In our age of rapid technological development city dwellers and countryside pursuits like camping holidays seem ever more removed from each other. Our urbanite occupies a bustling city lifestyle, full of prepared food, micro conversations, texts and tweets. Having donned the manic city lifestyle they complete the trick with intense recreation from multi screen cinema to the latest surround sound home DVD Xbox with HD knobs on entertainment system. To combat the fear that their lifestyle is unhealthily unsustainable our urbanite buys the latest Wii Fit package. Phew!
It seems a peculiar idea that urban folk want to engage with camping holidays. Here is the polar opposite of the urban lifestyle, the world where a tweet has an entirely different meaning. This is the world where iphones have no use because mobile phone companies haven't discovered the countryside, let alone thought about 3G!
Regardless of such cultural differences our human natures thrives on a challenge. We fundamentally believe in ideals and at the core of humanity is a desire to be instinctive. This taut city dweller knows that the tranquillity of the countryside will bring out the Ray Mears in him, it will unleash the wild savage that lurks beneath, it will… Before he jumps off the precipice and signs up fully to the notion of camping holidays he reflects: I need my phone in case of emergencies at the office, the laptop, might need to draft a quick letter oh and God forbid, how are the kids going to cope without the PSP, Xbox, Nintendo and Sky+?
Fortunately to quell the panic he finds a middle way – camping holidays the easy way, a pre-erected tent, served with electric, a fridge, lighting…yes, that will do nicely, he thinks.
Unknown to him is that our city slicker is about to undergo some form of sensual retraining during their camping holiday. Having raged at every last geriatric driver drifting along the Norfolk roads at 20mph they turn up for their camping holiday to find that things are not quite what they imagined. No signal on the phone is a bad omen and there appears to be a lack of en-suite bathroom to the tent. With pressure growing, how will the family react…how will his preen teen daughter survive if they can't text (or straighten her hair!)
Of course there is little to fear, the blankness of the phone is a blessing and camping holidays seem to bring out a nicer side, not just for him but for his family too. The rituals of city life are left behind and replaced with a carefree abandon that they know no one back at home will care to understand.
On a more serious note, camping holidays are becoming ever more popular and the rise in alternative camping options in on the increase. Companies such as Go Camping UK are a small indication of how the camping holiday market is adapting to the changing demands of the market and in particular the demands of the new riches of the urban class.
About the Author: Ian Peet wrote the Article 'Are Camping Holidays for City Dwellers?' and recommends you Google 'Go Camping UK' for more information on camping holidays.
