Buying a tent

[Nicos]

It's also bound to rain- and you need an area you can make a brew without it blowing out- nor setting fire to the tent!!

Also- having a piddle in the middle of the night....if it's pouring down, you'll be wanting to have space to maneuver to use an old tupperware ( well Mrs HW will) without touching the sides/top of the tent causing it to rain in ( do modern tents rain in if touched?????)

I'd go with the - buy as big as you can afford idea too!

[Mrs Dobby]

We've a Coleman 5 man (3 season) tunnel tent, for 2 of us plus a big dog (and also occassionally my daughter), 2 bedrooms (3 man and a 2 man) and a very large internal seating area, which we team up with a large gazebo outside to give us plenty of living space, even if the weather isnt good! Im 5'13" tall, and I can stand up inside with no problem, which was one of the reasons for buying this tent!

Definitely go to a specialist camping shop and see the tent erected, definitely buy the best you can, otherwise you will have to replace it quickly, so a cheaper or budget tent isnt always a good idea (one of our friends bought a wonderful 2nd hand tent off ebay that looked great, but it lasted 1 year before it tore in moderate winds, be careful of taking anything thats ex eurocamp, as they have been used for 8 months already, will be faded, waterproofing will need to be redone and the fabric will have degenerated to the point that its not as strong as it was.

If its for occassional use, then take a look at the tent packs in Halfords, especially the Urban Escape ones, good value starter tents that have reasonable height (watch out for Argos and BnQ ones, they are a lot shorter in height and mush lower Hydrostatic Head (measure of waterproofing)

Also dont forget you will need water container, cooking equipment, chairs, table, eating utensils, brew making stuff, sleeping bags and airbeds, storage for everything you are taking and plenty of patience, it can be hard work setting up and taking down your campsite, so ensure you have the right spot and that you have your tent orientated to the prevailing wind, but once you're set up, nowt can beat a camping holiday!

See you on Shell Island, the worlds best campsite (IMHO) in Wales!

[jackie j]

We have a very large tent, we can stand up in it, we have 3 large chairs that we sit in plus we can get a table in the living bit and still have plenty of room. It has two pods for sleeping and will sleep 6, but only 3 or 4 of us camp. Cant remember the name Vangaurd I think and its a tunnel tent with a side door and a front door lol. We also take a gazebo with us and use that for the table and cooking area. Your best bet is to go to a tent and camping place that have the tents on display and walk inside them.

[OverWyreGrower]

Ooh, just remembered.... if you are taking a gazebo/extra bit to put on your tent; check with the campsite first. Some will charge extra for a gazebo or a tent extension....

[Two_Sheds]

stand in them, lie down on them ...you'll be amazed how small a 4 berth tent is when you have bags, sleeping bags, food

True!
Mr TS is only just 6 foot tall, but his head touches the edges of all our tents, and he can't sit up inside it: we really should have sat in a few. We bought a Vango last year to replace the shoddy Halfords & Lidl ones - we looked round a campsite and noticed Vango was in the majority

My brother has a brilliant tent, it's 3 or 4 separate pods for sleeping, with a really large central cooking area (although the bigger the tent, the harder it is to put up, in my experience)

[janeyo]

buy 2 and sew them together - sorted!

see you can tell I am a camper lol

[jojo2910]

We bought ours from Cost Co. 4 man tent, with 2 bedrooms and a large front porch. It wasn't a standard size, almost as you had quartered a circle. We loved it until the mouse ate it. About £75, which we thought was good value.

We also got our sleeping bags from their, £30 each but they are extra large and super comfortable.

[Pumpkin Becki]

Wayney, I thought LW was anti-camping??

[Hazel at the Hill]

I can't think of a better example of an oxymoron than 'enjoyable camping holiday!'

[Patchninja]

My daughter has one of these things. Lots of space and she likes the fact that you can roll up the sides.
Bell Tent UK, Part of Camping with Soul Family

[HeyWayne]

Wayney, I thought LW was anti-camping??

She was, but I think that Grapestock showed her how bad it could be - and that wasn't toooo bad.

We got the tent home and erected it in about 10 minutes on flat, sheltered, dry land and it showed her how it could also be rather pleasant. Plus, Bean loves being outside - and it allows us to just go away for a night or so.

She's not completely converted yet, but every journey starts with a first step.

[Two_Sheds]

She was, but I think that Grapestock showed her how bad it could be -

Lol !
Our worst one was a week in Cornwall, it lashed down all week and we ended up having to get towed out of the field by a tractor, along with 500 other poor saps

Then our car blew up on the way home

I have a Cornish flag on my lotty to remind me 'never again'

[Hilary B]

We've never used table or chairs when camping, we normally sit on the airbeds/groundsheet, and hold plates, or put them down beside. Probably not an option with Bean, although low table and no chars might be OK. We have cooked on meths stoves, those tiny 'one ring on a gas cylinder' types, and occasionally even a 'solid fuel' one (well usually that is for keeping something warm, or simmering, while using the other sort for cooking the other dish, I've done curry and rice on that sort of set-up).
Favourite cooking system, a mini BBQ, folds to about the size of a laptop, when opened out, big enough to hold 2 good-sized sauceans, or loads of BBQ ingredients.

[HeyWayne]

I feel it necessary to add that initially we intend on just going local for a night or two. Not Base Camp Everest just yet...

[HeyWayne]

In fact, we may just skip the tent altogether...

Billing Aquadrome Holiday Park Northampton | Camping Pods & Tents