The August bank holiday weekend is almost upon us - as the last long weekend of the year, it’s one to savour. If you are heading off for a couple of nights camping or to enjoy some al fresco entertaining in the garden, then we have a few things that could prove super useful for keeping comfortable and warm in the evenings.

Reindeer hides and sheepskins make wonderful rugs and throws for inside the home, but are also also highly practical and portable to take outside when needed.

Happy campers

It’s great to get back to basics by sleeping in a field for few days, but it’s also nice to keep a home comfort or two! A reindeer hide or sheepskin can be used as a rug in the living area of the tent during the day as it sure feels nicer underfoot than a plastic groundsheet!

Once the sun sets, the nights are likely to be on the chilly side (yes, even in August!) so use the skins’ super insulating qualities to help keep you warm. You can use them as throws around your shoulders or over your knees for warmth when you are sitting around the campfire in the evening.

Then when it comes to bedtime, place the skin under your beds in the sleeping compartment to help keep the chill coming up from the ground, or over your sleeping bags to snuggle under.

Sleeping on a sheepskin will also provide extra springy support to help avoid those achy hips in the morning, when you are missing your mattress.

Round the campfire

Sitting round a good campfire in the evening is one of the best simple pleasures to enjoy when camping. They can take a while to really get going though, so to save shivering while you wait, we recommend taking along one of our Flordon fire pipes. Long but slim, it’s easy to fit into the boot of your car with your other kit and is a super tool for getting a campfire blazing.

We had feedback from the Rigden family who took one on a recent camping trip and they were amazed how quickly it got the fire going. ‘Sure beats wafting a plate for ages’ was their verdict!

Outside in the garden

The same goes for sitting outdoors in the garden into the evening, if you are staying at home. A reindeer hide will add softness and warmth to your outdoor seating, and looks great on a garden chair or bench. Being naturally water resistant, it’s fine if they get a little wet while outdoors - they just need a gentle airing to dry out again.

The firepipe can be used to get a chiminea fire going quicker in the garden. Or if the weather is unexpectedly hot this bank holiday, you could even use it on the barbecue to get those coals going!

Whatever you choose to do on the August bank holiday - at home or away - we hope enjoy the long weekend!