Snapdragon's garden

Bell tents

In a couple of weeks we go camping in Mull for the weekend and then its a count down to a campervan tour of Scandinavia next month.  We seem to be spending most of our leisure time looking at campsite websites and planning how to fit everything into Dougal.

Since I posted my photos of our trip to Islay, quite a few people have emailed me to see whether I would recommend a Bell Tent, so I thought that I would put my thoughts down here.

I have always been very suspiscious of Bell Tents - I thought they were probably a bit style over substance and really for pitching near home and decorating with fancy cushions and fairy lights.  I doubted that they would be any use on a proper camping trip.

However, we needed to buy a smaller lighter tent than the family Vanguard one we had (too heavy for the vw to carry, too big for lots of pitches if we wanted to get camper on too) and I began to obsessively compare tent weights, sizes etc.

I completely changed my mind.

The bell tent was much, much lighter than any of the other tents I looked at as it only has one pole, it also is much, much quicker to put up (10 minutes if there are 2 adults and a reasonably willing child). This is particularly important in Scotland as its good to get everyone inside and dry as quickly as possible. It also has a very nice light feel - because it is natural canvas there isn't that spooky green/blue light inside the tent.

We, realising that 90% of our camping is likely to be wind and rainswept went for the 4m deluxe version with zipped ground sheet (will allow us to still roll up the sides in the remaining 10%).  If we hadn't also got Dougal on site and the girls were sleeping in with us, then I would probably have gone for the 5m.

We got ours from here but if you are not needing the zippy groundsheet there is also here

The naming of Dougal

I do not have an ounce of feyness in my character.  I would never refer to the team in the workshop as "fairies" or "elves" (I suspect they would leave in disgust - though Kit, in fairness, may use it as an excuse to buy wings or a bobble hat); I have never had a pet name and I never use baby talk - even to babies.

If it were up to me the vw camper would not really have a name - it would be referred to as "the bus". 

However, I am in a minority in the house and I was told in no uncertain terms that all campers must have names - and that having an unnamed camper would be like calling a cat "cat".

Our first instinct was that we should keep whatever name he arrived with - wouldn't want to confuse the poor thing.  However (and it is a big however) - he was called Billy; lovely name.  He is also orange - and in these parts owning an orange camper called Billy would send out all the wrong signals.

 

So the hunt was on for a name - and top of the list (requiring a gender re-alignment as well as a name change) was Florence. I was thinking Magic Roundabout - the children Florence and the machine.

And then some high profile person named a baby Florence and it no longer seemed a good choice (In similar vein we had to re-christen a chicken when my neice was born).

So - keeping on the magic roundabout groove - we decided on Dougal.

And very happy we are with Dougal.

But I'll probably still call him "the bus"