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Hi Rachel and welcome to the camping world!

I wouldn't worry too much about the kids not sleeping after all the fresh air they'll be out for the count.

Outwell's are good tents but i'd be more tempted to go for the Outwell indiana 6 or 8 they just seem to have more living space than the Hartford plus some sites don't take hartfords.

Has for pitching your tent there's always someone who will help you out i go on my own with two kids and i've always been offered help.

There's plenty of places to buy things that you forget but i'd suggest you make a list of everything you need and post it on here and i'm sure people will point out anything you have missed.

Enjoy the experiance,

Kevin

Hi rachel

One of our friends has the Hartford XL and it's certainly a very good sized tent. Not sure I'd be able to put it up myself though (he couldn't do it himself either) as it is a bit big and we nearly snapped on of the poles trying to get the inner tent pitched.

I prefer tunnel style tents just in case I've got to do it myself but the bigger they are the longer they take to peg out.

If the campsite you're going to is one of the traditional style camping sites I'd be amazed if no-one offered to help.  If you're really stuck you could always try asking the park manager?

Good luck, and try having a quick read through the Best Camping Tips post

Hi Rachel - I guess most house rules go out of the window at bit when you go camping. I would decide which ones are the most important to you, and just stick with those. For example with mine, as long as their teeth get clean, they go to bed when they're looking tired, with or without a shower. The first night always takes ours a bit longer to settle, but after that they fall asleep quick easily (just make sure they have any nightime comforters with them that they have at home)

You could take a small paddling pool with you for quick washes if the little one won't have a shower.

This is a useful checklist.

Happy Camping! Enjoy and relax!!

Hello again Rachel,

Meant to suggest that getting a couple of tubes of glow sticks from your local pound shop could be a good idea.  It'll give the older two kids something to do inside the tent to settle them down each night and they'll also have a comforting (and useful) nightlight.

Getting back to your original post, a few questions to help me get a better feel for what might be the best tent for you:

What sort of tents have you pitched before?

Are you thinking about you all sleeping in one area, having the children sleeping in one area and you in another or were you thinking of each having separate rooms as far as possible?

Will you be doing much cooking or are you planning to eat out most of the time?

Depending on your budget and whether this is something that you thing you might get a taste for but aren't too sure perhaps I could suggest (at the risk of receiving a barrage of criticism in the process) taking a look at the Halfords £79.99 and £99.99 tent packs.  I helped a couple pitch the £79.99 one last year and it's not too difficult once you've got the poles fed through.  You'd probably be OK with you and the youngest in one end and the older two in the other.

However, for a little bit more a quick trip to your local Millets store might yield a good bargain.  I got my new Eurohike Buckingham for £119.99 and they also had money off a few other tents they had in stock including the Windsor and Sandringham. This would give you the chance to practice pitching this week so that it's not a complete mystery.  Why not have a look at their website as some of the tents have virtual tours which let you see what they look like inside?

I wouldn't be too worried about taking the bikes inside the tent - just take a chain and attach them to each other or your car's towing hook (if you're worried about theft). This will save a lot of space (and mess).

Lastly, our friends with the Hartford XL couldn't get on to our first three choices of sites, although it was perhaps more likely a size thing than specific to the Hartford XL as some campsites seem much more fussy about the area covered by tents than they are about caravanners and their awnings, pup tents, etc.  I'd suggest contacting your site and ask them whether they have a size limit or whether they'll simply charge you for two pitches if your tent is too large. 

If you new to camping i would suggest looking at tunnel tents rarther than large domes, i think there a number of models on the market that include sewn in groundsheets (sigs).

As a frametent fan i would not like to recommend a particular model or manufacturer,but i have liked a number of tunnel tents i have seen at shops and shows.

From assisting and watching people errect there new tents for the 1st time,tunnels are better and easier to errect than the large dome tents and on most tunnel tents you can stand up in the bedroom pods.

At the end of the day it is personnel choice,but it can be a expensive mistake as i doubt if you recoupe half of what you paid for tent if you try and sell after your 1st trip.

Do your research and visit exibitions before you purchase.

Also worth a look is this one from Woolworths:

 http://www.woolworths.co.uk/web/jsp/product/index.jsp?pid=50837111

No idea about the quality but it's useably bigger than the deluxe halfords tent and shouldn't be too difficult to pitch either as the 2 poles at each end are fed through the outer tent and into a 2 pin ring.

They'll also deliver it to you by Thursday.

Hi Rachel,

We have just come back from our first family camping trip [three kids,7,5,2 and a mad dog]. Bought a wynester appolo 12  last year in a sale, its huge!! only just got it on our pitch!

Done loads of research on this forum etc etc..

I personally would not worry to much about the tent. Get a decent one but TBH you wont spend to much time in it and the kids even less!!

Get a good walkie talkie set for the kids. One that has a range on about 2km.Disposable BBq and loads of wine[assuming you drink!!]

Sit back and enjoy!!

PS. without sounding sexiest. If your on your own when pitching the tent just look confused, most campsites are full of helpful people!!!

Simon

One thing we forgot about whilst arguing putting the tent up, was entertaining the kids and feeding them. We were very embarassed when we realised. So since then the first thing out of the car is toys and snacks to keep the kids busy.

Steve