Call that a holiday? There’s more to camping than sleepless nights and smelly toilets. We show you how to enjoy the great outdoors.

How to go camping with children

1. Involve kids in the decision when you pick your campsite – do they want to be near the sea, near forests, hills or wildlife (there are campsites in the New Forest where the wild ponies wander). Make it their adventure as well as yours.
2. Buy them their own equipment – not just their own kid-sized sleeping bag, but a small torch as well. Battery-free lamps, torches and radios can be found at www.freeplayenergy.com, or www.biomelifestyle.com. Invest in warm, waterproof clothes for them and, most importantly, wellies.
3. Warm up with weekend jaunts, keeping an eye on the weather forecasts, and never too far from home that you can’t get back within a couple of hours if disaster strikes.
4. Pick a good spot to pitch your tent – level ground, with some sun and some shade too. Never pitch your tent at the bottom of a big dip, and always choose somewhere that’s handy enough for the loos but not so close that your guy ropes are being tripped over all night by people en route to emptying their bladders.
5. Kids love being included in adult rituals. Involve them in activities like gathering firewood, clearing up litter, preparing meals and washing up.
6. Take lots of warm clothes – yes, even in mid summer. If you plan to stay up late around the campfire, make sure you have bodywarmers, woolly jumpers/fleeces, hats, gloves and thick socks to add to your day wear. There’s nothing more miserable than getting into a cold campbed when you’re already frozen to the bone!
7. Bring waterproof bags to stuff your clothes into – one for each child and grownup. That way your clean clothes stay dry and in one place. And if you wrap your bedding in a bin bag in the morning it stays toasty too – www.packmate.com supply plastic vacuum bags that scrunch down.
8. Buy a tent with a built-in awning. While our inaugural camping trip pals were chuffed to bits with their six-bed roomed nylon mansions, they found that in the rain there was nowhere to cook except out in the drizzle.
9. Midges and mosquitos cause misery. Mozzies don’t like garlic or marmite, so make sure you eat plenty of both. Take a Deet-free mosquito repellent to ensure your kids stay unbitten. www.eco-online.co.uk has a good range of eco-friendly sun creams and insect repellents). See page 83 for medical kit and what to take for possible bites and stings.
10. Line the base of your tent with a metallic safety blanket (from any big outdoor activity store) shiny side up, in order to reflect your body heat back into the tent rather than letting it escape through the ground.
11. Invest in a good camping guide. That way you can make sure you stay in family-friendly campsites that not only have excellent loos, washing facilities and play areas but, most importantly, discourage the festival-nuts who like to stay up all night listening to the Kaiser Chiefs at full volume. The Cool Camping Guide (£14.95) is great for those who want to head off the beaten track. Otherwise the AA’s Caravan and Camping Britain (£9.99) has sites for all requirements. Go to www.coolcamping.co.uk for a comprehensive checklist