“I just woke up and thought, I want to go up to Aviemore”: Kate’s TentBox story

Before her TentBox, camping for Kate meant fitting everything she needed into one bag and carrying it on her back. Every trip took a lot of planning, and the thought of pitching a tent in wind and rain was often enough to keep her at home.

Heading off on her own felt like an even bigger step. “I had been camping once by myself in just a normal tent, and I hated it,” she says. “I think that was why I was like, well, I can’t really go solo trips anymore.”

Today Kate drives around Scotland with a TentBox Classic roof tent on top of her car, and her weekends look very different.

“It’s so easy”

Packing the TentBox away on her own was Kate’s first worry when it arrived. “That was what I was always worried about when I first got it. But it’s so easy,” she says. “I think the more you do it, the more you’re used to it. I’ve mastered it now. I can do it in like two minutes.”

She picked up one trick along the way, which is to open the windows before closing it so the air can escape. “There’s little things that you need to probably do wrong to realise how to do it well,” she says. “I was trying to put it down with the window shut and it just would not budge.” 

“You feel a lot safer being on top of your car”

Kate’s second worry was feeling safe as a woman on solo trips. Sleeping off the ground has made the difference. “I think you do actually feel a lot safer being on top of your car than being on the ground,” she says.

On a recent weekend away, rustling around the car in the middle of the night had her imagination running. “I opened one of the windows in the middle of the night, and it was two roe deer that were just running around the car. I was like, ‘Oh, that’s so nice.’ And you could see them really well.”

In a ground tent, she says, she wouldn’t have dared open the window at all. “I do feel safe in it. And it’s just really easy to use. I think I just thought it’d be way more complicated than it is.”

“I can fit way more in”

With the freedom to just throw a bag in the car, get up and go, Kate’s weekends have become far more spontaneous. “Saturday just there, I just woke up and thought, I want to go up to Aviemore,” she says. “It’s a three-hour drive, so you feel like it’s worth it if you’re able to stay overnight…It means you can always get the full next day as well. So you don’t have to drive home and then drive all the way back to do something.”

The savings add up. Kate has seen hotels in Scotland charging £200 to £300 a night, while the campsites she uses cost her around £15. Because the TentBox Classic opens straight up from the roof, campsites can often put her on a smaller, cheaper pitch rather than one meant for caravans and motorhomes.

She’s now looking further afield, with a trip to the Lake District next on her list. Campsites themselves have become part of the fun. “I never really thought of going to campsites at this age. And now I love them. I’m obsessed with them,” she says. “There’s so many cute ones, especially way up north, and they’ve got pubs and they’ve got really nice walks.”

Camping through the Scottish weather

Wind and rain used to be the main reasons Kate avoided camping trips and stayed at home. Now they rarely change her plans. “I’ve camped in the TentBox in pouring rain and gale-force winds, and it’s fine. It’s so much easier.”

Her TentBox keeps her warm, too. Kate first got her TentBox in winter and added the Thermal Kit straight away. “I don’t think I’ve ever actually had a cold night in the TentBox, really. I’ve always been pretty warm, and I’m guessing that’s because of the Thermal Kit.” On chilly nights, she adds a long hot water bottle inside her sleeping bag, and by summer, the TentBox maintained temperature so well that she kept the Thermal Kit out until autumn.

“Everything I need for camping is in my car”

Since there’s space inside the Classic when it’s packed away, Kate uses it to store her bedding when she’s on the road. “My bedding… I’ve got my pillows, my duvet, my sleeping bag, a hot water bottle,” she says. Everything else is packed in her car boot or back seats for the trip. 

She has since added a topper to the mattress, which she says has made it even comfier. “Even with two people in [The TentBox], it’s fine. I feel like there’s enough room,” she says. Her tall dad was won over, too. “He went in it, and he was just like, ‘Oh, it’s actually quite roomy.’ He thought it was going to be like a little coffin that he was in.”

Her TentBox draws plenty of attention from other campers. “So many people come up to me. Cuz mine is bright orange, everyone sees it,” she says. “They always come up, and they’re like, ‘Is it any good? Is it actually really good?’ I’m like, ‘It’s so easy.’”

“You feel like you’re just in the middle of nowhere”

Aviemore is Kate’s favourite spot so far. “I’ve done that three times now… You feel like you’re just in the middle of nowhere. You’re in the forest,” she says. “Everyone’s kind of split up as well. You’re not really close to other campers, but you know they’re there.”

Glencoe made a lasting impression, too. “Glencoe was nice as well. Waking up with the mountain in the background, that was crazy.”

Next up is Northumberland, where Kate spent family holidays growing up, including trips to Alnwick. At around two and a half hours away, it’s actually closer to her home in Scotland than Glencoe.

“It is like a big kid’s toy”

Kate’s favourite thing about owning a TentBox is the freedom to go further afield, especially at weekends. The fun of it comes a close second. “It’s just exciting to sleep on the top of your car,” she says. “I feel like it’s such a new thing.”

Build a setup like Kate’s

Want to build a setup like Kate’s and get out more often? Start with the TentBox Classic, then add the accessories that do the same jobs as the kit she relies on, and you’ve got a warm, comfortable camp that’s ready to go every weekend of the year.

• TentBox Classic – the roof tent Kate packs away in two minutes, with room for two and space to keep your bedding inside.

• Thermal Kit – the insulated liner Kate credits for never having a cold night. 

• Comfort Topper – an extra memory foam layer that sits on the Classic’s mattress for an even comfier night’s sleep.