Camping: Take Two

These are photos from our camping trip two weekends ago. It was
our second time and we were back in the same campsite in the
 beautiful Derbyshire countryside. We even pitched our tent at the
same spot as last time. But lots of things were a bit different
this time round. For one, we packed better, just taking the things
we knew we'd use. Tent pitching was quicker and even just getting
to the campsite took less time. We had a better night's sleep too,
even though we still didn't have an air mattress. The camp wasn't
as busy so it was a lot quieter and having arrived earlier, we had
 more time for playing and exploring in nearby fields. We've learned
a lot from last time and it had made this an altogether better, even
more relaxing camping experience.

We had another gorgeous walk up Stanton Moor, and another
moment to marvel at the beautiful landscape. I don't think I'll
ever tire of that wonderful purple view up the moor. I'm ever so
glad we chose to camp nearby, or we wouldn't have known about
this amazing place at all.

I'm very glad too that we've had another go at camping. We're
loving it even more and who knows, we might manage to squeeze
in a third time before summer finally comes to a close. There's
still a week and a bit to go before school starts so if the weather
plays nice this weekend we'll definitely be out there again. And
hopefully next time with an air mattress, rather than without!

Hope you're all having a good start to the week.
See you soon!

Going Camping

We went camping for the first time this week. I wasn't sure
I'd like it much being so fond of my creature comforts. I was only
 giving it a go because my husband had convinced me that it's a nice thing to do as a family and that we'll all have a great time. And he was
right: it was great fun and we all really enjoyed it, myself included.

No one was more surprised than me, to be honest with you. I was
quite sure it's not really for me but I enjoyed it so much I couldn't
wait for us to go camping again. Yes, I know, I'm now one of those
camping converts, and a very happy one too.

I couldn't not like camping. We were in a lovely, family friendly
  campsite surrounded by beautiful Derbyshire countryside. We had
 fresh air, sunshine, a pitched tent and a lit barbecue. The girls were
 off playing with other kids, I was sitting in the sunshine with
 my crochet, the burgers and hotdogs were cooking. Later after
we'd put the girls to bed, we sat outside and watched the stars
come out. It was all simply glorious. It would have been very
churlish of me not to enjoy the experience.

And next morning after we've had our breakfast we walked up
Stanton Moor, a Peak District landmark very close to the campsite.
It was so gorgeous up there we were totally gobsmacked.

The only thing that wasn't fun was not sleeping on a proper mattress.
The girls slept well but we didn't so we've now decided to invest in
a good air mattress. That will surely improve things. And next time
 we'll be better and quicker at spotting the best place to pitch the tent and packing will be easier too.

Yes, we're already planning for our next camping trip. If we can
go before the summer holidays end and experience all that fun and freedom again, I'd say, yes, please. We're going camping!