Active Camping

Come and have a look at our new camping range in our shop at Barnack, as well as loads of tents up outside!

This weekend why not head down to Barnack Country Clothes and wellieboots.com in Barnack, near Stamford in Lincolnshire for the Opening Weekend of Active Camping (www.activecamping.com). Active Camping was launched by Barnack Country Clothes and wellieboots.com following requests from our festival customers who said they would love to buy their festival camping gear at the same time as their festival wellies and waterproof clothing; so in 2010, the website www.activecamping.com was launched! 2011 sees the introduction of a bigger range including more products for family camping, as well as the addition of the Active Camping collection in our shop!

Visit our Open Weekend on Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th May from 10am ’til 4pm to see an array of pitched tents, our full camping range displayed in our shop plus plenty of advice! We’ll also be offering our guests 10% off all camping products throughout the weekend and some light refreshments too! So pop down and say hello and see what Active Camping has to offer.

Camping Stoves and Cooking Equipment from Active Camping - Cooking doesn't get easier than this

About two weeks ago we supplied one of the Active Camping team with a few accessories to take on his D of E Silver expedition. Toby, a key member of our support team, was about to leave for a 46 mile trek in the hills of North Yorkshire armed with Gelert mess tins, a pack of Super Noodles and instructions to file a product review on his return.

Toby says: “The first positive thing to say is that the mess tins take up no space in your rucksack whatsoever simply because you can pack all manner of small items of kit inside the tins. My first aid kit, utensils and dried food sachets neatly slotted in the tins saving space and keeping them from getting jumbled with all my other stuff. We kept the cooking on our trek as simple as possible. This was so easy; water and noodles in the mess tin, heat, drain and eat. Job done! Definitely on my kit list for the next trip.’

Is this the perfect tent for tent for a short family break? We think so.

There’s a buzz around the Active Camping office this morning and it’s a direct result of a week of beautiful weather. What’s more, the courier has just arrived with a delivery from Gelert Camping bringing yet more of this season’s new kit and that’s prompted a dash for the calendar to book some days testing the new camping range while the weather’s still nice. Top of everybody’s list is the new Gelert Easy Pitch Tornado 5 Man Tent, an ideal tent for a family break this Easter, or for the 4 day Bank Holiday break – thanks Will and Kate!

This is a real gem; Gelert has produced a tent that’s perfect for the family or a group of friends taking a short break at festivals or over a long weekend. The big sleeping area gives loads of comfortable living space and the porch area offers lots of storage. Looks like we’re going to have to draw lots to see who gets to use it this Easter!

Camp in style with the Gelert Camping Chair in Albarino Print from Active Camping www.activecamping.com

With the camping season and summer festivals on their way, its time to start digging out your camping gear, and why not treat yourself to one or two new bits and bobs to make your camping trip even more enjoyable?

The first item on my list is a brilliant way to treat yourself; camp in style with this Gelert Camping Chair in Albarino Print, a fun design which will ensure your camping chair stands out from the crowd! This Gelert Camping Chair is brilliant for relaxing at the end of a day at festivals and on your campsite. Gather round a camp fire, barbeque or chill out under the night sky in comfort with this funky camping chair from Gelert Camping, but don’t forget to make use of the drinks holder! The Albarino Print Gelert Camping Chair can be put up or folded down in seconds with ease and comes with its own carry case too.

The Gelert Camping Chair – Albarino Print is available from Active Camping at www.activecamping.com for just £11.99 (RRP £12.99). Why not visit our shop? Click here to find out more!

The Gelert Quick Pitch SS Pop Up Tent in Zebra Print from Active Camping

Check out this funky tent in the Gelert Camping range. This Gelert Quick Pitch Single Skin Pop-Up Tent is perfect as a festival tent in this funky Zebra print. Any festival goer will know how hard it can be to find your tent in a field full of ‘average’ looking tents so a bright and colourful tent ought to do just the job! Why not take a look at the Gelert Quick Pitch SS Pop Up Tent – Zebra Print today.

This Gelert Quick Pitch Zebra Tent is very easy to pitch – watch the video here. This is a 2 man tent which is incredibly easy to pitch – perfect for novices! Simply remove from the carry case, release the strap and…ping…the tent is up! All thats left to do is secure your guy ropes with a few pegs and you can head on down to the festival to see where the music and fun is!

This Gelert Tent has a single skin (so no messing about with fly sheets), sleeps two people and has a hydrostatic head of 2000mm, plus it weighs just over 2kg, so doesn’t take much effort to carry to the campsite! Pick up a Gelert Quick Pitch SS Pop Up Tent in Zebra Print from activecamping.com today for just £34.99 (RRP £49.99).

The Gelert Rocky 3 Man Easy Pitch Tent in Raspberry from Active Camping

Next up on our Active Camping ‘What’s Hot’ list we have the Gelert Rocky 3 Man Easy Pitch Tent in Raspberry. This Gelert Rocky 3 is an excellent 3 man Tent available in two colours; Raspberry and Blue Jay plus it’s also my personal favourite festival tent in the Active Camping range.

The Gelert Rocky 3 Man Tent in Raspberry Sorbet/Iced Pearl is a sturdy Three Man Tent with a Double Skin for extra protection against the weather and to decrease condensation. It has a porch area so that you don’t have to bring your muddy wellies and kit inside your tent, the porch also has its own ground sheet which is already attached to the bedroom area. The Gelert Rocky 3 Man Easy Pitch Tent in Raspberry does exactly what it says on the tin; it really is quick and easy to pitch (even I managed to put it up!) and sleeps 3 people comfortably. This tent comes with a carry bag which is easy to pack and go and is a nice size to carry.

This Gelert Tent is available from activecamping.com for just £49.99 (RRP £59.99) and comes in two colours; Rasberry Sorbet/Iced Pearl for the girls and Blue Jay/Slate for the boys! Click here to see our full range of Festival Tents.

The Gelert 4 LED Wind-up Mini Lantern from Active Camping

With the Camping season fast approaching we take a look at the camping gear in our ‘What’s Hot’ category on the Active Camping website! First up is the Gelert 4 LED Wind-Up Mini Lantern. This handy little Camping Gadget is great for family camping trips and Summer Festival Camping. This Wind-Up Lantern from Gelert Camping is an excellent item to store in your Tent or Rucksack, providing brilliant light without having to take lots of batteries away with you. Equipped with 4 x 5mm LED bulbs which offer 360 degrees of ultra bright white illumination, this mini Camping Lantern is a great way of providing light on your camping holiday.

To provide light in your tent or whilst walking to and from the toilet blocks in the dark, you don’t need to buy expensive batteries. Simply wind the lantern up for 1 minute to provide 20 minutes of light – a great job to occupy the kids. The Gelert 4 LED Wind-Up Mini Lantern is water resistant, has a soft touch rubber finish, has a compact folding winding handle and a carry handle. This Gelert Lantern is tough, lightweight and won’t upset your bank balance as it is available from www.activecamping.com at just £6.99!

Active Camping - for all your festival camping needs! Visit www.activecamping.com

Are you a camping enthusiast? Perhaps you’ve experienced camping at a Summer Festival such as Glastonbury, V-Festival or Download? Or maybe you can recommend a camping product, gadget or accessory which you would consider a must-have to any other camper? Well tell us more! We want to hear all about your camping experiences – good and bad!

We’ve all heard the stories about festival camping; horrid toilet and shower facilities,  overpriced food stands and losing your tent! Perhaps you have found a brilliant solution which will help other festival-goers this Summer; ways to make your festival tent stand out in a field full of tents, maybe you’ve used a portable shower or have found products like dry shampoo to keep clean and fragrant whilst enjoying your festival of choice, or maybe you’ve got great ideas for keeping the cost of all your camping equipment down? Here at Active Camping we’d love to hear your stories, find out about the innovative camping gadgets you’ve found and would love to see pictures of you and your friends at your favourite Summer Festival.

So if you think you can help, why not upload your pictures and stories on our Facebook page or email to hannah@activecamping.com - happy camping!!

Look out for new products coming soon on our summer and festival camping site activecamping.com

The Summer may be well and truly behind us but as Winter sets in we are very busy behind the scenes looking at lots of new products for next years festival season so that you can enjoy your visit to a summer festival or holiday camping experience. Our camping range already includes fantastic tents, sleeping bags and camping equipment from leading brands including Outwell, Gelert, Easy Camp, Coleman, PowerPlus, Light My Fire as well as Festival Wellies and Clothing from Hunter Wellies, Joules, WedgeWelly and Mac in a Sac.

If you have seen a product out there that you think we should stock, be sure to let us know! Look out for new products coming soon including the revolutionary ‘Bog in a Bag‘ – the ultimate portable toilet! Plus, don’t forget to keep an eye out for all our new additions ready for the camping season next year.

Gelert Camping from Active Camping www.activecamping.com

At Active Camping, one of our most popular brands is Gelert Camping. Gelert produce innovative camping products that are affordable, good quality and easy to use. Gelert’s knowledge in the field of camping spans over 30 years and their range of Tents, Camping Equipment, Festival Gear, Sleeping Bags and more reflects this hands-on experience.

Gelert are well known for their exclusive revolutionary products; Gelert Sleeping Pods and Gelert Quick Pitch Tents. Gelert Sleeping Pods are a new-style sleeping bag designed to allow you to sleep in virtually any position you find comfortable and come in a choice of bright and funky colours. Gelert’s Quick Pitch Tents are the ultimate Festival Tents; unbelievably easy to pitch, lightweight, easy to carry and come in some great colours and prints such as the Quick Pitch Zebra Print Tent.

Buy your Gelert Camping Equipment from Active Camping at www.activecamping.com where you will benefit from our competitive prices, fantastic customer service and easy-to-use website.

The Gelert Rocky 3 Man Easy Pitch Tent - Blue Jay is my pick for Isle of Wight 2010

This weekend celebrates the 12th Isle of Wight Festival held at Newport, Isle of Wight. From Friday 11th June – Sunday 13th June 2010 thousands of music fans will descend upon the Isle of Wight for a weekend jam-packed of Music, Fashion and Partying! Come rain or shine, you are guaranteed a good time with some of the acts set to take the stage at IOW 2010. Headliners include: Jay-Z, The Strokes, Paul McCartney, Florence and the Machine, Blondie, Pink, Calvin Harris, Biffy Clyro, Editors, Vampire Weekend, Spandau Ballet, Friendly Fires, Mr Hudson and Paloma Faith, to name just a few!

The weather forecast isn’t looking too promising this weekend, and following all the rainfall this week the ground is going to be a little wet and muddy so make sure you are prepared for every eventuality this weekend, here are a few tips:

1) Take sensible footwear – have a look at our range of Festival Wellies; not only will your feet be protected, comfy and dry for a weekend of dancing in the mud, but with selected wellington boots you will receive a FREE Wellington Boot Bag and Emergency Poncho. View our full range of Active Camping Festival Wellies.

2) Pack your Waterproof Clothing – we stock Mac in a Sac Waterproof Jackets and Overtrousers, Didriksons Waterproof Sets and Gelert Waterproofs; this means you have no excuse for getting wet at the Isle of Wight Festival this weekend. View our full range of Active Camping Waterproof Festival Clothing.

3) Make sure your Tent and Camping Equipment isn’t going to let you down – if you’ve already got a tent, get it out and check there isn’t any rips or tears in the fabric. If you are buying a brand new tent for IOW make sure you check the Hydrostatic Head (this tells you how waterproof it is) before buying to ensure it isn’t going to let any rain in during a downpour! It’s also a good idea to opt for a Double Skin tent if heavy rain is forecast. If you want to learn more about how to choose your tent and the camping jargon, have a read of our Festival Camping Guide at activecamping.com

Our top tip: Once you’ve purchased a new tent, practise putting it up in the back garden before your trip; better to scratch a clear head at home than a beer-addled head in a festival field.

My favourite tent for a spot of Festival Camping at Isle of Wight is the Gelert Rocky 3 Man Easy Pitch Tent – Blue Jay – very easy to pitch (I speak from experience on this one!), sleeps 3 people comfortably, comes in a nice bright colour making it easier to find in a field full of tents, plus it priced at the bargain price of £49.99 (RRP £59.99) – a fantastic deal!

To everyone going to Isle of Wight; have a great time! Happy Camping.

Team Camp Active