My wife and I got the opportunity to get a few days down at Pooley Bridge by Ullswater. Rather than take the Norfolk Lake, we decided to borrow David, our son's tent. Its a nice little 3 berth Vango Delta 300. A little higher than your usual lightweight domes, but still low down compared to our monster tent. I was very impressed by how easy to put the tent up. and When we had to finally strike camp, it was simple to fold and pack back into the bag. No condensation problems with the tent either. We managed to fit a double inflatable matress (widthways rather than lengthways), and a little camping shelf unit too. For lights we used the Lanterns that you can pick up at poundland. Ideal for keeping a little area like this well lit. I especially like the little porch area that the Delta has. Its great for keeping shoes and jackets in. I do have a confession to make though! We may have been basic, but it didnt stop us taking
our Double Outhouse. It made an ideal shelter from the rain (which we did see on a few occasions). I stupidly forgot our kitchen unit, so our rolltop table became kitchen stand and place to eat from. It wasnt too much hassle because it was just the two of us. I'd recommend the Outhouse to all, its a very valuable part of our kit. To be able to store things in this rather than the tent creates a LOT of space that would otherwise be full of dangerous camping gear and foodstuffs for all to trip over. It is so easy to set up too. Just 2 poles that slip into sleeves on the roof, then clip down the four sides. Its nice and sturdy once its guyed down. Pack size is VERY small too, so even with the Big tent, it still fits nicely in the car.
Never a truer saying is you dont appreciate something till its gone. Thats how im feeling about our Gelert Utah 4+4. We sold the tent when we got our Norfolk Lake due to lack of storage space. Now we've moved to a bigger house and we could really be doing with a smaller weekender tent for the little short jaunts that we sometimes like to make. I really regret selling it now. So many happy memories and some fantastic campsites hosted our tent on many occasions. The picture is of the Utah during the Easter holidays 2008 at Eskdale camping Club site. This was also the first outing of our Outhouse utility tent. Another fantastic buy and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to maximise space in thier tent. Very useful if you have kids! It keeps the dangerous stuff out of the way. I plan to give some reports on the various sites ive visited - and sites im visiting this summer. Keep watching.
The last thing we needed this year to be totally honest was a new tent. But when life throws an opportunity at you, sometimes you just have to take it and say "what the heck." We originally used our Gelert Utah 4+4. A great tent, plenty of space for the five of us and really easy to erect. We were in the Go Outdoors shop in Coatbridge (Scotland), just after christmas and to our surprise they were selling off all the ex-display tents. I initially was very interested in buying the Outwell Hartford XL, but when I spotted the Norfolk Lake, It was love at first sight. We all looked at the tent and just knew it would be ideal as a step up from our beloved Utah. So when the guy in the shop said it was reduced from round about £900 to £110, We just had to buy it. First impressions of the tent told me that although it was wind and watertight, It was quite dirty and needing a little bit of TLC to get it worthy of taking on our travels with us. So two weeks later, the tent was dried, bagged and ready to pick up. This is when I have to admit the doubts started kicking in. The bags for the tent are ENORMOUS - So big infact they alone take up a good portion of boot space in our Vauxhall Zafira. Despite the doubts, I was delighted to finally have the tent our kids could enjoy many years of camping trips, and with care possibly our grand children one day too. When I got the tent home we unpacked it and tried our hardest to compact it into the bag better, which we did, but not to any great reduction of sheer size. Did I mention the weight? Its VERY heavy, so I think we may need a weekender tent too. Its just too big and heavy for short breaks (unless the weather is going to be extreme). I sold our other tents due to the lack of space we had in our last house for storage. Something I would learn to regret - but not because the Lake isnt the best tent we've ever had! It ticks every box! I will reveal later why I regret selling the other 2 tents we owned.
our Double Outhouse. It made an ideal shelter from the rain (which we did see on a few occasions). I stupidly forgot our kitchen unit, so our rolltop table became kitchen stand and place to eat from. It wasnt too much hassle because it was just the two of us. I'd recommend the Outhouse to all, its a very valuable part of our kit. To be able to store things in this rather than the tent creates a LOT of space that would otherwise be full of dangerous camping gear and foodstuffs for all to trip over. It is so easy to set up too. Just 2 poles that slip into sleeves on the roof, then clip down the four sides. Its nice and sturdy once its guyed down. Pack size is VERY small too, so even with the Big tent, it still fits nicely in the car.
