Word at the school gate is that this will be a proper summer. This is good news, especially for campers. Five or six years ago, we were meteorologically tricked into thinking that we should get used to Mediterranean temperatures, so the past two summers came as a bit of a nasty shock.

But the mums in the know say that this year will be better, so it’s time to find your fly sheet. Granted, sleeping outdoors, often in mild discomfort and occasionally in the rain, isn’t every adult’s idea of a great weekend, but it’s rare to find a child who doesn’t love camping with a passion verging on the religious. And it doesn’t have to cost much.

Lifestyle magazines would have you believe you need to kit out your tent like a vintage Vogue fashion shoot, but on the occasions I’ve tried this, lured by the idea of chintzy eiderdowns and ethnic throws, my camp has ended up looking like a badly run shanty town anticipating a visit from Cath Kidston.

Your children almost certainly won’t care whether they’re sleeping under goose down or those old-fashioned orange nylon sleeping bags I remember well from my own childhood. Camping doesn’t actually have to be run like a military manoeuvre — and squeezing everything you own into the boot of your car might be quite a stressful way to start your holiday.

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Perhaps it’s the shared experience of physical hardship, but a camp site is often one of the few places left where the fabled Blitz spirit can still be seen — there’s nothing like the pouring rain and a collapsed tent to encourage random acts of kindness from fellow campers.

And in an era of increasingly paranoid parenting, camping also gives children a real chance to let their hair down. While you puzzle over the Mensa challenge of constructing your eight-man tent, with a porch and a separate living area, your children will probably have joined a gang of on-site kids, building dens or playing football. It’s the perfect antidote to screen addiction and Sats anxiety. And if the site allows campfires, all the better — children love cooking on them, even if it’s only marsh- mallows and burnt sausages.

So why not try taking your kids camping this summer? Borrow a tent from a friend and shelve the worry that you need to transform it into something grander and more glamorous than anybody else’s. Camping scuppers domestic routine, and for children, that’s part of the fun. There’s a good chance that the more muddy and uncomfortable your children get, the more they’ll love it.

One last thing. Here’s the list of the only essentials you need: your tent, with tent pegs; sleeping bags; a torch, with spare batteries (if it’s not wind-up); a sharp knife; a fish slice (for flipping burgers on the barbecue); a kettle (yes, most places have electricity somewhere); plates; forks; towels; pillows. And a corkscrew comes in surprisingly handy.

BEST FOR CAMPFIRES
Noongallas, Cornwall (1)

Camping doesn’t really come a lot more dreamy — or much cheaper — than a night at Noongallas. Nestled on a sloping site, divided into six fields by gorse hedges and waist-high bracken, are unmarked pitches with terracing in the steeper spots. Penzance is just down the road, but this mellow, low-impact site feels genuinely wild, with families just hanging out on site. The owner, John Line, has built a romantically dilapidated dancehall and positively encourages campfire life and the musicians that it attracts. The facilities are pretty basic, but that’s part of the appeal for the families who come back year after year.

£5 per adult per night, £2.50 per child; July and August only; 01736 366698, noongallas.com

BEST FOR TOTS
Westerley Campsite, Cornwall (2)

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