Tent Sniffing for Beginners

It pains me to admit it but I realise that some people don't like tents...I know right? ...but for those people, here is a blog post about festival accomodation. There are people that don't go to festivals not because they hate the thought of a sunny day drinking beer and listening to music in a field, but because they fear nighttime loo trips, leaky tents, winds breaking your flag pole and uncomfortable deflated matresses. Accomodation is variable at most festivals Well never fear! First I must add a quick note that if you don't fear all the above but you don't have a tent and all the kit and don't really want to slash out for a festival, or have no place to store all that, let alone transport it! Then there is still the opportunity to attend a festival. You could either opt for the ready pitched tent option (always looks a bit regimented for my liking but certainly saves time and effort)  or go for the rent a festival kit option. There are also posh...

And I thought the long wait for festivals would be boring over the winter. Not So!! Because I had forgotten the excitement of hearing about who will be at the festivals I'll be going to. Imagine my overwhelming excitement at finding out that (award winning) duo Dick and Dom will be returning to Camp Bestival in 2015. They were absolutely hilarious last time, encouraging misbehaviour and mayhem, causing the entire campsite to play 'Bogeys' well into the night... I simply can't wait! (my dubious claim to fame? Dick spat on me in the literary tent at Camp Bestival) And then there is the Cat in the Hat! How do I love Dr Seuss? Well lets just say I love him here and there, in fact I love him anywhere! And the cat in the hat knows how to have fun, look at him! Look at him! Look at him now! It is fun to have fun but you have to know how....(Camp Bestival can help with that if you are stuck!) And could there be anything I would like more than being in a field with R...

My favourite solar light company (you can tell a hippy camper when they have a favourite solar light company) has sent me a little Christmas gift! The rather cute but extremely bright, SunJack . It's not a solar light by itself, it's a usb light, it looks like a traditional bulb and is very light (in weight!) it can be hung up. At first I wondered how I would use it - but I not only take solar camping, but some rechargeable power packs. They are handy on dull days when there is little sun, and can charge phones via USB. It turns out they can power the SunJack too! To test it I didn't get the tent out, but I did try it on a dark night at home. DD helped to demonstrate the power of this tiny light. It's a great little light and would be useful with a solar charger with a USB port too. Check out The Solar Light Company for some Christmas gift ideas for the camper in your life (or treat yourself!) The SunJack® CampLight - the ultimate in portable ...

Well I'm sure some of us fly south and continue camping...a bit like swallows, but with more tent poles. Some stay in chilly UK and still camp - after all, you can get all season tents and sleeping bags! (top of my bucket list is snow camping) But I suspect more of us do what I do, pack up the kit until spring and just snuggle down by a fire to read their camping and caravanning magazines and plan next years camping. I have already booked a few festivals too, nothing like reliving last summer and dreaming of the next to warm you up. So far I'm going to a local (to me) and early Festival (in May) called Elderflower Fields , I've never been to this festival before, and it hasn't been going long. I'm hoping it's big enough to be fun but small enough to be friendly. It bills itself as a family festival, and I have to admit it does look amazing! Rather glad to see that the theme will fit in rather nicely with another festival I'm off to Wilderness! I...

Must Have Rucksack Packing Tips! Bottom:  Put items that you will need last at the bottom.  You won't be reaching for your pajamas mid hike. Along these lines, the bottom of your bag typically will contain fuel, a stove, sleeping bag, most of your clothing, and food supply Middle: Heavy items should be at the center of your rucksack and closest to your back.  Reason? Extra weight on the outside adds pressure and tension against your shoulders, as does extra weight on the bottom.  When we carry children for example, we instinctively hold them close to the center of our body.  It's the same with a pack.  Your tent and main water supply are items that should fit close to the center of your spine. Top ( and Outside Pockets ): Place here any incidental you may need to reach in and grab.  This includes sunscreen, bug repellant, a trowel, toilet paper, torches (you don't always make camp before dark,) first aid kit, an extr...

It's winter and if you camp like I do, in a tent, with no heating, you probably have packed up now until the spring (big high five to you if you haven't!) But while you sit before your cosy fireplace do your thoughts turn to camping? Do you read your Camping and Caravanning Magazine cover to cover and then sigh a dream of fields and ....well maybe not, but now is a good time to hunt out some bargains ready for next year. Ebay is a great place for the odd tent or spare pole (all of my tents are second hand, 2 from ebay). It's good to get things now because you can pick up stuff that is nearly new, bought for this years summer holiday by people that thought they'd like camping and didn't and are now selling, and also things bought by novices that do like camping but have now realised what they should have bought and are selling off surplus. And of course the keen camper who is selling off things due to a tent upgrade. And winter is a good time to buy because on...

One of the things people worry about when camping, especially for the first time, is sleeping. The beds and the comfort are high on people's priority list. When you are a kid you'll sleep anywhere, like a cat. Gravel, grass, sand, the floor of the lounge, you get tired, you sleep and wake fairly refreshed (or get carried to bed by a caring parent and wake all warm and snuggled) but as an adult you are more likely to ache. I'm 48 and I have a neurological condition that makes me feel pain differently. I can't tell you which sleeping method will work best for you but I can tell you what I've tried and how I found it. DD is 14 and she has tested the options too. First off there is the bulkiness and weight to consider. When we camp and can park the car near our pitch then weight is not an issue but the bed still needs to fit into the car. I know of people with vans and bell tents that take whole futons. We are not those people. The first festival we went to we...