Rob: This is my first time camping. We were told always to get the bigger size of tent, so we went for this seven-man Gelert Cadiz. I think it’s a dome tent. It took us about an hour to put it up – with me stood there, holding a pole in one hand and instruction book in the other. It’s got two bedroom compartments with a porch in the middle; we were thinking Milo would sleep in the other one, but he was in with us last night.
Photograph: Martin Godwin Photograph: guardian.co.uk
Essential kit
Fiona: Milo’s potty has been a godsend. And the giant bubble-maker has been keeping him very busy.
Photograph: Martin Godwin Photograph: guardian.co.uk
Neil: This is the first time we’ve used our new Quetcha pop-up tent. We had a two-man before, and every time we went camping it rained. So we decided you need a bit more space in case you need to cook inside. We’ve got our chairs in there at the moment, and space for all our wet-weather kit. You can’t travel light when you’re camping – if you want to travel light, stay in a hotel!
Michelle: It just pops up – you don’t have to thread any poles through. It actually says “two seconds” on the side, but that’s a bit of a lie.
Photograph: Martin Godwin Photograph: guardian.co.uk
Essential kit
Neil: It’s got to be the stove, so you can make a cup of tea. We cook as much food as we can at home before we come and then heat it up: vegetarian curry, risotto
Photograph: Martin Godwin Photograph: guardian.co.uk
Terri: We’ve had our tent for 12 years. We chose it on the basis that you can stand up in it; you get to a certain age where you don’t want to put your knickers on sitting down. We timed putting it up. It takes an hour, including setting up everything in the sleeping compartment – and about a quarter of that was spent deciding where to pitch. We don’t like being too close to anyone else, or waking up in direct sunlight. We always buy local produce from farm shops. We brought frozen bolognese to eat on the first night, which doubled up as an ice pack in our cool bag on the way.
Photograph: Martin Godwin Photograph: guardian.co.uk
Essential kit
Terri: Aside from a comfy pillow and decent sleeping bag, the thing we would never leave home without is our cafetiere. We always bring freshly ground coffee. You can’t beat sitting outside the tent in the morning, drinking a cup and watching the world go by.
Photograph: Martin Godwin Photograph: guardian.co.uk
I bought my one-man tent four weeks ago and this is the first time I’ve used it. But I’ll definitely use it again. That’s pretty much all I came with, although I have a lilo to sleep on. We’ve been camping for the last three weeks while damp-proofing Lewes prison. We’re here to enjoy the weather, and because it’s cheap. We’re in masks all day long and you just breathe your own air, so it’s nice to come back to a green field and fresh air.
Photograph: Martin Godwin Photograph: guardian.co.uk
Essential kit
At first we were barbecuing, but now we’ve found a Chinese takeaway that delivers to the campsite. We were amazed when they drove right up to the tent. Handsome.
Photograph: Martin Godwin Photograph: guardian.co.uk
