Bell tent /camping

[piddlypoddlypoo]

I'm not a natural camper but as a lone parent I'm beginning to think it could change our life, as I break the bank to afford a UK break. DD is 8 now. Also I absolutley love the idea of going to festivals, the smaller family type ones. Went to an outdoor concert recently and it unleashed memories in me and I felt back to me after a horrific ten years.

So looking at bell tents.... But - if i get a 4m can I put it up on my own? DD could probably help carry it?

Also, need to buy a car as still sharing car with ex. Was going to get a ford fiesta. Does the bell tent fit in most cars? Obviously can put back seats down as just me and dd?

I'm just sold on the festival/fairy light thing. I've even got a portable toilet this year as we are glamping, so that'll give me food for thought on whether this is going to be for us .

Oh and we've bought chairs on sale. So far I have chairs and a portable toilet....

This is the first year I have not been camping in 10 years - DH is actually putting our 5m in the garden this weekend, so we can all have a night under canvas!

Bell tents are a doddle to put up - we went for an integrated groundsheet as we do a lot of festival and larp camping where you can wake up to a thunderstorm and a river running down past your tent. Bell tents are typically one of the few tent types left standing after a bad weekend. We use our 6-9 times a year, usually.

The pros;

• Airy, spacious and very pretty. The thick canvas keeps it warm at night and keeps out the early morning sun. I always sleep well in a bell tent.
• The 5m bell is a good size for using an inner, so you can have separate sleeping and living areas. Alternatively, you can rig a chandelier from the central pole and stick an inflatable sofa on one side.
• You can attach an awning to the bell tent for extra living and cooking space.
• DH can set it up (by himself) in 15 minutes.

Cons:

• It is heavy and bulky to transport. You will be able to fit it into a Ford fiesta, but you will have to think carefully about what else you want to take. On the plus side, with exception of festival camping, you can usually park alongside your pitch, so you won't be lugging it too far.
• Canvas cannot be put away wet. Make sure you have a large enough area indoors to dry it out after a wet weekend. We hang ours over the door in the conservatory, but it still takes up a lot of physical space.

Regarding the groundsheet, it boils down to three choices:

• separate groundsheet. Easier to take down and dry the tent when wet. Can roll up the sides in hot weather. Not brilliant if the campsite is a mudbath or infested with midges.
• Integrated groundsheet. You can practically float the tent in a river and stay dry. Really easy to pitch, but a bugger to dry out when wet.
• Zipped groundsheet. The best of both worlds as long as the zip works!

Good luck and enjoy camping.

dancing dinosaur do you carry it with the groundsheet attached?

I do carry it with the ground sheet attached. I'm too lazy to separate them. I also leave a heavy mallet in the bag too! It does get easier carrying it after the initial shock of the weight when you get it home and first lift it. But the shock is outweighed by the overall beauty of the tent. I love it so much. But anyway if you separated the two into separate bags it would feel quite light (in comparison!!) and certainly manageable. Most sites I have been on have let me take the car to the pitch to drop my stuff off. The only one that doesn't provides wheelbarrows or takes my stuff on a quad trailer (for a small fee.) I haven't run into any problems with it really.

I've got the ZIG btw, so the best of both worlds. although I don't take it apart or roll the sides up very often, it was handy when the ground sheet got very wet after I had left it up in the garden for weeks. I separated it then to get the wet off, which saved the canvas getting dirty. I would also get a tarp to lay underneath the whole tent to keep it cleaner as the ground can get quite mucky. I got my ZIG from baker and bell on ebay for £350 (my offer got accepted) with free delivery, which is a good price for a new one. It doesn't have a fly screen at the front but it would be easy to drape a net curtain across the A frame at the porch door with very little effort.

Great thanks so much for all the advice. Freedom beckons!

I think we might try out a bell tent ready pitched, with kit, at a festival early in the season next year, before we invest in tent and all the equipment. Then if we enjoy we re set for the summer! V excited now! Need to get saving....

Sounds sensible, OP. I find glamping to be very addictive - there's always an upgrade or tent accessory to buy! At least this way you will find out what really works for you.

Also; take a look on cool camping for unusual campsites and recommended venues. I am currently drooling over some of the french campsites on offer.

Hmm, this fly spray - do you use it in the tent?

I don't use any solvent based substances, aerosols, or even bubbles in or around my tent as many things can damage the waterproofing, or worse fire retardant properties.

I am sorely tempted by a cotton tent, sorely, sorely tempted, but I would find it hard to dry at home, we have no garage, for example, and so many of the sites I like to camp at don't have cars by the tents, so lugging, trolleying, barrowing is required.

Still tempted though, to expand my range of tents....

I have a polycotton 4 metre sewn in groundsheet one.
Makes it lighter than the canvas bells - especially when packing up in the rain.

I'm 5'2, can easily put this up on my own.

I also have a plethora of other tents.

Have you considered a 'pyramid tent' ? I have one & it's my favourite.
As easy to put up as a bell tent with the same 'prettiness' but also has the advantage of some flats walls for 'stuff' and more usable standing space.
Also as they usually have some form of bedroom divider so not all heat lost when you open front door. Also , more privacy when your child gets older. My Dd now refuses to go camping in the bell now she's older.
Pack size bell & pyramid about the same. Small enough to get in my mini.
If I use another of my tents ( with more poles) I need a bigger car.
HTH

This is the canvas tent I am / was sorely tempted by, the Eldorado. It seems an excellent price compared to a bell tent, has the advantages of some flat walls and wide standing room, you don't have to stoop to get in, it has fully SIG sleeping compartment, and, for my tastes, is less glampy than a bell.

But I haven't got the boot space, or the drying space, and it is v heavy...