Active Camping

If you are planning a visit to a Summer Festival then you must have heard the horror stories about the grim toilet facilities, equally if you are heading on a long journey with children you know that a toilet stop will need to be prepared for or if you are going camping you might want to consider the distance to the toilet block. Well here at Active Camping, we have the solution to make your life a little easier with our easy to use Portable Toilets for Camping.

The 'Bog in a Bag' Portable Toilet from Active Camping

We stock the Bog in a Bag – you may have seen them on BBC Dragons’ Den – they are an innovative portable toilet which is lightweight, incredibly simple to use, hygienic and compact; perfect for stowing away in the car and pulling out for the kids whilst travelling. Simpy use with the Bog in a Bag Refill Bags which have an absorbent pad able to soak up to 400 times its own weight and allows you to go to the toilet anywhere. The Bog in a Bag doubles up as a camping stool for use around the campsite – simply place the seat cover over the top first.

The Highlander Portable Toilet from Active Camping is more comparable to a 'normal' toilet!

We also stock the Highlander Portable Toilet which is more comparable to sitting on a normal toilet seat rather than a camping stool. The Highlander Portable Toilet has a sturdy steel frame which folds flat when not in use and also requires the use of disposable refill bags – the Highlander Portable Toilet Refill Bags. Some customers have also chosen to mix and match the refill bags with the different portable toilets.

Visit www.activecamping.com to view our full range of Portable Camping Toilets and more. Never get caught short again!

Outwell Easy Camp Bari Festival Pack including 2 man tent, sleeping bags, sleeping mats and a FREE Aigle Daysack - a bargain not to be missed!

Whether you are an occasional camper or are planning a visit to a festival this Summer then we have got the perfect camping deal for you; the Easy Camp Bari Festival Pack with FREE Aigle Rucksack.

The Outwell Easy Camp Bari Festival Pack with FREE Aigle Daysack includes a 2 Man Tent (the Easy Camp Bari Tent), 2 Sleeping Bags (Easy Camp Cosmos 150 Mummy Sleeping Bag), 2 Sleep Mats (Outwell Classic Sleeping Mat) plus you will receive a FREE Aigle Daysack with every Festival Pack ordered!

This brilliant Easy Camp Bari Festival Pack has everything you need to get started for camping whether it’s a weekend away or a vist to a Summer festival. Get yours today for just £49.99 (RRP £75.99) from activecamping.com – this easy to use kit is ideal for first timers, snap them up quick!

Camping Cooking Equipment from Active Camping - stoves, tableware, kettles, toasters, fuel tablets, drinks bottles, flasks, cutlery and more!

If you are planning to go Camping or attend a festival this year then you are going to need to feed yourselves! We take a look at the Camping Cooking range available at Active Camping including Stoves, Tableware/Cutlery, Cooking Accessories including Kettles, Toasters and Fuel Tablets, plus Drinks Bottles and Flasks from an array of reputable Camping Suppliers including Coleman, Gelert, Esbit, Light My Fire, Grilliput, Highlander and Campingaz.

Get all the gear you need to cook up a storm on your campsite from Active Camping, show off your culinary skills with an easy-to-use stove, pots and pans, mess tins, bowls, plates, meal kits, sporks, cutlery, whistling kettles, matches, can openers, drinks bottles, heated mugs and thermal flasks.

View our full range of Camping Cooking Equipment at www.activecamping.com!

Mac in a Sac Lightweight Waterproof Jackets and Overtrousers from Active Camping.

With the mild and wet weather returning again, you might find yourself needing a very lightweight yet waterproof outer layer and here at Active Camping we have the perfect solution; the Mac in a Sac Waterproof Jackets.

Mac in a Sac are well known for their easy to use pack-a-mac jackets which are unbelievably handy to have – keep them in your handbag, briefcase, car, kids school bags, or just about anywhere you can squeeze one and if the weather turns, you are more than prepared. Mac in a Sac’s are perfect for wind, rain, sun, snow and showers, pull yours on if it gets a little breezy or the heavens open, for the ultimate lightweight waterproof, windproof and breathable protection.

At Active Camping we stock Mac in a Sac Jackets and Overtrousers for Adults and MIAS Jackets for Children too – take one with you everywhere you go. Mac in a Sac Jackets and Overtrousers are available in a huge choice of colours including Malibu Blue (pictured), Flame Orange (pictured), Navy, Pink, Red, Black and Heather Tartan with a great choice of unisex sizes from XS – XXL (dependant on size).

Get yours today from Active Camping, visit www.activecamping.com!

Childrens Sleeping Bags from Active Camping, the perfect way to ensure a good nights sleep whilst camping this Summer!

Planning to take the Kids Camping this Summer? Then don’t forget the Sleeping Bags! Our range of Children’s Sleeping Bags will ensure that your little ones have a good night’s sleep so that you relax and enjoy the great outdoors.

Here at Active Camping we stock a selection of Kids Sleeping Bags in colours suitable for girls and boys. We currently have a collection of Gelert Sleeping Bags which are renowned for their excellent comfort, durability and warmth. The fun range of colours and styles will keep your Children smiling, we also having fantastic offers on these, so that we can keep Parents smiling too! Prices on these kids sleeping bags start at just £14.99!

Our range of childrens Sleeping Bags includes the Gelert Kids Snooze 300 Sleeping Bags and the Gelert Kids Scout Mummy Sleeping Bags in a choice of colours and patterns, which are very lightweight, are supplied in their own ‘stuff sack’ for easy storage and transporting, are excellent value for money and are ideally suited for camping, caravanning, school trips, sleepovers and more.

Gelert Quick Pitch SS Compact Tent in Illusion is quick and easy to pitch and ideally suited as a 1 or 2 man tent

The new year has arrived and it’s time to start planning your camping adventures and festival visits for 2012. If you are looking for a lightweight, easy to pitch, simple tent, this Gelert Tent could be right up your street.

The Gelert Quick Pitch SS Compact Tent in Illusion is a fantastic tent for festival camping, weekends away, easy pitching, value for money, first time campers and hassle free camping. The Gelert Quick Pitch Compact is the newest model to join the excellent range of Gelert Tents; available in Illusion and Liberty Rock.

The Gelert Quick Pitch SS Compact Tent – Illusion is the new and improved version of Gelert’s popular and innovative Quick Pitch Tent, it features a more compact design with a much smaller sized carry bag whilst remaining very lightweight and easy to put up and take down. This Gelert Tent sleeps 2 people (or 1 if you don’t feel like sharing!), pitches in seconds, has an single skin with taped seams for increased water repellency, has pre-attached guy ropes, is supplied with tent pegs, is well ventilated, has poles incorporated in to its design – so no fiddling around with tent poles in the middle of a field, plus it has a 2000mm hydrostatic head to keep the elements out.

The Gelert Quick Pitch SS Compact Tent in Illusion is available from Active Camping priced at £35.99 (RRP £39.99). Click here to view our full range of 2 Man Tents.

Jess from Active Camping visited Global Gathering in July, read her tips....

Festival season is still in full swing and with V-Festival at Chelmsford and Weston Park, Creamfields, Bestival plus Reading and Leeds all still to  come, Jess who manages the customer service and mail order at Active Camping visited her first festival this year when she attended Global Gathering in Stratford-upon-Avon at the end of July. Jess gives her festival tips, especially for festival first timers below:

My First Festival

I have just got back from Global Gathering festival; I had a great time and would recommend it to all ages! As this was my first festival I didn’t know what to expect, but I have to say there are quite a few essentials that you need to take!

I took an Outwell Self Inflating sleeping mat which was brilliant, some friends of mine hadn’t taken a sleeping mat and thought it would be fine to rough it for two nights, but by the second night they were complaining of a sore back. Also these mats are very light weight, easy to attach to rucksacks and they are self inflating so you don’t need to worry about a pump or getting breathless!

Another essential is a torch, the camp site is lit with flood lights but they don’t cover every where, and when trying to find something in your tent in the middle of the night a torch comes in very handy.

A must have is anti-bacterial hand gel, the toilets do have this but it runs out with in an hour of being cleaned. On the Subject of toilets, I would definitely take a Bog in a Bag toilet with me next time. Whatever festival you go to the toilets are awful, it’s a lot easier for the men but unfortunately when you’re a women you have to trek all the way to the portaloo toilets in the middle of the night. A Bog in a Bag would be much easier, cleaner and practical. They are also very discrete as they look like a little tripod seat and fold away in to a small, lightweight bag.

A little first aid kit that includes sun cream is always a good idea! Whether its because it turns into a lovely bright summers day and you need a little sun cream to stop your nose burning or perhaps the new shoes you bought especially for the festival start rubbing and you need a plaster, then they are always very handy!

With the English weather you can never tell what the weekend is going to bring until you get there, so it’s better to be safe then sorry. I would suggest taking a waterproof set, if it does rain you can still have a brilliant time but it will be a lot better if you aren’t wearing wet, soggy Jeans and are freezing cold. The Didriksons Tigris Waterproof sets are great; they come as a set with trousers and a jacket in a range of colours. They are really light weight and easy to pop on if the weather turns.

Obviously one of the most important things you will need is a tent! I took a Gelert Quick Pitch SS Compact Liberty Rock tent, it was very easy to pitch, you literally just let go of the tent and it pops up. It is really colourful and easy to find when you are in a huge field of tents and where every single one looks the same. The tent folds away into a small bag and is really light and easy to carry. It was very simple to use for a first time camper!

That is some of the essential festival gear you will need for your weekend! Wherever you are going, be sure to have a fantastic time.

Gelert and Campingaz Camping Airbeds from Active Camping

Have you seen the new additions to our range of Camping Airbeds? We’ve added Gelert Single Airbeds and Gelert Double Airbeds as well as a Campingaz Double Airbed to our collection.

Treat yourself to a Camping Airbed to ensure a good nights sleep at a festival, camping holiday or a night under the stars – airbeds are also very handy around the house, especially when guests come to stay.

We have single and double airbeds available from Gelert Camping and Campingaz with prices starting from just £14.99!

Gelert Evora 6 Man Family Tent plus Porch from Active Camping

This weekend is the 4th Camp Bestival held at Lulworth Castle in Dorset, this excellent family festival is the little sister to Bestival held at the Isle of Wight in September, and has won the prestigous title ‘Best Family Festival’ every year since its launch in 2008. Camp Bestival brings fun for all the family and with 30,000 people expected to attend, the atmosphere will be outstanding.

Camp Bestival is held from Friday 29th – Sunday 31st July and has plenty to do for the whole family with some amazing music in store, plenty to keep the kids occupied with a kids area suitable for any age group, plus Lulworth Castle’s very own Animal Farm. The choice of music covers everybody with performances from Eliza Doolittle, Blondie, House of Pain, The Cuban Brothers, Mark Ronson and the Business Intl., Laura Marling, Ed Sheeran, Katy B, Wretch 32, Fenech-Soler, Newton Faulkner, Yasmin, Ms Dynamite plus so many more.

To ensure a weekend of camping in true comfort, we’ve picked our favourite family tent from Gelert Camping which is perfect for regular campers and will provide a comfortable base at a family festival. The Gelert Evora 6 Man Family Tent and Porch is on special offer at Active Camping, priced at just £319.99 (RRP £474.98). This 6 man tent offers spacious living plus two generously sized bedrooms, a separate porch area and is also very easy to pitch.

The Gelert Rocky 3 Man Easy Pitch Tents from Active Camping - available in Raspberry or Blue Jay

The Gelert Rocky 3 Man Easy Pitch Tent is a very popular Gelert Tent in our collection of 3 man tents. We received this review from Nathan who recently went camping for the weekend with his girlfriend, Christine, and their dog:

The Gelert Rocky 3 Man Easy Pitch Tent in Blue Jay was super easy to setup, it took me and my girlfriend no less than 15 minutes to figure it out and set it up, we didn’t even practice beforehand! It’s great, we remained dry, comfortable and even had room for a double air mattress and a dog. I would recommend this tent for the ideal camping or festival trip, and at £49.99 – what a bargain!

The McNETT Tenacious Tape get puts to work on a camping holiday in France!

We recently received this brilliant review of the McNETT Tenacious Tape from one of our customers; Mr Henthorne and his wife went camping in France and luckily were prepared for any outcome:

“My holiday was not spoiled as McNETT Tenacious Tape was at hand.

Whilst on holiday in France my caravan awning had to withstand a thunderstorm in which large hail stones fell with considerable force making some 17 small holes in the roof of the awning. It was possible to repair these holes with the tape quickly and easily. Later on during the holiday when a large tear appeared whilst re-erecting the awning; this too was easily repaired with the tape. Having now used up all the tape I certainly will be buying more. An excellent piece of camping kit and it is a must for all campers!” R Henthorne, St. Neots, Cambridgeshire.

The McNETT Tenacious Tape is available from Active Camping for just £5.99 – not a bad price for instant repairs. Click here to find out more about the McNETT Tenacious Tape.

The Highlander Rockall Dome 4 Man Double Skin Tent in Digital Grey is perfect for Oxegen Festival!

Oxegen Festival 2011 is here and boy is it going to be a good one! Held at Punchestown Racecourse in Ireland, this 3 day festival has an unbelievable lineup guaranteed to make your mouth water. Oxegen Festival started in 2004 and has grown from strength to strength every single year.

Some of the acts set to take the stage this weekend include the amazing Foo Fighters, Arctic Monkeys, The Black Eyed Peas, Coldplay, Beyonce, The Strokes, Swedish House Mafia, The Script, Tinie Tempah, Dead Mau5, Paolo Nutini, Pendulum and so many more.

My favourite tent for Oxegen in Ireland is most definitely the Highlander Rockall Dome 4 Man Double Skin Tent in Digital Grey; this 4 man tent is so quick and easy to pitch whilst the double skin style offers excellent protection from the elements and condensation. The Rockall 4 Man easily sleeps 4 people but is equally perfect for 2 or 3 people to sleep in comfort. The Highlander Rockall Dome 4 Man Double Skin Tent is priced at £59.99 which is excellent value for this lightweight tent.

If you are heading to Oxegen Festival have a great time, and if you get any snaps be sure to send them to us via email or facebook!

The Gelert Rocky 3 Man Easy Pitch Tent is Blue Jay is our pick for Hop Farm Festival 2011!

If you have got tickets for Hop Farm Festival this weekend you are in for a treat. From Friday 1st – Sunday 3rd July 2011, Paddock Wood in Tonbridge will be over taken with festival goers heading to the 4th Hop Farm Festival hosted by Vince Power.

Bands set to take the stage at Hop Farm include Eagles, Morrissey and Prince supported by Tinie Tempah, Iggy and the Stooges, Bryan Ferry, Brandon Flowers, Lou Reed and many more – an extra day has even been added to the festival for 2011 to accomodate this fantastic lineup.

With camping playing a big part at any festival, you’ll need to choose your festival camping gear very wisely. My pick of the Active Camping Tents has got to be the Gelert Rocky 3 Man Easy Pitch Tent in Blue Jay. This Gelert Tent is easy to pitch (I have even had a go myself!) and comes in two colours; Blue Jay or Raspberry. The Rocky 3 from Gelert is a 3 man tent which sleeps 3 people with ease but is even more comfortable for 2 people. This tent has a separate porch area for storing muddy wellies or kit, has a double skin to reduce condensation and has plenty of ventilation. The Rocky 3 is easy to pack away and is very lightweight, all of this for just £49.99 (RRP £59.99).

Outwell Easy Camp Eclipse 400 4 Man Tent from activecamping.com - our pick for Glastonbury Festival 2011

If  I asked you to name just one summer festival, the chances are that the first one to pop in to your head would be Glastonbury. Glastonbury Festival started out in 1970 and has since become an important date in the diary for June. Glasto is held at Worthy Farm, Pilton in Somerset from Wednesday 22nd – Sunday 26th June 2011 and is set to attract more than 140,000 visitors through the gates.

The music for Glastonbury 2011 certainly won’t disappoint with headlining acts including: U2, Coldplay, Beyonce, Tinie Tempah, Plan B, Morrisey, Biffy Clyro, Two Door Cinema Club, Mumford and Sons, The Wombats, The Chemical Brothers, Queens of the Stone Age, Kaiser Chiefs, Jessie J, Friendly Fires and White Lies to name just a handful! For the full Glastonbury 2011 Lineup click here.

One of the biggest parts of Glastonbury Festival is the camping – thousands of tents fill the site in Somerset and it’s very important to have the right camping equipment with you. My pick of the tents for Glasto 2011 has got to be the Outwell Easy Camp Eclipse 400 4 Man Tent from activecamping.com! This double skin tent sleeps 4 people and has a spacious living area with both front and side entrances. The Easy Camp Eclipse 400 is a popular choice in our collection of 4 Man Tents priced at just £72.99 (RRP £79.99) and is also very easy to pitch.

Don't forget your tent for the Isle of Wight Festival 2011!

This weekend is the 13th Isle of Wight Festival located at Seaclose Park, Newport held from Friday 10th June – Sunday 12th June 2011. With an amazing lineup for Isle of Wight 2011 which is set to blow your socks off, you’ll certainly be missing out if you haven’t got tickets. The acts taking the stage this weekend include Kings of Leon, Foo Fighters, Kasabian, Pulp, Kaiser Chiefs, We are Scientists, The Script, Plan B, Pixie Lott and Two Door Cinema Club.

The weather forecast for Isle of Wight Festival is not looking great with rain expected over the weekend, so be prepared with wellies and waterproof clothing and don’t forgot to double check all your camping equipment is up to scratch. If you are looking for a new festival tent, my pick of the tent range for Isle of Wight is this Gelert Tent; the Gelert Quick Pitch SS Compack 2 Man Tent in Illusion priced at £35.99 (RRP £39.99).