Where shall we go? What shall we do? These questions are so familiar to families with children looking for a great holiday experience.  You want something that is fun, inclusive to the entire family and within budgetary limits, the answer is here, because a fixed centre weeks cycling with other families ticks an awful lot of boxes.

Camping
It's fun for children, they can have their own tent, parents can have their's. Does any adult not remember the excitement of camping in a tent with only the hoot of owls and the chatter of others to listen to outside.

Cycling
This really is an activity where the whole family can get something from it. For the parents, they may or may not cycle on a regular basis, this facilitates this. For children they love it as well, either on their own bike or on a tandem.

Cyclecamping as a group at a fixed centre, how does it work?
Let us take you through a typical day

As you rise from your tent, you are surrounded by friends and like minded individuals. One family may make a large pot of coffee, another may invite other children round for breakfast. As packed lunches are made and bikes are checked, the children will inevitably be playing together giving a family breathing space to get things ready. In the case of a Tandem Rally there is even an enormous tent (marquee) that you can all hide in should it be raining. Where shall we go? It's sorted at a rally. A ride of 25-30 miles is already in the bag, you will have a GPX file, route directions and an indication of where you will be stopping, so answering the 'what shall we do?

Setting off. Everyone goes together, typically at 09:30. At a rally there will be someone in charge and a back marker is allocated. The average speed is about 10miles per hour (16kmh) and here is the absolute joy. As children are cycling with their friends they enjoy it, there is a degree of competition, who can get to the top of that hill first etc.  They go faster  and further than you would ever feel possible at home. With children over 14, it's more of a problem asking them not to go too far off the front. This is a totally different dynamic to cycling on your own, it's great

Teastops/Attractions/Playgrounds. Regular stops are built in. Everybody loves a teastop, but a playground is great for running around with friends and nibbling something tasty that came out of a parents bags, you never know we may even pass an ice cream place. Most rides will have a target attraction, something to stop and do, be this a castle/farm park or even a garden. In reality the children don't mind, they are with their friends and a picnic lunch in company is a lovely thing.

Returning to the campsite. You would think that after 25 miles children will have no energy left, but they do in spades. They will join up again giving parents time to prepare an evening meal and enjoy other adults company

Evening Time. The children are together, less phone time, more play time. Adults can drag a camping chair to another tent, open a bottle of something and chat away. Bedtimes are easier too as children can see others being tucked up in their tents. At an event there are things laid on, tandem games anyone?

Camping as a group of families, what's the great points?

Cycling together and camping together, these are listed above, but there are so many more. If you need a bike looking at, there is always someone to ask, in fact it's like moths to a flame. For many families who enjoy cycling together, in your area you may struggle to find others that enjoy it as well. These type of events bring you all together from all over the UK. There are loads of events for adults, but amazingly few for children, just the New Forest Cycling week as far as I'm aware.

Conclusion

I am writing this as an organiser who over 30 years have organised over 40 family cycling weeks and attended numerous tandem rallies where children attended. The first I ever did was attended by 7 families, the next year they all came back and more besides because everyone got so much from them. After all these years, I am still friends with many parents and the children have also made lifelong friends. The age range is wide from 2-18 years. Children have a naturel kindness. On frequent occasions a bunch of 14 year old would look after a 6 year old, in essence they revert to their childhood selves. These are fabulous events, please come along.

   Neil Wheadon

Pictures of 20 years of family camping