DANNY ROBINS - INDIE TRAVEL GUIDE: CAMPING

This week is going to be quite intense - in-tents - get it? Oh suit yourselves...

Of course, it's festival season at the mo and a big part of festival-going is spending a few nights under canvas roughing it; amazingly though there are some people who like camping so much they actually choose to go on camping holidays where there aren't bands and other fun stuff as compensation. Nuts! Give me a power shower and a memory foam mattress any day.

But, if you're one of those hardy types who likes to bang pegs into the ground where they arrive anywhere, here's a guide to some of the coolest places to do it and what to take.

So, what are you looking for out of your campsite? Here's my checklist:

Beautiful location. What's the point in camping if you don't have a great view?

Somewhere that feels a bit remote and more exclusive - you probably don't want feeling crammed in amongst loads of other campers.

Near a good pub. Let's face it booze is good, it's somewhere to keep warm and dry if it rains, and you won't feel like cooking every night so the odd pub meal won't go a miss.

Somewhere with a few mod cons. You will want the chance to shower and go to the loo as much as you like the idea of roughing it and wiping your bottom with leaves.

So, here's 3 places that fit that bill...

'The Coolest Campsite in the UK'

Blackberry Wood campsite in the foothills of the South Downs in Sussex has been given just that tag. It fits all the above criteria. They have space for only 20 tents - the pitches are dotted around cosy little wooded glades. They also have are dotted around a They also have a big red Cliff Richard 'Summer Holiday'-style bus, a romantic gypsy caravan and a retro caravan for hire.

Unlike a lot of campsites, camp fires are positively encouraged. And they provide grills for you to cook on. There are showers and toilets, basic but decent, and you wak e up to the sound of bird song.

You can hire mountain bikes and it's just a 25 minute drive from that coolest of towns, Brighton.

And, pub-wise, it's within walking distance of what is meant to be one of the best gastropubs in Southern England, The Jolly Sportsman.

Be a Scilly billy...

Why not pitch up at the brilliantly named Troytown campsite in the Isles of Scilly. IT's on an island called St Agnes which is only one mile in diameter. It's car-free, you're going to wake up to the sound of the sea and the sight of boats bobbing about on the turquoise water, and, apparently, on a good day you can even see America. You get there by catamaran from the larger Scilly Isles and then they'll pick you up by tractor so you don't have to lug your stuff across the island. There's a great pub within walking distance and the Troytown farm make their own ice cream and sorbet so you can be spoilt in an unspoilt location.

See some mountains...

Stay at Wasdale Head campsite in the Lake District to see some pretty impressive mountainous scenery - Britain's highest mountain range in fact.. Kirk Fell, Great Gable and Scafell Pike surround the campsite, which is owned by the National Trust.

Again, there's a good boozer nearby, in the renowned Wasdale Head Inn, which does good pub grub. If you fancy some outings, you can visit England's deepest lake at Wast Water and England's smallest church at St Olaf's.

Pimp your tent....

If you like the idea of camping but want something more than a humble tent how about this...

Do it till it yurts...

If you really fancy going upmarket, what about staying in a Morrocan style yurt? You see these at Glastonbury. Yurtworks is a company in Cornwall that makes them and they run a campsite on Bodmin Moor where you can stay in one of their Yurts - some are just for two, some are big enough for a whole family.

They have double beds, log fires and gas cookers and there's even a bathroom yurt with an actual bath in it. Yes, I know it's not really camping, but it sounds great...

Trailer Trash...

Or how about staying in a vintage Airstream trailer - you know those lovely silver ones that smack of 60s Americana. You can do it on the Isle of Wight with Vintage Vacations, a great little company that aim to make caravanning cool.

Choosing a tent...

If you're not going to stay in an airstream or a yurt (which let's face it is cheating), then you'll need a tent. Choosing the right tent is really going to affect how much you enjoy the experience. My experience would tell me that you need to allow at least another person's space for comfort - so a 1 person tent is uncomfortable for 1 person, a 2 person tent is uncomfortable for 2, etc - go large - remember you have to envisage the possibility that you'll be stuck in there in torrential rain. Camping in Britain is almost always an act of extreme defiance to God and 9 times out of 10, he will punish you by sending apocalyptic thunderstorms.

Check out camping shops like Millets and Blacks. There's a pretty huge range of tents these days. You can go for the traditional option with poles or the perhaps more popular pop up option. Pop up tents are great for when you arrive at a place but I always find mine a nightmare to 'pop down' - there seems to be some strange arcane ritual to it I can never work out.

Definitely bring camping stools. Best Glasto tip anyone ever gave me was to take one of those lightweight plastic camping stools you can carry round on a strap over your shoulder.

If you want to 'pimp your tent' you could look at the rather fetching teepees by Zandra Rhodes and Celia Birtwell available at Millets.

I also found this rather amusing Ministry of Sound tent with 'black out' covering so you can sleep in during the day and UV guy ropes, apparently you get 5 free downloads when you buy it too!

Some Top Tips...

There's a good website called Cool Camping, set up by a guy called Jonathan Knight, he gives loads of good tips for first time campers on there. I've picked out a few of the best:

When pitching your tent, avoid slopes and hollows. A bit of shade can be good but best not to go directly under a tree - especially if there are birds in it.

Take lots of bin liners with you - there useful as waterproof picnic blankets, for sticking your waste in obviously and, if you want to sleep in without being woken by the sun, you can line your tent with them.

Take waterproof matches - normal ones won't work if they get wet.

Never ask a camper heading into the woods with a shovel where they are going or why.

For loads of camping recommendations look at Jonathan's website: Cool Camping

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