Camping and the Great Outdoors

My family and I spent the night camping during the summer holidays

On the Carlow/Wicklow border is a campsite called the Ravens Rest. I was eager to take my family camping to experience the great outdoors. With a few complaints, they eventually came round to the idea. Ditching their electronic devices, the kids brought the traditional board games, cards and a football. On a shopping expedition, we purchased sleeping bags, an outdoor chair, a mat and only short of buying a tent, we held back, as Deirdre, the owner of the campsite was hiring it out for the night. We crammed the car with sleeping bags, duvets, sheets, utensils and towels and went on our way. The journey normally takes 1½ hours by car from North County Dublin, however we arrived there a little later after our detour to Malahide for a coffee.

Upon arrival we were greeted by a very friendly gentleman, a relative of the owners, who showed us to our tent, which was spacious with two bedrooms and a small area for eating. The grey clouds soon cleared to sunshine which gave us the opportunity to look around, the site had a playground, toilet and shower facilities, with a little kitchen to make tea and coffee. As well as pitching tents, caravans are also available for hire for two days, but we wanted to do basic camping, Deirdre the owner gave us a tent for the night. That particular afternoon we travelled a couple of miles up the road to purchase marshmallows to toast on the campfire. The fire was directly outside our tent and Deirdre introduced herself and said she would provide the kindling to get the fire started. After wandering around Hacketstown, we decided to see another small town called Tinahely, which in the 1798 rebellion was burnt to the ground by the rebels. We ordered a Chinese take-away and brought it back to the campsite. After dinner the kids were anxious to get the fire going, and were delighted to toast their marshmallows on the flames. We played cards by torchlight and watched the camp fire disintegrate. It was then time to retire to our beds after all that fresh air and a good nights sleep was had by all, however there was a slight drop in temperature, but the sleeping bags kept us warm.