Aaron's Blog

Posts Tagged ‘camping’

Over the August Bank Holiday weekend, we again decided to camp at Diggerland. It was nice and cheap last year, which is what we were after, even though the facilities were extremely basic. Unfortunately, the facilities didn’t look to have been updated or fixed from last year, so we were really disappointed with them and won’t be going back again, even with the cheap price.

We arrived on the Friday after work again and set about getting the tent up as quickly as possible as it had been a day of heavy showers. We just about managed to get the tent before some heavy rain came in but I still got drenched and muddy as I was sorting out the guide ropes during the rain whilst everyone else was inside sorting their bits out. So, once finished, I dashed off to clean myself up in the shower whilst Kelly warmed up our Spaghetti Bolognese for tea, which she had made earlier in the day. We had to sit and eat inside the tent due to the weather, but it was nice and yummy. The weather did clear up a bit later on in the evening, so the boys were able to go out and run about and play on the grass before coming in for bed.

On the Saturday, we went to Combe Martin Wildlife and Dinosaur Park, as the day was dry and sunny. It was nice and hot as well in the sun! We had a great day there looking around the animals and viewing the animatronic dinosaurs, but the best part (as the last time we went) was the Sea Lion show. We also had some nice food there for dinner. We stayed right until closing time and then drove back via B&M, as we stopped in to get a bluetooth speaker so we could listen to music properly instead if from our phones. The evening was lovely so we were able to eat our tea outside and the boys had a good play around. It did come in very cold though so, unlike last year when we were sat out till quite late, we ended up in the tent practically as soon as it got dark. It had been a very nice day though.

Sunday was different weatherwise, as it had been forecast to be horrible with heavy rain and wind all day long. They actually predicted it correctly as well, but we went prepared by taking some games to play. We had decided beforehand that we would have a quiet day on the Sunday anyway, so this was fine. We stayed in the tent all day and played Scrabble cards and normal cards, and watched things on the laptop. It was actually a very nice day! Just after tea time, the rain finally stopped and it came out dry so we were able to go for a little walk down the adjacent path to the fishing lakes at dusk. We had also started packing our things up during the evening as we had to be off the pitch by 12pm on the Monday. It was still cold that evening and the tent and surrounding grass and gravel was drenched and very muddy. It was difficult to stop the much from coming in the tent after we had been outside. 

Monday morning was spent packing our things away and taking the tent down. There were massive puddles under the tent on the ground sheet, and it was all muddy and horrible as well.  It was dry whilst we were packing up, which was useful. Unlike last year, when there was loads of children camping, there were none really this time, so the boys didn’t have anyone else to play with, which was a shame, so by the time we left, there were only a couple of other tents still in the field. 

We had had a good weekend, even if the facilities were quite shocking this time, but we won’t be going back again anytime soon. It was definitely much quieter this year but that was maybe due to the forecast for the weekend with the heavy rain on the Sunday. It probably put a lot of people off. We didn’t mind though and had some fun inside the tent and still managed to go somewhere on the Saturday anyway. 😉

The weekend before last, we went camping at Whitehill Country Park which is just outside of Paignton, with Alex, Josh, Caleb and Sophia. The place was great and the weather was awesome!

I had the day off work so Kelly and I arrived for 12pm (when we could setup on the pitch) and got the tent up nice and early before I left Kelly to finish off setting up and travelled back to pick up the boys from School and Bumblebees.  The sun was out and there were hardly any clouds in the sky, so it was really hot. When I got back with the boys we went for a swim in the onsite outdoor pool before we went back to the tent and had a BBQ for tea. The boys were loving it there and were playing all the time with Caleb. 

On the Saturday, we went swimming in the morning again, which was great, though cooler as we were earlier in the day.  Ben was fine in the pool on his own and Aaron was OK as well, though he seems to forget that he can swim now! Coby was doing very well as well, as he was in the big pool with just armbands on, and he was kicking around trying to swim and was doing a very good job of it. We then went back to camp and had some dinner before we went for a walk around the site. We went to a playground and along a woodland walk, and then had a look at the onsite shop, arcade and bar/cafe area, before getting a milkshake or ice cream.  We then went back to camp and relaxed for a bit before going back to the bar and ordering some food for tea. The food was great. It was very well priced and there was plenty of it! Everyone enjoyed their food. We then went to watch the evening entertainment in another area of the complex, which was in an old barn. The barn was boiling hot though and we were sweating buckets! The entertainers put on a show for the evening that comprised of children’s games and disco for the first hour, then Bingo (which we didn’t win) and then a Disney show where they sang several Disney songs.  Coby was up dancing and taking part in the children’s disco and games and loved it! It was great watching him dance and play. We didn’t leave there until nearly 10pm when the boys were starting to get really tired, so we then walked back to camp, after a 5 minute play in the park, and got the boys to sleep. We stayed up well into the night with Alex and Josh and we saw some shooting stars, which was great. The weather was still really warm even at 11:30pm!

Sunday was our final day so we started off packing some of our bits up. We didn’t have a set time to leave as we had booked for 3 nights so we didn’t take the tent down and do the majority of the packing until later on in the afternoon. We had a cooked breakfast and then got ready to go down for our last swim. The water seemed colder again though! The boys were again jumping in and having fun in the splash pad (that was working this time) and in the toddler pool. We then went back to camp and got washed and changed before heading back to the bar to get some food for dinner. We were going to have sandwiches but decided on getting some proper food as we wouldn’t be home until late in the end. So we had some nice food again and a big milkshake and a last play in the park before heading back to camp to pack up. We left at about 5ish in the end and drove home hot and tired out from a great weekend. The weather was amazing all weekend, which stopped us from sleeping though as the tent was boiling from about 6am, and the facilities on the site were excellent and we would definitely consider going there again.

Over the first Bank Holiday weekend in May, we camped at Woodlands again, but for 3 nights this year. The same families from School (plus a couple new ones) stayed as well and we all had a great time. The weather was perfect all weekend – clear blue skies and hot! We were in a different field this year though, which was a shame as we were actually on a slight hill which meant we had trouble sleeping and not sliding out of the bed! It was a nightmare really as Kelly and I had hardly any sleep at all due to it! Hopefully next year, we will be in the other field again.

The boys had an excellent time all weekend, especially as it was actually Aaron’s birthday on our first night there. So we took some party food with us and, once the tent was up and sorted, we put the food out so Aaron and all of the other children from school came and had a good scoff! There was hardly any food left at the end! Kelly also brought the cake that she made for him, but we held off eating that until the next day, as it was nearly 21:30 by the time everyone had stopped snacking on the treats.

On both of our full days there (Saturday and Sunday), we spent the entire day in Woodlands, looking at the animals and going on the rides. Towards the end of the first day, myself and Aaron plucked up enough courage to go on one of the big water slides – even Coby came on! It was the twister that Coby and I went on and we got absolutely drenched when we reached the bottom! It was good fun, though I did think we were going to slide out of the tube at one point before a massive splosh of water went right over mine and Coby’s heads! The poor boy was crying afterwards as he was so wet! 😉 By this time, Aaron was happy going on the other water rides (which was a complete change for him!) with other adults. We also went on the Toboggan Run, as it is a firm favourite for us all, and the boys went in the climbing frame areas. We had a BBQ on the Saturday night for tea and then we got takeaway Pizza on Sunday evening, which was delicious. We also had a good game of Rounders on the Sunday evening and I ended up being the last one standing (men vs women), so Ben and I were pleased with that!

The Monday was our final day so we had to start packing the tent and the other bits and pieces up and cramming it all back into the car. We did some of it in the morning before leaving the rest and the tent itself until later on in the afternoon. We had until 4pm to leave the pitch, so we had plenty of time. So we went into the park again and into the indoor soft play area where I ended up climbing around with 5 of the little ones (inc Coby) as they were too small to go in there without an adult. I was absolutely sweating by the time I got out! The children were fine though and were still full of it and wanted to go back in, so one of the other Dad’s took them back in again! Phew! After we had finished in there, we went and got some food and then ended up on the water slides again. This time we had come prepared for getting wet though! I went on one of them with Ben and all of the boys went on with their friends as well, apart from Coby, who went on with one of the Mum’s. Coby loved them even though I, and even Kelly, wouldn’t go on two of them! They all loved it! By this time, Kelly and I had to go back to camp and finish taking the tent down so the boys stayed with the other parents and carried on having fun. We eventually got the tent down in the searing sun and packed it all away into the car.

We had had an awesome weekend and were sad to be packing up and going home as we could have easily stayed the week, especially as the weather was so perfect! Roll on 2019! 😉

Over the August Bank Holiday weekend, we camped at Diggerland in Devon for the 3 nights. We couldn’t have picked a better weekend weather-wise either, as it was roasting throughout though not quite as hot as when we camped at Monkey Tree. We all had a great time and enjoyed every minute.

When we first arrived on the Friday evening, the electricity wasn’t working for some reason, so we were worried that all our food was going to go off. Luckily though, it seemed to turn itself on after about half an hour of the cable being plugged in, so we were quite relieved.  We got the tent up quite easily between us whilst the boys were already making friends with some of the other children who were camping or caravaning as well. It was great really, as we could keep an eye on them but not worry about them as they were happy playing. Whilst we were putting the tent up, the Red Arrows flew over as well, so that was an unexpected treat!

On the Saturday, we had tickets to go into Diggerland for the day. It was another hot day and we were sweating! Diggerland was good fun and it was actually quite quiet, so we didn’t really have to queue for very long on any of the rides. We all had lots of goes on various diggers – Kelly, Ben and Aaron even had a go at driving a full size digger around a dirt track – and had great fun. We had bought dinner from the cafe there (burger and chips) which was nice enough and stayed until closing time. Unfortunately, as the day went on, Coby got more and more teasy as he had a late night the night before and it was so hot, so he was shouting and crying a lot. Just before we left, we went in the shop as Gramps had given the boys some money to spend, so they all bought something each, so were happy with that. We had all had a nice time and were quite surprised that we spent the entire day there as it wasn’t really a very big place but, as there were no queues, we were happy to go on the rides multiple times.

We then walked back over to the campsite (which was just beside the main car park) and cooked up some food to eat. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing at the tent whilst the boys played with the other children again.

On Sunday, we didn’t really have anything planned, but it turned out to the hottest day of the weekend, so we decided to go for a ride to see if we could get a small, cheap paddling pool for the boys. We weren’t able to find one anywhere, but we did end up in Taunton at the Grand Western Canal and had a lovely walk along it.  We didn’t know this was there but will definitely visit it again properly. Whilst walking along, a barge came along that was being pulled by a big Shire Horse as apparently this is the only canal where horses still pull the boats along. It was very interesting and the boys loved seeing the massive horse! We also had an ice cream by the canal and it was just beautiful really.

We eventually made our way back to camp and relaxed for the afternoon. A lot of the people on site had left for the day so it was very quiet for us, which was great! I had a game of football with the boys and they played with some water guns that they had bought earlier that day, so the day ended up passing quite quickly. We had some nice food again for tea, cooked on our gas BBQ, and relaxed for the evening. The boys were again playing with their new friends by this time and stayed up playing until nearly 9:30pm (the same as he last two nights!). It was the best evening of the weekend to see the stars but it was much colder as it was a clear sky.

On the Monday, we had to pack up and leave the site by 12pm, so we got up and had some food and then started putting away our camping gear and tent into the car. It was absolutely roasting again so Kelly and I were both sweating buckets doing it! We managed to get it all packed again a little after 12pm, but we didn’t really rush it (due to the heat!). A lot of the other visitors on the site had left by now apart from a family that the boys had made good friends with, so they were happy playing with them until it was time to go.

We had all had a lovely weekend and had some good fun.  Again, we were very lucky with the weather, although it was too hot really in the sun! The facilities were quite limited and basic but it was only a cheap camp site and perfectly fine for what we needed, so we will probably go back again at some point next year. 😉

The weekend before last, we went camping at Monkey Tree which is at Goonhavern, just outside of Perranporth. We happened to choose the hottest weekend of the year as the temperature was around 30 degrees the entire time and our tent was not shaded at all, so we were in the sun continuously which was just way too hot.  Luckily, there was a swimming pool onsite that was included in our stay, so we lounged around in that 3 times over the weekend. Coby had been asking loads since we went Glamping to go camping again, as he just loves it! Ben and Aaron also love it as well so were very excited!

We went with Alex, Josh and Caleb again and also Nan Nan and Pops turned up in their caravan and Mike came as well and stayed on the Saturday night. It was Witney’s birthday on the Friday, so they all came over for a BBQ on the Saturday evening for tea. Ben, Aaron and Coby had a great time playing with their cousins on the scooters and playing hide and seek. We also went down to the onsite park and they all had fun on the swings, climbing frames and trampolines.

We couldn’t have asked for better weather, although it could have been a bit cooler, and Monkey Tree was a lovely place.  There was an arcade on site (although with mostly outdated and well used machines) which we all had a play in, crazy golf, a couple of restaurants and a shop. They also had evening entertainment on which was for all the family.  We couldn’t really fault it really, and the price was very very good as we got a deal on Groupon. The food that we had was very nice. We had a takeaway from the onsite chippy on the Friday night and the cod and chips that I had (and curry sauce!) was delicious. As mentioned, the weather was terrific and it actually stayed fairly light in the evenings until almost midnight! Then the stars came out and it finally cooled off a bit!

We all had a wonderful time over the weekend although it was very very hot trying to put the tent down on the Sunday afternoon. It was scorching!  Coby was also tired out by now and actually fell asleep in the car with the AC on! The boys all enjoyed the park and the swimming pool, where Coby was jumping in practically on his own. It happened that one of Aaron’s friends from school was also staying there that weekend, so Aaron was very pleased to be able to play with him in the pool.

We would definitely go back again and would recommend the place to anyone, especially if you can get the discount!

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