The focus tends to be on keeping clean with a morning trek to the showers. Breaking the routine on a chilly morning is not likely to have drastic consequences – but food preparation standards must be maintained. Away from the domestic kitchen with its sink, hot water and fridge, you need to think harder about storing food and how you handle it. Happily, there’s no need to be obsessive if you do the simple basics for healthy living that are second nature to all of us. 

The key factors are to keep your hands clean, do the washing up thoroughly and not to leave food lying around in the sun for flies to feast on. Sunburn can ruin a holiday and we’re more likely to bare skin that never normally gets exposed and is thus more vulnerable. Adults are as much at risk as children so, after sorting out the kids, slap some sun protection on yourself; better still, get them apply their own to raise their awareness. 

• Try not to bring outdoor activity gear into the tent to avoid muck and germs. 

• Get the washing up done as soon as possible with plenty of hot water. A Collaps washing up bowl is handy to carry dishes to the wash area. 

• When you get home, give everything a thorough wash as soon as you can. It is definitely not fun to open a box on site to find mould inside. 

• A tent left open all day invites insects, birds and wildlife to enter and look for food. 

• Most sites will have sinks specifically for washing pots and crocks only. 

• Use the site bins and recycling points rather than let rubbish pile up at your pitch. 

• Washing gear kept together in a hanging wash-bag is convenient and avoids forgetting stuff. 
 

Each year, thousands of people in the UK are diagnosed with skin cancer caused by damage from the sun’s ultraviolet rays.

Protecting the skin from the sun can help prevent these cancers so follow these guidelines from the NHS.