Tent Sniffing for Beginners

As you may (or may not) know, while I am a tent enthusiast, my teen daughter is less so. For years she has craved a camper van, but at over £10,000 for even a tiny second hand one they were never an option for me. After all, I'm a 'grab a second hand tent for under £30 on eBay' kind of girl normally. (i.e. cheap) But then last year it rained at Camp Bestival and we spent more time in the tent and were wetter and colder and muddier than normal. Now don't get me wrong, a festival in the rain is still a festival and still awesome. I still loved the bands and the drinking and the mooching about. Even the mud is a fun experience, but as I am getting older I need to sit more and to sit comfortably and while we did have the 'sofa' I sometimes crave a 'proper seat'...if only it had been drier the Caravanserai would have been perfect! Last year I had actually had a hunt around for a camper van, but most companies wanted you to rent for at least a week, ...

New Year new festivals! Well yes, but some old favourites too of course. And this year to whet our appetites Camp Bestival are touring around with Big Fish Little Fish the family rave experts in a series of fun (and very reasonably priced) events. Even if you can't be at Camp Bestival (and there is still time to sign up to the ticket plan) you can pop along to a rave! (or go to one as a festival taster?) THE CAMP BESTIVAL & BIG FISH LITTLE FISH TOUR RETURNS FOR 2018 AROUND THE WORLD IN 18 RAVES! DON’T MISS THE LIFE ON THE OCEAN RAVE MOORING AT A VENUE NEAR YOU SOON: VAUXHALL / READING / BRIGHTON / FARNHAM / BRISTOL / HACKNEY / EXETER CHIPPENHAM / SOUTHEND-ON-SEA / GRAYS / SOUTHAMPTON / MARGATE / BATH HIGH WYCOMBE / TUNBRIDGE WELLS / PLYMOUTH BOURNEMOUTH / KINGSTON  Long-term Camp Bestival consorts, Big Fish Little Fish are finest purveyors of quality raves for all the family. Enlisting big name DJs that mums and dads love from days of yore and mixin...

You can't have escaped the news lately about microplastics and their effect on the planet. First we were told about microbeads in cosmetics, now it is the turn of glitter to be in the spotlight. First a school was reported as having banned glitter and while, like many people, my initial thought was 'what on earth?' I realise now that glitter is small but deadly. In fact as far back as last summer I had been thinking about glitter. While it hadn't really occurred to me that all glitter use was bad, I was aware that flinging glitter (tiny non-biodegradable pieces of plastic) into the environment was bad, so I didn't hold with the ridiculous idea of ' magic reindeer food ' at Christmas time, and I had started thinking that festival body glitter would have to go. Each year I marvel at the beauty of the young people at festivals covered in body paint and gorgeous glitter and sequins and the last few years I have taken my own to wear too. But it did occur ...

Have you got plans sorted for the weekend? It's a Bank Holiday in the UK (for those of you that live in foreign climes that equates to a day of rest for many of the people that usually have a 9-5 toil) and I am one of many that will be enjoying a long weekend. In the UK it is also tradition that Bank Holiday Mondays are wet. However as we have seen from previous festival news, this year has been one of broken traditions, it even rained at Camp Bestival! (unheard of in it's previous 9 year history) so it's no surprise to see that the sun will be shining all weekend at Hersmonceaux this weekend. If you live any where near Herstmonceaux (it's in East Sussex) and you are not planning a trip to England's Medieval festival for at least one day (camping is available and camp site opens at 2pm today!) then you are missing out!   Tickets are available at the gate and the festival is open Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Last year I was glad I camped as there were s...

Hi all, I expect you are wondering what a tent has to blog about. Well I have some exciting times you know - I travel to all sorts of exotic places (ok ok the Isle of Wight is the only time I have travelled 'overseas'  but still...) and I attend lots of festivals each year, I don't get a wristband but that's OK as I don't have any wrists. To introduce myself, I am Wilfred. I am a canvas Cabanon tent, a Dutch pyramid style, slightly retro and very storm resistant. In 2015 I had the equivalent of a tent tattoo , and was painted with a fun Japanese design. I'm well used, well loved and unique. This year I went to The Byline Festival and had a lovely time in a nice grassy field with well spaced tents. There were lots of new tents there who told me that their owners had never even taken them out of the bag before! I felt a true 'old hand' with my merry bunting and flags, my extra tarpaulin and my solar lights. The festival itself seemed very genteel....

Well. Where to begin. Camp Bestival . A fabulous festival of fun and frolics for young people, kids and the young at heart. It is always full of laughs, and some surprises. The regular fun things include the awesome Insect Circus, the worlds largest bouncy castle (only a regular since last year), Mr Tumble, Dick 'n' Dom, kids garden fun, crazy bikes, sticker crafts, retro 80s bands, the Blue Coats, the inflatable church, the WI tea tent, the Feast Collective, and the jam jar cocktail bar. This year surprises included... rain . It never rains at Camp Bestival. No seriously it doesn't. DD and I have been going since 2009 and it really never rains. It is sunny, hot, you need sunscreen. This year, Camp Bestival's 10th Anniversary , the rain we had never had...all came at once. And so, suddenly, Camp Bestival resembled Glastonbury. For families that were not used to camping, or had small kids I imagine this was horrible. Muddy tents and wet clothes are no ...

Having come back from one festival I'm feeling like I'm back in the swing of things and so I'm planning what food and drink to take to my next festival, which is Camp Bestival at the end of July. We will eat out a lot I'm sure as there are loads of food stalls to choose from and I cannot be bothered to trek back to the tent most lunch times, nor cart around warm bananas and beer. But breakfast is a lazy time and wandering to the food stall and then queueing for ages while looking rubbish is not my idea of fun, so I shall be planning 4 breakfasts and probably 4 dinners, with a few additional snacks. I always over pack for food and I'm trying really hard not to this year. There are only 2 of us yet I seem to pack enough for 5 people for 10 meals and then I bring it all home again! Luckily while buying some beer to take to Byline Festival I spotted a packet of potato and bacon brunch in Sainsbury's that is for 2 people and designed to be fried (no oil etc...