1. Parking next your pitch is the one

There's no way in hell that I will be lugging our huge amount of equipment across fields etc. It's not practical. I only look for campsites which allow you to park next to your pitch. Pitch Up has the option to filter your results and you can filter by this requirement.

2. Eco Loos are to be avoided at all costs

If you've not already read about my experience with eco loos. Read about it here. This is all that needs to be said. Period. Me and Eco Loo's are not a match made in heaven!

3. Review your campsite and location before booking - you'll thank yourself

So firstly, check the reviews on the campsite - that will expose grotty facilities, any other flaws and any additional equipment you may need. For example, I recently booked a campsite which said it's based on a hill facing the coast so is particularly windy, therefore I've made a note to remember my windbreaker. Although I would also like to add that I'd take a small pinch of salt with some reviews as the lower rated reviews often are written in anger over one small tiny minute detail or issue.

With regards to location, it's best to research places to go as often when you're camping you're in the middle of nowhere with no wifi and little to no signal. It's best to have a bit of an idea of what you plan to do and a general idea of how to get to places. As a modern day gal who relies on Google Maps, when you have no signal/ wifi, you become a little unstuck quickly.

4. Live by the Packing List

I am an overpacker, and proud. Buuuut, camping leaves no space to be an overpacker, especially if you're travelling in a small Ford Fiesta/ Vauxhall Corsa. So I've learnt to make lists, and live by the lists. Each time we go camping we also re-evaluate the list and for things we've not used we cross them off. I think this streamlines the packing process each time aswell.

5. Citronella Candles are your new bestie

Bugs come with the territory of camping. We all know that! I have a particular penchant for campsites with bodies of water aka Ponds, Lakes etc so mozzies are rife. Don't forget your citronella candles!

6. Arrive in daylight or face the perils of dark tent setting up

There is nothing worse than arriving late at a campsite and fighting the dying sun to try and get your tent up before you can't see 1m ahead of you. There are no street lights camping, it gets SUPER dark. Make sure to arrive with plenty of sunlight time ahead of you, or let the arguments ensue. You could always turn on your car headlights but this isn't very considerate of your fellow campers and you end up fighting shadows!

7. Your meal plan mantra should be quick & easy

There is nothing worse than wanting to create a gourmet meal with 1000 different ingredients/ herbs/ spices on the fly. It takes up room and 9/10 you don't have a fridge to keep food cool. Prep, prep and more prep is key. I'm not saying your food should be flavourless either, it just needs prepping. I tend to put my most complicated meal for when we arrive as I can pre chop/ pre season before we go and just throw it in the pan. For the other days, I go basic, salad, cous cous/ rice and then either burgers/ lamb koftas/ halloumi. We also bought an ingenious toaster pan for our hob which means we can just have some toast for breakfast! You can purchase this on Amazon.

Molly

We decided to take a quick trip to the Jurassic Coast and wanted to visit Lyme Regis, so we hopped onto our fave website to scope out campsites, Pitch Up, and we found Hobby Farm. Find my full review of the campsite below:

Pros

- Great Facilities. Once again, another campsite with fab facilities. I rejoiced that this campsite had a proper flushing loo after the great loo-scapade at Bramble Meadows. The showers were hot and had a little built in changing area too. Also, they have a fridge - a massive camping win!

- Place to dispose of rubbish & gas canisters. Although every campsite we've been to have had a proper recycling/ rubbish disposal area, I love the additional touch of a place to get rid of your empty gas canisters.

- Pond setting. I love a lake/ pond. It just feels so serene and adds a fab touch to a campsite Just don't forget your citronella candles!

- Great proximity to Lyme Regis. This was the whole reason we went to the Jurassic coast, and it's a short 16 minute drive from Lyme Regis. We went for an early morning stroll and a lovely lunch on the coast... aswell as paddling our feet in the sea! There are also loads of scenic walks about, we walked the golden cap which was amazing.

- Mown Pitches and lots of shade. I'm a big fan of a mown pitch, it spaces you and your fellow campers out nicely and you don't have people camping on top of you. People were encouraged to pitch around the sides of the field offering much needed shade from the sun (again, we went on a super sunny weekend!) and also a bit of privacy.

- Flexibility. We decided it might be quite nice to head up on a Thursday evening as we both had the Friday off. We contacted Tom (the owner) and asked if we could camp and additional evening and he was totally flexible. We just gave him the money whilst on site.

- Low Cost. At a mere £20 a night, I thought it was totally respectable especially for the facilities provided.

           

Cons

- Logs. Not a major thing, but we really enjoy a campside fire in the evenings to keep us toasty and provide some much required light. It was advertised that logs would be available to buy, but unfortunately there was an issue with supply (absolutely no fault of Tom's!) and this wasn't communicated until I chased my text asking to buy some logs with a call. I'm almost certain the supply issue would have been sorted if you do plan to book Hobby Farm!

- Bottom of the field is a little boggy. It meant that the bottom of our tent was really quite wet when packing down, and we noticed hundreds (ok, maybe 20-50) of tiny frogs hopping round the bottom of our tent. We went early June, so that was in their post hatching phase. If you camped at the top of sides of the field, you'd be fine. Frogs freak me out, hence making the cons list!

Overall

I really enjoyed camping at Hobby Farm, and it's proximity to Lyme Regis. We had such a good time!! The only downsides were the frog situation at the end and lack of communication on the logs for the fire. Next time I'd camp at the top of the field or on the left hand side. I also liked that they had the Shepherd Hut option if you wanted something a bit more glam. I'd definitely be up for exploring their Shepherd's Huts!

Overall, I award Hobby Farm Camping, 4 tents out of 5.

1. A decent tent

This is probably a ridiculously obvious suggestion, but honestly, do not scrimp on your tent. You need something to protect you if you come up against unexpected adverse conditions.

We invested in a Quechua 4 Man tent and it really has protected us and is a good quality tent. We are looking to upgrade though and will probably go with a blackout tent with a living space to stand up in. We will be buying another Quechua though as I properly rate them.

2. A windbreaker

This also sounds like a ridiculous suggestion however, campers are known for their people watching prowess and a windbreaker provides much needed protection from prying eyes.

Other benefits include, shade from the sun and also it's original purpose, to provide a much needed break from the wind.

3. Pegs

Pegs are a vital part of your camping kit. They are sooo useful. Whether it's for pegging out wet towels, or pegging your tent door open, or pegging open food packets, or even fixing something which needs closing, they are vital... Do not forget!

4. A washing up bowl

Easy to collect all your dirty dishes/ cutlery/ pans etc and maneuver over to the washing up area and also a easy place to store stuff in the car. We store all our kitchen equipment in the washing up bowl whilst in transit. 

5. Baby Wipes

Baby wipes are perfect for any spillages, bird shit landing on the tent or (if the showers are questionable) a quick festival - esque wash/ freshen up alongside any other surprising quick clean ups. Again, another must for our camping kit.

6. Portable Battery Packs

What kind of blogger would I be if I let my phone die?! If you are opting for a non electrical pitch, portable battery packs are a must to give your phone that juice to keep them going. Don't rely on finding plug points, as these can be far and few between. I recommend the Pebble, which can be bought here.

Molly

Sundays are made for brunch right? I took Matt to meet the family a few months ago, and my sister, Matt and I decided to head to The Salisbury Orangery on the Sunday for brunch.

I'd not been before, but heard loads of amazing things, so off we went. We got there at 10.20am and they only had one table for two left, but they asked if we'd be okay with a pulled up chair and we agreed. One thing I would mention is that the Salisbury Orangery do not take bookings, so it's first come first serve, so if you do want one of their nice comfy booths, I'd get there for opening. The table was a little cramped but I'm glad they accommodated us. The decor was lovely, and I liked the greenery under the tabletops.

We were served quickly and our waitress was really lovely. I ordered an apple juice, Ella ordered a mocha and Matt had a latte. All were really delicious. The hot drinks were as hot as you'd expect and I loved my apple juice. We originally only had two water glasses on our table, but I asked for an additional glass and it was quickly brought over.

Now onto the main event, the food! I had the Crushed Avocado on Toast (pictured above), classic me. The avocado on toast was also served with refried beans, poached eggs, chilli and vine tomatoes. So firstly, the dish was INSANE. It also was so aesthetically pleasing, with the edible flowers on top. The serving of avocado was so generous - I don't think I've ever been served so much avo in a restaurant in my life! All the flavours melded together so well, and I loved the addition of the balsamic glaze. I will admit though, I did fall foul to the toasted sourdough curse, and the bread was a litttttttle tough to cut.

Matt had the Full Orangery, which is a generous helping of bacon, sausage, eggs, black pudding, patatas bravas, mushrooms, tomatoes, beans and toast. Ella had the Full Vegan Orangery which is, vegan sausages, mushrooms, patatas bravas, tomatoes, harissa beans and chilli avocado toast. Both of them said that they really enjoyed their breakfasts and that they felt the ingredients were of a really high quality. Matt gave me a bit of his sausage (wahey! Not like that), and it was really tasty.

Prices were mid-range for brunch. Matt's Full Orangery topped the prices at £12, Ella's Full Vegan Orangery came to £11 and my Crushed Avo on Toast came in at least expensive at £9.75.

Overall, I'd really recommend going to the Salisbury Orangery if you're ever in Salisbury, or if you happen to be in the idyllic Winchester, you could always pop into their flagship location.

Molly

Way back in May we decided to book a quick camping trip for my birthday. We decided Devon would be a good location so we hopped onto Pitch Up (our fave site to find campsites on) and settled on Bramble Meadows Camping. Find my full review of the campsite below:

Pros

- A real back to basics campsite. Bramble Meadows is what it says it says it is. It is a proper back to basics campsite, surrounded by beautiful wildlife and nature. It has patchy phone signal and no wifi so you really can embrace the camping experience and focus on those you have gone camping with. Such a wonderful way to digitally detox and shut off from the world.

- Friendly knowledgeable owner. Louise was really lovely and gave us some great suggestions on places to go. The Union Inn in Denbury is a lovely little local pub!

- Location & proximity to attractions. We loved that Bramble Meadows was somewhat isolated, we had some stunning views on our way in but it was close enough to Newton Abbott to see some of the sites that Devon has to offer. We loved Stover County Park, Buckfast Abbey and also Canonteign Falls.

- Eco Campsite. I loved that it was an eco campsite and therefore had minimal impact on the environment and is a Greener Camping Club site.

- Hot showers are a must for me, and Bramble Meadows didn't disappoint in this respect! The showers were warm and you didn't feel like you were showering outside.

- Check out was at 12. This gave us plenty of time to get our bits together, pack down and also have a lie in!

                 

Cons

- Eco loo! I loved that the campsite was eco friendly but I couldn't get on board with the eco loo. I didn't mind throwing wood shavings over 'solid deposits' but it was the separator for me. Total overshare, and I don't know if I just have shit aim (pardon the pun) but aiming 'solid deposits' really far back just didn't feel natural to me.

- Price. Don't get me wrong £25 a night isn't bad at all but there is only one loo and one shower and if they were at max capacity (4 pitches) it may lead to people having to wait for a long time. The loo also got very full with just two pitches full over the weekend. We have stayed at cheaper places in similar locations with better facilities which is what makes the price here a con. That being said, £25 a night is a very small price to pay to get back to basics and focus on something other than your phone!

Overall

I loved that we could completely disconnect from the outside world with the no Wifi & patchy phone signal, and the location was fab but I perhaps wouldn't return to camping due to the toilet situation. But, I'd definitely be up for exploring their Shepherd's Huts!

Overall, I award Bramble Meadows Camping, 3 tents out of 5.