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My sort of camping - luxury tents and searching for otters at fforest

 

By Patricia Carswell

A SOFT rain was falling as we arrived at fforest, reviving unhappy memories from previous camping trips – damp sleeping bags, soggy sausages, wrestling tents into position in gale-force winds.

My heart sank a little. This wasn’t what I’d signed up for.

I needn’t have worried – fforest, in Cardigan Bay, is camping for cissies, and is all the better for it.

A first taste of camping - and why I loved it by Tara Cain

ARE you a camping virgin? I am even if I do like the idea of my daughters giving it a go - with or without me. Here. 'hardened parent' Tara Cain offers some wise words of encouragement after an unforgettable trip.

LET'S be clear: camping is not and never has been my idea of fun.

Throw in two young children and it becomes the sort of holiday I would pay good money NOT to go on.

I am a creature comforts sort of girl. I like hot showers with big fluffy towels and a generous sized bed to throw myself on at the end of a busy day.

I like my breakfast without the addition of bugs and I like for there to be a brick wall between me and the great outdoors when I am sleeping. So why was I camping with 18 children and a borrowed tent on a recent weekend?

And why did I come home with thoughts of actually handing over my hard-earned cash on a tent of our very own? Simple really. My kids adored it.

Crepes, crabs and croissants in Benodet, Brittany

HELEN Moffat raves about a 'great holiday' in a newly-discovered part of France. That's newly-discovered for her family, of course, not everyone. Oh you know what I mean.

My family are all great fans of France, but somewhat surprisingly, we 'd been missing a trick during recent holidays when we would bypass Brittany to head further south.

Drawn to the long golden beaches and great climate of the Vendee, we'd been used to long drives from Brittany ports, and our view of the region had pretty much been restricted to the car window.