Its cool to camp (Cool Camping England - Jonathan Knight)

Member Name: pookie_rabbit

Product:	Cool Camping England - Jonathan Knight
Date:	15/09/09 (35 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Likely to inspire you to make that camping trip

Disadvantages: The reality of camping can be very different

"Cool" and "Camping". Certainly two words that most people would not associate with each other. Camping in itself almost seems to be the Marmite of outdoor activities - you either love it or hate it. Me - I love it. Give me a week in a tent waking up at 4am with the sun shining through the canvas (or more likely the thunderous sound of raindrops), a sheep bleating outside as it tries to eat your guy ropes and next doors tent telling the kids off anytime. And one toilet and, if your lucky, one clean shower will do me nicely. For the other half it's those exact same reasons that puts them off even trying a night under canvas.

The authors of Cool Camping (I wonder what other titles they thought about - Trendy Tenting?) therefore have their work cut out to persuade the majority of people to even consider camping, never mind that its also cool. The book is brought to us by Punk Publishing who would also like to persuade us via other books in the series that it can be just as cool to camp in Scotland, Wales and perhaps a slightly easier task - France. The book however may have found its time. With the current economic downturn maybe a few people are opting for a night in a field rather than a trip to Rome or Paris. Maybe. The current generation of parents also seems to be the ones that did holiday in the UK before cheap holidays to the Costa's and want to show the delights of our country to their children now.

Now on its 2nd edition the book contains 35 "cool" campsites. Perhaps a definition of what is cool as far as the authors are concerned will help. According to the book what is special (or cool) is anything from great views to woodland sites. More than anything though "unusual experiences" seems to sum it up nicely.
It wouldn't be fair of me to list the actual sites in the book specifically. However to give you a clue of what to expect let me give you a range of what's on offer. Cool sites include everything from a simple camping site with no facilities to Mongolian Yurts and from staying in canvas tents on stilts in a park with African animals roaming about to kitsch caravans in North Yorkshire. As for the price this can range from a couple of quid per night to £150 per person for a night. Geographically the book covers sites literally from the border with Scotland to near enough Lands End and then a little further into the Isles of Scilly. The country is well covered apart from perhaps some of the midlands and central England with large clusters of sites in places like Cumbria and the South West.

At the beginning of the book is campsite locator map followed by the cool camping top 5. This is the crème de la crème of the cool camps as far as the authors are concerned. A small campsite in Cornwall takes the top award. Next you get an at a glance section which breaks down the sites into groups such as "Stunning views", "First time campers" and "Surfs Up".

At this point (moving South to North) we move onto each individual site. With each you get 2-4 pages of coverage. Half of this will normally be photos with the rest information on the actual site and area. You might think all these photos would lesson the information you want and get but actually its these that perhaps make the book. As they say a picture is worth a thousands words. Perhaps it's a tent pitched next to a bubbling brook on a summer's day, overlooking a beach with the surf crashing in or perhaps the sun shining through at a tent in a wooden glade. As well as this you also get a few pictures of local scenery - a vista of the stunning Porthcurno beach in Cornwall for example - enough to make anyone want a holiday in England.
The written descriptions are just as graphic - somehow even making a field in a farmers field a desirable place to go on your holiday. Each description also gives information on the local area, attractions and perhaps a short history of the site itself.

Each site then has a section with a bit of condensed information on the following -

The Upside - Basically what's so good about this site - for instance "stunning views".
The Downside - A real mix in here. Everything from "the unisex toilets aren't everyone's cup of tea", "a bit too well organized" to a "grumpy owner!"
The Facilities - What you would expect really. Information on the showers, laundry etc. But wi-fi? We really have come a long way in camping!
Nearest Decent Pub - Just in case you didn't realise camping is a good excuse for drinking the nearest good pub is listed.
Food and drink - Very much points towards local produce rather than the address of the local Tesco. Anything from local organic vegetables to Lindisfrane Mead.
If it rains - Just in case the photos and text in this book have made you believe that this never happens a few local suggestions. Anything from "read a book" to "go surfing, your wet already".
Treat Yourself - A list of a few local luxuries. Anything from a cruise to a "breakfast fit for a king".
Getting There - As it says. Directions to the site.
Public Transport - Useful information if you don't have your own wheels.
Open - What season or all year.
If it's full - Suggests other campsites nearby.
Finally you get the sites address, telephone number and if applicable web site.

I have now visited a couple of sites in the book - a basic campsite with great view over the sea in North Yorkshire and a site overlooking Ullswater in the Lake District. I must admit the book is what we made visit both sites and the information was accurate and up to date and I thoroughly enjoyed both visits.

As well as the sites listed their are a couple more sections at the back of the book.

"Festival Fun" - a run down of a number of popular and not so well known music type festivals with camping.

"Top Tips" - how to choose a good siting for your tent for example. Most of the suggestions are common sense -level ground with a bit of shade but not at the bottom of a big dip for instance.

For me this is a "coffee table book" that is likely to inspire you to go camping rather than to keep in the glove box of the car for when you know you are already going. The AA camping books are more likely to be the one you would keep in the car as a reference because of the large list of sites they carry. Other books which feature hand picked sites such as the Alan Rogers series are a little closer to Cool Camping. These tend to be based on facilities such as having clean showers for instance rather than the "unusual experience" I quoted earlier. A site with no facilities would not make it into that book - but if its unique it doesn't matter if your in a farmers field with no toilet - as long as its cool it will make it into this book.
If one book could persuade a non camper to give it a go then this might be it. The pictures in the book somehow awaken the sense and make you believe that every camping trip is going to be on a sunny day while reading it on a cold and dark winter's day. This is how summer should be - even if the reality is likely to be very different.

Summary: A nice book to plan for summer on those cold winter nights