Driving to the Italian Alps with two small kids – and camping: the unholy trinity of travel?

My wife and I had brought our two boys – aged one and four – on holiday to the alpine foothills of Italy. We were spending a week in Trentino with her parents and, somewhat ambitiously, a week either side on the road. There were challenges aplenty but, whisper it, we actually had fun, too. So I’m about to make the case for what some might consider the unholy trinity of travel: long car journeys, young kids and … camping.