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Hi All,

Brand new to camping.  Chose the Vango Diablo 900 for various reasons - space for family of 5 plus 2 dogs, bathtub ground sheet (the less crawlies the better!!), huge porch etc...

We're having our first 'expedition' end of May.  Problem is the tent is way too big to go up in our garden & don't know anyone else with a garden big enough to try it before we go.

Any advice on where we can go (not too far from Manchester) to get the tent up without drawing a hysterical crowd who will roll around laughing at our cluelessness?  Thought about the local football field but too embarrassed!  Really need somewhere flat out in the midle of nowhere...

Better still, are there any 'classes' we could go to?!

All suggestions welcome!

Quote: Originally posted by adsheadv on 08/4/2007

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   ...Really need somewhere flat out in the middle of nowhere...

All suggestions welcome!

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how well do you know the caretaker at you childrens school?

they have great big areas of grass (as a rule).

Vanessa, Rob & Rabble

Snap!!! We have got all the gear and our first time family camp booked in May, We have got Montana 6 and its too big for our garden. Luckily i have worked at 2 campsites nearby and they have both offered us the chance to pitch whenever we like. Unfortunatley the only chance weve had is this weekend, and I didnt want to try out all my brand spanking new gear in front of all the professionals! Probably daft I know. So I contacted a farmer I know about pitching in his field, again no problem. So we packed all the gear in the car, picnic for kids etc.. travelled 17 miles up the dale to Halton Gill to find out it was far too windy and a good few degrees cooler. Ate picnic and came home. So today we tried a friend who has a farm at Ingleton, yep no problem come and try it out in one of our fields. Got all the kids ready, opened the door and it started raining! At which point I screamed! Kids were fed up etc.. I know many people say pitch it in the rain, but thats not good with 3 kids and even worse I have no where to store a wet tent before I hang out to dry. 

I would suggest ringing a local campsite or farmer and asking if you could pay a small fee just to trial pitch, I'm sure most will understand. And I do understand your point about public parks etc.. most on lookers will love it but then most parks I know are full of not too nice chav types who more likely torment you. Failing that you could try finding some common ground such as moors etc.. because you can get some nice flat spots on the edge of moorland. Take a shovel to remove the sheep Poo!! first.

Hope this helps ya!

John