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essentials tents

loitering within tent

Technology and design have moved on massively and leaky, cold tents are a thing of the past. Tents are now pretty cool places in which to hang out.

Tents come in all shapes and sizes, from the very small and inexpensive to luxury versions with multiple bedrooms and space for everything, including the kitchen sink. Tents offer a compact and cost-effective means of camping. It’s important, though, that you choose a tent that best serves your needs and that you put it up properly. The weather can change really quickly and you need to ensure your tent offers you proper protection and will withstand the elements.

With tents, as with many things in life, you get what you pay for. Having said that, it makes no sense to spend a fortune on a tent if you’re not sure if you’re going to like camping. Larger camping shops have a good selection and staff who will be able to advise on the right tent for you. Whichever tent you go for, it’s a good idea to practice putting it up at home before you take it away for the first time. Manufacturers’ instructions can be a bit of a nightmare to follow and forget about trying to put it up for the first time on site and in the dark or bad weather.

Second-hand tents can be a good idea if you’re on a tight budget or are unsure if you’ll enjoy camping. Local papers, eBay and army surplus stores are good places to hunt out bargains. If you can get hold of an old-fashioned Scouts or army tent made from proper canvas, then you’ll have loads of space.

When you get to a temporary oasis, choose where you think you want to pitch your tent and sit on the grass for ten minutes. This is a useful exercise as it ensures it is indeed a good place to camp. Lie on the grass, too, and make sure it’s flat, even and comfortable.

The next step is to pitch your tent. If you’re a girl alone, you can always stand there batting your eyelashes and allow a knight in shining armour to do it for you. Whatever your tent looks like on the outside, you can make it gorgeous on the inside.

Picture credit: The North Face

The most important thing is comfort. As soon as your tent is pitched, decide what is going to go where and keep it meticulously tidy. If everything’s in its place, you won’t end up trying to find your torch in the pitch black or rolling over to find yourself putting your head on a pile of plates.

It’s best to decide where your bed is going to be positioned first. I can cope with anything as long as I have a good night’s sleep. But, if deprived of my full eight hours, even in the wilderness, I become impossible. Make sure you think about which way you want to face while sleeping. I like to have my feet facing the door, although at festivals it’s quite popular to sleep with your head close to the door, so you can chat to your neighbours. Make your bed and pile on the pillows.

Next, choose your kitchen area, somewhere for clothes and somewhere for the important things including the torch, matches and corkscrew, books and chocolate. I think this is important regardless of the size of the tent.

Picture credit: The North Face

Luxuries are an important part of tent life. Rugs are a must, for me at least. They can be heavy, though, so tricky if you’re hiking. Groundsheets have a horribly crackly, utilitarian feel and walking on rugs is much more comfortable. They also help to keep the tent warm at night.

It’s also vital to get the lighting right. Bright fluorescent torches are OK for walking to the loo at night, but in your tent you’ll want an altogether softer light. Gas lamps are good for this, as are the lanterns that take tea-lights, but obviously take care to avoid any fire hazards.

Most campsites allow you to have a sleeping tent and a pup tent on your pitch. These are usually very small tents, but can be useful for storage.

If you’re going camping with older children, they tend to love sleeping in their own tents. As long as it’s safe I think this should be strongly encouraged. It makes it more of an adventure for them and more peaceful for you.

tent tips

Picture credit: The North Face

Buy the best you can

Buy the best tent you can afford and never buy a tent without first having seen it up.

Hot advice…

If you’re camping somewhere you’re likely to get chilly, then line the base of your tent with a metallic safety blanket. Shiny side up, it’ll reflect your body heat back into the tent.

Look for funky colours

Tents are often made in rather uninspiring colours, but you can hunt out some pretty ones. Cath Kidston makes gorgeous patterned ones for Millets.

The joy of text

If you’re camping at a large campsite or festival, it’s a good idea to put a flag on your tent. Orange developed a tent that lit up when you sent it a text message. Sadly, so far no one has made it commercially.

Make it your own

If you want to customise your tent make sure you do it safely. Paint and hangings can damage the waterproofing. A helium balloon flying from the top is always rather sweet, as is bunting.

Be prepared

Check the weight of the tent before you buy it. If you’re travelling by car and can park right next to your pitch it’s not an issue. If you’re hiking up a large hill it most definitely is.

Keep bedding dry

Store your bedding in a bin bag to ensure that it doesn’t get wet when you’re making camp. There are few things as depressing as being out all day only to find yourself sleeping in a soggy bed when it’s time to turn in.

tent types

Frame

These are the most like a house. They’re large and you can walk around freely as there’s enough headroom. Usually they have a number of separate rooms.

Vis-a-vis

This means the tent has a bedroom at each side of the living area.

Pyramid

These are triangular in shape and are easy to erect because they have a central pole.

Ridge

Traditional triangular tents, which are sturdy and offer a lot of headroom. Their weakness is that the sides are unsupported.

Lightweight/dome

The most suitable tents for backpackers as they’re compact and aren’t heavy. Dome tents come in larger sizes for families or those who want to camp in a crowd.

Geodesic

These tents are similar to the dome variety, but because they have a different pole configuration they’re sturdier in high winds.

Hoop

These are like a cross between a ridge tent and a dome tent. They’re lightweight, spacious and are good in windy conditions.

Inflatables

An ingenious invention, as you don’t have to go through the palaver of erecting the tent, you simply blow it up with a foot pump.

Picture credit: The North Face

essentials tipis

tipi or not tipi?

Everyone should sleep in a tipi at least once. Their combination of elegance and practicality, and the way they allow one to gaze at the stars at night, make them truly romantic and my favourite camping structure.

The magic of sleeping in a tipi is almost indescribable. Watching the stars through the open smoke flaps, while lying next to a roaring fire, is a wonderful experience. The tipi is probably the most elegant and graceful of all temporary structures and its beauty lies in its simplicity.

Phil Royle, from tipi.co.uk, who made my tipi, sums it up brilliantly. “Take twelve sticks, tie them together, wrap the canvas around, secure with more sticks and hang the lining. This is the recipe for a wonderful living space.

“Tipis are cool in the summer and in the winter, all you need to do is light a fire and you’ll be perfectly cosy.“

Tipis are available in various sizes. Mine is 16ft in diameter and sleeps six adults comfortably. One of the joys of a tipi is that it’s made from proper canvas, so smells delicious when new. It also takes on the gorgeous scent of wood smoke.

Most tipis are made from canvas that is waterproof and rot-proof. You can also usually pay extra to have your canvas fire-proofed as well.

How you floor your tipi is a matter of choice. Many like the natural look, but others prefer coir matting or tons of rugs over a plastic groundsheet. I like to do half-and-half and have the back of the tipi (where we sleep) covered and the front (where we eat, play games and generally hang out) left bare.

Tipis offer a flexible space that you can easily style to reflect your personality. This applies to the outside, too. Many tipi makers offer colour canvas options. My tipi is mainly white, but has pink smoke flaps, which look lovely.

Picture credit: The Tipi Company

One of the great advantages of a tipi, is that you can have a fire in it. If you don’t want to light one directly on the ground, you can have a wood-burning stove, a fire bowl or a cast-iron chiminea. Drifting off to sleep in a tipi, while the fire crackles, is an intensely relaxing experience.

The shape of the tipi, as well as being practical, has spiritual significance. According to Greg Bramford, from The Tipi Company, “traditionally the tipi was a temple as well as a home. The floor of the tipi represented the earth on which we live, the walls the sky, and the poles the trails from earth to the spirit world, the links between man and the great mystery”.

There are a number of places where you can go and camp in a tipi. Many are included in the listings section. Also, there are companies who hire out tipis and will erect them at a site of your choosing. This can be a campsite, field or festival.

“I used to hire tipis for guests to sleep in when I had parties in the countryside,” says designer Alice Temperley. “Then, a few years ago, I broke my shoulder rather badly and was bed-bound for a couple of months. When I was allowed to get up, my husband walked me to the orchard and he had bought me a tipi with coloured ribbons hanging from the poles. It is the most romantic gift I have ever had.

“In the summer, I sleep in my tipi whenever I go home to Somerset for the weekend. I have a big Balinese bed in there and lots of sheepskin, so it’s a little luxury countryside retreat.

“I love tipis because they are just so special. Romantic and spacious and whenever I sleep in one I feel as if I’m not in the English countryside, but some magical place somewhere that cannot be explained, really.”

Glastonbury festival’s Emily Eavis says: “I love tipis. A tipi is the most beautiful place to camp. There are always lots of tipis at Glastonbury. They’re all over the site and then there’s the tipi field. It’s amazing. They look really beautiful against the skyline.“

Picture credit: Tipi.co.uk; The Tipi Company

Tipi tips

Fire safety

Remember to take a small fire extinguisher and a sharp knife in case you need to get out of the tipi quickly and your exit is blocked. Both of these should be hung from a string attached to one of the tipi poles and should be clearly visible.

Looking good

You can make your tipi look fantastic by hanging strings of beads from the poles inside, using fur throws and lots of cushions. Ribbons tied right at the end of the poles look great blowing in the wind.

Stay cool

The smoke flaps of your tipi act like a natural chimney and should, of course, be open whenever you have a fire inside the tipi. In the summer, though, they can also help create a through-draught which will keep the interior comfortably cool in warmer weather.

Picture credit: Tipi.co.uk; The Tipi Company

getting it up

The alternative guide to erecting a tipi

1. Stand there looking perplexed

You’ll attract a crowd eager to advise

2. Chat for a bit

You’ll make friends to join you in the tipi

3. Suggest opening a bottle

A glass of wine will pull things into focus

4. Get out paper and a pen

Draw a picture of how the tipi should look

5. Phone a friend for advice

Gossip and let them talk to your new friends

6. Elect a leader

They’ll lose face if it all goes horribly wrong

7. Check the local hotel guide

Suddenly the great indoors is looking very attractive

Picture credit: Canvas Chic