Little Frame Tent

How this started was, well there was someone on an online forum who was totally new to camping and was being dangerously seduced by Bell Tents, I'll tell you this....Instagram has an awful lot to answer for.

As I'm now the owner of a Bell Tent, I can now see beyond the appeal of prettying it up. Bell Tent camping is a whole other experience from other tent camping. 

How can I put it, well....in a tunnel tent or family tent you are looking for some sane things. Like somewhere to stand upright and a designated sleeping area that you can close off 1) the sight of messed up beds and 2) keep the bugs especially spiders out. 

Bell Tent camping is much more romantic. The bed is always on view as is pretty much everything else especially if you have kids and you are sort of supposed to embrace the bohemian lifestyle of 'lounging' and if you are even slightly a clean freak this will drive you nuts. How can you sit on a bed and not mess it up! The door is too low resulting in an aching back and I'm quite frankly, the wrong shape for floundering on the floor as I cannot get back up again without using the central pole. And even then, I'd need a rope with knots in it. 

Bell Tent facebook pages are full of the most amazing photos, but the fans of them admit themselves the photo was taken at the beginning of their trip, after the shoozing it up but before a single being was let in there. 

I pointed out to this young family (I know it's taken a while to get back to the original request for advice) that you don't necessarily need a Bell Tent to glamp, that old fashioned Frame Tents are retro now and all the rage. 

They offer benefits like you can stand up all over the internal space. There is a normal walk in height door. The seventies and beyond offered some questionable if not funky colour choices. These wacky tents can be festooned with bunting and filled with cushions just as easily as a Bell Tent.  I went on to ebay to pick out a 'smallish' Frame Tent to illustrate my point and found a lovely little Buttermilk Yellow and Royal Blue one. It was £55. The seller was happy for people to arrange courier should they so wish. 

I kept refreshing the ebay page and the forum post page and the tent which was on a 'Buy it now' was still there. I thought the couple were bound to buy it, it was a no brainer.  The tent got in to my head. I kept thinking about all my arguements why a Frame Tent was better and just as pretty as a Bell Tent. I hoped they wouldn't buy the tent. 

I did a quick courier search thinking the cost will be prohibitive. Nope...it's was about £30. £85 all in. 

I thought some more, sure haven't I always wanted a more manageable size of a Frame Tent rather than my big brute of a Frame Tent? (Actually said this about the Bell Tent too, even I can't fool myself all the time).  I'm going to be a solo camper from now on. I can use the bedroom pod without it's divider. I actually prefer no groundsheet in the living area it's better for eating and cooking (so I told myself) and between one thing and another....

I argued with myself and I won. 

John, the owner was incredibly easy to deal with and kept communication throughout the process. A dozen messages between us, Yodel organised over the internet and paid for online. I'm now the owner of a Sunncamp Villa 4 with two huge windows and more importantly, it's in great condition. It actually dates from the 90's so it isn't really that old.

I've never named a tent. Well the Vango Icarus got Iccy but that's just laziness. I don't know why but I think this one needs a name. Any suggestions gratefully recieved.

To the original couple who I advised, your loss is my gain. Thank you for choosing a Bell Tent. 

These photos are from the original Ebay link. It's in my house now, still in its bag and I'm actually looking for a time to use it now but struggling because the next two trips, my Bell will be used. 

Six Mile Water Campsite, Antrim

Six Mile Water Campsite

I have been quiet this year thus far but I've now had two camping trips, only quick weekends so far but the weather has been kind to me both times. The first was at Hillfoot, where I camped alongside two other families and my nephew joined my camp. It was the first time I used the new tent I bought earlier this year. I got a Gelert Cabana 4 on sale at a price not to be refused as a very quick to pitch tent and so far it's been pretty good. It is a bit like a Tepee tent, it has a central pole but the tent is modified in that it has an inner compartment and has two poles near the front for extending the tent a bit regarding head height at the door. It is quite a funky fabric, grey and black swirly design but it does have one drawback - no windows. I haven't been bothered by this so far but I reckon a week of rain would have me going stir crazy in there - so it is a fair weather tent and really for solo camping (even though its supposed to be a four berth).

Bed set up is a Decathlon (Quechua) all in one Self Inflating Mat and sleeping bag, pillows from home and a spare green fluffy blanket just in case. I forgot to bring my camp bed, but I was more comfortable than I would have thought as this Self Inflating Mat is only about 3cm. The picnic mat is an oversized one from Lidl with a foil reflective back. 

Looking out, no windows! But there is a mesh doorway as well as the fabric one. 

Still getting great use out of my Coleman Mini Table

This was my first trip with Coco my Springer only, as a few weeks ago my other wee dog Toby was killed by a car when he got out through a hedge on to a road. Wee Toby is much missed, the whole family have been so upset. He was only two but he was a wee tinker and life is definately a bit quieter!

Lough Neagh

The campsite is close beside Lough Neagh. The campsite itself looks out onto a river which flows into the lake, and it is a nice outlook as the river is lined with boats being a natural harbour. The lake itself is a five minute dander due West from the campsite, just follow the river. In this picture you may just about see an aeroplane, which shows how close this area is to the International Airport. 

Funny quip - two little boys whizzed past me on bikes, one said to the other 'Is this called Lough Neagh' and the other little boy said 'No no...that is in Scotland!'. I think he was thinking of Lough Ness though. 

Overview of my camping year so far

Hello dear readers, I haven't posted in a while so I thought I'd do something about that. I have been camping three more times since that early trip in March and right now I have one more weekend camp coming up before our main family holiday away in County Kerry. So right now my thoughts are full of lists, and I have lists of lists, and I have two different notebooks, numerous back of envelopes and a document wallet with lists. 

First I want to share something. I went camping in the rain. This wasn't normal rain, it was relentless, heavy, constant and set my teeth on edge. We weren't short of space, (fairly big tent) and we weren't short of food or supplies. We were short of patience, and we (myself and two teens) were a bit damp and I had two dogs that were more than a bit damp and stuck in a crate for most of the time. It wasn't fair on the dogs or the kids. So when I came home I made a list. That's right, another list.

At the top of this list I wrote:

DON'T GO CAMPING IN THE RAIN

It should be said that of the two nights we stayed, the first evening was dry and the sunset was unbelievable, we had a camp fire lit and some Home Brew red wine courtesy of a fellow camping friend and life was good. Even the evening of our relentlessly rainy day was saved by a brilliant campers sitting room where we had a wood burning stove and the company and craic was great, and this one thing alone saved my sanity that day. Anyway this rule is not always going to be easy to achieve. Sometimes weekends are paid for and booked in advance. So then we either go and get wet or cancel and don't get a refund. Then there's the accuracy of our forecasts, it's virtually impossible to go by them. But by and large, if there's a wet weekend forecast I'm staying home from now on. 

The next thing I wrote was 

DON'T GO CAMPING WITH KIDS AND DOGS AT THE SAME TIME

I know this is not for everyone. This is my self imposed rule. It's probably going to be a flexible rule, the dogs do enhance our weekend when our time is planned around them and nice long walks - and the main off-putting thing about that weekend was the fact that it rained so heavily. At home (when it's raining heavily) the dogs would have the run of the house. When we're camping they are not allowed to be untethered or uncrated. They have to be restrained all the time even on walks unless we leave site and go somewhere safe. I'm a lone parent, I had two teenagers demanding my time and attention. I had two dogs also needing my time and attention. I felt guilty on both fronts. So it has been decided that for our main holiday the dogs are going into Kennels, they've been before and are used with the Avril who is the angel that runs the kennels and I know they'll be well taken care of. It'a another bill to pay, but on this occasion I'm putting the kids first. They are teenagers. They will probably not have that many more holidays with me. 

Next on my list I wrote:

Only take one cup and one plate and one spork per person AND THATS IT!

As you can probably tell I took far too much stuff including the kitchen sink. To add insult to injury I didn't even use it all which means it was a) a waste of time including it on my list, b) a waste of time looking and retrieving for the item, c) a waste of my time packing, transporting and unpacking this item when d) I shouldn't have bothered in the first place. 

Still learning!

Buying a tunnel tent tips and hints

Going to a tent display, should you find one near you, is an ideal way of getting a feel for the kind of tent you'd like. I often advise a tunnel tent as they are one of the easiest designs and can come in family friendly sizes. Here's a few things to look out for:

• A tunnel tent usually has three or five flexible poles. The ones with five poles aren't much more difficult to erect that the ones with three poles. 

• A tunnel tent often has different lengths of poles. The pole will have a colour (usually in the centre of the pole so you won't see it through the pole sleeve) which corresponds to a colour sewn on to the end of the pole sleeve.

• A tunnel tent which has all the same length of poles won't need colour coding and eliminates a certain amount of faff. The Vango Icarus is an obvious example.

• Tents often have separate bedroom pods that are designed to be unhooked before striking camp. This is not necessary, bedroom pods can be left in situ when folding the tent up.

• Many tents are factory vacuum packed. This means that when you go to fold up a tent it is nigh on impossible to get it back into it's supplied bag. Look for an 'oversized bag' as a selling point. 

• A steel poled tunnel tent will be sturdier in a gale, but has a heavier and bulkier pack size. You can compensate by carrying poles and tent separately, but then you risk leaving the poles at home accidentally (and you won't be popular for that!)

• A polycotton fabric tent won't heat up as quickly in the mornings should it be sunny, so you'll get an extra bit of sleeping in time. Again it's heavier and bulkier pack size (and expense) , but you decide if it's worth it.