Camping Chaos

So yes...my camping trip. I haven't properly been camping before (I don't count Reading Festival '03, that was 3 days of fun), but I was surprised that I enjoyed it apart from the tent mishap. Big tent, full of creepy crawlys. Also the inflatable mattress and inflatable pillow both burst on the first night so I was sleeping on the hard ground for 3 nights. We went up to the Lake District on Friday night at 10pm, which was a little later than the scheduled 5.30pm departure. We were all cursing the one who slowed us down by several hours...that was until he told us why he was late - he was making a large BBQ and skillet for us all to cook on. He is quite the craftsman.
We drove half way there and then stayed over in a Premier Inn. The one we stayed at had 2 available rooms so we thought 'great, they will fit us in', but alas the Receptionist was having none of it. 2 people to a room for safety and fire hazards etc. We finally accepted this and the driver stayed in his van to save money (and the fact that he didn't have a choice, the other 4 of us were couples). My bf and I got into our room to find a double bed, a pull out single bed AND a rather large sofa that a 6th man could have easily slept on. What a joke! Our driver could have stayed in our room after all!! What's the point of having 4 beds if only 2 people can stay in the room?!
After getting ripped off for breakfast at RestBite (and all the other service stops we had along the way - a tenner for 3 coffees?? Come on Costa!) we made our way to the Lake District where I learnt several things:
1. It definitely is a lot colder up north than down south.
2. No matter what weather warnings I receive, I always pack wrongly.
3. I am quite tolerant and easy going.
4. I am nowhere near as fit as I should be.
5. My bf is one of those people who would throw a non-swimmer into the deepest pool to teach them how to swim.
I spent several days walking up steep hills, sitting in a chair covered in blankets and also not drinking as much as I should have done because the toilets were inconveniently far away.
All in all it was a great trip. But I won't be going camping again.