Can I get away with this?

Because even if it's refused you've already done whatever it is you wanted. Whereas if you ask for permission in advance you'd be in the position of having to flout their ruling - very, very dangerous, confrontational, even.

I don't think you're unreasonable to want for a bit of dad'n'lad bonding time. You can always go as a family in the summer when the weather is warmer and the new lad is bigger.

 

If I was wife I would say what a good idea! Spending time with older child is so important. Just make sure u do a couple of nights with baby first and do the cleaning batch cook b4 you go. That way she can have a "break" too

 

I asked, and wife agreed, but then after agreeing, she said "you would anyway even if I said no wouldn't you?". I couldn't deny it. Our marriage is based on wide open honesty

 

Did you mention what I suggested

 

Mrs Scrungee says that CL1 + oldest child should go camping somewhere like http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/holidays/camping/camping-in-the-lake-district/great-langdale/ and his OH + youngest should stay at the http://www.odg.co.uk/home/index.cfm?id=1 just up the road. I've always suggested compromises like that (in Dec, Jan & Feb).

 

The plan is to wait til the weather warms up a bit more, in particular, when the night time temps are staying well above freezing, then the big lad and I will camp out on a saturday night, so we'll get the full weekend really, well, saturday and half of sunday. Then a bit later in the year we'll all go away for a few days or a week or so.

 

We now always wait until after the May bank holiday before camping . I always remember Easter in the lake district , in my yoof , bloomin freezing !!
As Scrungee suggested , the Langdales is a stunning area.

 

We're just going to go somewhere within about an hour's drive from home, so that's North Yorkshire or County Durham really. I just need to find a cheap but properly equipped campsite with a good play area and safe and easy bike ride routes.

 

This site is great for searching campsites by area , with reviews on each .
http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/

 

That's what I use, useful for narrowing searches down to say 'allows camp fires + next to pub', but 'open all year + tents' gives false positives as many are only open Oct - Mar only to touring caravans and motorhomes.

 

Dalby Forest is a good area to have a look round @clueless1 ...

 

The +next to pub , is an essential search term
You will need to follow the campsite link to view the prices per night.

 

The lad would absolutely love a camp fire, I'm sure. Well, I would, anyway.

I remember camping in Cornwall on an Easter in late March. Gloriously sunny days and sub-zero at night. Frost on a tent is only picturesque if viewed from a safe and well-wrapped distance.

 

I think I might have a plan.

I found this site, which has very good search capabilities:
http://www.pitchup.com/

And via that I found this:
http://www.pitchup.com/campsites/En...ire/Scarborough/jasmine-park/?availability=on

Which looks ideal and gets excellent reviews. The site itself sounds good, with plenty of space to pitch up, and plenty of facilities on site, but also the location is perfect. Its close to Pickering, which is a nice little town in itself, but has the added advantage that the North Yorks Moors railway stops there, which means we can go on the steam train. I've taken the lad to see the steam trains many times, but never actually took him on it. Its also a stones throw from various castles and several nice towns and villages, and is close to Dalby forest which is highly rated. And its within about an hour's drive from home, we can set off really early on a saturday morning and then effectively get the full weekend.

From the reviews, everyone seems to like it, and it looks like somewhere where we can go for nice easy bike rides.

I just need to find out if they class a bloke his 5 year old son as an 'all male group', which they don't allow.

The lad is so excited, he wanted to go shopping for camping gear tonight. From what he was talking about bringing, I think I'll need to change Gothilda for an articulated lorry I'll just have to convince him that we only need basic stuff plus our bikes and maybe a football.

Weather permitting, I'll erect the tent in the garden over the weekend to air it off and check its condition, and maybe go to the boot sale to look for a camp stove and things.