The new tent

Published on 16 April 2011 in Life, Walking, camping, walking

It’s now less than two months to go until my final day at the BBC, which is daunting. However it’s also exciting as it’s less than two months until my final day at the BBC! For that means that my trip to walk the Southern Upland Way is drawing ever nearer.

I’d decided early on that I would go off walking almost as soon as possible after leaving – I just didn’t want to wait. So when they gave me the date of 10 June, I decided to head off on two days after (much to the dismay of my boss who, a few weeks later, was trying to convince me to stay on a little longer.) Over the last few weeks I’ve been slowly but surely assorting a collection of stuff I’d need. I bought the train ticket yesterday whilst Catherine’s Dad, Mike, has loaned me a sleeping bag, inflatable mattress and a big bottle of meths (for a stove, not for drinking…) And then on Wednesday, my tent arrived. This afternoon I gave it a test pitch on our lawn.

The tent is a Terra Nova Laser Competition Tent. It’s a one person tent and has had some good reviews for being very spacious for its size, whilst being amazingly light. The whole thing comes in at less than a kilogram. It’s really easy to pitch – I had it up and pegged out in around five minutes (although I didn’t do the guy ropes, so it looks a little saggy in some of the photos)

Inside, it is a little snug although there’s plenty of room for someone to sleep. The awning (which is something I was very keen on having as it gives you extra space and means you don’t have to sleep next to your smelly boots) has enough room to lay down a large rucksack.

The twelve pegs are just enough and amazingly diddy. Made out of Titanium, they’re light and strong although I did manage to slightly bend one on our lawn. They look like they’re easy to lose if careless or hapless (hiya!) so I plan to get some spares along with a groundsheet protector so that if the grass is damp, I can still keep stuff in the awning.

As a trial run, I plan to give all the camping gear a whirl with a short trip to the Lake District in May. Better get off and buy the rest of it then…