Tent Sniffing for Beginners

It's been quiet here lately as it's winter and only the bravest of us are still out camping (well, the brave and those with heating in their tent or caravan) So I thought I'd ask a few people to share some of their camping tales and advice. First off is Karen from over at Excuse This Honesty blog. And she has some excellent festival top tips, I'm not ashamed to say that the last one taught me something, it's genius and I'll be trying it out in future when I camp in summer! Photo Copyright: wavebreakmediamicro / 123RF Stock Photo Karen's Festival Camping Tips Having attended several festivals over the past 10 years, I can safely say none of them have been the same when it comes to camping. Some years have given us conditions which have been wonderful to set up camp in – others … well, not so good. The first thing I learned is to take an extra bag of tent pegs . No matter what I do, there's always going to be a tent peg that miraculously gets ea...

Last week I talked about t he dangers of carbon monoxide , the silent killer. Headaches, feeling sleepy, all normal 'symptoms' of being a tired parent, but also a sign you might be suffering from CO poisoning! Both in your home or your tent , (or caravan, or motorhome, or rented cottage) if there is combustion (eg gas fires or opn fires, barbecues etc) then the danger is there. To be really safe you should use a carbon monoxide detector. You can get them online or in most hardware shops. They vary in accuracy and price from a few pounds upwards, but they are worth the investment. This week you can win one on the blog! Just use the rafflecopter entry form below. a Rafflecopter giveaway I'm pleased to giveaway (thanks to Corgi Homeplan) a CO-9X FireAngel Carbon Monoxide Alarm which normally retails at £22 There are several ways to enter - only one is mandatory and involves finding the answer to a simple question on the Corgi Homeplan website. UK entries on...

When you go camping how do you keep warm? We don't have electric hook up and we cook on a gas stove or a fire or a barbecue. But I'm so aware of the risk of fire and the silent, scentless killer that is carbon monoxide that I never bring them inside the tent. We rely on lots of layers, good sleeping bags, and maybe a hot water bottle, recently we have invested in the best heater of all - a puppy! But two in five campers and caravanners have admitted taking enormous risks with their lives by  bringing outdoor gas appliances inside as a result of the unpredictable British weather.    Millions are ignoring basic gas safety laws by bringing lit barbecues inside tents, because of the rain  and in order to stay warm.    A survey of 1,000 campers and caravanners by CORGI HomePlan revealed a shocking lack of  understanding of the risks involved when using gas cookers, barbecues and heaters - that can all  emit deadly carbon ...

Early autumn and yet already I feel the gloom of the colder weather affecting me. Partly due to the weather and partly due to the lack of annual leave left to me I have packed up the tents until next year and that always makes me sad. I had a fabulous summer though, with awesome festivals. I went to the Curious Arts Festival to grab some culture in a field, Camp Bestival ( as always - and I enjoyed it all over again), Wilderness , where I gazed once again on glorious countryside filled with glitter, music and nudity, and even a Medieval festival at a castle ! I was not alone in having a great summer in the outdoors and so to help us all cope with the darker mornings, the rain, and the cooler nights here are some other great camping and festival posts to read. .. Samantha at NorthEastFamilyFun was letting her kids have a taste of freedom at the Corbridge Festival "I'm a bit of a free range parent and I'm keen to give Harry some extra independence this summer. He...

Some time ago Mr Tentsniffer and I bought annual membership at the Weald and Downland Museum as it's fairly close to where we live and is dog friendly. It is a brilliant historical resource but it's also set in such glorious countryside that it's nice just to stroll around and admire the changing of the seasons. This Sunday they had an autumn countryside event and we went along for a couple of hours. Sadly our small dog is having her first season and our teen has a horrible cold - so they stayed at home. But Mr Tentsniffer and I had a great time, we were able to watch birds of prey, ducks being rounded up by dogs, a steam threshing machine, ploughing - both tractors and horses - and so many other things! Mr Tentsniffer bought two new wool jumpers and I bought some chilli cider. I was delighted with my delicious Bubble and Squeak lunch , served with a poached egg, hollandaise sauce and bacon, while Mr Tentsniffer had his favourite traditional sausage roll from the ...

When I started camping my tent arrived with a small bag of tent pegs. They were standard looking things, like a straight skewer with a bent over top. And I went camping and they held the guy lines OK and nothing fell down. I did bend a couple of the pegs when I hit a rock under the soil surface, but I tossed those away and replaced them with a pack from the pound shop. After all, a tent peg is a tent peg, it's just a thin bit of metal..or it is!?

I've been promoting England's Medieval Festival on this blog for a few weeks. And now here is the review... I tweeted a bit while I was there. see the tweets here And now I'm back and I can tell you all about it. First thing to say, it was WAY better than I thought it would be. Seriously, the website doesn't do it justice. The gorgeous castle and grounds alone would be an awesome place to camp, but throw in tavern tents, real ale, reenactments, and all manner of entertainments from mud theatre (as messy as it sounds) to fire eating, puppet shows, bird of prey displays, jousting, even 'have a go' jousting.. And then there was great food, living history village encampments, archery, sword shows, music, drumming (lots of drumming) even axe throwing. I loved the camp site. We could drive right up to the camping spot and unload before moving the car to the car parking area. There were not a huge number of toilets but they were kept clean and ...