Laura James - Cool Camping

“I love tipis because they are just so special. Romantic and spacious and whenever I sleep in one I feel as if I’m not in the English countryside, but some magical place somewhere that cannot be explained, really.”

Glastonbury festival’s Emily Eavis says: “I love tipis. A tipi is the most beautiful place to camp. There are always lots of tipis at Glastonbury. They’re all over the site and then there’s the tipi field. It’s amazing. They look really beautiful against the skyline.“

Picture credit: Tipi.co.uk; The Tipi Company

Tipi tips

Fire safety

Remember to take a small fire extinguisher and a sharp knife in case you need to get out of the tipi quickly and your exit is blocked. Both of these should be hung from a string attached to one of the tipi poles and should be clearly visible.

Looking good

You can make your tipi look fantastic by hanging strings of beads from the poles inside, using fur throws and lots of cushions. Ribbons tied right at the end of the poles look great blowing in the wind.

Stay cool

The smoke flaps of your tipi act like a natural chimney and should, of course, be open whenever you have a fire inside the tipi. In the summer, though, they can also help create a through-draught which will keep the interior comfortably cool in warmer weather.

Picture credit: Tipi.co.uk; The Tipi Company

getting it up

The alternative guide to erecting a tipi

1. Stand there looking perplexed

You’ll attract a crowd eager to advise

2. Chat for a bit

You’ll make friends to join you in the tipi

3. Suggest opening a bottle

A glass of wine will pull things into focus

4. Get out paper and a pen

Draw a picture of how the tipi should look

5. Phone a friend for advice

Gossip and let them talk to your new friends

6. Elect a leader

They’ll lose face if it all goes horribly wrong

7. Check the local hotel guide

Suddenly the great indoors is looking very attractive

Picture credit: Canvas Chic

essentials yurts

everybody yurts

Hired by Madonna for her parties and bought by many people as second homes, yurts are simply gorgeous.

Out of all camping structures the yurt is perhaps the most flexible. They’re surprisingly portable and easy to put up, but are robust enough to stay up for long periods. In Mongolia, the word for yurt (which is actually Russian) is ‘ger’ and it means ‘home’.

The yurt is self-supporting. The frame is made from individual sections of wooden lattice work and the cover is made from canvas, felt or skins. The roof ring is the most complex element of the yurt. It’s into this ring that the roof poles slot.

Nigel Harvey, a passionate camper who left school to become a shepherd in South America, knows a thing or two about camping. He runs a brilliant company called Ride World Wide, which arranges holidays on horseback all around the globe. The company uses Yurts in Mongolia and Nigel loves them. “I love the family life that goes on inside a yurt,” he says. “And there’s a lot of interest in the way they’re put up. You have to lift the ring with sticks and prop it up. It’s actually quite a mechanical feat.

“The yurt is amazingly intricate and has walls which keep in the warmth and a ventilation system which is little more than a cloth on a pole. It works really well though.”

While arguably the coolest thing to camp in, the yurt is actually practical and, importantly, comfortable. If you’re tall you don’t get the same sense of being cramped in a yurt that you do in an ordinary tent.

The yurt is also one of the most proven of camping structures. Jonathan Morriss, of Bruton Yurts, agrees. “The design of the yurt as it is used in Mongolia today, has been proven over many years of use in a harsh and unyielding climate.

“The physical characteristics of these simple dwellings – strength, portability, and ease of erection – make them ideal practical structures for the 21st century nomad.

“However it is the feeling invoked by their internal space and structural beauty that alters the tempo of our lives. The relaxed and tranquil atmosphere somehow helps one to refocus, strengthened by the reassuring sense of history and tradition.”

Television presenter Kevin McCloud is another yurt fan. “I love yurts; I harbour an ambition to travel the world and see how people build their homes.

“I think the noblest of all is the yurt. I like the fact I can stand up and walk all the way round. I spent two days in a yurt with a wood-burning stove and loved it.”

Yurt tip

The shape of the yurt lends itself to serious interior design, allowing you to truly stamp your mark on it. This yurt and the one on the previous page, both of which are at Canvas Chic in France, are good examples of how amazing they can be.

my way

Martin Miller has some practical advice on under-canvas living

Martin Miller, described by A A Gill as ‘beyond fashion’ and the owner of Notting Hill’s favourite rooming house, Miller’s Residence, can’t camp without…

Antimate to stop stray dogs peeing on your tent

Clear box so you can take the spider that’s bitten you to the hospital with you

Proper chess set with fold-out legs

Hotel ‘Do not disturb’ sign

Large gong to call everyone to dinner

Persian carpet to add a sense of luxury

Outside tree candelabra

Compact PIR alarm

Green & Black’s chocolate for breakfast

‘Summer’ by Summer Watson and some wake-up music, perhaps a CD of trumpet sonatas and a classic selection of military trumpet

Picture credit: Canvas Chic

essentials bolt-holes

staying power

If you don’t fancy life under canvas, there are plenty of other options, each with its own unique blend of charm. There are so many funky bolt-holes available that one of the only problems is deciding which one to go for.

Taking to the road in a Romany caravan pulled along by a horse offers you a holiday that’s the antithesis of modern life. The inevitable slow pace is hypnotic and you’ll notice things you never have before. They’re cosy at night, but airy during the day as the doors open wide.

Shepherds’ huts are so sweet and can be surprisingly well equipped. Often they have wood-burning stoves, proper beds and carpets. A shepherd’s hut in the middle of nowhere is brilliant for couples who are desperately in love and want isolation and privacy.

This is true of beach huts, too, and you have the added luxury of waking up to the sound of the waves rolling in.