In our ongoing attempts to reclaim our weekends, we went camping after school on Friday. Litton Lakes, near Dorchester, is just over an hour away from us and we ended up leaving slightly later than we’d anticipated. As we drove along the A35 the mist and fog got worse and worse and we wondered if we might have made a bit of a mistake. But then we dropped off the main road and down towards Litton Cheney and it was like entering another world. The fog lifted and the campsite was ahead of us, complete with the beautiful lake that was the reason for us choosing this site.
We have three requirements when deciding where to camp. First, it has to be somewhere dog-friendly so that Piper can come with us. Secondly it needs to be somewhere that allows fire pits and thirdly, somewhere that lets you get on with camping without a gazillion people in your face and with absolutely, definitely not even a hint of ‘organised fun’… Litton Lakes ticked all the boxes for us. It is a basic campsite with three toilets and a tap and the pitches were excellently sized with plenty of space for social distancing (which is exactly how camping should be…!!). The owners clearly love this place and are doing lots to make it a fantastic site. There is a wooden cafe selling cakes and coffee and every evening at 7pm, Steve, who one of the owners, does the rounds of the site delivering logs to anyone who has ordered them. We messed up with who was responsible for packing the firelighters (well, I didn’t mess up, obviously….) and Steve kindly threw in a few of them along with a generous amount of logs which was handy, as our supper relied on us having a fire!
While the campsite itself was really lovely, it was also the busiest place we’ve stayed at this year and we were clearly camping alongside some night owls. A and R slept well regardless which meant that I was the only one awake to witness the excitement of other campers getting annoyed with the group who were partying into the early hours… And then all the little kids woke up which was fine apart from the partying group who had, in their wisdom, provided one of their offspring with a whistle. It was tricky to decide if the vibe was raucous football match or out-of-control playtime but either way, my parental top tip is that a whistle does not make a good toy if you are camping within earshot of others. Not that I would have said anything – the memory of taking all 3 of our kids camping in the Alps with ukuleles is still fresh in my memory. If I ever encounter our fellow campers from that trip again I will be offering them my heart-felt apologies and a drink…
Reading in the dark. If you look closely you can see the dog! 
Why yes – I do in fact look like I got zero sleep….
The main reason for choosing Litton Lakes is the fact that they allow watersports on the lake if you bring your own equipment. Paddleboards are available to hire from a lady who does Paddleboard yoga lessons at the weekends – I had a wild moment of delusion and thought that maybe I could give it a go but thankfully, the combination of lack of sleep plus having my second Covid vaccination on Friday meant that I decided to give it a miss. I’m glad that I did – these guys weren’t mucking about… It all looked very serious and intense and I’m pretty sure that I would not have made a valuable member of the group.
R was quite impressed though and, as we were allowed on the lake at the same time as the yoga lesson, watched them from a distance and did his own version – which kept A and I highly entertained while nurturing a coffee from the lakeside cafe!
Litton Lakes is a beautiful site and the chance to camp and then have a quick paddleboard was really great. We didn’t have time to explore further on this trip but apparently there is a good pub just a 5 minute walk away and the beach is a stroll in the other direction.
WILD WEEKENDS 