Week six off school with events camping out in the garden this week. It's a bit chilly with rain and showers but you just need to Be Prepared.
April 2020 has been very sunny and up until the last week very dry. According to provisional figures from the UK Met Office this will be the sunniest April on record. As low pressures moved over the country at the end of the month, there has been rain and showers, with more to come in the next few days. Some hefty downpours, blustery winds even thundery showers with a distinctly cooler feel in the air.
So what, if you have agreed to camp in the garden or signed up for one of the many Camp at Home events being organised, some for families, others by uniformed organisations such as the world record attempt this Thursday run by Northumberland Scouts. A virtual camp, where participants can sleep inside or out, just not in their bed.
By this time of year usually, people would have been thinking about May Day weekend trips, camping or caravanning, there was the extra Bank holiday for VE Day which now fades into the never-ending mush of who knows what day it is.
There is more daylight, the sun is strong and UV levels are rising but this week has seen a noticeable change in the weather and you might be regretting your earlier agreement to a night in a tent as it is rather cold and wet out there.
For those seasoned campers, also Guides and Scouts, a bit of rain is not off-putting. Wearing a lot of clothes including a few key items is core knowledge for those who have been away for a long weekend in the UK previously.
The forecast does look chilly for the next few nights, a touch of frost for inland Scotland, Northern Ireland and NE England by Friday. Thursday night will also be cool with the dampness of the daytime showers still lingering. So single figure temperature overnight, mostly light winds so that shouldn’t keep you awake but there will still be a scattering of showers. Low pressure remains over the UK from Wednesday through til Friday with further rain.
What to do and wear.
Check all the bits are in your tent, do you have the poles and enough pegs. Find somewhere flat. You could put a groundsheet inside the tent as a second waterproof layer. If you have roll mats put them inside the tent too, the ground is hard, harder the older you get. If you squash your family inside one tent you will keep each other warm, although children do tend to ferret about a lot and wake up early. The more space you have the colder it can be. Don’t assume pitching a tent under a tree will shelter your tent as there just tend to be bigger drips falling with a splat and some of the showers are forecast to be thundery. Just saying.
Don’t drink anything in the evening. Consider carefully before giving your children hot chocolate as they will go nuts on the sugar, not go to sleep and then wake you up to go to the loo. Do change out of your day clothes so you have a fresh layer of clothing and then a jumper, new socks and most importantly a hat. It will make a huge difference as the air cools. Make sure everyone goes for one last toilet stop before turning in and put your house key somewhere safe and obvious, near a torch. Unless your partner has “offered” to stay inside as they have work next day or a “bad knee/back/neck”.
If you are camping on Thursday, the Clap for Carers/ ClapforNHS will be a cooler, cloudier affair with the chance of showers this week after weeks of sunny, fine Thursday evenings. Keep an eye on the Netweather radar.
If you do get some clear skies, Venus is still very bright in the western sky. It may not be quite the weather that you had envisaged but it will be fun. It’s only one night and just think how much you will appreciate your own bed the next night. Good luck campers!
