The Appeals of Camping (Even to a Hotel Preferring Girl!)
A Reminder of The Best Things About Camping on A Weekend Trip to Cromer
Camping near the holiday resort town of Cromer for a couple of days this week with our friends and their kids was a welcome and fun experience! The first time I camped or stayed in a caravan I was just a wee one, and I'm not really a stranger to it, however the last time I camped I was a grubby teenager jumping around at the Reading Festival, eating super noodles, crammed in with thousands of other festival goers. I was a little out of touch...
The thing that suprised me the most was the enormous range of camping equipment you can get. The thing that impressed me the most was the wholesome-ness of the experience for children, and the thing that put me off the most was putting up a tent in the wind and/or rain (which, thankfully, we didn't have to do!)Although the joy of camping is the simple and outdoors lifestyle, some of the camping equpiment available to make life easier really is useful. From a simple camping chair to a portable barbecue, most things like this are cheap, easy to use, and easy to store. Luckily our friends had everything we needed and we just came along for the ride - they go camping all the time, and have a caravan.
It is not only refreshing and wholesome to see how children respond to a camping holiday, but to see how adults respond also. I found myself running around, playing football, and generally getting some much-needed exercise, without paying a fortune for a gym, or for a hard-to-access sport like skiing. Not one of us sat using our phones - or any other interfering technology for that matter - the entire weekend. We talked, laughed, walked on the beach, ran around, cooked a delicious full English breakfast and sat in a beer garden eating yummy pub-grub.
That said, I fully appreciate that during this camping trip we had it easy. Incredibly easy! Richard and I met our friends at the campsite and the inner-tent was already up inside the awning, with an airbed all ready for us. The weather was glorious - sunny and warm apart from one rainy night when we arrived, and although we arrived pretty unprepared and just had blankets (no sleeping bags) we weren't cold. To top it all off, we had to leave at 10am to get to an event we had previously agreed to, and our friends hadn't finished packing everything away so we didn't even have to finish that! Feeling really lazy, we packed away some rubbish before we left, did what we could, and left when we had to.
A few days without luxuries is a luxury in itself. It makes you appreciate what you have, and take pride in accomplishing the simplest tasks, like frying some delicious bacon or staying dry from the rain. It really teaches you to appreciate what you sadly learn to take for granted. The beauty of growing up with camping holidays shouldn't be underestimated. When we were kids my sister and I used to go camping with our uncle and aunt every year and I will always believe it taught us so much.
This camping trip was at Manor Farm campsite in East Runton, near Cromer. A caravan pitch costs around £15 per night and a tent pitch is around £5 per night per person.You can see the sea from the marlpit area (where we were) and the gentle rolling hills. It's lovely countryside and the pretty seaside resort of Cromer is within walking distance (about 20 minutes) but you might want to drive if you have little ones, with little legs!
It would be rude not to end this blog post raving about the seaside chips on the East Coast. In Cromer along the waterfont it was just £1.00 for a portion in a cone. The most delicious ever ever ever! Apparently it is because they are fried with fresh potatoes, not frozen. I guess that makes sense. However they do them, they just don't taste the same anywhere else!
Text and Images Copyright © Lise Griffiths, 2012
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