TEN REASONS WHY CAMPING ROCKS

If your family need a little more convincing that a camping adventure is for them, then tell them about...

And the price ISN’T one of them

1 The sense of freedom

Once you open that tent zip you’re outdoors, breathing in the lovely air and free to do as much or as little as you want. There’s no need to look at the time, catch up on emails or worry about traffic, you can live by your own rules.

2 The huge choice of locations

There are campsites just about everywhere across the UK, and some of them can take you to the sort of locations you’d otherwise have to pay 5-star hotel rates to enjoy. They help open up the country’s most beautiful places to just about everyone.

3 The night sky

It’s easy to forget how incredible it actually is until you look up on a clear night in a place with little light pollution. Seeing the stars as you drift off to sleep is otherwise an all-toorare experience in our busy lives.

4 The closeness to nature

Whether it’s the sound of rain beating down on the tent, the chatter of a magpie as it hops past your front door, or the smell of wild garlic drifting across in the wind; camping brings you closer to the elements and we’re all the better for it.

5 Making friends

Whether you’re seven or 70, there’s no doubt camping brings out your inner social butterfly. Whatever you’re doing – washing dishes, cooking dinner, playing football – camping seems to give you the time and inclination to talk to anyone and everyone you cross paths with.

6 It makes you active

When sitting down and watching the TV isn’t an option, you may as well go for a walk, have a game of cricket, dip your feet in the water, or a thousand other things that make you happier and healthier as a result.

7 It brings you down to earth

When you camp you do everything yourself – you build your house, make your bed, cook your dinner, make your own entertainment.

And far from being a burden, it puts you in a more positive mindset, where you complain less about things that don’t really matter.

8 Kids LOVE it

They just do!

9 You can ignore work emails

If you’re staying in a hotel, everyone knows you have WiFi access, so you might feel obliged to keep checking your inbox. But when you’re camping you can always convince people you’ve not got a signal, or you’ve ran out of charge.

10 There's always a story to tell

Yes, you might burn the sausages, forget the tent pegs, fall into a stream, get smacked in the head by a frisbee, trip over a guy rope, kick the ball into next-door’s tent, have an argument with an intruding seagull; but that all adds to the experience. And the laughs you’ll still be enjoying years later make all these incidents more than worth it.