There has been little need this summer to head abroad for heat and sunshine. Many people are enjoying outdoor life in tents, caravans or motorhomes, so some tips to stay cool. UK Weather .
With more people on summer holidays now, looking to get away, even more folks are planning an outdoor trip. With this UK heat and sunshine they are choosing to have a staycation. However, even seasoned campers or caravanners could be finding the extreme weather conditions a little much by night.
Preparation and packing can take more time than you think but for this UK summer, it's not just rain we need to consider. This year it has been very hot and very dry. After my own camping trip to the tree haven of Scone in Perthshire, I spoke to Andrew Robson at the Camping and Caravanning Club about the best ways to stay cool on site.
So, whether you’re camping in a tent, caravan, motorhome, campervan, trailer tent or folding camper (and anything in between), here are some tips for pitching up in the Great Outdoors.
Travel - Setting off early or late has always meant missing the worst of the traffic but now it will also mean avoiding the most intense heat of the day. At 33C, tarmac actually starts to melt on the roads. The all-time UK record is 38.5C (101.3C) from 2003 and the July record from 2015 is 36.7C (98F), that record is under threat in 2018.
Pitch Ask for a pitch that’s partially shaded by trees or a hedge, this will reduce the intensity of the sun for a period of time during the day. This will depend on how busy the site is and the layout of the different types and sizes of pitches but have a chat to the site staff or phone up beforehand. You may need to work out where the sun will be by day if you arrive in the evening. We had a line of trees next to the tent which provided shade for the cool bags and water container. Pitching up directly under trees may be messy as trees weep sap and the local fauna may leave you a deposit to clean off. There were very noisy crows early in the morning. With a little advanced planning, it’s easy to keep your campsite pitch cool and create a restful space for sleeping (siesta or mid-afternoon snooze included) – even in the middle of a heatwave!
Remember what you already have - A lucky few will have fitted air conditioning in their units which runs off an electric hook-up. However, all campervans, motorhomes and caravans should come equipped with blackout blinds and window shutters.
Keep blinds and shutters lowered or closed on the side of your unit that faces the sun during the heat of the day while keeping those on the shaded side open to promote ventilation. Remember to keep roof vents well open too – this will further aid air-flow. Once the heat of the day has passed, open all windows to let your unit cool down. If you have fly screens remember to close them to keep out unwanted guests.
Pitch your tent and open all vents to encourage ventilation. Keep the fly screen closed to prevent an insect invasion. Consider pitching your tent with the door facing the direction of the prevailing wind where possible. The wind will likely change direction but you want to try and catch any breeze available. Blackout pods can be great for sleeping in a little longer and avoiding the bright sunshine. Made sure all the vents are open.
And don’t forget, a caravan, campervan or motorhome awning extends your living space and doubles up as a cooler sleeping space – why not pop a self-inflating air bed in here to sleep on. A camp bed will allow air to circulate around you as you sleep.
Gadgets and tech - 12v travel fans are available for those that are green-field camping but you may need a good-sized battery. If you have access to an electric hook up on your pitch then a smaller domestic desk-top fan can help keep the air moving. Don't point the fan directly at you as it can dehydrate, just allow it to move the air around. You can put a bottle of frozen water or a bag of ice in a bowl in front of the fan for extra cooling.
Turn off your lights or change the bulbs to LEDs as they won't produce heat and cook outside if you can.
A low tech option is to purchase a reflective tarp/insulating blanket and drape this on the outside of your tent during the day. This will help reflect some of the sun’s energy so the inside of your tent stays cooler.
Provisions- keep water handy, so that you do keep on drinking and it's easy for any children to access. Be mindful of any local water restrictions and also fire/BBQ regulations. The ground is tinder dry. It can be harder to keep foods cool, especially meat. Windbreaks can also provide shade for cool bags and boxes but you will have to keep shifting them. Good things to eat are water-rich foods such as salads, yoghurt and watermelon.
Just remember, you’ll never be able to escape the heat but hopefully these tips will help you to better manage it. Drinking less alcohol and caffeinated drinks will help, as will reducing strenuous activity between 11-3, let your body cool down. Extreme and prolonged heat can take its toll, so make time to take it easy. Know the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke as temperatures rise into the thirties Celsius and we could see a record-breaking July. Slap the sunscreen on, even if it is a bit cloudy. Being burnt is not going to help you sleep at night.
But what glorious weather to be out and about! Sitting outside in a warm, sultry evening, all setup, plates washed and a glass of something cool as you admire the view. We have had a long run of 'drought' conditions really and probably got very used to it being just dry and hot. However, changes are afoot which include the risk of thunderstorms. With the rock-hard ground, anywhere that does receive a torrential thundery downpour will see surface water flooding along with frequent lightning, hail and sudden gusty winds. It's like being in the south of France.
Warning for 27/07/18. Met Office warnings show areas most likely to be impacted by severe weather but other parts of the UK could be affected. The Netweather Radar (and app) shows where any rain or thunderstorms are and which way they are tracking. So you can watch in real time the progress of a particular storm, see the lightning strikes and overlay temperatures and weather model data. As always with showers and storms, some areas will see the rain and others miss it all together but it is worth noting the risk information, if only so that you close the roof or put away your folding chairs.
Radar image from July 2017 on Netweather Radar. Click image for latest rain radar.
From sites on the Isle of Skye, Co Down, Cardigan Bay across to the South Downs enjoy this incredible summer, a quite astounding year weather wise and have a great trip.
