Glamping in the Midlands is a great adventure.
Going outdoors and glamping in the countryside is a wonderful chance to go back to basics. By stripping things back and enjoying a bit of simplicity, we can begin to feel re-connected to ourselves, to nature and to others. Glamping enables us to experience the best of camping with the comforts of home. And if you have a few glamping hacks up your sleeve, you can make the experience even better. From our years of glamping with friends, we have made a list of tips and tricks to glamp like a pro. Whether you are new to spending holidays under canvas or practically live in the outdoors, it’s always fun to learn new hacks. Read on for 10 glamping hacks to feel smug about.
Phone power bank
If you’re not planning a technology detox, then making sure your phone doesn’t run out of power is important. Phone power banks can be bought from many places these days and are totally worth taking with you. They are particularly useful when you are out exploring during the day. If you’re on a long walk, which we recommend doing, your phone can be a lifeline if you get lost. Using a map app is a great way of planning and navigating walks but you don’t want to get caught out if it runs out of battery.
Tinfoil for campfire cooking
Tinfoil is the magic camping cooking companion. You can cook a huge variety of sweet and savoury delights in a tin foil packet buried in the wood or coals of a campfire or BBQ. It’s the ultimate in outdoor cooking. The humble jacket potato is a good option; poke your potato with a fork, wrap it in foil, and place it in the embers of the fire. Our family favourite when growing up was mint chocolate bananas on the BBQ. Even just the memory of it is making my mouth water. We used to split open a banana length-ways (still in the skin) and fill it with After Eight chocolates, then wrap it in tin foil and place in the BBQ. Mmmm tasty. You can try a chocolate and marshmallow version of this too. Check out some other great recipes here. Top tip: don’t place tin foil meals into the flames, wait till the flames have gone and place into the embers.
Waterproof your shoes
Glamping in yurts involves being outdoors. It inspires adventure and exploration of nature. Because of this, a good glamping hack is to waterproof your shoes. Wellies are the best option when it is really wet and muddy. But for the times you’d rather wear something else, it is worth making them waterproof to protect the shoe – and your feet.
We like using bees-wax to waterproof our canvas shoes. It’s as simple as rubbing the wax all over the shoe, then using a hairdryer to melt the wax into the fabric. I did it to my ‘Toms’ and it keeps them protected when at the glamping site. For further waterproofing tips, click the link here.
Lighter or matches
A savvy camper will always have matches or a lighter on them. The super savvy glamper will have a little glass jar of matches with sandpaper stuck to the lid. This genius hack keeps your matches organised and dry.
DIY coffee bags
Are you a tea or coffee fan? I recently discovered that coffee bags (the coffee version of tea bags) exist! They make a morning brew even easier!! It was our local coffee supplier, Well Roasted, that introduced us to them. Since then, we keep stocked up and have them in our yurts when people stay. I’ve also found a DIY version of coffee bags so that you can make your own, using your favourite ground coffee. Just place a tablespoon of your ground coffee in the centre of a coffee filter (the ones you get for filter coffee machines), pull up the edges, and tie around the middle with dental floss. You can then let this soak in your mug of hot water like you would a tea bag. Voila, simple coffee bags you can take glamping with you.
First aid kit
Pack a mini first aid kit in a cosmetics bag with all the items relevant to you. Key hack: pack sanitary towels in the first aid kit. They make a great absorbent bandage or compress. Also, Aloe Vera gel is brilliant for burns and bites so pack some of this too. Then take this first aid kit with you when you go exploring.
Sage to repel mosquitoes
Sprinkle some sage on the BBQ when you’re cooking al fresco by your yurt – it will keep the mosquitoes away. Genius!
Baby wipes
Take baby-wipes with you when you go glamping. They are just plain useful when you are spending time outdoors. Remember to get biodegradable wipes – let’s protect the earth.
Headlamp
You all know to take a torch with you when you go camping or glamping – but our hack is to take a head torch. Partly because it is nice to have both hands free when walking around in the dark. But mostly so that you can make a lantern to light your yurt, bell tent, or pod if you need to. Fill a bottle with water and place the head torch around it with the light facing into the bottle. Simple and effective.
Glow sticks in bottles
Take a pack of glow sticks with you when you go on a glamping break. You can either wear them just for fun – and it is fun. Or you can place them in jars or bottles to create funky lighting inside or outside of your tent.
These have been just 10 of our glamping hacks to make your Midlands glamping experience even more enjoyable. They focus on being prepared for spending time in The Great Outdoors, which is what glamping is all about. You’ll be a smug camping and glamping expert with these tips. Pass them off as your own, we won’t tell anyone.
We’d love to hear your glamping experiences and the tricks you have picked up on your adventures. Send your best tips and tricks to jen@countrybumpkinyurts.co.uk and I will include them in our next ‘how to glamp like a boss’ blog in the future.
Happy Glamping!
