Let’s All Go on a Camping Holiday

Lucy Pittaway

Let’s all go on a camping holiday? Camping is a great way to go on holiday, as you get an affordable break in the fresh air, watch the starry nights and your dog can come too. However, you have to follow some rules. Keep your dog safe near wildlife (especially at night), use biodegradable shower gels and soaps (to avoid polluting local waters) and don’t leave your tents and other rubbish, after your live. Here are some ideas. Also see take a break in a caravan and eco-friendly torches & lanterns.

Follow the 7 steps of Leave No Trace:

1. Plan ahead & prepare
2. Travel & camp in durable surfaces
3. Dispose of waste properly
4. Leave what you find
5. Minimise campfire impacts 
6. Respect wildlife
7. Be considerate of other visitors

Tips for Eco-Friendly Campers

1. Ensure campsite is pet-friendly. Read this book to keep your dog safe and find good dog-walking areas before you leave.
2. Use zero waste feminine care products. Many camping toilets use composting toilets, so reusables are a better choice anyway. You can even buy organic ‘period underwear’ that you wash when you get home.
3. If you smoke, Boodi is a personal ashtray that immediately distinguishes cigarettes, to safely dispose of later on (good to protect wildlife and prevent wildfires). There’s also a beach version, that uses sand. Caravan sites can help by offering cigarette litter bins and chewing gum bins (most gum contains pet-toxic xylitol). 
4. Choose beer wrapped in biodegradable cardboard (better than plastic-wrapped cans or glass that could harm wildlife if discarded or smashed). Stella Artois sells vegan beer in cardboard packaging.
5. No washing machine? Scrubba Wash Bag (like a modern washboard) offers a machine-quality wash (use Allurette for delicate) along with biodegradable washing powder.
6. Uunique makes biodegradable sustainable cables to charge your Apple devices safely, at the best speed. They last 12 times longer than other cables and can withstand over 12,000 bends in lab tests.
7. The Quiet Shop is England’s first zero waste shop on a (quiet!) holiday camp. Selling all your essentials, instead everything is sold in reusable glass and you can get 20p back, when you return your empty containers. There are gravity dispeners for dried foods and fresh bread each morning from the local bakery, plus local gifts and toys, soaps, shampoos and bamboo toothbrushes.

Books for Eco-Friendly Campers

Go Camping: Adventures in the Great Outdoors is a book brimming with tips and activities to help plan your perfect trip, and discover the joys of camping in the great outdoors. Camping is one of life’s purest pleasures. It’s a way to escape the frantic pace of the everyday, to get back to nature and to discover new experiences. Nothing comes close to the joy of sleeping under the stars.

Packed with ideas for first-time campers and seasoned experts alike, this book is sure to inspire your next trip and help you create memories to last a lifetime. Within these pages you’ll find:

1. Handy camping hacks
2. Foraging tips
3. Bushcraft basics
4. Wild camping advice

Whether you’re seeking a relaxing natural getaway or an intrepid wilderness adventure, the great outdoors is waiting for you. So pack your bag, pick up your tent and go camping! Katherine Latham is a journalist who writes on science, nature and the environment. She enjoys surfing, wild swimming, mountain biking and exploring the great outdoors. She lives in a little village beween the Forest of Dean and the Wye Valley with her family (which includes a dog, cat and chickens).

1. The Camper’s Survival Guide is the ideal little guide for new or seasoned campers, who want to sleep under the stars, but not harm the planet or wildlife. You’ll find lots of useful advice in here, to help you survive and have fun in the great outdoors. The book includes tips on what gear you need, where to pitch up and how to perform first aid. Author Tamsin is a veteran of countless festivals of all sizes. When not at a festival (a rare occurrence), she is found wandering the Brighton Lanes, dreaming of the next time that she’ll sleep in a yurt.
2. Coolcamping Britain showcases the best sites from Cornwall to Scotland. Camp in the grounds of a Devon vineyard, a remote eco-escape in North Wales or within cycling distance of central London. You’ll also find woodland and seaside camping, and family-friendly sites.
3. Wild Camping helps you get back to nature with a tent, some matches, and some water. From tiny budgets to eco camping, know the rules on where to go and find tips on what the law says and which landowners encourage wild camping. Includes tips on coastal paths.
4. The VanLife Companion is your guide, if you want to hit the open road. Learn how to choose the perfect van and kit it out for sleeping, cooking and storage. Then stay safe, save money and park legally, as you explore England. Features 20 classic camper van routes across the world.

Go Camping is a book about new adventures in the great outdoors. This beautiful read is brimming with tips to help plan your perfect trip. Camping is one of life’s pure pleasures, to escape from the frantic pace of everyday life and get back to nature. Nothing comes close to the joy of sleeping under the stars.

Packed with ideas for first-time campers and seasoned experts alike, this book is sure to inspire your next trip. And help create memories to last a lifetime. Within these pages, you’ll find:

1. Handy camping hacks
2. Foraging tips
3. Bushcraft basics
4. Wild camping advice

Whether you’re seeking a relaxing natural getaway or an intrepid wilderness adventure, the great outdoors is waiting for you. So pack your bag, pick up your tent and go camping!

About the Author

Katherine Latham is a journaist who writes about science, nature and the environment. She enjoys surfing, wild swimming, mountain biking and exploring the great outdoors. She lives in a little village between the Forest of Dean and the Wye Valley.

Cheap & Tough Enamel Picnic Ware

Rather than plastic, switch to enamel teapots, mugs and coffee pots. Enamel is made by dipping cast iron or steel in liquid enamel under high temperatures, for a tough glossy finish. It can chip but it’s difficult to shatter, unlike glass. So won’t leave dangerous litter around for wildlife. Nor break down into microplastics like disposables. It’s also cheap and lightweight, so ideal for picnics and camping. It also does not react to acid, so won’t change the taste of your foods or drinks. And once home enamel is easy to wash, including being dishwasher-safe.

Falcon Enamel Teapots never go out of date. Rugged and beautiful, they are also highly functional. Not only can they be used as teapots, but also good for induction hobs to heat water as a stovetop kettle. Also good for camping, in many pretty colours.

All these finds are from an online shop owned by a York indie shopkeeper, who is a third-generation hardware shop owner, who knows everything there is about garden hoses and broom handles! He also knows everything about lightbulbs, eco cleaning brands, carpentry and the best way to brew tea! So shop here to support a precious northern indie shopkeeper, who is doing good for the world!

All these finds are from an online shop owned by a York indie shopkeeper, who is a third-generation hardware shop owner, who knows everything there is about garden hoses and broom handles! He also knows everything about lightbulbs, eco cleaning brands, carpentry and the best way to brew tea! So shop here to support a precious northern indie shopkeeper, who is doing good for the world!

Falcon Enamel Tumblers are sold in many pretty colours. In two sizes, these are unbreakable and ideal for serving drinks or pickles! The mini tumblers are good for dips, salt and pepper or even a quick espresso.

 

Falcon Enamel Mugs are strong and versatile, and very beautiful. If you drop one, it may chip but it won’t break. Ideal for outdoors and camping, or just around the home.

Falcon Enamel Plates will take you back to your childhood camping days. As well as being safe and kooky, these plates are the size of a traditional plate, but have high sides, to stop food sliding off the edge!

Falcon Enamel Coffee Pot can be used as a traditional coffee pot, but also is suitable for all types of hob. 1.3 litres volume. Use with the enamel espresso cups.

This traditional tea kettle is made from high-grade stainless steel to boil water quickly and easily on an open fire, or an electric gas cooker and induction. Also good for range cookers and AGAs with its heavy solid base. The bent movable handle can be hung over a fire, and the multiple-layered bottom ensures perfect heat distribution. Also can be used outdoors and for camping. The handle folds down for easy  storage.

Ghillie Camping Kettle is handmade in England as it has been for hundreds of years. With its own whistle to let you know when it reaches boiling point, it’s sold in its own storage ack and supplied with full instructions. Ideal for camping or hiking, you can use it in wet and windy conditions, with no need for gas or artificial fuel – just use twigs, fir cones, dry leaves and newspaper. The hard anodised exterior means the coating is 2 to 4 times stronger than normal. Almost as strong as titanium, while still using an easy aluminium, to keep it light.

Klean Kanteen Insulated Flask has no handle to snag in backpacks and is free from plastic, with the lid remaining in place when pouring, to conserve heat. With a good-size cup, it’s made from stainless steel and silicone and the food-grade stainless steel interior does not retain or impart flavours. Includes an integrated double-wall insulated cup, that you twist and pour.

Press & Go French Press Travel Mug combines the French Press cafetiere and travel mug into a lockable spill-proof lid, just add hot water to the press and get an individual serve drink, with a double walled design to keep drinks hot or cold. Perfect for travel, it’s leak-proof and dishwasher-safe.

The Ocean Bottle not only replaces disposable plastic bottles, but each sale generates donation to remove 1000 plastic bottles from the ocean. It has a cup, easy carry loop, anti-leak lid and is fully insulated to keep drinks hot (9 hours) or cold (18 hours). Dishwasher-safe, it’s made from recycled plastic too.

 

Lodge Camping Dutch Oven is a ready-to-use oven with a flanged lid to hold hot coals, and inverts to use as a griddle. If you need high heat, it has integral stand-off legs and for slow-cooked meals, hang the bail handle over a tripod. Use for stews, veggies or baking bread, also good to cook outdoors or a BBQ. Seasoned with natural vegetable oil, it offers even heating and made in the USA.

Swedish Scout Fire Steel is made with a coconut shell handle and magnesium to start a fire, the way they do in the army. 3000 strikes at 3000 degrees makes it possible to light fire in any weather at any altitude. Includes ergonomic design and a built-in whistle.