As a jobseeker in a climate of business downsizing, I’m feeling the pinch a lot more than a couple of months ago and so I understand what many people will be going through. However, with the end not in sight and a surprising amount of time on my hands, it got me thinking about ways to end those economic blues by getting back to nature...camping-style. It’s cheap, it’s fun, you’ll get more out of your day with glorious sunrises (either because it’s an oven in there or you’ll be floating) and it’ll bring your family/friends closer together (through their snoring in the next tent). I may jest but I spent most of my childhood sitting in the pissing rain in Scottish campsites and for some reason I have only the fondest memories. It’s actually gotten so bad that just the smell of waterproofing and the taste of long life milk nostalgically takes back to my father’s words of “Stop you’re whinging, its character-building!” Of course now he won’t step foot in a tent but that’s beside the point...

All across this wondrous globe there are ridiculously cheap campsites in amazing settings and free from the fear of not getting your deposit back for drinking the mini bar. I currently live in Australia and yes the weather is slightly better than in the UK, but bear in mind if you ever come out here camping in National Parks costs on average $5 (3 quid) per person per night. That is seriously cheap. I went camping last weekend on Noosa’s North Shore where you can camp on the beach, build an open fire and watch the stars to the sound of breaking waves. If that isn’t worth not having a proper shower in a couple of days I don’t know what is. You don’t even need to rough it though or hulk all the paraphernalia of pots and pans with you either with popular tourist destinations having campsites in prime locations and some with equipped camp kitchens or handy restaurants/bars.

I have never laughed more than whilst camping. Wrestling with the outer layer, trying to get in them while drunk or finding half the beach/bushes/mud in there with you in the morning, it does bring you closer to your companions in more ways than one. Back in 2001, on my first trip to Australia, myself and two friends spent six weeks in a 2-man tent in a hostel backyard in Airlie Beach. The tent came to be known to locals as “The Grey Palace” and although this was an example of typical Aussie sarcasm, we wouldn’t have exchanged it for all the hotel stars in the world. Camping might seem dull and probably like too much effort but it is the most economical holiday out there and think of all the “character” you’ll accumulate!