Pitching A Tent

by Shelia
(UK - Portsmouth)

I wanted to share a few tips for pitching a tent. We go camping two or three times a year and have done so for about 5 years now. We camp in the UK, mainly Devon, Cornwall and the Lake District.

We have planed our next camping trip for April. Were not really cold weather campers but spring is on its way. We love it in the summer...

Arrive early: Try and set up camp and tent in daylight , to avoid missing the best pegs (pitching spot) available. It also makes it a much easier and less of a rushed job arriving early.


Avoiding wind: We try to choose a spot protected from the wind by pitching close to a trees, or a hill that acts likes a windbreak, if available..


The ground: Finding an area where the ground is level is wise and helps with comfort when sleeping. Looking out for patches of dry mud and making sure we don’t camp there has helped us avoid getting swamped when it decides to rain. This happened once and we had to move during the night to protect the tent from getting completely soaked. Lowest ground is not always the best because water travels downwards.

Position: Position your tent so you sleep with your head higher than your feet. I have made this mistake and woke up with my face in the wall of the tent , not nice:(

Ground sheet: A Ground Cloth helps protect the tent floor from getting damaged by sticks and stones, and it adds an extra layer of waterproofing below the tent. When you use a ground cloth, you won't have to clean off the bottom of the tent when you pack up to go, that helps.

Sun shelter - Tarp: Set up a sun and rain area by using a tarp set up at the side of your tent. This is a good rain shelter, provides space for camp cooking and a place to leave gear if you don’t have one of these big posh roomy tent's.


Heavy rain: My uncle taught me this one. If you know your going to have a lot of rain you can make a kind of small trench by the main area that water will run. We do this by using a small shovel, although we only do this when were pitching a tent in an area where we are allowed, not campgrounds.


These are some of the camping tips we use when pitching a tent. Hope they help :)


Sheila