Family Camping in North Wales – What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
There’s something wonderful about a family camping holiday. Fresh air, beautiful countryside, quality time together and the chance to escape everyday life.
Well, that’s the theory anyway.
Welcome to Chapter One of The Hadwins’ family camping adventure in North Wales, where we attempt to prove that camping can be a relaxing and affordable alternative to a holiday abroad.
And to make things even more interesting, Scott – otherwise known as the Victor Meldrew of the camping world – promised not to moan.
That lasted about as long as you’d expect.
The Journey to North Wales – Trouble Before We’d Even Left!
With a tent, furniture, beds, camping equipment and enough belongings to suggest we were moving house, we decided to hire an enormous trailer.
At £400, it wasn’t exactly cheap, but at least we’d have plenty of space.
Everything was packed, the children were ready, Roxy was settled and we were finally off.
Well, almost.
Our first attempt at leaving involved Scott forgetting to release the trailer handbrake, leaving a lovely mark on the driveway.
A few miles later, we suddenly remembered we’d forgotten our new Intex inflatable sofa, which we were planning to test during the holiday.
So back home we went.
After Scott ran up to the garage to collect it, we discovered that we’d actually packed it all along.
At least he got some exercise.
Unfortunately, things were about to get worse.
When Your Camping Equipment Goes Missing on the A470
Around five miles into our second attempt, other motorists started beeping at us.
We soon discovered that the trailer door had opened while we were driving.
At the time, we hoped nothing had fallen out.
Unfortunately, when we eventually arrived in North Wales, we discovered that our cooker, towels and several other camping essentials had disappeared somewhere along the journey.
Not exactly the ideal start to a family camping holiday!
The drive itself was quite an adventure, with Google Maps taking us through some interesting parts of Snowdonia and Amybelle regularly asking whether we were nearly there.
And just as we approached our destination, the clouds gathered.
Then came the rain.
Naturally, Scott had a few thoughts about that.
Arriving at Rhos Y Foel Campsite
We eventually arrived at Rhos Y Foel Campsite, near Pwllheli, ready to get our camping holiday underway.
If you’ve ever been family camping with a large tent, you’ll know that pitching it is rarely a five-minute job.
For us, getting the tent up, assembling the beds, inflating everything and arranging our camping furniture took approximately four hours.
By the time we’d finished, we were exhausted.
But we have to admit, once everything was set up, it looked fantastic.
We love having a comfortable camping setup, with proper beds, furniture and somewhere to relax in the evenings.
Our new inflatable sofa was certainly part of that plan, although inflating it proved to be another workout!
If you’re interested in the equipment we took, you can also watch our Intex inflatable sofa review and camping equipment test on YouTube.
No Cooker, No Problem… Apparently!
With the tent finally pitched, we realised just how inconvenient losing our cooker was going to be.
Fortunately, we’d brought a foldable Eurohike barbecue.
So we headed into nearby Pwllheli to buy charcoal, meat and a few essentials before taking Roxy for a well-deserved visit to the beach.
She’d been brilliant throughout the long journey and deserved a good run around.
Then, predictably, it started raining again.
We returned to the campsite, managed to get the barbecue going and even had a little incident involving the grass catching fire.
Not one of our finest camping moments!
Still, the evening ended with a glass or two of wine, and despite everything, we’d actually enjoyed ourselves.
Day Two – Sunshine in North Wales!
We woke up the following morning to something we weren’t entirely expecting.
Sunshine!
Actual sunshine on a Hadwins camping holiday.
Naturally, we decided to make the most of it.
We headed out to explore Black Rock Sands and the River Dwyfor, enjoying a lovely day walking, discovering the local area and spending time together.
North Wales really is beautiful when the weather behaves itself, and it was wonderful to enjoy the scenery without getting soaked.
For a brief moment, we even wondered whether the rest of our holiday might go smoothly.
Of course, anyone familiar with The Hadwins will know better than that.
Watch Our North Wales Family Camping Adventure – Chapter One
From packing our enormous trailer and losing half our camping equipment to pitching the tent, exploring Pwllheli and enjoying a rare sunny day, our first two days in North Wales were certainly memorable.
If you’re considering a camping holiday in North Wales, or simply enjoy watching a normal family trying to survive life under canvas, you’ll probably find plenty to relate to.
Watch The Hadwins’ North Wales family camping adventure – Chapter One on YouTube and see the
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