A Guide to Camping for People Who Love Their Home Comforts

Camping has a bit of a reputation for being an exercise in suffering.

You know the picture: you spend hours wrestling a tent into the ground, discover that the airbed has mysteriously deflated by 2am, wake up with a bad neck and then spend the rest of the weekend pretending you love being slightly damp.

But camping doesn’t actually have to be like that.

If the thought of sleeping on the floor, sharing a shower block and eating beans out of a saucepan makes you want to book a hotel instead, that doesn’t mean camping isn’t for you. It probably just means you like your creature comforts. And, frankly, who doesn’t?

The trick is to stop thinking of comfort as something you have to sacrifice in order to enjoy the great outdoors. With a little preparation, you can have the fresh air, countryside walks and cosy evenings around the campsite without feeling like you’ve been dropped into a survival programme.

Here’s how to make camping considerably more enjoyable when you’re firmly on team home comforts.

Pick Your Campsite Carefully

Where you camp can make a surprisingly big difference to how much you enjoy the experience.

If it’s your first trip, there’s no need to choose the most remote field in the country simply to prove a point. A campsite with proper toilets, hot showers, drinking water and decent pitches can make everything feel much easier.

It’s worth having a proper look at the facilities before you book, too. Check whether there’s somewhere to charge your phone, whether you can get an electric hook-up, and whether there’s a shop or pub nearby. Some campsites are wonderfully peaceful but miles from civilisation, while others are practically a tiny holiday village.

And think about where your pitch is going to be. Being close to the toilet block might sound convenient until you realise you’ve chosen the campsite’s busiest thoroughfare. Somewhere with a little privacy, level ground and a sensible distance from the facilities is often the sweet spot.

Then there’s seating. Because, honestly, standing around outside your tent all evening isn’t exactly luxurious.

A decent camping chair or lounger can make an enormous difference, particularly when you’re planning to spend your evenings outside. The camping range from Ozzi Gear⁠ includes practical folding seating and tables that are easy to pack away when you’re ready to head home.

The same principle applies to all your camping equipment: don’t worry about having every gadget under the sun. Concentrate on the things you’ll actually use.

Have a Practice Run Before You Go

There is nothing quite like arriving at a campsite after a long drive, only to discover that the tent you’ve confidently packed has approximately 47 poles and you have absolutely no idea where any of them go.

Maybe have a practise run at home first! It might not be the most exciting Saturday afternoon activity, but a trial run gives you the chance to work out how everything fits together while you’re still within reach of a cup of tea and a YouTube tutorial.

You’ll also discover whether your sleeping bags, mats and bags actually fit inside comfortably, whether you’ve forgotten any pegs and whether that enormous tent you’ve bought is perhaps slightly more enormous than you realised.

When it comes to the real thing, try to arrive with enough daylight left to get everything sorted. Pitching a tent in the dark while rain blows sideways is the sort of camping memory nobody particularly wants to make.

And keep all the tent essentials together. Poles, pegs, mallet and instructions should have their own bag or compartment, rather than being scattered throughout the boot.

Make Your Bed the Priority

If there’s one area where you shouldn’t try to rough it, it’s sleep.

A surprisingly large proportion of camping misery can be traced back to waking up cold, uncomfortable and wondering why you thought sleeping on the floor was a good idea.

Your sleeping setup doesn’t have to be fancy, but it does need to work for you. Start with something comfortable underneath you, and don’t forget about insulation. The ground can draw heat away from you overnight, so a suitable sleeping mat or insulated layer is worth considering rather than relying on an airbed alone.

Then check your sleeping bag properly. Don’t just look at the forecast and assume that a warm afternoon means a warm night. Temperatures can drop considerably once the sun goes down, particularly in exposed areas.

And if you have room in the car, bring your normal pillow. Yes, it takes up space. But yes, you will be very glad you did.

There’s also something wonderfully comforting about having a little bedtime routine when you’re camping. Put on clean, dry clothes, keep your pyjamas away from anything damp and make sure your bedding stays completely dry.

An eye mask and earplugs can be useful, too. Campsites come with their own soundtrack, ranging from birds at an offensively early hour to somebody zipping up a tent approximately three inches from yours.

Pack for British Weather, Not Your Fantasy Forecast

This is the UK. You know better than to trust a sunny weather app.

A weekend forecast promising glorious sunshine can turn into chilly evenings, sudden showers and a surprisingly strong breeze before you’ve even finished putting the tent up. Check the forecast before you leave and have another look on the day.

Don’t just consider rain, either. Wind and overnight temperatures can have a much bigger impact on your comfort.

When you’re packing clothes, think layers rather than one sole jumper. A breathable base layer, something warm over the top and a waterproof outer layer gives you much more flexibility when the weather decides to change its mind.

And keep at least one complete change of clothes somewhere genuinely waterproof. Not “I’ve put it in the tent so it’ll probably be fine” waterproof. Properly dry.

It’s also important to choose your pitch sensibly. Avoid areas where rainwater could collect and steer clear of damaged or overhanging branches, particularly if the weather is windy.

If conditions become genuinely unpleasant, there’s no prize for stubbornness. Sometimes the most sensible camping decision is knowing when to wait for the weather to settle.

Make Food Easy

Camping food has somehow acquired a reputation for requiring an elaborate collection of pans, chopping boards and ingredients that you would never normally buy.

Unless cooking outdoors is one of the things you particularly enjoy, keep meals simple. Pastries and fruit make perfectly good breakfasts. Filled rolls, soup in a flask and leftovers can sort out lunch. And nobody is going to judge you for having dinner at the pub one evening.

Bring a few snacks and treats that you genuinely look forward to. Half the fun of camping is sitting outside with a hot drink and something delicious while you watch the sun go down.

If you’re using a camping stove or barbecue, however, keep safety at the top of the list. Never use fuel-burning cooking equipment inside a tent, even if it’s raining and you’ve convinced yourself that opening the door is enough. Carbon monoxide is odourless and potentially deadly, so cooking equipment belongs outside in a suitable, well-ventilated area.

Have a Plan for Staying Clean

You don’t have to emerge from a camping trip looking as though you’ve spent three days rolling around in a field.

A few small things can make staying clean considerably easier.

Pack flip-flops for communal showers, bring a quick-drying towel and keep hand sanitiser somewhere easy to reach. A separate bag for wet or muddy clothes is also worth having, because the last thing you want is for yesterday’s soggy socks to make friends with your clean underwear.

Inside the tent, keep shoes near the entrance and give everything a designated place. Packing cubes or separate bags can be surprisingly useful when you’re trying to find one clean T-shirt without emptying the entire contents of your luggage onto the tent floor.

A small mat outside the entrance can help with muddy shoes, too.

And accept that your tent probably won’t remain immaculate. A little grass on the floor is all part of the experience! Wet socks nestled inside your sleeping bag, however, are entirely avoidable.

Don’t Pack Your Entire House

This is where comfort-loving campers can get themselves into trouble.

The temptation is to pack for every possible scenario. What if it rains? What if it gets cold? What if we want to play a board game? What if we need six different mugs? What if we suddenly develop a passion for outdoor cooking?

Before you know it, the car is full and you’re wondering how you’re supposed to fit the actual people in.

Instead, ask yourself whether each item is going to make a meaningful difference to the trip.

Will it keep you warm, dry, comfortable, fed, clean or safe? Excellent. Pack it.

Will it make the weekend marginally more convenient but require its own suitcase? Perhaps leave it at home.

After your first trip, take note of what you actually used. You’ll quickly build your own camping essentials and, just as importantly, discover which things you thought you needed but never touched.

Camping Can Be Comfortable

You don’t have to become the sort of person who thinks sleeping on a thin mat in freezing temperatures is refreshing to enjoy camping.

The whole point is to spend some time outside, slow down and enjoy a change of scenery. If having a proper pillow, a comfortable chair and access to a hot shower makes that experience more enjoyable, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Choose your campsite wisely, practise putting the tent up, give your sleeping setup some serious thought and pack for the weather you’re actually likely to encounter.

Then leave a little room for the fun stuff.

Because ultimately, the best camping trip isn’t the one where you’ve managed to survive with the fewest possessions. It’s the one where you’re sitting outside in the evening, cup of tea in hand, feeling pleasantly tired after a day outdoors and thinking, actually, this isn’t bad at all.

*This post features some sponsored content.