Camping Centre Exhibitions have been running camping shows for
a number of years now and we were invited down to the Codicote Show in Hertfordshire to take
a look around. Here's our review of the show. At the bottom of the article you'll find details of the dates and locations of this year's shows.
The Codiicote show in Hertfordshire is based in fields at the back of a large well known garden centre and has the full benefit of a big hard standing car park, a coffee shop, things to amuse
the kids and of course the garden centre itself, however we were there to
see the tents and the accessories, so down to it.
Tent Display
The tent display is outside on a well mown part of the garden centre and
is on a slight incline, therefore shows the tents in their natural habitat and it
also means the ground is well drained. It had rained pretty much constantly for the previous
few weeks prior to our visit and the ground was surprising hard, so all good.
They have a massive range of tents from some of the major manufacturers
in the industry including Outwell, Coleman and Vango. Not only are they
displaying the the current year's ranges , they even have some previous year's models on sale at
vastly reduced prices - all clearly marked.
They are displaying many tents including
lightweight one-man tents, through to massive 10-berth family tents.
Toilet tents, day rooms and gazebos / shelters are also available for you to
wander around and get a good feel for them.
It isn't just tents that are on show, they also have a large range of
Raclet trailer tents set up and available for you to look around, plus a
range of Silver Pop-Up Caravans on display.
Accessory Display>
Not only have they got the great selection of tents, trailer tents and
folding caravans, they also have a vast accessory store, covering several huge marquees, so fortunately this is undercover, so whatever the weather you can have a good
smooch around and stay dry.
The accessories on display are from the major manufacturers and they seem
to have almost everything from tent pegs to trailer boards, sleeping bags to
stoves, gas bottles to guy ropes and so much more. We picked up some toilet
chemicals, an air bed, a funky air chair and some gas canisters, but the
options didn't stop there. There was crockery, cutlery and canoes, the list goes on and on.
I love going to the shows and getting a good feel of products first
hand and this is a superb opportunity to do this. Even better when it rains and you are in the tents, as it gives a feeling of real camping in the UK, and it just makes me want to get away camping!!
Yes it was great, gorgeous weather which always helps. I spotted the yellow banner proudly displayed at the entrance!
Just told herself we were going to a garden centre
Got a few comments when she realised the show was also on there LOL. I think it rubbed off on her though, she did say after shes looking forward to our first trip away this year, which was my cunning plan all along.
I didn't buy a tent (my current one is basically new), though the Concorde XL was certainly calling to me. There were some bargains to be had.
I came away with a clothes line contraption and some mini moon chairs for the kids. None of which I needed but got pestered into buying!
Hi, I know, I went yesterday. Now I've seen it I've gone off the Da Gama, and still happy I bought an Outwell Monterey 4 last year (now discontinued though they do the same shape in an auto-tent if that's the right term).
I enjoyed wandering around the tents and feeling the air tents in the flesh. My husband and I were most impressed with the Outwell Concorde - it felt really solid and safe, which some of the other air tents don't (but they are cheaper).
We're not in market for a new tent at the moment but if we were, there were some great bargains to be had. OH is beginning to look at caravans (I think its an age thing, I like the smell of canvas).
One thing we weren't sure of was Vango blue... ouch.
We wondered if you'd want a couple to be an 'installation' at each tent, brewing up and frying bacon? (But only on good days )
Paid a visit to this year's show this weekend, I was after a weekend tent and was keen to see the Vango Calder. In the event, I realised the attached canopy would probably niggle me as it was flapping around quite a bit - see photo
There was a huge range of inflatable tents on display this year, mostly Outwell, Vango and Kampa. Personally I remain to be convinced by the concept, and 2 tents on display with deflated airbeams did not improve my opinion. However there were plenty of "normal" tents to look at too.
There were also some classy Raclet trailer tents and some quality Robens canvas tents too. As always there was the huge marquee with every piece of camping equipment you could imagine. This last one always manages to extract some money from my wallet!
Went last week for a look, knew we wanted an air tent but hadn't seen many before. These have a large range of air tents nevermind plenty of pole tents to look at. Staff we keen to offer advice and prices (of air tents at least) all seem to be at least £100 cheaper there than buying online.
Went back yesterday after a few days of research/YouTube vids etc and came home with a most awesome tent with carpet and footprint. Can't wait to put it up over the weekend and have a play :)
I love our annual trip to this show, we've been twice already!. Great service and always happy to answer questions. I've made some purchases, some unneeded!. It's been exceptionally busy this year compared to other years.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
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