Many a vegetarian has been seduced back to carnivorous ways by a whiff of smoky bacon on the Trangia stove outside the tent in the morning. A friend of mine once walked the Coast to Coast path, between East Yorkshire and Cumbria, and swears that the daily ritual of cooked breakfast outside the tent saw him through its physical and mental demands.

Really, there’s no reason why camp food has to be the horrible stuff of scout memories – pallid tinned sausages and soggy white bread spring to mind. In many cases campsites have a view that would turn most restaurants green with envy and are pleasantly free of all the restrictions of more formal eating. If you know what you’re looking for – or take a simple foraging guide - there are plenty of free extras on hand from sorrel and rocket to blackberries and wild raspberries.

Before you go put together a staples box: salt and pepper, stock cubes, rice, couscous, pasta, tins of tomatoes, beans and tuna, olive oil, a jar of homemade dressing, and eco-friendly washing up liquid. Seasonal soups such as those in the Look What We Found! Range, which don’t require refrigeration, include North Shields Crab in Cream of Asparagus and Really Garlicky flavours.

Camping offers a great opportunity to minimise farm to fork miles. Fresh eggs, milk, butter and fruit and vegetables can be bought from the local farm shop and kept in a cool box run on a 12V rechargeable battery – that way you’ll most likely be eating produce that’s come from the same soil that comprises your dining table/bed for the duration of your pitch.

If you don’t have a Trangia or portable gas hob, a barbeque is a good way to cook outdoors when you’re camping. Invest in one you can re-use instead of a disposable one. Pick up free-range meat from the local farm shop and don’t forget to make use of nature’s gifts: grab handfuls of woody herbs such as rosemary, thyme and oregano while you’re out and about in the day and use them to infuse the meat.

“As long as you have garlic, herbs, onions and a tin of tomatoes, you can always create something delicious using whatever local produce you can get your hands on,” says Shellani Gupta, co-author of the Cool Camping Cookbook (www.coolcamping.co.uk) which is published this month. “Often the food at farm shops is better quality and fresher than we would find closer to home, so apart from those harder-to-find ingredients, it's better to get supplies once you’re out in the countryside.”

The book has scores of recipes for comforting one-pot wonders that can be rustled up on a simple camping stove. Gupta recommends spicy sausage penne, ramen noodle soup, fireside fishcakes, camper’s cassoulet and ratatouille but more creative outdoor chefs can cook calzone pizza directly on an open fire, bake muffins in orange peel, roast fish in a brick of salt and make their own firepit or campfire cooking tripod.

Finally, a word to the wise: “Plan ahead; take anything you won't be able to find locally; prepare some sauces in the food processor at home and bring them with you - pesto, mango salsa, and a tasty minty raita, for example. Also, know your limitations. If you're a rubbish cook at home, stick to simple dishes at camp; if you're comfortable cooking extravagant feasts, camping affords the opportunity to get even more creative, especially on a campfire.”

Cool Camping Cookbook is published July 16 (Punk Publishing; £12.95)

Top 5 Essential Equipment

(other than something to cook on and cook in):

Very sharp knife

Chopping board

Plastic, re-sealable food bags for keeping stuff fresh

Tinfoil (which can be scrunched up and used as a pan scourer)

Potato Masher (which doubles as a food processor or pestle and mortar)

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