking a nice tarp to cook/eat under might be nice for Yorkshire next week. Anyone got any recommendations?

Go somewhere it’s not going to be raining? It’s set pretty fair further north this weekend.

I have a Robens tarp. It’s large, thin and floppy, what you need in a tarp tbh.

Where is the campsite?

Decathlon for tarp.
I got a quechua one when I was in the alps a couple of years ago for €25 I think it was. Comes with all lines, pegs, and poles.

Campsite is at whatstandwell. Only 20 mins from home, late finish from work dictated a site close to home. Plus…. I noticed we’ve had mice in the **** shed and I didn’t want to go too far incase they’ve been busy gnawing at something like the tent 👿

Also interested in tarp recommendations…

So after being dry for weeks we promised the kids we’d camp this weekend. Its pissing down and is liable to be later on when we set up! Joy!
Who’d still be going?

We did back in May, despite an abysmal forecast. Yes, it rained pretty much the whole time.

We bought an extension for the tent so we could have a separate play area for the kids, plus arranged lots of trips out – soft play, swimming pool, etc. We went cycling on the one dry day we had.

Anyway, it was pretty hard work for us, and having to clean and dry your tent back at home is a pain, but the kids loved it.

Yup also need a tarp/shelter affair for ynot festival this “summer”. Had a gazebo last year but the wind destroyed it by Monday morning.

That Decathlon Tarp Fresh one looks pretty good. Is 3m x 3m about the right size? Seems like a fairly common one so I guess so, the only time I’ve really used a tarp in anger was on a kayaking expedition. We had Mountain Hardwear ones that I’m sure were bigger…

Edit: OP, yes you should still go!

I’m supposed to be doing my first ever bivi tonight(only if Alpkit delivery turns up) with my daughter, in the Northumberland dunes. Might be dry, but possible single figure temperature.

Mine’s 3×3, and tbh I’d rather a bigger one for campsite camping. It’s a big enough area if you can stake it out with say 4 poles or trees, but if you have 2 poles and go to ground either side it reduces the area. Enough to sit under but not play much.

4 poles might not be stable enough, compared to a 2 pole saddle set-up.

We’re off camping this weekend. Tonight looks moist but the rest of the weekend should be ok.

When it rains (in the evenings) we resort to hiding out in the pub or cracking out the single malt in the tent. It makes the boredom slightly more bearable.

It used to be a lot worse when I climbed and didn’t bike, trying to plan a road trip with changeable weather often meant 4 hours driving to get drunk in a tent.

DD Hammocks sell a great range of…tarps. good quality and worth every penny.
just get a load of cordage and line locks so that you can adjust the additional guy points to suit the set up.

I use mine in all conditions, from bivvying, to setting up as a lean-to for enjoying the view or a simple A-frame tent set up should the weather get nasty

Fortune favors the brave with camping. The weather will probably end up being fine and you’ll have the place to yourself.

petrieboy +1

Get on with it and enjoy.

I went paddling up the Thames in a Canadian canoe last week with the Mrs. Three days/2 nights wild camping.
Had a great trip. It was scorching though. Hayfever overload by Sunday..

Rain would not have affected play.

I’ve seen people in cheap tents (£20 Tesco ones) absolutely flattened and soaked to the bone overnight and 50 yards we slept like logs, warm and bone dry. But then we have a £400 MSR tent.
And that’s it really. If you have decent kit you’ll be fine whatever the weather is, that’s why you take a tent anyway isn’t it? In case it rains? 🙂

4.5m x 3m tarp here

4m x 4m here

Now you’re talking!

We use one of these for drying tents – it’s absolutely fantastic – just lay the tent out and stick it in the doorway, the power of the blower inflates the tent and it’s dry in no time.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bouncy-Castle-Inflatable-Electric-fan-air-pump-/261512886303?pt=UK_Toys_Games_Outdoor_Play_Equipment_LE&hash=item3ce361f81f

for family tarps, here’s what we use

got them from the links below – they were probably recommended on here to be honest
http://www.obelink.nl/tenten/tentluifels/hypercamp-tent-wing.html?review_uuid=d7115b0a-c5bd-11e1-886d-005056b144de#recensie
http://www.obelink.nl/voortenten-luifels/camper-busvoortenten/eurotrail-tarp-carside.html?review_uuid=d7115b0a-c5bd-11e1-886d-005056b144de#recensie

the car side one is very neat. has a fibreglass pole along one edge and clips onto roofbars or whatever. we use it to cover the trailer that we use as a camp kitchen or off the side of the car to sit under. lives permanently in the car and comes out for picnics and all sorts.

the wing one also works without being attached to a tent as it comes with a pole or you can hang it off anything.

both come with poles, pegs and guy ropes. pretty cheap too.

Personally, I wouldn’t bat an eyelid. It’s fine with a decent quality tent.

Well fellas its awesomes! 3 beers in and not a spot of rain. We even had a glimmer if sunshine!!

Surely internet isn’t allowed when camping? Turn your phone off OP!

Tarps – this is the best so far I think, nice one petrieboy (not the same as yours but same website)

This thread has prompted me to finally get round to ordering a DD 4×4 tarp

http://www.ddhammocks.com/product/tarp-4×4-large-group-shelter

Should be a step up from the Decathlon one I have been using.

I like the many attachment points, particularly for the ridge line.

That DD one is nice, but 4×4 is that big enough for family camping? The obelink one above is 5×5! How big is too big?

I guess it depends how big the family is 🙂

Most gazebos are 3×3 so hoping 4×4 will be big enough. For family camping shelter I expect I’ll use 6 poles (2 x 2.1 and 4 x 1.8) to make the most of the covered area. Or bring it out from the front of the family tent. Have to try it and see what works.