September weekend camping

























We just returned from our latest camping trip. I know, many of you will have the heating on but we are a hardy bunch. The children get two days off for the September weekend, a traditional Glasgow holiday. We have been going camping during September weekend for years and still go even if our employer doesn't acknowledge this holiday any longer. It is worth saving up annual leave for a weekend with family and friends. It is good for body and soul to spend time outside and in good company.

This year we went North East to a campsite near Arbroath. It is called Greenhillock Glamping and it was rather nice - if you don't mind composting toilets, outdoor toothbrushing and cold showers. If you visit during stretch of sunny weather, the showers might be heated up by solar panels. We booked one of two group pitches. This was a ridiculously small, we could barely fit three tents on them, guy ropes crossed over between tents, making walking around the pitch difficult. These pitches are advertised as comfortably sleeping 30. I guess if you happen to have a multi-story tent this may well be true. The single pitches were of a good size, only marginally smaller than the group pitch. All pitches are cut into the deep grass and I imagine it must be amazing during wildflower season, unless you suffer from allergies. There are no cars on the pitches but a large number of colourful wheelbarrows are provided to move camping stuff to the pitches and back. The wheelbarrows are also excellent for wheelbarrow racing, a sport I can highly recommend. The campsite is children friendly: there is a barn with tables, games (and cooking facilities), a small art shack, a den building area, a pond and a bug tent. Our own bunch of children (all nine of them) were rarely seen and if they were, it was for food. The adults were generally found around the fire pit, coffee or beer in hand (depending on the time of day).

We always eat well on camping trips. If you have been a long time visitor, you'll know our camping food routine but it is worthwhile repeating. Fried breakfast for all, and pick & mix lunch. Dinner is BBQ on day one, curry bonanza on day two and fish and chips on day three. This year's curries were outstanding. We had a lamb & spinach curry, egg curry, paneer curry, chicken korma and a red lentil daal. All these were served with rice and fire toasted nan breads. The fried breakfasts were also delicious. Nothing beats crispy bacon and tattie scone in a roll. We had luxuriously creamy eggs, black pudding and Lorne sausage, too, and of course links and baked beans. What can I say? The fish and chips were still hot when they arrived on the campsite but unfortunately the heavens opened just as we sat down around the fire and some got a bit soggy. Still, it was a good dinner - once we ran to the barn, paper wrapped food and all.

The beaches nearby are stunning. The dunes are huge. Climbing up the dunes and then running down en masse is a must. Not for me of course, I have an aversion to sand and the thought of rolling down a sand dune and ending up like James in the photo above is more than I can stomach. The funniest sight was Jack with his short legs scrambling up the sandy hills.

The region is well known for soft fruit growing and the landscape is covered in long poly tunnels full of strawberry and raspberry plants. Unfortunately, the harvest season is over and we didn't get any local fruit. At least the kids now know where all the Scottish berries come from.

I enjoy sleeping in a tent, listening to the sounds of nature, the murmurings of other campers around their own fires and the odd car speeding through the night. Birds in particular are a joy to be awoken by, far better than any alarm clock. I normally sleep well and fall asleep even quicker than at home in my bed. Maybe I should start sleeping in the garden!

The last night was wet and it was raining well into the morning. Packing up a tent in the rain is never fun and packing up a ginormous family tent even less so. We didn't bother stuffing it back into its bag, just piled it high on the trailer. After a final hearty breakfast in the barn we headed homewards. The weather brightened up as we approached Glasgow - rather unusual to have better weather in the West than the East but it was welcome. We unpacked and dragged the tent into the garden for a few hours of drying. It is now in the garage, loosely piled up and hopefully it will continue to dry out.

The post camping laundry is a pain and I had not done the normal weekend laundry loads either. Our drier died after >23 years of service. Richard thinks he might be able to fix it. Eventually. In the meantime, washed clothes are everywhere and I fear we may be wearing the odd damp t-shirt. This morning, Richard speed dried Annie's only school jumper in the oven on a low setting. Probably not a viable option for all the laundry but needs must!

That's it all for today. I'll be reliving many moments of this camping trip when the darkness sets in proper. I am grateful for a fantastic group of friends that love me even when I am grumpy and not caffeinated first thing in the morning.

Have a lovely week dear readers! Thanks for stopping by. xx

Comments

  1. It always looks like you're having such a good time when you go camping. We use to enjoy it too, once took my Mother-in-law camping in Holland, she loved it.

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  2. I love reading about your camping experiences because they are so similar and yet so different from my own. The tooth sink is such a good idea. Much better than the way I brush my teeth while camping. :)

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  3. Christina a joy to visit and read all about your camping adventures. I like a little luxury these days but they remind me of our wonderful camping trips from years ago.

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  4. I wish I had someone to go camping with! it sounds great fun! I like how all the food was organised so that you knew what you were eating each day. :)

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  5. ooh that's bad timing on the drier but it has done well with family washing for all those years! This sounds like a brilliant weekend, I like the sound of the site too (though not so much the cold showers!)

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  6. I enjoyed hearing and seeing the photos of your camping trip. All good things.. fresh air.. the sea.. sand and group meals. Not to mention the birds and nature sounds. Bad timing on the drying dying! I hope he can fix it, if not.. new one! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  7. I have microwaved cricket pants before now to get them dry after a last-minute call up. 30 second blasts then wave them about a bit to cool off, repeat until done. Your camping trip sounds excellent, particularly the food. Glad you had such a good time. Back to reality now! I had a dog-induced washing machine catastrophe yesterday. Luckily a nice man came and spent two hours sorting it out for me. Happy sigh. CJ xx

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  8. Sounds like a really great time with the family. The dunes are amazing! We had a camping trip this past weekend too, and yeah, I hear you on the laundry ;)
    Wendy

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  9. That sounds like a fabulous weekend away... even with the wet weather and the fact that I really don't do camping.

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  10. I always love the sound of your large camping gatherings; they always look such fun for adults and children alike. I don’t envy you the washing tho. Maybe after 23years a new drier is in order :). B x

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  11. That sounds such a wonderful trip, the kids must have a whale of a time and not an electronic gadget in sight. We've never been camping, I love the thought of the whole outdoorsy experience, just not the sleeping in a tent. Hope you manage to get the washing dry, that's the only downside of going away, all the laundry when you get home again.

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  12. I love the tooth cleaning sign! Family traditions are such lovely things x

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  13. You are a hardy northerner Christina. It is always great to catch up with friends who can take you in your full camping mode - they are true friends! Great pictures. Jo x

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  14. Oh Christina, you do make me laugh, I love the way you describe family life in all its colour. BTW Fyberspates was the first yarn I bought from a tiny wool shop in Ilfracombe on a rainy day in November 2014. I'd popped in because my husband's nephew had just had his first baby and I asked the lady in the card shop if there was anywhere in town that sold baby things. She pointed me in the direction of the wool shop which had a small stock of hand-knitted cotton baby hats. How could I resist? I bought a 100g skein of Fyberspates, a crochet hook and taught myself to crochet sitting in front of the fire in our holiday cottage on Exmoor. Then I discovered Blogland. And the original skein of Fyberspates yarn is now a knitted beanie with matching mittens. My challenge for November 2017 is to knit a pair of socks according to your recipe! Sorry that most of this comment really relates to your previous post!

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  15. Fab pictures (oh, those beaches!). Good to hear your camping trip went so splendidly. Hope you managed to get the drier fixed. Nothing worse than wet clothes draped all over the place.

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  16. Speed drying in the oven, genius. Burnt jumper anyone ?
    Jillxx

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  17. Loved hearing about your camping trip. It sounds great for the kids and so good that all the adults are more than happy to go each year. The mark of true friendship. Cx

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Thank you for visiting and leaving a comment, I love to hear from you, I really do. I sometimes reply by email but I am not all that reliable... Christina xx

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