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Hi Flintstone5,  I bought a cheapy dome tent from Argos, Because I was'nt sure whether we would enjoy camping or not, but their were only 2 of us.  Enjoyed camping; bought another cheap tent, but on the recommendation of this site. It was a Vango oregon I bought the 400 version without sewn in ground sheet, still going great guns. It suited  the two of us. but now had to buy a pup tent, another vango, as son wanted his own tent he is now just turned 11.    You will just just need to think about what you want from the tent, how many are there of you, to what size tent. and the type of camping you want to do. The advise given is not to skimp on sleeping bags.ect; as these are so important for warmth when it is cold. I am sure other people will give other bags of info for you.  By the way you can always up grade as you go along,  If camping is for you;  other wise it can be an expensive mistake!

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Heather

Hi Flintstone5,

What about hiring a tent and equipment for your 1st trip. There was a thread on here a while back I am sure or just Google tent hire. That way you get a better setup without the need to lay out loads of the folding stuff, then if you like it you can shop about with a bit more knowledge.

Just a thought   www.tent2hire.co.uk

Gary

Hi Flintstone & welcome to the forum

Personally I'd advise you to go for a good quality second-hand tent. With the British weather being so unreliable, you could end up with broken poles, ripped fabric or leaks if you buy a cheap tent. Although I'm sure you'll love camping, it would be a shame if you spent a lot on a brand new good quality tent and then decided you never want to camp again.

Have a look at the reviews on this site to see which models suit your needs, & what experienced campers think of those particular models, then have a look on ebay for a second hand one. Also have a look at your local Freecycle, or at car boot sales too.

If you can borrow one ,then if you like you can decide what style or size to buy.Hopefully you'll love it and then its all down to you

Cheers Ian

 Also, I think maybe you can have a look at tents, which are on display at campshops,  if there is any near you, espeacially that you know what size you want.  I have a 3 man tent which i use when it's just me and the dog. I find it spacious as it has a reasonable size porch which i can store my equipment. I have an upright stacker where i keep my things in and everything is at hand.

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Heather

My first tent was a Eurohike Avon from Millets:

http://www.millets.co.uk/camping/tents/3-4-person-tents/product/096021.html

Found it easy to put up and comfortable for me and 3 Labradors!  The bedroom area was roomy enough for a single airbed one side and the dogs beds the other side and having the living space bit meant I could keep stuff inside the tent.

The only reason I changed to a bigger tent was because I wanted to be able to stand up and also to go away for long weekends and have more living space if the weather isn't good but the Avon was a good starter tent.  I think I paid about £35 and went for that one as I didn't want to spend a lot in case I didn't like camping

Definitely recommend borrowing or hiring for your first trip. Tents are a very personal thing, and there are lots of decisions to make before you buy:

Would you perefer a SIGs (sewn in ground sheets) or bathtub or loose?

Would you prefer lots of little bedrooms or 1 or two big ones?

Bedrooms next to each other or seperate?

Is a large storage/central area important? (I'd say yes with a dog)

Would you like to be able to stand up in the central space and/or in the bedrooms?

Tunnel or dome?

Quick erect (pop up).

Are you tall enough to 'raise a dome' (I'm not, only 5'2")

BR

Another alternative would be to borrow one, if you have friends who camp. We've lent our second best tent to several people who weren't sure if they'd enjoy camping. We also avoided buying one that wouldn't have been what we wanted when we borrowed a vis-a-vis tent a few years ago.

The nice thing about borrowing is you get to ry lots of different types and so get an idea of what suits you. That can avoid a lot of costly mistakes!