Camping

You probably can’t tell, but when I was putting this issue of Camping together I wore a black tie and tux and made sure there was a red carpet leading up to my desk every day. Why? Because it’s our special awards issue, celebrating the best tents and camping and outdoor gear of 2023. This is our eleventh annual awards and the biggest and best ever. We’ve got 30 different product categories across the family and lightweight camping sectors as well as newcomers like rooftop tents and trailer tents. The big one is, of course, the Tent of the Year, and as ever it was a closely fought race to be named overall champion. But what I was really excited about this year was the public vote – where we…

COMEDIAN, JOHNNY Vegas, is opening his Derbyshire-based glamping site, the Field of Dreams in April. Permanently at the site are restored and converted vehicles, including a German fire truck, Patricia the bus, an American school bus and a classic Citroën campervan, with three additions arriving soon. The Channel 4 series, Johnny Vegas: Carry On Glamping, continues to follow Johnny and his long-suffering assistant, Bev, with the setting up of the site at Melbourne Hall and will be returning to screens later this year.…

THE CARAVAN, Camping & Motorhome Show at the NEC is your first chance to get up close and personal with the latest 2023 tents and camping gear. Most of the major tent and trailer tent brands will be taking part in the show, which runs between 21 and 26 February New for the 2023 show will be the dedicated Tent and Camping Hall, featuring over 150 new season tents and trailer tents, pitched and ready to explore. Camping exhibitors at the show include: Bellisima, Coleman, Dometic, Khyam, Outdoor Revolution, PJ Outdoors, Quest, Regatta, Snow Peak, Vango and Zempire. The trailer tent exhibitors include: Cabanon, Camperlands, Opus, Pennine Outdoor Leisure, Raclet, Trigano and Venter Trailers UK. Free help and impartial advice will also be on offer for those new to camping…

CALOR HAS announced it is scrapping a range of small gas bottles popular with campers. The 4.5kg butane bottles were discontinued on 1 February, along with the Cube, 3.9kg propane, 6kg Lite propane and 12kg butane cylinders. Customers won’t be able to buy new cylinders or exchange existing cylinders of these sizes for a refill. Calor said the move was designed to simplify its range and “improve customer services”. Rogerio Lopes, Calor’s Chief Executive Officer, added: “The legacy of the pandemic has had a significant impact on our supply chain, operations, and our ability to provide a reliable service to our cylinder customers.” Calor customers who currently use a 4.5kg butane cylinder, will need to switch to a 7kg version and will need to use a new regulator. The company…

WHAT YOU CAN WIN Jay’s pictures win him a Coleman Maranta XL sleeping bag worth £89.99. This extra-large sleeping bag is inspired by the Maranta plant, that is known for improving your sleeping quality. This inspiration can be seen in the stitched leaf design on its polycotton outer shell. The cotton flannel liner will keep you comfortable and cosy when relaxing after a day outdoors. Features include Thermolock zipper baffles to reduce heat loss through the zip and ZipPlow technology, preventing snagging by ploughing fabric away from the zip. When no longer in use, the sleeping bag packs away in its stylish, colour-coordinated cotton bag. NEXT MONTH Send us your camping pictures for the chance to win a great Coleman prize Share your adventures Send us your favourite camping photographs…

Did you know that the southernmost point of the UK is a rocky islet with the rather unwieldy name of Pednathise Head? You didn’t? Well, we hadn’t given it a thought, either, until, in a light-bulb moment we set ourselves the challenge of visiting Britain’s extreme points; north, south, east and west. June found us at the barren, rain-lashed, northern tip of the island of Unst in Shetland. Now, early in September, we were on a little boat in brilliant sunshine, watching seals basking on remote outcrops beyond the Isles of Scilly. It had been an interesting year… Land’s End isn’t one of our extreme points (it isn’t really anything except the opposite corner of the country from John o’ Groats, where we'd visited earlier). We thought John o’ Groats…