Our Summer Staycation With Halfords

*Collaborative post*

This summer in a desperate bid to save money we decided on a staycation. We are under a lot of stress at the moment with us trying to sell our house so that we can move into our new house. We are literally counting the pennies people! However, thanks to Halfords and their suggestions we have been inspired to spend a lot of time camping on the beach!

Camping Adventures

Now I have made no secret of my disastrous camping holiday with Mr C and my subsequent fear of camping. It wasn’t always this way though! As a child we often went camping and I have really fond memories of those holidays. It always felt like I was on an adventure. I used to love reading the Secret Seven and The Famous Five as a child. Therefore, our camping holidays felt like I had wandered straight into an Enid Blyton adventure. Beaches to me were really secret coves where I was convinced the local fisherman was really a diamond smuggler. Yes, I had a somewhat over-active imagination as a child.

Excited To Camp Again!

However, I had such lovely memories of camping that I was excited to try camping again. I had thought that a camping holiday with Mr C would be romantic and this was our choice of a first holiday. We went camping in the New Forest. However, we were not happy campers. What is that saying that my Dad is so fond of? Ahh, yes, “fail to prepare and prepare to fail”. And fail we did. We literally rocked up with a tent and that was it. Yes, we were hopelessly naive and obviously thought our love would keep us warm! It was a miracle that we didn’t end up splitting-up. It was awful. It rained. All. Of. The. Time. I’m not talking a few drips of rain, I’m talking full on monsoon rain. This would have been fine had we bought the proper equipment but we didn’t. We had a tent and some duvets. As you can probably guess the duvets went mouldy, and I swear I was starting to come down with trench foot.

How Halfords Could Have Helped Us

Now that is why I wish that I had known about the Halfords website back then. They do airbeds! How amazing would that have been? That’s not camping that is practically glamping. They also have inflatable pillows (again something we also omitted to bring), camping mats. The list goes on but it’s all there, every single essential that you could need for your camping trip.

The Halfords website has given us the confidence to think that perhaps we could try this camping lark again. Since moving to Jersey we have become more of an outdoor family and our children are very keen to camp. I want them to experience the camping adventures I had as a child. Therefore, we have been breaking them in gently and we have been spending our staycation down on the beach with our little tent. We have been taking a tent to the beach since youngest was a toddler. I’m not sure if Mr C is trying to prepare the children for camping or perhaps it’s more likely me he is trying to prepare? However, so far, so good. The children have loved it. I have loved it! Especially the cooking on a BBQ/campfire. The children also eat far better when they are eating outdoors! We have all loved it because everyone is happy. Apparently, camping on the beach makes miracles happen ;-). I mean what’s not to love about getting outdoors and enjoying the fresh air.

I have come to the conclusion that camping on the beach or near the beach would make for an amazing holiday. There is so much for the children to do from building sandcastles to bodyboarding in the sea. All of the while I get to relax and read a book. Winning. Then there is the food. When you are at the beach you have to eat fish and chips, I mean it’s practically the law. I’m always on the hunt to find mushy peas as good as the ones in Yorkshire so I reckon a holiday trying all of the UK beach campsites would help me with this very important research.

Where to stay if you are a beachgoer

When we went on our first camping holiday we stuck a pin in a map and ended up in the New Forest. No research was involved. This was a bit silly. Nowadays, and especially with children, we appreciate the importance of research. Do you want a campsite with a playground on site, showers etc? When we went to the New Forest we went very basic, as in stick your tent up in the woods and hope a bear doesn’t eat you basic. Now I realise that I like a campsite with some facilities for everyone and I much prefer the beach to the woods.

Halfords have done the research for us so we don’t have to spend ages trying to find the best campsite for beachgoers. Whether you fancy partying in Padstow with Rick Stein. (FYI if you haven’t been to Padstow then you have to try this campsite.) Padstow is a gorgeous part of the UK. I’m talking gorge yourself silly on cream teas gorgeous. The scenery isn’t bad either ;-). Or perhaps you fancy sunning yourself in Suffolk at Haw Wood Farm. There is something for everyone. Halfords have done a great job with their suggestions and I love that at a glance you can also see if there are facilities for the children.

Halfords And Their Camping Havens

Halfords have inspired me and I never even realised that there is such a fabulous campsite just down the road from where my mum and dad live! This would be a perfect way of us visiting family but also allowing us to have our own little adventure at the same time.

If you are thinking of planning a camping holiday then you really should check out Halfords. They have everything you need from planning your camping holiday and buying the essentials through to the best places to stay. There is something for everyone from beachgoer through to a cycling holiday.

What do you reckon? Could you give camping a go?

 

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Disclaimer - Please note that this is a collaborative post but as always all words are my own