This weekend I went camping at the Palace Farm Campsite in Doddington, Kent, with my sister and dad. On Thursday we drove to the campsite near a town called Faversham, which is only about 40 minutes away from where I live in Margate, and it was about 35 degrees that day and we were sweating the whole time in the car and whilst putting out tent up. After the tent, gazebo and the air mattresses were all set up and ready to go, we could finally sit down in the shade, which was a great relief from the 30+ degree heat. The first night there we didn't do too much, we just sat and played some card games, listened to music and cooked some hot dogs on our campfire, and we went to sleep around 11 o'clock which is pretty early for us; it was a very hot night and I struggled to get to sleep.
The next morning was very hot too, I woke up around 6 o'clock because of how hot our tent was and didn't manage to fall back to sleep so I ended up getting up at about half 7. We started the day off by having a coffee and eating some watermelon for breakfast, and then I went to the washroom to wash my face, do my hair and get dressed. After this we had to drive to a drop in GP clinic because my sister was having really bad hay fever and needed a new inhaler to help her breathe, so we jumped in the car to go to a clinic all the way in the Isle of Sheppey. We got back to the campsite at about 11:30, so we had bacon rolls for lunch and decided what else we were going to do that day while the weather was still very hot. An hour or so later after I had applied my makeup (which had sort of melted because the tent was very warm) we drove to the Oare Gunpowder Works, which is a country park which used to be an important site for the gunpowder industry in Faversham, which some remains of are still at the park. It was also filled with wildlife and a big lake in the middle, and all the trees made it very shady and cool, and I managed to get a few pictures of the wildlife there.
After that we went to town to buy a few supplies for our dinner later, which ended up being a strange array of fried halloumi , big scotch eggs, chicken satay sticks and coleslaw (yummy) and a Rekorderlig Strawberry & Lime cider. Before dinner I went and had a nice shower to wash all the sweat from the day off of me. There was set to be a thunderstorm tonight, and that's exactly what happened; at about half 7 it began to get very windy and grey, and within half an hour there was thunder, lightening and heavy rain, so we all took shelter in the tent until it had passed, during which our gazebo blew over and a part of it had broken from the strong wind, We took another quick trip to Tesco when the rain had passed to buy some gaffa tape to fix the gazebo; and it was very cold for the rest of the night.
Saturday morning was still a little grey and windy, but it cleared up after a couple of hours and the sun came back out again, I had my coffee and watermelon sitting under out now fixed gazebo. We went to Wetherspoons in Faversham for lunch and I had southern-friend chicken strips, chips, coleslaw and a cola (very yummy indeed). Afterwards we walked around the shops and the market in town and we saw some interesting things for sale, like a goat skull, and a copy of a book called 'Barry Trotter and the Dead Horse', then we bought a loaf of bread and went to feed the ducks at a little pond near the town. Today was a lot cooler than the last few days have been; we took a walk to the pub down the road from the campsite and had a drink each in the garden while the sun was setting, before walking back to our tent and starting the campfire so we could cook some more hotdogs and marshmallows to make s'mores. When the sun had nearly set, we all put on some warmer clothes and took a walk into a nearby (and creepy) woods with a torch, whee we thankfully didn't get lost or eaten by any monsters; I was hoping to see some hedgehogs on our walk there but I couldn't see any. I fell asleep rather quickly at around 11 o'clock because I was very tired and ended up having a good nights sleep.
Our last morning was cold and rainy, which really sucked, so we had to pack up tent in the rain (and by 'we' I mean my dad) and get it all in the car without everything getting too wet. We ended up leaving fairly early because of the rain, as none of us really wanted to sit there while it was raining. This morning kind of put a damper on the weekend, but everything before this was really fun and enjoyable and I kind of can't wait to go camping again next year. The campsite we stay at is very friendly and in a good location, with lots of wildlife around and lots of areas to explore, where you have the option to stay in the hostel, a tipi or bring your own tent, and campfire pits are provided.
My Camping Essentials
There are a few personal essentials I like to remember to take camping with me because you never know what's going to happen and it's better to be prepared for anything.
A Blanket - Even in the summer the nights are going to get cold and the weather can be very unpredictable in England.
Hand Sanitizer - You may not have access to a sink or clean water while you're camping so hand sanitizer is a must.
Pads/Tampons - If you're a girl it's a good idea to pack some pads or tampons, even if you're not due your period, it's better to be prepared by bringing enough with you.
Makeup Wipes - This is something I tend to forget, but makeup wipes are easy to remove makeup and dirt from your face if you can't get to a sink or mirror to use a face cleanser.
Bottle of Water - I always bring a bottle of ice/cold water with me on the car journey there, and I can keep it filled while I'm there so I don't get to hot or dehydrated.
A Torch - It will be dark so a torch is a must, you don't want to be tripping over guy lines or fire pits in the night.
Sun Cream - You're going to be outside most of the time while you're camping so you have to cover yourself in sun cream to avoid any painful sunburn.
What are some things you enjoy doing when you're camping and what are some of your essentials to bring? Leave me a comment below so I can have a read. I hope you all enjoyed this blog post, come back soon to see my July Favourites post.
India X