Camping kit Post Reply

[GreyingDad]

Hi there

I have had my arm twisted by my 5 year old daughter to take her and the rest of my family camping some time over the summer holidays. Other than one elderly sleeping bag between all four of us we don't have a ground sheet to rub together.

Does anyone have any suggestions where to get/hire the kit ? I'm not planning a Polar trip so it doesn't have to be state of the art Arctic standard !

Thanks

[Tobyn]

Hello Greying Dad
What you need is a Bell Tent. A Cotton Canvas Bell Tent not some nylon nightmare. We us ours on camping trips and also in the garden as a chill out / playroom / emergency bedroom. What's great is you can roll the walls up on a scorching afternoon and have a shady breezy canopy to hang out in. We brought it off Bell Tent UK on the interweb and it turned out they are based in Colliers Wood so we went to collect and saved on the shipping. I think they put the Bell Tents up outside every Friday so you can try before you buy. They also have loads of other Glamping gear and the tea light chandelier is a particular favourite with our three year old.
It's completely transformed our views on camping and I recommend it.
Hope this helps....

[schoolgatesmum]

We've got a Bell Tent as well and it's brilliant. Very easy to put up (I can do it on my own in 20 minutes), very protective from the elements and the coolest looking tent on the campsite. We got ours from the same place - they are brilliant. It makes camping an altogether different experience. The only thing is that it's quite heavy but that's not a problem if you're doing family camping (i.e. you have a car!). Camping is the best type of holiday with kids - they keep themselves entertained, sleep well from all the fresh air. I can recommend a book called Cool Camping for Kids - we've been to quite a few of the campsites in it and they've all been great. It's got lots of tips for camping novices as well. Good luck!

[JThomas]

The Bell Tents look gorgeous, but if you're looking at the more budget end of the market, I've always sourced a lot of camping gear from Argos/Wilkinson. I think Argos often do a starter kit with sleeping mats and bags and a tent. Buy a bigger tent than the number of people going (eg for 2 people, a 4 man tent means theres actually space for all your stuff) and an air mattress and some camping chairs make the world of difference. Camping is fab. Look for a site which allows campfires.

[amyf]

Just came back from a camping trip.

Can recommend...
1.Decathlon in Canada water, they have a vast range of equipment and tents that are up so you can have a play.
2.Blow up matress
3. Small gas stove and cooking set (argos)
4. Waterproof ground sheet for sitting on if ground wet

We had a great time!

[GreyingDad]

Thanks everyone. I Googled Bell Tents - they do look great.

Will make sure we pick a dry weekend to venture out into the countryside !!

[Tobyn]

Just got an email blast from Bell Tent UK saying they are running a 10% off promotion on some of their Bell Tents. Here's a cut and paste...

The Umbrella Summer Promotion is here!
As we're having such a soaker of a summer we at Bell Tent UK are advising buyers to upgrade from the ‘Standard’ model of our Bell Tents to the ‘Deluxe’ or ‘Ultimate’ models as their heavy duty, rubberised, basin-like groundsheets come 4 inches up the sides of the tent, offering much better protection from the wet weather.
To help you upgrade affordably we are now running an ‘Umbrella Summer Special’ which gives you 10% (up to £52!) off any of our Deluxe or Ultimate tents. Simply enter the promotional code ‘UMBRELLA’ at checkout for your discount off these tents.

Hope this helps.