Open Air Business February 2017

ISSUE 7 | February 2017 | www.openairbusiness.com 

BUSINESS 

Entertainment 

Options & Advice 

FUNCTION VENUES 

› Things go Wrong! 

› Corporate Events 

ACCOMMODATION 

› Wild Camping 

› Family Glamping 

EVENTS 

› Outdoor Cinema 

› Events on Your Land 

ALSO: 

POP UP GLAMPING, LANDSCAPE DESIGN, PLANNING

ISSUE 7 | February 2017 | www.openairbusiness.com 

WELCOME 

Welcome 

DIVERSIFICATION IS ALL about ideas. It can be 

a fun and creative process, and an opportunity to 

get started with a new way of life. It must be why 

there is such a buzz at the glamping, farm/estate 

diversification and outdoor event trade shows; 

everyone is either excitedly fact-finding for a new 

business idea, or are already enjoying being part of 

one. 

I love creativity, and creativity in business is 

certainly exciting. In this industry there are so many 

examples of entrepreneurial thinking that have 

paid off; often born of necessity, it is fantastic to see so many diversification 

success stories. Our case study on Hounslow Hall Estate is one such example; 

dairy farmers who suffered disaster following a TB outbreak are now the proud 

owners of a function venue ‘firing on all cylinders’ as an off road driving and 

activity centre, with weddings and events thrown into the mix. 

I hope we carry some of this buzz from the industry through to the pages 

of Open Air Business. In this issue we certainly explore some different ideas, 

taking a look at using glampsites and farm estates for corporate ‘away’ days, 

pop up glamping accommodation for weddings and parties, and outdoor 

cinema events. All these ventures can be achieved and made profitable on a 

small, medium or large scale, so I hope these atricles will inspire some of you to 

investigate how they might work for you. 

As part of our commitment to quality editorial we have engaged more 

industry experts to share their knowledge. In the Accommodation section we 

look at how landscape design impacts on a glampsite, how to attract family 

bookings, and how pre-pitched accommodation can be made to appeal to 

‘wild campers’. 

In Function Venues, I enjoyed the candid advice from Isabel Smith on ‘Fawlty 

Towers’ style disaster weddings and planning for the worse. In Events, there is 

plenty to digest in the entertainment advice feature while Linda Krawecke runs 

through the considerations necessary for running events on your own land. 

PUBLISHERS 

Steve Rix - steve@openairbusiness.com 

Tally Wade - tally@openairbusiness.com 

EDITORIAL TEAM 

Susannah Millen - susannah@openairbusiness.com 

Tally Wade - tally@openairbusiness.com 

ADVERTISING SALES 

Graham Alleyne - 01892 677740 

graham@openairbusiness.com 

Antoinette Marley - 01892 677721 

antoinette@openairbusiness.com 

DESIGN 

James English - 

www.jamesenglishdesign.co.uk 

PUBLISHED BY 

Coffee Shop Media - 01580 848555 

www.coffeeshopmedia.com 

The House on the Hill, Friezley Lane, 

Cranbrook, Kent, TN17 2LL 

t: 01580 848555 

FOLLOW US ON 

TWITTER 

@openairbusiness 

FOLLOW US ON 

FACEBOOK 

www.facebook.com/ 

openairbusiness 

Find more expert advice online: 

www.openairbusiness.com 

PLEASE DO SIGN UP 

If you enjoy the magazine and wish to continue receiving it for free, please do 

sign up online at www.openairbusiness.com/subscribe-free or by using the 

form on page 4. It won’t cost you anything if you live in the UK and it will ensure 

you remain on the mailing list, which we are currently cleansing in readiness for 

our circulation audit. Any questions, or to register over the phone, please call us 

at the office. 

NOW 

LIVE 

Entertainment 

Options & Advice 


› Things go Wrong! 

› Corporate Events 

ACCOMMODATION 

› Wild Camping 

› Family Glamping 

EVENTS 

› Outdoor Cinema 

› Events on Your Land 

BUSINESS 

ISSUE 7 | FEBRUARY 2017 | www.openairbusiness.com 

ALSO: 

POP UP GLAMPING, LANDSCAPE DESIGN, PLANNING 

Tally Wade 

Editor / Publisher 

COVER PHOTO 

Picture courtesy of Bigtopmania. 

Turn to pages 58-60 for advice on selecting 

entertainment for your next event 

WWW.OPENAIRBUSINESS.COM 3

INSIDE 

Contents ISSUE 

#7 | February 2017 

UP FRONT 

6 News 

9 Industry Talk – Planning 

advice for outdoor hospitality 

diversification 


12 Hounslow Hall – a family run 

estate with multiple venues 

16 What can go Wrong? – prepare 

for the unexpected with Isabel 

Smith 

20 The ‘Away Days’ Market – how 

to attract corporate clients to 

your venue 

24 Pop Up Accommodation – how 

temporary accommodation can 

boost profits 

ACCOMMODATION 

28 Dimpsey Glamping – a single 

unit glampsite with luxury 

appeal 

32 Wild Camping – getting back-tonature 

with pre pitched units 

36 Family Glamping – Kate Morel 

offers ways to attract guests 

with children 

40 Landscaping – advice from 

landscaping experts on 

designing your site 

EVENTS 

46 The Cornish Design Fair - family 

owned Trereife House diversifies 

into events 

50 Open Air Cinema – the market 

for outdoor film 

54 Events on Your Land – things to 

consider with Linda Krawecke 

58 Entertainment – options and 

advice from suppliers 

44 Industry Legends – Mark Scott 

of Clear Sky 

62 Spotlight 

64 Classifieds 

66 Periwinkle 

✁ 

CONTINUE RECEIVING OPEN AIR BUSINESS FOR FREE 

Receive OPEN AIR BUSINESS for FREE (published 9 times a year). Fill in the form below and return it to: COFFEE SHOP MEDIA, THE HOUSE 

ON THE HILL, FRIEZLEY LANE, CRANBROOK, KENT, TN17 2LL or subscribe online at: www.openairbusiness.com/subscribe-free 

Do you wish to receive FREE printed copies of OPEN AIR BUSINESS? 

YES NO (if not, please state why) 

Do you wish to receive the OPEN AIR BUSINESS E-NEWS? 

YES NO (if not, please state why) 

Your details 

Ms/Miss/Mrs/Mr 

Surname 

Company 

Website 

Address 

First Name 

1) What best describes your business? 

2) Which sector(s) do you operate / are you interested in? 

Outdoor Accommodation, Outdoor Events, Outdoor Functions, 

OTHER (please specify) 

3) What best describes your job role? 

4) Are you involved in the purchase of products and/or services? 

Email 

Phone Number 

Postcode 

5) Open Air is independently audited by the ABC. Please answer the 

following question for auditing purposes. What make of car do you 

drive? (you can put ‘Don’t drive’ etc.)

We Offer Premier Outdoor 

Event Structure Hire to All Events 

SADDLESPAN, MODULAR MATRIX TENTS AND MOBILE STAGES 

Office: 01223 870935 Mobile: 

07881 614134 

Email: enquiries@gigtent.co.uk www.gigtent.co.uk 

Marquees & 

Glamping Structures 

All of our structures are made at our Gloucestershire 

factory using the highest quality fire retardant 

performance materials. 

We have over 28yrs experience in the design and 

manufacture of clear span, tubular, traditional and 

bespoke marquees including a range of steel-framed 

Safari glamping structures. 

Visit our website, read our testimonials and call us. 

0 1 4 5 3 7 6 7 1 7 1 

www.bondfabrications.co.uk 

enquiries@bondfabrications.co.uk 


The latest news from the world of outdoor hospitality 

SPECIAL OFFERS 

£1,000 off a Tree Tent 

Tree Tent International is offering readers 

£1,000 off orders until April 2017. Just 

quote ‘OpenAir’ when ordering. See page 

35 for more details. 01273 973937 / 

www.treetents.co.uk 

Glamping Business Course 

The next glamping business course, run 

by Bella Given of successful glampsite 

Longlands, will be held on 22 March at 

Longlands in Coombe Martin, North 

Devon. Bring a business partner and get 

the second place half price. The cost of 

the course is redeemable against any 

order from Albion Canvas. 01271 882004 / 

www.learningsfromlonglands.co.uk 

Lockable ‘Pop Up’ Rooms 

The Pop-Up Hotel is joining forces with 

Dutch company Flexotel to provide a solid 

structure room that will complement 

its current canvas hotel offering. The 

construction means that these ‘collapsible’, 

fold away structures can be erected and 

dismantled quickly and efficiently. In 

addition, they are lockable – a distinct 

advantage to guests. These added 

benefits will extend The Pop-Up Hotel’s 

capacity to provide practical, comfortable 

accommodation for events around the UK. 

Launching at The Pop-Up Hotel at 

Glastonbury in June, the Flexotel rooms 

will form a unique ‘Urban Quarter’ to the 

hotel, complete with outdoor corridors 

behind a striking facade. Mark Sorrill, 

founder and director of The Pop-Up Hotel, 

said: “We have taken inspiration from the 

festival’s brilliant production of Block 9, a 

powerful, immersive, cultural experience 

with a distinctly gritty, urban feel. It is a 

really exciting new direction for us which, 

although a completely different feel to our 

more whimsical canvas rooms, actually 

complements the experiential nature of the 

hotel. 

“Following the launch of the Flexotel rooms 

at the festival, we plan on visiting a number 

of sporting events around the UK,” said 

Sorrell. “The accommodation requirements 

for these tend to be more functional 

and Flexotel fits the bill perfectly.” www. 

thepopuphotel.com 

Free Websites from Inn Style 

Inn Style has announced the launch of 

free websites for every subscriber to its 

accommodation booking system. Owners 

can customise the template to suit while 

Inn Style takes care of the hosting and SEO. 

www.innstyle.co.uk 

NEW ROUND OF GRANT CALLS 

A new round of grant calls has just been announced by the Rural Development 

Programme for England (RDPE) for the themes of Tourism Infrastructure, Business 

Development and Food Processing. These calls will operate differently to previous 

calls, with simplified applicant information in the form of handbooks for each theme. 

The application window has been extended from three to 12 months, and each 

theme handbook will include a list of the Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP) areas 

supporting that theme, along with the associated budget. There will also be a shorter 

initial Expression of Interest (EoI) form. 

For further information and to check which themes are available for support in your 

area please visit www.gov.uk/government/publications/rdpe-growth-programme 

Tel: 01945 463857 Mob: 07775 921182 

info@fireworksdisplayteam.co.uk 

www.fireworksdisplayteam.co.uk 

6 WWW.OPENAIRBUSINESS.COM

Festival Supplier 

Awards 2017 Winners 

ALMOST 370 OF the UK festival 

and outdoor event industry’s 

leading suppliers and organisers 

attended the Festival Supplier 

Awards to celebrate the 2017 

winners on 26th January. Now 

in their third year, the awards 

recognise companies who work 

tirelessly to deliver great events, 

many of whose efforts often go 

unseen. 

Commenting on the success 

of this year’s awards ceremony, 

event director, Michelle Tayton 

said: “The Festival Supplier Awards 

are now firmly established as an 

important date in the festival and 

outdoor event calendar. We’ve 

got a great formula; a room full of 

fantastic people at the top of their 

game and plenty of networking 

opportunities for everyone who 

attends.” 

Among the winners were: 

› Best Concession/Bar - 

Peppermint Bars, Bestival 

› Best Glamping & 

Accommodation - Hotel Bell 

Tent, CarFest North 

› Best Toilets/Waste Management 

- Qdos Event Hire, Royal Windsor 

Horse Show & HMQ90 

› Best Power - Power Logistics, V 

Festival (Hylands Park) 

› Best Fencing/Hoarding - GAP 

Hire Solutions, V Festival 

(Weston Park) 

› Best Stage - Acorn Event 

Structures, Creamfields 

› Best Crowd Management/ 

Security - Specialized Security 

Guarding Ltd, Reading Festival 

› Best Temporary Roadway/ 

Walkway - LION Trackhire Ltd, 

RHS Chelsea Flower Show 

› Best Temporary Structure - 

Neptunus Ltd, The National 

Eisteddfod of Wales 

› Green Festival Supplier Award - 

Loowatt Ltd, Port Eliot Festival 

› Best Festival Support Service: 1st 

– Best Seating – Arena Seating, 

Edinburgh Festival Fringe and 

Edinburgh International, 2nd – 

Best Catering Equipment – PKL 

Group (UK) Ltd, Goodwood 

Festivals, 3rd – Best Creche – 

Nipperbout Ltd, Cambridge Folk 

Festival. 

New Office and 

Brand for Camp 

Champ 

AUSTRIAN DESIGNED CAMP Champ – the 

Explorer’s Kitchen has opened a new UK office 

on the north Norfolk coast at the award-winning 

Holkham Studios, within the spectacular Holkham 

Hall Estate. 

“The Explorer’s Kitchen is a luxury travel kitchen 

designed to reflect the golden age of luxurious 

travel,” says UK company director Oliver Roberts. 

“Modelled on the ‘campaign furniture’ used 

in Victorian exploration, the kitchen includes 

everything needed to prepare and host a deluxe 

dining experience in the great outdoors.” 

Roberts is also developing the company’s new 

outdoor hospitality brand Camp Champ Cook 

– Culinary Escapades, a luxury outdoor cooking 

hire service for corporate and celebratory dining, 

field sports hospitality and cooking masterclasses. 

“We've created a specialist 4x4 vehicle with a 

mobile kitchen, chef and crew,” says Roberts. 

www.campchampcook.co.uk 


HAE EHA - improving benefits 

and support for its members 

Achieve the highest 

industry standards 

Reduce risk 

Improve service 

delivery levels 

For further information visit www.safehire.org.uk 

or call the SafeHire Team on 0121 380 4613. 

Developed in partnership with:

INDUSTRY TALK 

Understanding 

Planning 

GETTY IMAGES 

Marie Stacey guides us through the definitions of development, permitted development 

rights and change of use, and advises on applying for planning permission 

DIVERSIFICATION CAN TAKE 

many different forms, but do you 

need planning permission for 

your project? Planning permission 

can be the key to unlocking the 

potential in your business or land 

through diversification. If you are 

changing the way you use your 

buildings or land, then it is likely 

that you will need to apply to your 

local authority for permission 

unless the changes fall within your 

permitted development rights. 

The definition of development 

within Section 55 1 of the Town 

and Country Planning Act 1990 

includes ‘the carrying out of 

building, engineering, mining or 

other operations in, on, over or 

under land, or the making of any 

material change in the use of any 

buildings or other land.’ However, 

the question as to whether or not a 

“WOODS ARE 

DESCRIBED AS 

HAVING A HIGH 

‘CARRYING 

CAPACITY’; 

THAT IS, THEY 

HAVE AN 

ABILITY TO 

ABSORB 

LOTS OF 

PEOPLE AND 

ACTIVITIES” 

1 

R (Save Woolley 

Valley Action Group 

Ltd) v Bath and 

North East Somerset 

Council [2012] EWHC 

2161 (Admin) 

structure constitutes development 

within the meaning outlined above 

has been a long-standing issue 

and one of fact and degree. 

A recent 2012 Court of Appeal 

case has expanded the parameters 

of what constitutes a building 

and the tests set in a previous 

well-known Court of Appeal case 

in Skerritts of Nottingham Ltd 

v SSETR [2000] JPL 1025. The 

Skerritts Court of Appeal case 

defined three main tests to identify 

what is a building, which include: 

› The construction of the 

structure on site; 

› Permanence of the structure; 

and 

› The structure’s physical 

attachment to the land. 

Construction activities normally 

undertaken by a person carrying 

on business as a builder is 

usually deemed as an operation 

and therefore constitutes 

development. It has been argued 

that if a structure is prefabricated 

and easy to assemble i.e. without 

a builder, then this does not 

constitute development, however, 

the 2012 Court of Appeal case 

provided further clarity on ‘the 

construction of structures on site’. 

It found that even if the structure 

is easily constructed on site, and 

therefore not defined a ‘building’, 

a structure such as this may 

still fall within the definition of 

development in relation to ‘other 

operations in, on, over and under 

land’. 

Accordingly, you may require 

planning permission for your 

‘temporary’ structure, therefore, 

it is best to consult your local 

planning authority or planning 

WWW.OPENAIRBUSINESS.COM 9 9

INDUSTRY TALK 

GETTY IMAGES 

consultant to understand whether 

planning permission will be 

required, or if your development 

falls within your permitted 

development rights. 

PERMITTED DEVELOPMENT 

RIGHTS 

In the 2013 Budget Statement, 

the Government realised that the 

Use Classes Order 1987 2 and the 

General Permitted Development 

Order 1995 3 were significant 

deregulatory tools that could 

be expanded to allow greater 

flexibility to the change between 

land uses that have similar 

impacts, without the need to 

apply for planning permission. 

Since this time, there have been 

a raft of changes to permitted 

development rights which allow 

further flexibility between use 

classes to support change of use 

from agricultural to certain other 

uses such as business, retail and 

residential. These changes are 

now in place, and are outlined 

within the consolidated Town 

and Country Planning (General 

Permitted Development) (England) 

Order 2015 (GPDO) (as amended). 

These changes have gone through 

a period of testing through various 

prior approvals and appeals, so 

there is now more certainty to 

what is required and, therefore, 

2017 is the right time to try and 

make the most of your new 

business venture. 

The reason why it is important 

to distinguish whether your 

development falls within your 

permitted development rights is 

down to time and money. Utilising 

your permitted development 

rights should involve less work 

and time so that you can start your 

new venture without delay. This is 

because permitted development 

rights are essentially a national 

grant of planning permission, 

which allow certain building 

works and changes of use to be 

carried out without having to 

make a planning application. 

But, be aware that any permitted 

development rights are subject 

to conditions and limitations 

to control the impact of your 

development on the surrounding 

area and to protect local amenity. 

Schedule 2 of the GPDO 2015 

contains 19 parts relating to 

the different types of permitted 

development rights, but ‘Part 

3: Changes of Use’ and ‘Part 4: 

Temporary Buildings and Uses’ will 

be of most relevance to your new 

venture. 

CHANGE OF USE OF 

EXISTING BUILDINGS 

It may be beneficial to change 

existing agricultural buildings to 

support your open-air business i.e. 

function rooms for weddings. 

Class R of Part 4 of the 2015 

GPDO permits agricultural 

buildings and land in their 

curtilage to be converted to 

a “flexible commercial use” 

subject to a number of conditions 

and restrictions. A flexible use 

includes shops, financial and 

professional services, restaurants 

and cafes, business use, storage 

or distribution, hotels or assembly 

and leisure. In this respect, a 

function room could fall under 

2 

The Town and 

Country Planning 

(Use Classes) Order 

1987 (as amended) 

3 

The Town and 

Country Planning 

(General Permitted 

Development) Order 

1995 (as amended) 

the ‘assembly and leisure’ use 

permitted subject to adhering 

to the necessary condition and 

restrictions. 

Class R is only applicable to 

buildings that have been solely in 

agricultural use on 3 July, 2012, 

or if it was not in use on that date 

when it was last in use if now 

redundant. If the building was 

brought into agricultural use after 

3 July, 2012, then you will not be 

able to convert the building into a 

use defined in Class R for at least 

10 years. 

The rights under Class R do 

not extend to buildings that are 

listed or a scheduled monument; 


INDUSTRY TALK 

sites forming a military explosives 

storage area; or a site forming a 

safety hazard area. In addition, 

these rights do not include 

work associated with building 

operations, i.e. any physical 

alterations to the building for 

window or door openings, so 

a planning application will be 

required for these building 

operations. 

The maximum cumulative floor 

space that may be converted 

under this permitted development 

right is 500m2 of floor space of 

a building or buildings within a 

single established agricultural 

unit. 

Development is only permitted 

subject to prior approval from 

your Local Planning Authority. 

Development can commence if 

your Local Planning Authority 

provides a written notice giving 

prior approval or outlining that 

prior approval is not needed; or 

the local planning authority does 

not provide a written notice before 

the 56-day time limit expires from 

the receipt of the application. 

TEMPORARY CHANGES OF 

USE OF LAND 

Class B of Part 3 of the 2015 GPDO 

permits the use of any land for 

any purpose for not more than 28 

days, unless it relates to a market 

(car boot) or motor car/motorcycle 

racing, which cannot exceed 14 

days. The provision also includes 

any moveable structure for 

the purposes of the permitted 

use. Be aware that the 28 days 

includes any days that moveable 

structures are left on the land 

and are not taken down. 

PLANNING PERMISSION 

If the development does not 

fall within your permitted 

development rights, then 

planning permission will be 

required from your local planning 

authority. In this respect, a 

planning application will need to 

be submitted and the authority 

will determine whether or not 

planning permission should be 

granted, having regard to the 

Development Plan and material 

considerations relevant to your 

proposals. 

Before submitting your 

planning application, there 

are some key questions to ask 

yourself to help inform your 

proposals: 

What are the local planning 

policies applicable to my site 

and proposals? 

Each Local Planning Authority 

will have a Development Plan 

that can include a number 

of documents including a 

Local Plan, Proposals Map, 

Development Management 

Policies Development Plan, 

GETTY IMAGES 

ABOUT THE 

AUTHOR 

Marie Stacey is 

a senior planner 

at Pegasus 

Group, a leading 

independent 

national planning 

consultancy 

specialising in town, 

environmental 

and commercial 

planning; urban 

and landscape 

design; and public 

engagement. 

Marie has provided 

planning advice 

to a range of 

clients including 

various country 

estates, farmers, 

landowners, 

commercial 

businesses and 

housebuilders. 

She has assisted 

clients through 

the planning 

process and 

gained planning 

permission for 

a variety of 

developments 

comprising farm 

diversification 

projects, renewable 

energy, countryside 

pursuits and 

housing. www. 

pegasuspg.co.uk 

Document and Neighbourhood 

Plan. These documents will 

contain information relating to the 

planning policies and designations 

that will be applicable to your site 

and proposals. 

As the Local Planning 

Authority will have to refer to 

the Development Plan when 

determining your application, 

it is essential that you carefully 

consider these documents to 

ensure that your development 

complies with the relevant 

policies. 

Is my site within a designated 

area for its landscape, ecological 

or heritage value? 

Designated areas such as Areas 

of Outstanding Natural Beauty, 

National Parks, Conservation 

Areas, or Sites of Special Scientific 

Interest will not necessary prohibit 

your development obtaining 

planning permission however, 

careful consideration will need 

to be had to the siting of your 

development and the potential 

effects your development will have 

on these designations. 

Does my site have appropriate 

vehicular access? 

The highways impact associated 

with your development will need 

to be evaluated to assess the 

effects of the additional increase 

in traffic and whether the visibility 

onto the highway is sufficient. 

Is the development close to any 

neighbours? 

The residential amenity of any 

neighbours will need to be 

considered particularly in respect 

of noise however, these can 

usually be avoided through careful 

siting. 

There are many considerations 

that can be material to your 

proposals and therefore engaging 

with your Local Planning Authority 

from the outset will help to 

smooth out any potential issues 

and define what it would require 

to support your application. Some 

planning authorities still operate a 

free pre-application advice service 

but, even so, if there is a charge 

then it is usually nominal and 

money well spent. If in doubt, a 

planning consultant will be able 

to advise and manage the process 

for you. 



CASE STUDY 

Hounslow 

Hall Estate 

A dairy farm turned leisure pursuit and 

function venue, Hounslow Hall estate 

still operates as a farm but is now so much more 

Situated just outside of Milton Keynes, this family-run business is 

building its reputation as a team building and ‘away day’ destination as well as a wedding 

and festival venue. Open Air Business talks to operations director Mark Stopps about the 

team’s multi-channel approach to diversification into the outdoor hospitality sector. 

When did you start your function 

venue business and what is its 

history? 

Experience the Country was 

founded in 2011 at Hounslow Hall 

estate, with the primary purpose 

of utilising an off-road course left 

empty by the departure of Land 

Rover Experience. I was working 

on the farm and helped build 

and run the course for 10 years. 

The estate owners, Bryan and Val 

Wood, have been diversifying their 

farm activities from well before 

‘diversification’ became a buzz 

word, so when Land Rover moved 

out we took it on and added clay 

shooting and fly fishing to the 

activities on offer for corporate 

away days and the leisure market. 

From there, we evolved to offer 

“THE ESTATE 

HAS SOME 

BEAUTIFUL, 

DISTINCT 

LOCATIONS, 

EACH OF 

WHICH CAN 

BE USED AS 

INDIVIDUAL 

VENUES” 

Segway tours, quad biking, Zorb 

football and archery, along with 

more unusual activities such as axe 

throwing and bushcraft. 

As well as the experiential 

activities, we are a function and 

events venue. Bryan and Val’s 

granddaughter Helen is taking over 

managing the estate as a venue 

for weddings and private parties. 

We have separated this part of the 

business off and given it its own 

brand – Tip Top Venues. We also 

offer the estate out for dry hire to 

event organisers, and have hosted 

several festivals including Into the 

Wild. 

Tell us about your location 

and site 

The Hounslow Hall Estate covers 

800 acres of the Buckinghamshire 

countryside and is located on the 

western edge of Milton Keynes. 

Originally a dairy farm, the land is 

now used for arable crops. Owner 

Bryan’s entire dairy herd was wiped 

out in the 1980s due to TB, so he 

diversified into turf growing and by 

offering units out for business use. 

His entrepreneurial spirit has seen 

him build the estate from nothing 

– I have a huge amount of respect 

for him. Both in their 80s, he and Val 

still work full time. 

The estate has some beautiful, 

distinct locations, each of which can 

be used as individual venues. These 

include an intimate lakeside setting, 

pastures, gardens, rolling hills and 

‘Bow Piece,’ a larger expanse of land 

that is used for festivals. 

What are the different sides of 

your function venue business and 

how did they develop? 

Experience the Country offers three 

key services: corporate events, 

leisure activities for individuals and 

couples, and professional training 

courses. Tip top venues is the venue 

hire side of the business. We have 

a landing page for Experience the 

Country which sets out the estate’s 

four offerings, each then has its own 

website designed to appeal to the 

target audience. Our team is quite 

unique in that we have members 

from several generations – from 

octogenarians through to people in 


their 20s. We all contribute to the 

brainstorming process, so we get an 

excellent cross section of ideas and 

insights that we hope are reflected 

in the presentation of our services. 

What facilities for outdoor 

functions do you offer? 

As well as our purpose-built off 

road driving course and activities, 

we have a huge indoor arena which 

was a structure left by a business 

previously based at the estate. It 

is 35x20m and can be used for all 

sorts of activities if the weather 

is bad. We can also line it out so 

it is suitable for weddings and 

conferences. 

For corporate clients, there is a 

light, spacious meeting room that 

can accommodate up to 60 people 

in various configurations. Measuring 

5.5x12m, it has air conditioning and 

views across open countryside. We 

also have an on-site cafe that we 

are looking at developing further. 

On the wedding side of things, 

we are about to step things up gear. 

We are currently not licensed for 

ceremonies, but are a perfect place 

to hold a blessing, and of course 

the reception. We work with local 

suppliers for marquees, catering 

etc. to ensure we receive the levels 

of service we require and our 

customers expect. In the early days, 

this was a little trial and error, but 

we now have a great suppliers list. 

What services do you offer? 

The level of service we offer very 

much depends on our clients' 

needs. It can range from simple dry 

hire of our event pitches through to 

full event management. We have 

an excellent, experienced team and 

are used to tailoring packages to 

individual needs, be it a wedding, 

corporate activity day or other 

event. 

As far as our activities go, we 

offer off-road driving in both Land 

Rovers and our 4x4 truck, quad bike 

treks, Segway tours, clay shooting, 

a ‘crazy car’ experience, archery, 

axe throwing, air rifle shooting, 

and more. We work with selected 

partners for some of the activities 

while delivering the majority inhouse. 

How do you work with your 

customers to make their event 

unique? 

Due to the sheer number of options 

available to our guests, every 

event is unique. With the range 

of activities on offer, guests can 

really go to town, whether they are 

booking for a team building day, 

stag or hen party, wedding, or just 

to come and have fun. 

As a venue, we have so many 

different areas - from large expanses 

of land to small, intimate locations 

- that we can tailor a package for 

almost anyone. Our team is also on 

“DUE TO 

THE SHEER 

NUMBER OF 

OPTIONS 

AVAILABLE TO 

OUR GUESTS, 

EVERY EVENT 

IS UNIQUE” 

hand to guide guests through the 

options, introduce our suppliers 

and offer ideas. 

How do you publicise yourself? 

For our leisure business, we 

concentrate our marketing on the 

social media platforms, which 

works well to attract smaller groups 

and individuals. 

For the corporate side, we make 

sure to get to as many networking 

events as possible. Being on the 

outskirts of Milton Keynes means 

we are well positioned for business 

use but it is an uphill struggle to find 

the right person in each business 

to target. More often than not there 

isn’t an HR manager who oversees 

team building and away days; they 

are usually managed by someone 

within the team attending. We 

have found that sponsoring various 

events in the community and


HOLLY CLARK PHOTOGRAPHY 

offering prizes for school raffles 

pays dividends, as it gets our name 

out and a bit about what we do. 

You’d be surprised how many 

people are in business that find us 

that way. 

How would you describe your 

‘style’ or unique selling point? 

Our USP is definitely our setting. 

Look East and you can see right into 

the centre of Milton Keynes, with 

the Xscape snowdome visible most 

days. Look West and you look out 

over the rolling Buckinghamshire 

countryside. We are also incredibly 

flexible – we can be slick and 

corporate or we can be bushcraft 

and camping. 

What challenges have you faced? 

Luckily, we have not had to deal 

with planning issues for our 

activities as much of that was 

worked out in the good old days 

when things were a lot simpler. 

Our neighbours are also pretty 

good. Apart from the weather, that 

presents us with differing problems 

each year, our main challenge is 

what to do with all our ideas! We 

are currently looking at open air 

film screenings, glamping and mud 

runs to name a few. 

What are your plans for next 

season? 

We continue to look at ways 

to expand the business and to 

continue to grow. We have set aside 

about four acres for a Maize Maze, 

situated just outside our offices. 

This will be a great addition to 

the activities on-site, as well as an 

“WE ARE 

CURRENTLY 

LOOKING AT 

OPEN AIR FILM 

SCREENINGS, 

GLAMPING 

AND MUD 

RUNS TO 

NAME A FEW” 

attraction for our summer events. 

Describe your average day midseason 

We usually open the office around 

7.30am, it gives us a chance to work 

through any emails and messages 

and get the coffee brewed. The 

majority of the staff arrive about 

an hour later, and once everyone 

is in we hold our morning briefing, 

assigning tasks and duties. 

Our guests usually start to arrive 

at 9am and head out for their 

activities. We welcome them back in 

with drinks and snacks before they 

head on their way. The last guests 

usually depart at 5pm and the 

clear up begins. Vehicles and quads 

are washed down and refuelled, 

Segways are put on charge and 

equipment is tidied away ready for 

the next day. 

ADDRESS BOOK 

MARQUEES 

R&R Marquees - 01908 511144 

www.rrmarquees.co.uk 

Country Tipis - 07486 542374 

www.countrytipis.co.uk 

The Natural Tent Company 

07766 667496 

www.thenaturaltentcompany.com 

Hels’ Bells Tents 

07977 129035 

www.madeinenglandbyhelenfryer.co.uk 

BARS & CATERING 

The Cocktail Car Company 

07808 529639 

www.thecocktailcar.com 

Every now and again the 

temptation of a beer and a 

barbecue gets the better of us and 

we succumb to a slighter later night 

and a few laughs. 

Do you enjoy the business? 

Absolutely. Every day is different. 

Every guest arrives with an 

expectation and we love the 

challenge of meeting those. 

What advice could you give to 

others wishing to diversify into 

outdoor hospitality? 

Do your research. We were 

fortunate enough to be able to 

adopt an existing business plan. 

We knew the formula worked and, 

when we have needed to, tweaking 

that plan has been relativity straight 

forward. 

HEATING, POWER & LIGHTING 

Paragon - 01280 822282 

www.paragontoolhire.com 

TOILETS & SHOWERS 

JB Event facilities 

0845 130 1118 

www.jbeventfacilities.co.uk 

DETAILS 

Drayton Road, Newton Longville 

Buckinghamshire, MK17 0BU 

01908 630665 

www.experiencethecountry.co.uk 


Expand your brand with custom 

printed tent and event products! 

Celina Tent Europe Limited offers a 

wide variety of custom-branded 

products that can elevate your next 

event and give your brand that “wow” 

factor that everyone will be talking 

about for months! 

Customizable printed products: 

• Tents 

• Table covers 

• Flags 

• And more! 

SHOP ONLINE AT: www.GetTent.co.uk 

or GIVE US A CALL: +44 1157940041


Isabel Smith shares her contingency strategies 

for managing problems on ‘the big day’ 

GRTTY IMAGES 



WHAT'S THE EXPRESSION? 'Man 

plans and God laughs'. Nothing 

could be more true of wedding 

planning! While we do our utmost 

to ensure that each couples’ 

wedding is flawless, there are 

some things you just can't foresee. 

I'll never forget what I refer to as 

my ‘Fawlty Towers’ wedding; an 

accident on the M4 meant that all 

the suppliers were late arriving, 

the generator wouldn't start, 

the cake collapsed and, yes, the 

marquee even caught fire (just a 

small one thankfully!). But if you 

do your utmost to plan for the 

expected, with a bit of luck, you'll 

only be left having to cope with 

the unexpected! So, what are the 

sorts of thing that can go wrong 

and what can you do to prepare 

for them? 

SUPPLIERS/GUESTS 

GETTING LOST 

Your venue is likely to be rural. 

That means a lot of scope for 

visitors struggling to find their way. 

The fact that many rural postcodes 

don't correlate on sat nav devices 

doesn’t help either. However, 

there is always a solution: Put 

your venue back on the map by 

making downloadable PDF maps 

available on your website. Such a 

simple addition will ensure you are 

always found with ease. Make it 

clear to your visitors that they are 

in the right place by erecting large, 

well-lit signage at your driveway. 

Further to this, having signage 

around the estate showing the 

best route for suppliers and guests 

to take, and where to park, helps 

to avoid on-site confusion. 

RUNNING OUT OF PARKING 

SPACE 

You might think you have plenty 

of space for guest and supplier 

vehicles, but people can be very 

selfish when they park and take up 

a lot more space than they need. 

Unless you really do have acres 

and acres, you could think about 

employing parking attendants for 

each event so that people can park 

sensibly in neat, space-efficient 

rows. You might also want to 

source a tracking hire company to 

cover some of the parking areas 

during particularly wet weekends! 

DISRESPECTFUL SUPPLIERS 

Suppliers on your Preferred 

GETTY IMAGES 

“THINK 

ABOUT 

EMPLOYING 

PARKING 

ATTENDANTS 

FOR EACH 

EVENT SO 

THAT PEOPLE 

CAN PARK 

SENSIBLY IN 

NEAT, SPACE- 

EFFICIENT 

ROWS” 

Supplier List (PSL) should have 

been carefully vetted so they 

know what is expected of them 

in terms of where to park, what 

they should be wearing and their 

behaviour etc. But clients will 

also bring unknown suppliers to 

site from time to time - anything 

from a photographer who didn't 

think to pack wellies to a diva-ish 

band. How do you manage these 

unfamiliar suppliers and ensure 

they follow the guidelines? You 

create a staff brief sheet. I send 

one of these out to all suppliers 

ahead of every wedding so I can 

clearly communicate any and all 

expectations from where they 

park, to where they can smoke, to 

which loos they can use. 

DRUNKEN GUESTS/DAMAGE TO 

PROPERTY 

Weddings are of course a 

celebration and that means 

booze! This can in turn mean 

guests getting out of hand. The 

contract between you and your 

client should make clear that the 

bride and groom are ultimately 

responsible for their guests’ 

conduct. Should there be any 

knowingly troublesome guests 

on the list, the client should let 

you know in advance so you can 

agree a plan of action. Are you 

authorised to ask riotous guests to 

leave, or should you hand over to 

the best man to babysit? Better to 

have this clear ahead of time than 

to burden the bride and groom on 

the day with big decisions. Your 

contract should also outline the 

process should guests or suppliers 

damage your venue in any way. 

Most venues take a security 

deposit, returned to the client in 

full once you have confirmed that 

all is well after the day. 

NOISE COMPLAINTS 

Rural venues might not have a lot 

neighbours, but sound can travel 

surprisingly far and you can end 

up alienating the few you do have. 

Best case scenario? You get calls 

throughout each event asking 

you to turn down the volume. 

In the worst case, you could 

have the police turn up to shut 

the wedding down, potentially 

putting your license to host future 

events in danger. Do not let things 

get this far! Instead, work with 

your neighbours encouraging a 

good relationship with them and 

making sure they call you before 

the police should there be an 

issue. Invest in a decibel reader 

and walk the perimeter of the site 

a couple of times per night noting 

down the levels so you can agree 

an acceptable level. This will also 

back you up if there are ever any 

problems with the council or 

police. Some venues even have a 

decibel limit in their client contract 

to avoid problems. 



“AS YOU MAY 

HAVE GATHERED, 

PREVENTION IS FAR 

BETTER THAN CURE 

WHEN IT COMES 

TO PREPARING FOR 

THINGS THAT COULD 

GO WRONG ON A 

WEDDING DAY” 

keep the first aid kits and fire 

extinguishers easily accessible. 

Better to be safe than sorry. 

As you may have gathered, 

prevention is far better than 

cure when it comes to preparing 

for things that could go wrong 

on a wedding day. The vast 

majority of issues that arise can 

be prevented by simple and clear 

communication between venue 

and client (or venue and supplier). 

It never ceases to amaze me how 

many start-ups fail to draw up 

proper contracts which clearly 

outline roles and expectations for 

both parties. 

For the record - my 'Fawlty 

Towers' wedding? Smooth 

and flawless from the client’s 

perspective… they never knew a 

thing had gone wrong. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Isabel Smith has 10 

years in the wedding 

industry behind her 

as one of the UK’s top 

wedding planners and 

business consultant 

to venues and other 

suppliers. Isabel’s 

expertise spans 

marketing, sales and 

operations as she 

helps new vendors 

launch as well as 

assisting established 

businesses should 

they find their 

sales falling. www. 

isabelsmithconsulting. 

co.uk / www. 

isabelsmithweddings. 

co.uk 

GETTY IMAGES 

GRTTY IMAGES 

RUNNING LATE 

Running a little behind schedule 

on the day isn’t that big of a 

problem. However, you want to 

avoid things like the photographer 

leaving before the cake cutting, 

evening guests arriving before 

the main meal has finished, or 

running so behind that you only 

get 45 minutes of dancing before 

the night has to come to an end! 

The key to sticking to a schedule 

lies in a detailed function sheet 

which outlines the timings of the 

day. This needs to be read and 

approved by all of the suppliers 

ahead of time (each being an 

expert in how long their own parts 

will take during the day). This 

means that timescales stated are 

realistic making sure you don't run 

too behind. 

TRUE EMERGENCIES: 

FIRES OR INJURIES 

It's the worst thing that can 

happen at a wedding (or 

anywhere really), but fires and 

injuries do occur. You must be 

absolutely up to date with your 

health and safety knowledge, and 

have completed thorough risk 

assessments for the whole site. 

This means putting in place 

anything and everything you 

can to prevent possible injury; 

be that placing hand railings 

where required, roping off ponds 

and lighting pathways etc. You 

want to prevent injury where 

you can but also make sure you 

are 100 per cent covered legally 

should there be any serious 

problems. Keep your first aid 

and fire training up to date, and 


Your Partners in 

Event Safety! 

let us help deliver your event 

■ Extinguishers ■ Fire Blankets ■ Alarms 

Fire Points ■ Fire Buckets and so much more, with over 5000 

units in stock, everything you need in one location 

Just £1 per unit per day 

FREE needs analyses by fire safety experts. FREE Delivery, FREE 

Collection. FREE Advice, FREE Quotes 

The UK’s largest and most cost effective solution 

EVENT FIRE SOLUTIONS 

■ Risk Assessments ■ Fire Plans and EMPS 

■ Health and Safety Managers ■ Fire Safety Managers 

■ Fire Crews ■ Medical Teams 

■ Water Rescue ■ Equipment Hire 

To arrange a no obligation free consultation 

tonywhiting@eventfiresolutions.co.uk 

0800 999 4343 

www.efsweb.co.uk 

Remember when canvas 

was all you had to protect 

your big event? 

Earn 

15% 

commission 

by joining our 

Introducer 

scheme 

w e d d i n g s . s t a l l h o l d e r s . f e s t i v a l s . p a r t i e s 

If you have an important event coming up, we have a policy to keep 

you, or your clients, protected. And since Event Insurance Services have 

been exceeding clients expectations for over 20 years, you know we’re 

a company you can trust. But don’t just take our word for it, check 

out our Trust Pilot reviews too. Our policies offer affordable, reliable 

insurance, tailored to fit the scale and style of the occasion – from 

festivals and events to high profile weddings, small ceremonies, school 

fetes and parties. Plus, with our Introducer scheme, venue owners or 

event organisers can earn 15% commission simply by introducing clients 

to Event Insurance Services. To join our Introducer scheme, please email 

Lucy Minns on lucye@events-insurance.co.uk or call 01425 470360. 

Alternatively, to get a quotation 

for an event, please visit 

events-insurance.co.uk


The ‘Away 

Days’ Market 

Jess Gibbs shares her experiences in offering her function 

venue and glampsite out to the corporate events market 

GLAMPING IS FAST becoming more 

than just a weekend or holiday 

activity. Businesses are also buying 

into this escapism trend to give 

essential reflective or team building 

time away from the office in order 

for staff to experience the great 

outdoors. Corporate away days are 

big news. 

At Home Farm Glamping in 

Hertfordshire, we have been 

enjoying a new breed of bookings 

in the form of businesses and 

corporations who want to use the 

site for team building, or who are 

offering their staff stay incentives 

as part of their HR schemes to 

encourage taking positive time out. 

With three yurts and nine bell tents, 

barbecues and campfires next 

to each unit, fine dining options, 

open air yoga classes, and acres of 

land and forest to explore, Home 

Farm has become a popular escape 

from the city boardroom since we 

opened in early 2015. 

Among the businesses we have 

welcomed are Linklaters LLP, 

Willis Insurance, Adam and Eve 

DDB and Beyond Media. Each 

business used the site to build an 

experience for their staff that met 

their specific objectives in terms 

of bringing employees together, 

team building and building 

relationships. The activities each 

group chose were very different, 

but all of them commented on 

what a great experience they had 

and how different it was from any 

other team away day they had 

experienced. 

I was a lawyer in London for eight 

years and, after seeking alternative 

job satisfaction away from the 

pressures of my own corporate 

life, I now split my work between 

the glamping/venue business and 

lawyer roles. I certainly understand 

how having some time away 

from the office can be hugely 

therapeutic. 

The market for corporate events/ 

away days 

There has been a huge increase 

over recent years in corporate 

investment in staff well-being, 

and recognition that employees 

who get on with their colleagues 

on a personal level will work 

more efficiently and produce 

better results. On the back of this, 

an industry has grown up with 

increasingly imaginative activities 

supplied. In my role as a corporate 

lawyer in London we were regularly 

made to do ‘urban treasure hunts’ 

or race around the city trying to 

follow clues to defuse a bomb. A 

friend from another law firm even 

did an activity where they had to 

face off a zombie horde in some 

interactive ‘experience’. The days 

where companies put some money 

behind the bar and left staff in a 

pub to bond in their own fashion 

seem to be over. 


Why this market can work well 

for outdoor function venues/ 

glampsites 

We know there is an enormous 

market for companies who want to 

get their staff out of the office, and 

this has now extended to wanting 

employees to have a complete 

change of scene; somewhere that 

creates long lasting memories. 

This ranges from intimate teams 

of 20 wanting to get to know 

each other better in an informal 

setting, to huge corporate parties 

or conferences for 500 plus people. 

It may be that your venue is better 

suited for one end of the scale, and 

you will know which one. At Home 

Farm Glamping, we have hosted the 

whole range, and have found that 

each works in its own way - it is just 

important to stay flexible with your 

offering. 

We have spent the last couple 

of years attempting to pin down 

what clients want from these days. 

Outdoor venues are incredibly 

popular as they provide the one 

thing that most companies based in 

London or other cities can’t offer - 

fresh air. So, if you have an outdoor 

venue or glampsite you are already 

ticking a lot of boxes. The great 

thing about corporate events is 

that they are usually held midweek, 

opening up a new market for the 

"GLAMPSITES 

REALLY HAVE 

A CHANCE TO 

CORNER THIS 

MARKET AS 

THE WHOLE 

EXPERIENCE, 

BEFORE ANY 

ACTIVITIES 

ARE ADDED, 

IS DIFFERENT 

AND 

EXCITING" 

quieter parts of the season. They 

usually don’t happen during school 

holidays, so they’re the perfect fit 

with your other activities. 

Some companies really like 

having a blank canvas on which to 

create an experience that is very 

individual to their team, but almost 

all corporate clients will want some 

guidance. Having accommodation 

on-site available to hire is a huge 

added bonus for most companies, 

as nearly all will want at least one 

night’s stay. Glampsites really have 

a chance to corner this market as 

the whole experience, before any 

activities are added, is different and 

exciting. 

The appeal of back-to-nature 

‘away days’ 

Most people love being outside, but 

more and more of us are stuck in 

offices all week, sometimes without 

even windows that open. The huge 

increase of TV programmes showing 

explorers doing extraordinary 

things is proof of how many people 

are longing for a little taste of 

adventure (albeit preferably with 

a hot shower and cosy bed at the 

end). For corporate clients, there 

is the added benefit that being 

outside puts colleagues in an 

unusual setting and their behaviour 

adjusts accordingly. A senior 

manager who is very confident in 

a boardroom wearing a sharp suit 

and using Powerpoint may be far 

less confident in wellies/flipflops 

surrounded by nature. Without 

even trying, therefore, an outdoor 

venue has achieved the first big aim 

of corporate away days, which is to 

get staff out of their comfort zones 

and bring out a different side to 

them than is normally portrayed in 

the office. 

What do venues need to provide? 

Every outdoor venue is entirely 

different of course, and you need 

to tailor what you offer to that 

space. As a very basic point, the 

facilities and accommodation need 

to be at a certain level. Many in 

the group won’t necessarily have 

chosen this experience and may 

be there on sufferance; you may 

need to surprise them with just how 

luxurious glamping can be. 

It is also important to have a 

good variety of catering options 

so that companies can choose the 

tone of their event. Some teams 

will want to do their own barbecue 

and make that into part of the team 

building experience. A really good 

hog or lamb roast is always popular, 

or other companies may even want 

a very smart three course meal out 

under the stars. There are so many 

options, but I have found the key is 

to find a few options that you know 

work well and recommend those. It 

goes without saying that you need 

to get the food right. 

Often the person organising a 

corporate event thinks they need to 

arrange activities for every minute 

of the day. I always try to steer 

clients away from this, as I find 

what normally happens is that they 

arrive, clutching blackberries and 

looking anxious, but within a very 

short space of time without any 

organised fun they are sprawled out 

on the grass relaxed and chatting. 

The key is understanding what 

type of event is being planned. Is 

there a specific learning outcome 

that needs to be achieved, or is this 

purely a timeout for the team to get 

to know each other? If the latter, 

then a game of rounders or football 

followed by a delicious hog roast 

or barbecue and the building of a 

campfire might be quite enough. 

However, most companies will 

want to do at least one organised 

activity, so you should have some 

suggestions. There are hundreds 



of firms that design corporate 

experiences, and many of these are 

looking for an outdoor venue to 

host it. Unless your background is 

in team building, it may be better 

to trial some of these and work 

out which suits your space best. If 

there is one that works particularly 

well you can invest at a later date. 

By that time, you will also have 

established what type of corporate 

event your site is best suited for, 

which will help target that audience. 

What we provide at Home Farm 

Glamping 

At Home Farm Glamping, we are 

aiming to stay very flexible in terms 

of the types of corporate event we 

host. In order to do this, we have 

worked with other companies to 

create a variety of options. For 

smaller groups, Wildgoose Events 

has created a mobile GPS-based 

interactive quiz around Home Farm 

which takes two to three hours, and 

sees teams running across fields, 

hiding in the woods, and competing 

to do silly challenges that they 

photograph or film for points on 

a live leader board. The media is 

stored automatically so the next day 

they can be sent round the office for 

everyone to laugh at them. 

For larger scale events, we’ve 

teamed up with Elsewhere, the 

corporate off-site and conference 

experts. The Elsewhere team 

transforms Home Farm Glamping 

into a best in class conference site 

for groups of 100 plus employees 

- a venue that’s different and 

special, and a real break from a 

corporate hotel. Elsewhere creates 

all the content, from team building 

sessions, presentation rooms, 

break out areas and motivational 

speakers. They also set up bars 

and provide wonderful food and 

entertainment. It is effectively 

a mobile site that can pop up 

anywhere. 

How to market yourself into this 

sector 

You need to emphasise what makes 

your venue different from every 

corporate event to which a business 

may have sent staff previously. 

There is a well-trodden path to 

hotel conference venues, but most 

of them aren’t very memorable. 

For most corporations, the point of 

the event is to create an experience 

that stays with the employee 

throughout the year. Remember 

to emphasise the elements that 

might seem mundane to you: the 

fresh air, the open space, the quiet, 

the lack of phone signal. Even 

just sitting around a campfire is 

an unusual experience for most 

people, and sitting around it with 

your colleagues discussing the day 

you’ve just had is a very relaxing 

and unforced way of really getting to 

know them. 

What are the particular challenges 

of this sector? 

One thing to consider is that some 

corporate clients won’t even want 

to share tents, let alone beds. 

Depending on your set up, it is 

important that you work out how 

many people you can actually 

accommodate, which may be fewer 

than your average family or friends 

booking. You may need to consider 

hiring in some mobile glamping 

units, which could add to your costs. 

The organisation side will 

usually be more involved, and 

there will be more hand holding, 

particularly if it is a small team and 

one staff member has taken on the 

responsibility for organising the 

event. They will be desperate that 

everything goes smoothly, so I try 

to anticipate the concerns they are 

going to have, and in particular, I 

always have a wet weather back-up 

plan to suggest for them. But once 

they are on-site, I have often found 

that people are so pleased to be 

somewhere different that they are 

relatively undemanding. I always 

suggest to the event organiser that 

they circulate an itinerary so that 

people have an idea of timing - if 

the day is too unstructured, the 

ultra-organised City-types start to 


Jess Gibbs runs Home 

Farm Glamping in 

Elstree, Hertfordshire. 

The Gibbs family have 

farmed in Elstree for 

over 300 years, and 

lived in this beautiful 

bit of countryside right 

on London’s doorstep 

since 1647. After 

working in London 

as a lawyer for eight 

years, Jess returned 

home to help run the 

farm with her father 

and now operates a 

successful glampsite 

and function venue 

from its 100 acres. 

jess@ 

homefarmglamping. 

com / www. 

homefarmglamping. 

com 

get twitchy. It is also a big space, so 

it can be like herding cats if people 

don’t at least know when meals are 

or when they have to be somewhere 

for an activity. 

I have found that corporate 

clients are messier, which I was 

surprised about. They take less care 

of the tents than private guests and 

will often leave rubbish lying around 

if you haven’t specifically told 

them a waste policy. This is worth 

remembering when you’re costing 

things. 

What can you charge? 

The amount you can charge of 

course depends entirely on what 

you are providing. I always try to 

ascertain the company’s budget and 

what level of help they want with 

organisation. I personally try never 

to do things on a per head basis, 

because you may end up bearing 

the cost when people inevitably 

drop out closer to the time. I also 

try to assess how much free reign 

the organiser wants and how much 

hand holding before the event, and 

on the day, is going to be required 

before I set my fee. 

There is a lot of potential to add 

extras to your site hire. While it 

is important to stay flexible, and 

remember that each corporate 

client is different, they all want to be 

guided by you in terms of catering 

and activities so the more options 

you can offer the better. 

As final words of advice, there 

is huge potential in this market, 

and it can be a very lucrative angle 

to an outdoor venue or glamping 

business. However, it is important 

to be constantly thinking about the 

new thing as catering for corporates 

is a busy market. 


Boutique & Bedouin Tents 

Linings, Drapes & Lights 

Furniture & Finishing Touches 

before 

after 

T: 01608 651100 

W: www.oasisevents.co.uk 

Turning ordinary places into extraordinary spaces. 

Inside. Outside. All year round. 

Small BuSineSS of the Year


Pop Up 

Accommodation 

Advice 

Advice on maximising revenue by offering customers 

on-site accommodation as part of their function package 

Helen Oaten and Alex Bell 

Bellows Glamping and Events 

01283 343 714 

www.bellowsglamping.co.uk 

What is the business case for offering pop 

up accommodation at venues without 

on-site accommodation? 

The option of something being temporary 

(pop up) means that you don’t necessarily 

need planning permission depending on 

how long the structures will be standing. 

The notion of having something short term 

means the structure can be taken down 

and the land can return back to normal. 

Having a removable accommodation 

option on-site means that guests don’t 

need to worry about finding an alternative 

place to stay (that might be miles away), 

the added expense of a taxi, or even the 

annoyance of driving and not being able to 

fully enjoy their evening. When planning a 

wedding or event, people will want things 

to be as stress-free as possible, and this will 

definitely help. Another plus is that friends 

and family get to spend more time together. 

What advice could you offer a function 

venue owner on choosing/marketing pop 

up accommodation? 

Find out what is popular; ask current 

customers what they would prefer and 

speak to people in the market who already 

use pop up accommodation for their 

opinion. You can test the market and buy 

or hire one or two temporary structures 

and see what works for you financially. Set 

up or attend events where you can use the 

accommodation, such as wedding fairs, 

and get people to have a look around and 

get their opinions. We devised a market 

research survey and asked questions about 

glamping; the results were very positive, 

which made us think it would work. Market 

research is a very powerful tool, after all it is 

people’s opinions that count. 

What about the logistics? 

Now logistics is probably one of the main 

challenges you will face if you choose to 

manage your pop up accommodation 

yourself. When you take a booking, you 

need to have your accommodation 100 per 

cent ready for when the guests get there, so 

find out their estimated arrival time. Taking 

the structures down is always the easier 

bit. You may not necessarily have a specific 

time if it’s your own land, so again just find 

out what time they would be leaving the 

next day – it’s preferable not to wake them 

if you can avoid it. The best thing you can 

do is time yourself; how long does each one 

take to set up and take down? Then add on 

some extra time just in case, never agree to 

more than you can do, but also do not sell 

yourself short. Of course, you can remove 

all this work by using a hire service such 

as ourselves where a ‘glamping village’ 

is erected ready for guests then removed 

when the event is over. 

What is the USP of your product/service? 

We run our business seven days a week up 

until 8pm, and if someone needs something 

out of that time we respond. We believe in 

excellent customer service and offering the 

very best service we can. We are personable 

and will always work around customers 

the best we can, but most of all we are 

ourselves - we started the business because 

we enjoy doing it. We also handmake many 

of the products in our tents as we believe 

in upcycling and being environmentally 

friendly. If people want to purchase any of 

the items then they can. We have very few 

add-ons to our packages, meaning the price 

you see online is the price you pay, inclusive 

of all the items listed. 

What options do you offer for small, 

medium and large budgets? 

Different packages give people options. 

We offer three different types of camping 

“WE ARE PERSONABLE 

AND WILL ALWAYS WORK 

AROUND CUSTOMERS 

THE BEST WE CAN, BUT 

MOST OF ALL WE ARE 

OURSELVES” 

packages; a wedding package, hen package 

and a bespoke package (customers pick 

what they would like and we create a 

quote). Our options range from providing 

the tent, beds and lighting to bedding, hot 

water bottles, dressing gowns and so on. 

This opens up the market. We also don’t 

limit our business to two plus nights; if only 

one night is required then that’s fine. 



planning permission and all the extra 

costs such as groundwork, drainage 

and building regulations, is to provide 

temporary pop up accommodation. This 

can also enable your venue to be flexible 

to the needs of clients in terms of the 

number of accommodation units that are 

provided, and allow your venue to test the 

water without making a commitment to 

the overheads of having permanent onsite 

accommodation. 


venue owner on choosing pop up 

accommodation? 

When choosing a supplier for the 

provision of pop up accommodation, it 

makes sense to choose an established 

company with a reliable track record that 

can offer a range of products to suit your 

budget. 


There are an enormous number of 

considerations, such as the interior decor, 

furniture, beds and bedding, provision 

of power, water, toilets and showers. If 

the accommodation units are required 

for a whole season, it might make more 

financial sense to purchase the units and 

store them away for the off-season. 


Canvas structures, and yurts in particular, 

are well suited to fulfil many of the essential 

requirements for pop up accommodation. 

They can be quickly and easily erected, 

dismantled and stored away. They are 

robust, weather proof and can be equipped 

with lockable doors and wood-burning 

stoves. Critically, they are classed as tents, 

and can be installed on any agricultural 

land for 28 days a year, and longer if the 

venue has a Campsite license. 



We have been manufacturing traditional 

tipis and yurts since 1999, long before 

glamping became fashionable. As well as 

manufacturing yurts and tipis to order, 

Hearthworks supplies accommodation to a 

number of major festivals, glampsites and 

venues. It offers units that accommodate 

from two to 25 people, and a range of 

add-ons including furnishings packages, 

heating, lighting, beds and bedding. 

With over 300 yurts and tipis in stock, 

we can cater for large events and small 

intimate functions. Hearthworks can offer 

your venue a tailor-made service and give 

you the added value needed for it to fulfil 

it's potential. 

Tara Weightman, 

founder & director 

Hearthworks Tipis & Yurts 

www.heathworks.co.uk 

01749 899521 

What is the business case for offering 

pop up accommodation at venues 

without on-site accommodation? 

You may have a perfect venue for 

weddings and functions, but be unable to 

offer space for people to stay. Being able 

to provide accommodation alongside the 

main venue will give your event site an 

added attraction, leading to more demand 

and a clear advantage over competitors. 

The alternative to permanent 

accommodation units that will require 



Gemma Thorogood & 

Claudia Sampson, 

co-founders 

Firefly Camping 

www.fireflycamping.co.uk 

What is the business case for offering pop 

up accommodation at venues without 

on-site accommodation? 

Our business developed out of a need 

to accommodate people at my sister’s 

wedding. She was determined to bring 100 

people to a field in the middle of nowhere, 

far enough from any nearby civilisation to 

be able to keep the DJs going until after 

midnight, and she wanted people to sit 

around a fire afterwards and natter until 

daylight. There were a couple of B&Bs 

in the next village, perfect for the oldies, 

but she didn’t want her guests forking 

out massive taxi fares to take others to 

the nearest town and beyond, and she 

certainly didn’t want them driving or going 

home early because they couldn’t drink. 

So, to have some bell tents set up on site 

that people could literally roll into felt like 

the obvious answer. 

Not only do they keep the party going, 

but they also act as the most beautiful 

backdrop for any festival wedding. Firefly 

bell tents are a whiter canvas in colour, with 

wooden pegs and rope guy lines making 

them feel quintessentially British. It’s the 

little details that count. 


venue owner on choosing pop up 


Look for a supplier who will make it easy 

for you. You want to work with a team that 

will take the bookings off your hands and 

deal with the guests direct. We suggest 

the bride and bridegroom insert our info 

into their invitation. Then we talk to their 

guests about how best to sleep them, 

what beds and linen they’ll need, if they 

want the tent as far away from the noise 

as possible as they have children to put to 

“WE ALSO PUT WELLY SLATS DOWN FOR PEOPLE TO STAND 

ON AND TAKE OFF THEIR SHOES, AND SOME FIREFLY 

LANTERNS OUTSIDE EACH TENT TO GUIDE PEOPLE 

THROUGH THE ‘VILLAGE’ AT NIGHT” 

bed earlier, etc. - all the little details that 

you don’t need to worry about. And you 

want them to be a personable company 

who can roll in, set up the tents, receive 

the guests and roll out again, without any 

bother. 


Depending on the units required, we 

arrive one or two days before the big day, 

setting the tents up with all the beds and 

furniture by the morning of the event. Each 

tent contains the requested amount of 

beds (we use Aerobeds - the best quality 

air mattresses, which they claim to drive 

tanks over to test them), a couple of side 

tables, some fairy lights and a colourful 

rug. We also put welly slats down for 

people to stand on and take off their shoes 

and some Firefly lanterns outside each 

tent to guide people through the ‘village’ 

at night. Each tent is numbered so the 

guests know which is theirs, and each bed 

is dressed with fresh linen so it’s ready for 

them like a hotel. There is also a hanger 

for people to hang their dresses and 

suits - camping doesn’t have to be rough. 

Following the event, we discuss the best 

day to pick up the tents and take them 

back to our unit in Bristol. We do request 

weather days however. If it’s predicted to 

be a very wet pack-down day, we request 

a better day with the venue manager to 

prevent us from having to put them up to 

dry elsewhere. 


British-made for British weather, our tents 

are made by BCT Outdoors who have been 

making tents for the scouts for over 100 

years. Not only are they beautiful with a 

whiter canvas than other bell tents, rope 

guy lines and wooden pegs, but they know 

the British weather too. 

That mixed with our mantra to keep 

things simple for the event organiser, while 

going the extra mile for the guests, is what 

makes people remember us and our tents. 



Our packages are really aimed at smaller 

to medium sized events, catering well for 

weddings as the bigger companies often 

won’t come out for less than 20 tents. We 

have a minimum 10 tent hire policy which 

we ask the event organiser to guarantee 

with a deposit at the time of booking. Then 

we make the tent bookings direct with the 

guests, asking the bride and bridegroom 

to give them a gentle nudge if they are 

coming in slow. 


FUNCTION VENUES | PRODUCT FOCUS 

Pop Up Accommodation 

Create an instant glampsite for wedding and party guests 

HASSLE FREE POP UP 

GLAMPING 

Bellows Glamping and Events 

01283 343714 

www.bellowsglamping.co.uk 

At Bellows Glamping and 

Events, we offer pop up 

accommodation within the 

Midlands and further afield. 

We offer a range of packages 

to suit all, from camping with 

friends and family to hen 

parties with the girls, wedding 

guest accommodation, or play 

tents and chill out tents for 

birthday parties and events. 

We set the tents up ready for 

your arrival and take them 

down when you have left, 

providing you with hassle free, 

luxury glamping anywhere you 

want it! For more information, 

please visit the website or 

contact Helen and Alex at 

info@bellowsglamping.co.uk 

BELL TENTS BUILT TO 

LAST 

Clear Sky 

0845 299 6484 

www.safaritents.net 

What sets our bell tents 

apart from the rest is that 

they are all made from 

heavy duty canvas, in fact 

the same canvas that we 

use to make our safari 

tents. That means they are 

completely waterproof and 

built to last for three to five 

years, and even longer when 

our unique PVC fly sheet 

is added. They all come in 

an oblong bag, which can 

easily fit in the back of an 

estate car or on a roof rack, 

and can be assembled in 

less than half an hour to 

provide a luxurious camping 

experience. 

For indoors and out, to buy or rent. 

01962 877 644 | info@twilight-trees.com 

www.twilight-trees.com 


ACCOMMODATION 

CASE STUDY 

BEN CARPENTER PHOTOGRAPHY 

Dimpsey 

Glamping 

A single unit glamping operation with the 

emphasis firmly on heritage and luxury 

Situated on an historic farm in Somerset’s Blackdown Hills, 

the Dimpsey shepherd’s hut offers year-round accommodation 

with a handmade feel. Open Air Business talks to owner 

Emma Warren about what she describes as “five star luxury in a field”. 

What made you decide to 

start offering glamping 


We moved to our current home in 

2010, about the same time as we 

stayed at the Yurt Farm in Wales, 

our first glamping experience. We 

had such a great time that it set us 

thinking that we could potentially 

offer glamping on our small farm 

in Somerset – and it was an idea 

to which we kept returning. Then I 

met with Tom Dixon from Canopy & 

Stars, and he inspired me to think 

about how we could make things 

really special. We first opened 

properly in May 2015. 

How did you research the 

business before entering it? 

We did plenty of camping and 

glamping, as well as staying in 

B&Bs and hotels. We talked to 

potential customers and asked 

them what would interest them. 

“WE ARE 

LUCKY TO 

HAVE GREAT 

WALKING 

AND CYCLING 

STRAIGHT 

OUT OF OUR 

DRIVE” 

Tell us about your location 

and site 

We are based on the Blackdown 

Hills in Somerset, easily accessible 

from the A303 and about half an 

hour from the Jurassic Coast. We 

are lucky to have great walking and 

cycling straight out of our drive, 

and also lovely pubs such as the 

Candlelight Inn just a mile away 

from us. 

The Dimpsey shepherd hut 

is based on the edge of a newly 

planted orchard in its own private 

space, with great views out over the 

Blackdown Hills. 

What glamping accommodation 

do you offer and why did you 

choose it? 

We looked at all sorts of different 

options like bell tents, yurts and 

pods – and, in the end, settled on a 

shepherd hut as it was the solution 

that best fitted our needs. It also 

MATT SWEETING PHOTOGRAPHY 

provides year-round glamping for 

guests, which we wanted to do. 

All of the options have their own 

merits, you just have to select the 

one that is best for you. 

Describe how you researched and 

sourced your glamping units 

Once we had settled on a shepherd 

hut, we looked at all the ones 

available on the market and came 

up with a list of the ones we liked 

and visited them to see what 

the workmanship and feel of the 

company was like. In the end, we 

chose Blackdown Shepherd Huts as 

we felt that they offered top quality 

in their build and were willing to be 

flexible and adapt what they had to 

our specific needs. 


ACCOMMODATION 

How did you tackle planning? 

By this point, we had decided that 

we would have a shepherd hut and 

Blackdown Shepherd Huts put us 

in touch with a local company that 

deal with planning applications 

for them – and they were really 

helpful. We are in an Area of 

Outstanding Natural Beauty with 

a Site of Special Scientific Interest 

on our farm, so we had to be 

mindful to do something that was 

sympathetic to the landscape. A 

shepherd hut was perfect as there 

would probably have been one on 

the farm back in the day, and the 

oak cladding matures and fades 

back to a grey colour that sits in 

the landscape nicely. 

“WE ARE ALSO 

VERY PROUD 

TO HAVE WON 

THE GOLD 

AWARD FOR 

SOMERSET IN 

THE RECENT 

SOUTH WEST 

TOURISM 

AWARDS” 

How do you publicise yourself? 

Through our website and through 

Canopy & Stars. We are also very 

proud to have won the Gold Award 

for Somerset in the recent South 

West Tourism Awards, which gave 

us a lovely thing to talk about. 

I’m fairly active on social media 

and have spoken at the Glamping 

Show and the Farm Innovation 

Show as a Canopy & Stars owner 

and as a member of Niche Brands, 

who help glamping businesses to 

grow. It’s great to be able to share 

what we’ve learnt. 

How would you describe your 

‘style’ or unique selling point? 

We are all about giving people 

the time to slow down, to relax, 

recharge and rediscover one 

another. Our guests are generally 

couples who want some peace

ACCOMMODATION 

MATT SWEETING PHOTOGRAPHY 

and quiet – and we provide that. I 

like to think that we offer five star 

luxury in a field – we really do go 

that extra mile for our guests. 

How did you choose your interior 

decoration? 

We wanted to reflect the heritage 

of shepherd huts, so everything is 

either made in the UK or vintage. 

I have a friend who is brilliant 

at sourcing things, so she and I 

worked together and came up with 

a unique look for Dimpsey that 

reflects the handmade heritage of 

the shepherd’s hut itself. 


We were new to the hospitality 

business, so we had to learn how 

to provide a great guest experience 

and how to deal quickly with any 

issues that arose. 


season? 

We are improving our outdoor 

kitchen facilities and providing 

more food from the farm, as well 

as reviewing more local places so 

we can recommend really great 

places for our guests to visit and 

dine out. 

Describe your average day midseason 

I do other things as well as the 

shepherd hut, so I’m generally 

doing that during the day. The 

lovely Megan who works, does 

the hut changeovers for me in 

the week and hubby and I do it at 

weekends. I’m usually to be found 

taking photos for our social media, 

sourcing new things for the hut 

or dealing with the bookings. My 

favourite job is helping people 

BEN CARPENTER PHOTOGRAPHY 

ADDRESS BOOK 

plan surprises for their partner 

– we’ve had five proposals here 

so far. 

Do you enjoy the business and 

why? 

I absolutely love it – it’s so 

amazing to know that we have 

given people a really lovely 

break. Reading the feedback in 

our visitors’ book inspires us to 

keep coming up with delights for 

our guests. There aren't many 

ACCOMMODATION 

Blackdown Shepherd Huts - 01460 929774 

www.blackdownshepherdhuts.co.uk 

WASHROOM / WC 

Blackdown Shepherd Huts - 01460 929774 

www.blackdownshepherdhuts.co.uk 

HOT TUB 

Hikki (available to buy from Dimpsey) 

www.hikki.se 

COOKING 

The Garden Oven Company - 01256 581014 

www.garden-oven.co.uk 

INTERIORS 

Various – of special note Winser & Hill 

Curtains 

www.winserandhillcurtainmakers.co.uk 

industries where you get the 

opportunity to see the process 

all the way through to happy 

customers. 

In what other outdoor 

hospitality sectors do you 

operate and how do they 

integrate with your glamping 

operation? 

We’ve learnt so much about the 

glamping sector that we are 

now helping other glampsites 

to set up and to get the word 

out there about themselves. I 

originally come from a business 

development background and, as 

part of Niche Brands, collaborate 

with four ladies who offer website 

design, social media and PR. My 

part is to input some glamping 

business experience. 

What advice could you give 

to someone coming into the 

industry? 

Do what you enjoy – it makes 

everything so much easier. 

BOOKINGS 

Bookalet - www.bookalet.co.uk 

PROMOTION 

Canopy & Stars - 0117 204 7830 

www.canopyandstars.co.uk 

Cool Camping - www.coolcamping.com 

Cool Stays - www.coolstays.com 

INSURANCE 

NFU Mutual - 0808 274 9600 

www.nfumutual.co.uk 

DETAILS 

Beetham Lane, Chard, Somerset, TA20 

01460 477770 

www.dimpsey.co.uk 


Don’t Buy Your Glamping Pods.. 

..Rent them from £35 pw* 

Ensuite Pods from £125pw 

*Prices based on a 12 month rental 

Call Us 

Today 

020 3773 3101 

By renting your Pods from us, you can grow your 

business quicker and generate Profit in year 1. 

Our Small, Medium & Large Pods come with the below as standard 

• Fully Insulated including floor (100mm) 

• Airflow system/breathable membrane 

• Totally waterproof 

• Britmet tile roof with 2 Finishes Grey or Brown 

• Double glazed doors and rear window (colour to match 

finish) 

• Multipoint locking security system 

• Full internal treated Redwood cladding 

• Commercial grade flooring 

• Standard Electric pack (Power socket, USB charger, LED 

lights, Fuse board, Smoke/Co2 detector and Heating) 

• All year round use 

• Guaranteed for 5 years 

Glamping Pod 

Manufacturer 

www.mipod.soluons 

Tel: 01482 229283 

info@mipod.soluons 

Follow us 

www.one-nightstand.co.uk 

Everything you need to run your 

Glamping business online 

— from just £10 a month. 

Take bookings online, collect payments, run your website and 

communicate with guests; all quickly and easily. 

BETHAN AT CWTCHCAMPING.CO.UK 

Your 14-day free trial is waiting for you at 

www.innstyle.co.uk/glamping or call us on 0800 133 7500 


ACCOMMODATION 

WILD CAMPING IS a most romantic notion 

that brings to mind the discovery of an 

uncultivated and remote location with no 

signs of habitation as far as the eye can 

see. You can sleep under the stars, breathe 

the pure air and be at one with nature. A 

few branches to provide shelter or a basic 

canvas tent and an open fire might be all 

you need to ‘survive’ without the urban 

comforts of home such as running water, 

flushing toilets, cafes and shops. 

All land in England and Wales is owned, 

so permission must be obtained before 

camping. However, wild camping within 

reasonable limits is often tolerated in 

upland and remote areas. One exception 

is Dartmoor, where camping is allowed for 

up to two consecutive nights in the same 

spot. You can stay for longer in a permitted 

camping area, except within 100 metres of 

a public road, or in any enclosure or other 

restricted area. 

Wild camping in Scotland became 

legal in 2005; camping wild on highlands 

and lowlands is allowed, but any nearby 

dwellings or livestock must be respected. 

The east part of Loch Lomond and the 

Trossachs National Park are exceptions - 

wild camping (and alcohol) was banned in 

2010 due to anti-social behaviour. 

In Ireland, wild camping is not strictly 

legal, but is tolerated in many upland 

and remote areas. Across the border in 

Northern Ireland, the Forestry Service 

issues camping permits at some of its sites. 

For the outdoor enthusiast it might 

appear to be a bit of a minefield but there 

is growing demand for the freedom and 

romance of a wild camping ‘experience’, 

which can even involve staying in a prepitched 

structure while maintaining that 

all-important feeling of being at one with 

nature. 

As Jason Thawley, innovation director 

and founder of Tree Tents International, 

explains: “Truly wild camping, as we see 

it, is real camping; venturing out into 

the wilderness, relying on nothing more 

than what you take with you. Your trip 

WILD 

CAMPING 

Open Air Business explores the concept of wild camping and 

how pre-pitched accommodation can cater for this market 

TREE TENTS INTERNATIONAL 

and your time will concentrate on three 

main fundamentals – appreciation of your 

surroundings, sustenance (food and water) 

and shelter. It’s all about appreciating the 

simple life, camping under the stars and 

enjoying the great outdoors.” 

But Thawley recognises that there is 

a market for a wild camping experience 

in the pre pitched accommodation 

market. Tree Tents International supplies 

handmade, low-impact products and 

structures that were born out of a passion 

for trees and woodland. “What we’re 

trying to create are structures that don’t 

look out of place in their environment, 

provide shelter from the elements and a 

comfortable place to sleep, and offer up 

the great outdoors on a plate and enhance 

it,” he says. 

The idea is that the ‘tent’ is positioned 

among the branches of a tree and actively 

moves with it. “The structure/shelter 

should replicate nature – the structures 

that the animals and insects may make 

for themselves. Facilities should be wholly 

eco-friendly and sustainable – reminding 

the camper where they are and, to some 

extent, how our modern lives impinge on 

the environment, but making that fun and 

educational,” he explains. 

For Jake Watson, the owner of Landpod, 

a company that designs and builds 

innovative all terrain sleeping pods, wild 

camping is all about exploring the great 

outdoors away from the usual campsites 

and getting right back to nature. His 

advice to would-be wild campers in the 

true sense is to: "Stick to the simple rules 

and etiquette. They should take all their 

rubbish with them, not stay in the same 

spot for more than one night, never have 

a camp fire and take care when using a 

stove, as well as when choosing where 

to go to the toilet. All in all, respect the 

environment.” 

CREATING A PRE-PITCHED 'WILD' CAMP 

The Landpod is a great option for a prepitched 

wild camping experience. The 

all-terrain legs and platform give the 

freedom to set up a camp in any location, 

including on uneven or rocky ground. To 

keep it ‘wild’ the company suggests they 

are placed away from other campers “so 

you can enjoy the freedom and wilderness 

without having the campsite disruption”. 


ACCOMMODATION 

LEFT: Red Kite Tree 

Tent, Powys 

ABOVE: The 

Landpod has all 

terrain legs 

RIGHT: A Tree 

Tent at the Secret 

Campsite, East 

Sussex 

With this in mind, The Secret Campsite 

runs three campsites that are described as 

being “as close to wild camping as you can 

get.” As owner Tim Bullen explains: “We 

create the wild feeling by ensuring that 

all of our sites deliver on a detailed list of 

criteria. This includes pitch-black skies at 

night (a rare commodity in the south east), 

a secret location, and that they must not 

be blighted by noise and light pollution 

from roads, towns or other neighbouring 

land. We keep cars and dogs out of the 

camping areas and we don’t allow music.” 

Glamping sites are certainly meeting 

a desire for the comforts of home in a 

different setting, but fully embracing the 

wild camping experience doesn’t have to 

mean digging your own latrine. “We do 

love campfires, which become the focus 

for an evening of cookery and relaxation 

after a long country walk or a swim in a 

nearby river,” says Bullen. “However, this is 

complimented by great washing, toilet and 

shower facilities and, perhaps, a fridge and 

freezer. We are keen to avoid the fear that 

most wild campers have of that trip to the 

loo first thing in the morning or when it is 

pitch black outside.” 

This approach to camping is proving 

to be a huge attraction for campers who 

are keen to escape their everyday lives for 

a brief break. As Bullen explains: “These 

“WE DO LOVE CAMPFIRES, 

WHICH BECOME THE 

FOCUS FOR AN EVENING OF 

COOKERY AND RELAXATION 

AFTER A LONG COUNTRY 

WALK OR A SWIM IN A 

NEARBY RIVER” 

customers are the sort to respect and 

enjoy the place they are staying, which 

bodes well for the peace and tranquillity 

that our sites embody.” 

CONNECTING WITH NATURE 

Environment is key in a wild camping 

experience, and in the hills of rural 

Herefordshire, Crown and Canopy lets 

the surrounding environment of the 

woodlands in which it sits, and the views 

on offer, dictate the design of its sites. 

Co-founder Bill Goddard, who specialises 

in design and build, describes the design 

process as natural and ever-changing. 

He says: “An experience of wildness 

and, more specifically, wild camping in 

any form is exciting, different and makes 

you feel alive and connected to the 

natural world. Being out in unfamiliar 

environments, where you are likely to 

come into contact with wildlife and flora, is 

refreshing and goes a way to reconnecting 

people to the natural order of things. It 

also serves as a reminder that we not only 

share this planet, but we are very much 

a part of it, a way of thinking that can be 

forgotten, insulated as we often are by the 

wonders of the modern world.” 

Guests are encouraged to bring only 

what they need to the site. “We make sure 

all the supplies are topped up, restock 

firewood and clean and change the 

necessaries, then let them get on with it! 

It is their experience and we want it to be 

as wild and natural as possible. We like to 

give our customers an experience where 

they are not thinking about what they are 

missing so they can concentrate on all the 

wonderful things that they are surrounded 

by,” he adds. 

According to Thawley, what makes a wild 

camping experience is, “Waking up with 

the sunrise and spending your day being 

busy in the job of being, tending to those 

three main fundamentals - appreciation of 

your surroundings, sustenance (food and 

water) and shelter. It’s a feeling that the 

world is bigger than you.” 


ACCOMMODATION 

LEFT: The Secret 

Campsite, East 

Sussex 

ABOVE: A lodge at 

Crown and Canopy 

RIGHT: Interior of a 

Tree Tent 

Bullen agrees that a critical factor 

to the wild camping experience is a 

strong connection with nature and, of 

course, to supporting and enjoying local 

wildlife. “We achieve this by landscaping 

our sites to encourage lots of wildlife for 

our campers to enjoy,” he says. “Each year 

we run a Secret Wildlife Festival with the 

local Wildlife Trust,” he continues. “This 

festival is a fund-raiser, which is aimed at 

connecting our campers with the natural 

world, and to date we have raised in 

excess of £5,000 for the trust.” 

The festival relies on a wildliferich 

habitat where the talks, walks and 

events create opportunities for campers 

to see unusual animals, which might 

include adders, glow worms, nightingales, 

elephant hawk moths, bats or white 

admirals. 

THE MARKET 

According to market analyst Mintel, 

Britain’s camping and caravanning market 

is growing - the total number of trips is 

expected to rise to 17.9 million in 2017 and 

to more than 21 million in 2020 – and is 

expected to be worth £3.2 billion by 2020. 

Of those choosing a camping holiday, 

‘getting away from it all’ is one of the key 

attractions, as is ‘connecting with nature’ 

(41 per cent), which, of course, represents 

an opportunity. 

“Our type of wild camping comes at a 

premium,” explains Tim Bullen. “It’s not 

cheap camping, it’s real camping with 

nature and the audience that is looking to 

experience this is growing fast.” 

Having gained a unique insight into the 

requirements of the wild camper, the team 

at The Secret Campsite have positioned 

themselves to help landowners tap into 

this growing market, while creating a 

fantastic destination that considerably 

enhances the value of the land it is 

based on. “It can also act as a source 

of significant revenue for other local 

businesses such as farm shops, pubs and 

tourist attractions,” Bullen explains. 

The idea is to help land owners 

capitalise on the interest in this 

phenomenon, rather than spending their 

time worrying about trespassers and any 

suspected rural vandalism. “To achieve 

this, we look for sites that are suitable for 

planning permission and landowners who 

are happy to invest in the infrastructure 

and facilities that we need. In return, we 

set up, staff, market, manage and run the 

site,” Bullen continues. 

“The landowners get to share in the 

sales revenues that we generate. A typical 

return will be in the region of £2-2,500 per 

acre per year, for eight to 10 acres, while 

leaving the site free for five months of 

winter grazing. Better still, we offer the 

security of a 10-year lease, making this 

an excellent business opportunity for 

a landowner in the right location, with 

access to funds for investment,” he adds. 

AN IDEAL LOCATION 

So, what is the ideal location in which to 

embrace the wild camping experience? 

Mountains, forest or beach - a mix of all 

three would be ideal. 

“Choose somewhere away from any 

roads, higher ground and away from 

human habitation,” suggests Watson. “Try 

and find a spot that can offer shelter from 

the wind if you are on high ground. Our 

ideal location would be up a mountain, 

nestled in some woodland.” 

For some, wild camping may still mean 

packing up a tent and heading out into 

the wilderness away from the hustle and 

bustle of normal life and exploring the 

great outdoors. “Traditional campsites 

don’t offer the wild camping experience 

because there are other people around, 

toilets, showers and potentially a shop on 

site,” says Watson. “Wild camping takes 

us back to nature's basics and gives you a 

huge sense of freedom when looking up at 

the stars, no noise and the beautiful fresh 

air,” he adds. 

Ultimately, when it comes to wild 

camping, there are few rules. As Thawley 

concludes: “Take nothing but pictures (or 

memories). Leave nothing but footprints. I 

think the saying speaks for itself.” 

USEFUL LINKS 


www.crownandcanopy.co.uk 

Landpod 

www.landpod.co.uk 

The Secret Campsite 

www.thesecretcampsite.co.uk 

Tree Tents International 

www.treetents.co.uk 


THE WORLD’S 

BEST OUTDOOR 

HIDEAWAYS 

STAND OUT FROM THE COMPETITION 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE RENTAL REVELATION YOU’VE BEEN SEARCHING FOR... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CALL NOW 

01273 973937 info@treetents.co.uk 

www.treetents.co.uk

ACCOMMODATION 

Family Glamping 

Target the family market with Kate Morel’s secret recipe for success 

PHOTOS COURTESY OF LANTERN & LARKS 

A GLAMPING STAY has become a favoured 

break for mums, dads and the children. 

Family glampsites enjoy good occupancy 

rates, and not just at weekends. Week 

or fortnight-long bookings are the norm 

during school holidays. Given the growing 

demand for nature-related leisure activities 

and staycations, it’s not surprising that 

more families are turning to glamping and 

back-to-nature holidays. It’s good news all 

round: good for rural businesses; good for 

family relationships; good for children and 

let’s hope it’s good for the land too. If future 

generations can engage more with nature 

and learn to respect it, hopefully they also 

will want to preserve it. 

In response to this demand, the number 

of family glampsites and franchises offering 

a variety of accommodations and holiday 

experiences has increased over the last 

few years. Family glamping now includes 

the original, independent glamping sites, 

as well as regular campsites that have 

diversified, plus franchises and large resort 

developments that have added unusual 

accommodation. It will soon also include 

specifically designed and built glamping 

resorts. 

FAMILY PLANNING 

As always, it’s quite difficult to cover every 

type of glamping site in these pieces, 

but I’ll at least cover the basics. A family 

glamping holiday which creates memorable 

experiences and makes guests want to 

return doesn’t usually happen by accident. 

Depending on the level of experience on 

offer, it can require a lot of thought around 

what we want to provide and how to create 

it. 

If the proposed site doesn’t have obvious 

natural features to work with, it’s time to 

get creative, or maybe even simply take a 

fresh look at what’s right under our nose. For 

example, the farm-stay glamping holiday is 

particularly popular with families because 

it brings them into contact with a lifestyle 

they wouldn’t normally get to experience. 

Not only do they stay on the land of a 

working farm, but are sometimes shown 

around by hospitable hosts who are keen 

and happy to share their passions. They can 

also participate a little - children can feed 

the animals, or take care of their own little 

chicken ark and collect the eggs – and they 

absolutely love it! If, like me, you grew up 

amidst all this, you might not initially grasp 

the attraction. I, for one, used to find letting 

hens out and shooing the little darlings back 

to roost at night a bit of a chore. However, if it 

was a new experience and I only had to do it 

for a week, it would be quite a novelty. 

Herein lies attractive USP potential, 

what else might we be taking for granted 

that would make a fun, unusual holiday for 

families needing a break from ‘life’? 

Some customers are now starting to look 

for more than unusual structures to sleep 

in, they want entertainment and activities, 

especially during longer stays. In countries 

where the weather can be unpredictable, 


ACCOMMODATION 

Old family recipe… 

A great family glamping offer has a few key ingredients. 

I’d add a covered area or play barn 

with games and activities to keep 

children occupied when some or all 

of the usual outdoor activities are 

less appealing. Families often make 

friends on holiday and team up, so a 

communal space or cover provides 

a great opportunity for evening 

socialising. All these cater perfectly 

to a family’s holiday needs and add 

to the guests’ experience. 

You may have noticed that I use 

the word ‘experience’ quite often, 

both in my seminars and in my 

writing. I even gave a talk dedicated 

to ‘The Guest Experience’ at The 

Glamping Show and the Farm 

Business Innovation Show two years 

ago. I might sound like a broken 

record by now (and I’m OK with that, 

because vinyl is making a comeback 

don’t you know?), but I am not 

alone any more. Even the hotel 

industry has started to recognise 

that it needs to up its game in terms 

of creating a better ‘experience’ - I 

wonder if glamping is exerting a 

wider influence than any of us give it 

credit for? 

2 ACTIVITIES 

Even though some families want a simple 

back-to-nature holiday with streams, 

woodlands and old-fashioned play areas, 

activity-based holidays are a growth area 

and can be an effective USP. Depending 

on the site’s features, it could host 

activities such as a zip line, mountain 

bike track, canoeing, archery, foraging 

and bush-crafts. Or team up with local 

activity companies and cross-market 

your businesses. Choosing a theme and 

then building the activities around it gives 

your glamping a unique focus. 

1APPROPRIATE 

ACCOMMODATION 

AND FACILITIES 

The accommodation structure depends 

on the level of glamping you want to 

offer, and there is plenty to choose 

from right now, from a bell tent 

to a luxury treehouse. A current 

popular choice for families is the 

safari tent: they’re spacious, 

have separate bedrooms and 

usually include integral cooking 

and bathroom facilities. Other 

family favourites are yurts, bell 

tents and pods. The smaller 

structures are a good option 

for compact land areas - apart 

from being bigger, safari tents 

tend to be more spaced out too. 

Some structures now have integral 

kitchenettes and bathrooms but, for 

those that don’t, facilities shouldn’t 

be too far away – and make sure there 

are enough of them if shared. It’s worth 

noting that in the mid to high price 

glamping market, more guests are 

starting to prefer private facilities. 

NOTE: An eight-berth bell tent can 

generate similar rental fees to a sixberth 

safari tent (with similar occupancy 

rates) so ROIs vary enormously; in fact, 

depending on individual set up costs, 

ROIs can vary even on the same structure. 

Gather impartial advice and information, 

and create a thorough business plan, 

keeping personal preferences in check: it 

might appeal to your taste, but will it be 

profitable? 

3 HOSPITALITY 

Naturally this is important to all holiday 

accommodations, but especially so to 

family glampsites. How guests are interacted 

with from the moment they get in touch to 

the day they drive away is a big part of the 

package. A genuine connection with guests 

and a concern for their experience is what can 

distinguish a lot of glamping holidays from 

any other sort of holidays. Also, families can be 

demanding - much more so than a couple who 

just want a weekend away from everyone. I 

hope that glamping will always be able deliver 

this no matter how big the development 

because, for me, it’s one aspect that sets it 

apart from any other type of holiday. 

4 SAFETY 

A big part of a glamping holiday’s 

appeal is its natural location and all 

the wonderful wild features that go with it. 

However, parents will also want to feel that 

their children are going to be safe. In effect, 

we are creating a place that retains its sense 

of freedom and excitement but still has all 

the necessary safety precautions. I am often 

asked about deep water features, ‘no go’ 

areas on farms, and, very often, the use of 

fire and candles. While answers can vary on 

occasion, I always refer to current legislative 

requirements. It’s too big a subject to go into 

here but a few minutes of ‘Googling’ will 

give you a good grounding. Also, an in-depth 

discussion with an insurance company that 

knows and understands the glamping 

industry will highlight matters which 

would increase your risks and 

therefore insurance fees. Glamping 

accommodation currently falls 

within existing self-catering 

holiday let and camping 

legislation, but I do wonder if 

it will be singled out at some 

point. In the meantime, I feel 

it’s important for the industry 

to set our own standards and 

for those standards to be as high 

as possible. › 


FAMILY MATTERS 

5A SPRINKLE 

OF MAGIC 

Now and then I walk onto a glamping site and it’s there… 

sometimes I can’t even see it, but it’s definitely there. That essence of 

atmosphere sets some places apart; all of a sudden, you feel totally 

relaxed. It can be as simple as the way the owner saunters over to 

say “hi”, or the history, the character, or the features and accessories 

used. Sometimes, to be honest, it’s just the little things that site 

owners create, think of, and do for their customers that are above 

and beyond. And I absolutely love glamping for that. I know this isn’t 

going to apply to every glampsite offer, but if you’re aiming to create 

something special, different and unique then this could be a way to 

do it – what might your ‘sprinkle of magic’ be? 

REVENUE 

OPTIMISATION 

Let’s move from magic 

to numbers or, hopefully, 

magic numbers! Optimise 

your glamping revenue by 

adding different streams of 

income via services, facilities, 

activities and products 

relevant to your glampsite. 

› Service: This could be as 

simple as offering a laundry 

service, or babysitting (do 

check out child minding 

legislation). 

› Facilities: If your site is 

big enough this could be an 

on-site café or, if not, maybe 

hold a weekly chargeable, 

communal pizza night or 

barbecue – parents might 

welcome a night off from 

cooking. 

› Additional facilities: 

Whether worked into the 

holiday fee or charged as 

extras, additional facilities will 

make a site more appealing 

and add revenue. Hot tubs are 

an obvious option here. 

› Activities: Chargeable, 

organised activities could be 

provided by you or your staff, 

or bring in external companies 

on a commission basis. I’m 

not quite sure whether renting 

a chicken ark fits in here, but 

some places do charge an 

additional fee to have one put 

by the tent. 

› Products: Maybe your site 

would suit a shop selling 

basic supplies, wood for log 

burners/campfires, outdoor 

games, or branded souvenirs? 

A friend of mine sells branded 

T-shirts, baseball caps and 

mugs on his campsite, which 

contribute very nicely to the 

annual turnover. The editor, 

Tally, and I absolutely love 

‘Jolfi Bears’ – a little bear with 

a backpack that contains a 

journal in which children keep 

a diary of their adventures: 

now there’s a bit of magic 

right there. If they don’t suit 

your target market, maybe 

stock branded children’s 

notebooks and pens in the 

on-site shop. 

Another, perhaps less 

obvious, way to optimise 

revenue is to create something 


Glamping guru Kate 

Morel has spent years 

working closely with 

landowners and 

tourism organisations, 

visiting locations and 

providing advice and 

support. This, along 

with experience in 

marketing, property 

restoration, design, 

and hospitality, gives 

her a unique set of 

skills and perspective 

on creating glamping 

accommodation. Kate 

can be contacted at 

kate.morel24@gmail. 

com 

super special that guests 

cannot get anywhere else – a 

mega, uber, super-duper USP. 

Sometimes all this requires, 

frankly, is imagination. To 

be fair, it can also require 

a degree of boldness, but 

there is no other holiday 

accommodation business 

that has the potential to 

generate as many ‘bucks 

for your bang’ as glamping, 

and no, I didn’t get that 

the wrong way around. By 

adding uniqueness, we add 

value, because in a world of 

homogenised products and 

services, originality has worth. 

A great family glamping site 

does a lot of things, for both 

host and guest. For some 

site owners, it’s a need to 

diversify, for others it also 

allows them to share their 

passions and educate. For 

guests, it provides quality 

family time (their guest book 

comments are inspirational) 

and improves their children’s 

confidence and skills, 

showing them things that no 

classroom can teach. At its 

very simplest, it creates happy 

memories. 

You might be thinking, 

“That’s all very nice Kate, 

but what about my profit?” 

and I hear you. However, I 

sometimes feel we can get 

so lost in number crunching, 

branding, marketing, SEO 

and website traffic that we 

might overlook the fact that 

glamping is about people, 

whether it be corporate 

or grass roots. People 

stay in different styles of 

accommodation for different 

reasons, so we need that 

business plan and marketing, 

but we also want our guests 

to have a great time. We want 

them to recommend us to 

their friends and families, 

post their holiday photos on 

social media and, ultimately, 

book again. In this type of 

hospitality, the most poignant 

measure of success is the 

amount of recommendations 

and percentage of repeat 

bookings which families, more 

than any other type of guest, 

are likely to do. And that, is 

the bottom line. 


Next course 

22nd March 

Learnings from 

Starting a Glamping Business? 

Save Money. Save Time. 

Learn from real experiences. 

“Save yourself a fortune and get a guru!” 

Thomas Noel, The Gathering 

inSpire, enaBLe, Succeed 

learningsfromlonglands.co.uk • 01271 882004 

We can help you maximise your potential 

• Look and Feel • Logos • Websites • 

• Photography • Styling • Promo items • 

Give us a call for a free no obligation chat about your venture 

helen@maro sholmes. co.uk 

www.marosholmes.co.uk 

Phone: 01905 828377 

THE LITTLE HUT CO. 

Shepherd 

hut now on 

sale for only 

£8,500 

One of a kind, personal shepherds huts and pods 

The 

Hex Pod 

Providing a unique space, the hex pod offers the opportunity 

to co-design and create builds. Using local sustainably 

sourced wood, high quality insulation and state of the art 

12v lighting systems, the hexagonal pod is just one of the 

ranges of designs to offer an adaptable unit or multiple units 

that fit together. This modular aspect of the design gives a 

flexibility of construction, to enable extra pods as required. 

nick@classicpodcompany.co.uk 

www.classicpodcompany.co.uk 

07971 869058 

• All of our huts and pods are built 

using quality, locally sourced 

materials and this ensures they will 

remain comfortable and in great 

condition for many years to come 

• Built in our workshop in Bedfordshire, 

each hut and pod is tailor 

made and no two will be alike. We 

use local craftsmen for certain 

aspects of each hut, and quality is 

built in as standard 

• We can theme Nest Pods with 

bespoke chainsaw sculptures to 

create a one of a kind, extraordi 

nary space. Check out 

www.chainsaw-carvings.co.uk 

Bespoke ‘Nest Pods ‘also available! 

Bespoke 

Chainsaw Carvings 

By award winning 

international chainsaw 

artist Will Lee 

07763 055151 

www.thelittlehutcompany.co.uk 


ACCOMMODATION 

Landscaping 

for Glampsites 

Advice on the use of landscaping to maximise the 

utility and ambience of your glampsite 

Edward Busby, glamping 

consultant 


07837 162 452 

www.crownandcanopy.co.uk 

Describe the importance of landscape 

design for glampsites 

Landscape design can have a large impact 

on a glamping site as the surroundings 

play a key role in client experience. Clients 

come to experience the countryside and 

nature, and landscape design gives you 

the opportunity to enhance the natural 

environment around them. 

In an ideal scenario, the natural 

landscape and setting would not need 

any work at all, after all we are trying to 

get away from man-made and manicured 

surroundings. These spots, however, can 

be hard to find and sometimes it’s difficult 

to get planning permission on them. If the 

surroundings are a little sparse, tame or 

visible, this is where landscape design can 

be invaluable. 

It is important to give your clients as 

much privacy as possible, and using natural 

barriers and plant designs is the best way 

to do this. It is advisable to employ these 

methods in car parks as well as the main 

site for the same reasons. 

When seeking planning permission, 

landscape design can be a valuable tool 

when negotiating the visual impact of a 

build, especially in the more sensitive areas. 

Once you have picked a spot on your 

land, then you can begin to structure the 

layout of the site. Bear in mind the direction 

of the prevailing wind, especially in exposed 

areas and when using canvas structures. If 

there is a natural wind barrier that you can 

utilize, such as a hedge or trees, then do 

so, otherwise you may want to think about 

creating one 

If your site is on a hillside and the ground 

is unsuitable to set up on, then you will need 

to think about creating a level platform to 

build upon. Before undertaking earthworks, 

it is important to remember that the ideal 

look and setting is a natural one, therefore 

working with the natural lines and contours 

of the ground is especially important. When 

cutting in and creating the area, be sure 

to avoid straight lines and square corners, 

and try to replicate what is already around 

you. If you are undertaking ground works 

then drainage and water run-off are also 

important elements to think about. 

When it comes to orientation, think about 

what you can see from different part of each 

accommodation unit’s site. This also goes 

for others in close proximity. Ideally, they 

would be spaced as far apart as possible, 

however, if this is not possible, then 

landscaping can give the illusion of greater 

privacy. 

Please give some simple ideas that could 

be achieved on a small to medium-sized 

budget 

› If you do not have the luxury of lots of 

space, then an effective way to provide 

privacy is a planting plan using woody 

shrubs and trees. Earth barriers can also be 

used here. 

› You can add in nice touches such as wild 

flowers and other native plants. 

› Create an alternative 

space adjacent to your 

structure(s) for a fire pit 

and outdoor cooking 

space. People love this 

and it is low impact and 

cheap. 

› Plant up some fruiting 

bushes and trees close 

to your site so your 

clients can forage with 

children and maybe 

even cook with some of 

the produce. 

› A small kitchen herb 

border or herb spiral 

can be incorporated 

into your plant design 

for cooking on site. 

CROWN AND CANOPY 

JOŠT GANTAR 

Please give some more extravagant ideas 

that could be achieved on a larger budget 

› Create a beautiful pathway to your 

retreat. This means the cars are now out of 

sight and mind, and it will add the element 

of surprise on arrival. 

› Creating small outdoor swimming pools 

and paddling spots can be a great addition 

for summer, however, health and safety 

regulations must be carefully considered in 

this situation. 

› Outdoor cooking, dining and even 

sleeping spaces can provide a unique 

experience. 

› Having raised platforms and decks for 

your clients to use will keep them out of the 

mud. This can also create the perfect area 

for a hot tub or other unique touches. 

› You can create earth platforms to elevate 


ACCOMMODATION 

JOŠT GANTAR 

your site and harness views. However, in 

cases such as this, a good plant/tree design 

is even more necessary to hold the ground 

together and also fit in with the natural 

aesthetic. By creating these tiered levels, 

you can make your site more interesting 

and quirky. 

Describe a project in which you have 

been involved 

Recently, we undertook a project 

that involved a considerable amount 

of landscape work, adding extra 

accommodation in the form of glamping 

retreats to an existing farm house and 

pasture land. The vision for the property 

was for a venue space with accommodation 

for weddings and other outdoor events. 

The pasture land where our structures were 

installed is on quite a steep gradient, and 

it was necessary to dig in and create level 

platforms. 

In addition to this, we created camping 

platforms for bell tents, as well as barbecue 

and fire pit spots that get sunset views. In 

order to provide this extra space, we have 

had to create four terraces on the land, 

but with a sympathetic approach to the 

existing contours. This will mean that when 

it grasses over it will have a natural looking 

finish. 

We are currently building two wagons to 

be installed on the land. These will have all 

the facilities they need to be independent 

from the house, and will sleep up to six 

people. A plant/tree design will then 

follow the building work to help it sit in the 

landscape, and add to the aesthetics and 

biodiversity of the site. 

Maja Dimnik, co-founder 

& marketing director 

GLAMPro 

+386 41 616 30 

www.glampro.eu 



At the core of a glamping experience is 

a site plan that is completely fused with 

its location. The design of a superior 

glampsite will have consideration 

given to every detail; every stone and 

plant with a specific micro place, every 

brook and path designed thoughtfully. 

Everything should be considered and 

‘stacked’ together to create a whole story 

that works naturally and gives a feeling of 

homeliness, comfort, luxury and safety. 

Each glampsite is unique, and this gives 

the opportunity for it to develop its own 

unique, extraordinary and unrepeatable 

story. 

Depending on the natural conditions 

(terrain, natural vegetation, climate, 

culture, heritage) GLAMPro creates 

resorts that are tailored to modern man 

(thinking, needs, lifestyle, philosophy), 

but built according to the ‘rules’ of 

nature. 

An important piece of advice is to 

choose a landscape designer who 

understands your vision. It is also 

essential that before beginning (when 

everything is still just a dream), you 

commit yourself to work for the good 

of nature, community and your clients. 

If you fail on this point, you fail on the 

whole story before you even start. Design 

the wider concept from the very start and 

integrate this into the planning of natural 

“AN IMPORTANT 

PIECE OF ADVICE 

IS TO CHOOSE A 

LANDSCAPE DESIGNER 

WHO UNDERSTANDS 

YOUR VISION” 

effects (wood, water, grass, stones, fire, 

plants, etc.) and other facilities (ponds/ 

pools, restaurants, playgrounds, etc.) to 

achieve the desired aesthetic, zoning, 

privacy and natural feeling. 

Please give some simple ideas that 

could be achieved on a small to 

medium-sized budget 

If financial resources are limited to a 

small/medium budget, we would strive 

to do the best of what is possible in 

all aspects and conditions. We advise 

what we would include in a concept and 

at the same time try to fulfil a client’s 

wishes and expectations. With small to 

medium-sized budgets plenty can still be 

achieved with paths, vegetable and herb 

gardens, fruit trees, an open-air cinema 

area, hanging relaxation nets, open air 

fireplaces, and natural ponds. 

Please give some more extravagant 

ideas that could be achieved on a 

larger budget 

Where funds are not limited, then a 

glamping resort can be created with 

natural biological swimming pools, 

hanging gardens, and tree houses with 

wooden slides, hammocks and hanging 

bridges. You can also include private 

wellness areas at each accommodation 

unit, private gardens and playgrounds, 

saunas, vineyards, brooks, waterfalls, 

unique restaurants, tree bars, fountains, 

zip lines and more. It is all down to 

imagination. We do strongly recommend 

to glampsites with larger budgets to › 


ACCOMMODATION 

incorporate an adventure park area in 

order to attract more guests. 

The options really are endless. The 

key is in the specific combination of 

features, their details and symbiosis. 

This produces the magic. 


been involved 

Glamping is now my way of life, my 

passion and profession. I'm creating, 

exploring, thinking, developing, 

studying, connecting, giving lectures 

and counselling in the glamping 

field. And in our team, we are all like 

that. Each of our projects speak for 

themselves, and each has its own 

personal and unique story - that's why 

we are known as the ‘glamping story 

makers’. 

In 2014, the Garden Village Bled 

opened in Slovenia. Here we created a 

luxury story of nature, where a stream 

flows through the restaurant, guests 

eat on ‘living’ tables where grass and 

herbs grow, and there are fish ponds 

where people can fish from their beds. 

There is also a tree top spa, and private 

gardens and greenhouses for guests to 

forage crops from. The site was placed 

among top five glamping hotels around 

the world. 

Nick Harper BA DipLA 

CMLI, partner 

Harper Landscape 

Architecture 

01424 442 842 

www.harperlandscapearchitecture.co.uk 



Have you ever wanted to take a holiday 

where you have a view of an industrial plant, 

a motorway or an airport? Unless you have 

a specialist interest in ship building, fast 

moving cars or aeroplanes the likelihood is 

that you want to be immersed in a fantastic 

landscape and this is likely to be your key 

consideration in deciding where to go for 

your break. 

How important is landscape? In 1950 30% 

of the world’s population lived in cities, 

today 54% of us live in them, and by 2050, 

the prediction is that 66% of us will be urban 

dwellers. People seem to like living in cities, 

but when it comes to holidays there is an 

inclination to return to nature. In 2012, a 

psychological study by Nisbet and Zelinski 

of Carleton University, Ottawa, found that 

human happiness correlates with a person’s 

“OUR AIM IS TO ENSURE THAT AT THE HEART OF OUR 

DESIGNS THE SITE TRULY IDENTIFIES WITH ITS EXISTING 

SENSE OF PLACE, ITS CHARACTER AND ITS VIEWS” 

“nature relatedness”, or their proximity to 

nature and natural processes. Glamping 

can benefit from this scenario by offering 

holiday destinations and experiences 

where people can escape hectic lifestyles, 

whether urban or not, and regain access to 

the natural world with comfort and luxury. 

Please give some simple ideas that could 

be achieved on a range of budgets 

As a landscape architect, when I visit a 

new site I am looking for a sense of place, 

a big idea or a way to draw out landscape 

subtlety to create a concept on which a new 

glampsite design can hang. Understanding 

a site and defining a design concept is 

essential in creating the chemistry between 

the landscape, the client and the vision. 

Clearly, the budget is also key, and our 

proposals seek to suit simple inexpensive 

experiences (pond dipping, green trails, 

viewing areas, etc.) as well as extravagant 

pleasures (tree houses and walkways in the 

canopies of trees, natural swimming pools 

and outdoor saunas, hot tubs with fantastic 

landscape views, etc.). Our aim is to ensure 

that at the heart of our designs the site 

truly identifies with its existing sense of 

place, its character and its views. 

Harper Landscape Architecture is 

a practice that seeks to understand 

landscape at all scales, from regional 

landscape character to the local visual 

backdrop (mountains, lakes, woods and 

meadows), to each site’s connectivity with 

natural processes, and to the experience 

in and around each chalet, pod or yurt. 

Our aim is to understand what our clients 

want and to fully explore the vision by 

developing a brief with them, assessing 

a site’s opportunities and constraints, 

offering engaging and sensitive design 

proposals, and proposing high quality 

detail design and management plans. 


been involved 

We have worked on a number of amazing 

glampsites with some great clients. The 

sites and client visions have been at 

various scales. Through iterative and 

careful design, we have helped clients to 

engage with local authorities and other 

statutory bodies to deliver new glampsites 

in nationally sensitive landscapes. Our 

portfolio of work has included a large-scale 

quarry in Somerset, where lodges and 

pods are located on ledges with dramatic 

views to lakes and woodland below. Also 

in our portfolio is an intimate woodland 

experience in Kent’s High Weald, with 

glamorous tents located in amongst 

wooded areas with special views of the 

surrounding Area of Outstanding Natural 

Beauty. Also, there’s a Downland cabin 

site using modern architectural units on 

steep slopes with stunning views across the 

South Downs National Park. 


UK customer service 

& support 

New tent 

ranges for 

2017 

Bedouin 

Safari Tent 

6 

SUITABLE FOR 

P E R S O N S 

With the development of our own 

Bedouin tent, Clear Sky has gone back 

to the origin of the safari tent by 

producing a tent that would have been 

familiar to the ancient desert Nomads. 

Using the original North African tent 

as inspiration and combining this 

with the modern luxury and comfort 

expected today, we have successfully 

brought the atmosphere of the East to 

the West. 

Clear Sky 

Bell Tents 

4 

SUITABLE FOR 

P E R S O N S 

What sets our Bell Tents apart from 

the rest is that they are all made from 

heavy duty canvas, in fact the same 

canvas that we use to make our Safari 

Tents. That means they are completely 

waterproof and built to last for 5-10 

years. 

Our Bell Tents now come with an 

optional PVC Fly Sheet, giving extra 

protection & life to the canvas. 

Available in two sizes: 4m & 5m 

0845 299 6484 www.safaritents.net 

6 Alexander Road, Tonbridge, TN9 2AA UK

ACCOMMODATION 

MARK SCOTT 

Having identified a way to rejuvenate the changing holiday park scene through glamping, 

Industry Legends 

Mark Scott turned his attention to creating the UK’s leading safari tent supplier 

PROFILE 

Name: Mark Scott 

Role: CEO 

Company: Clear Sky 

Contact: 0845 299 6484 / 07802 

847213 / mark.scott@safaritents. 

net / www.safaritents.net 

Favourite tipple: Red wine in 

the winter and white wine in the 

summer, if it ever gets here. 

Last holiday destination: 

Chamonix, searching for snow. 

Cats or dogs? I have a springer 

spaniel called Tick-Tock, named by 

my young son Cameron. 

Current boxset / TV must watch: 

Man in the High Castle – because 

it’s based on a cat in a box that was 

dead and alive. 

Something people may not know 

about me: I like murdering the 

guitar. 

How you got started in the 

business 

I was an IT project manager, 

and found myself working at 

Haven Holidays in the old Rank 

Leisure days where I spent many 

very happy and informative 

years looking at and analysing 

marketing and customer data. I 

then spread my wings, and started 

providing data analytics to many 

of the larger holiday groups. 

Around 2007, this analysis led to 

a realisation that the market was 

changing and the demands of 

the clients were for higher quality 

and more adventurous holiday 

experiences. Selling caravans 

was getting more difficult so, 

to attract a new demographic, I 

considered glamping as an option. 

It was a way of getting to different 

people who would never normally 

consider a caravan park as a 

destination or consider buying a 

caravan. High-quality tents with 

proper beds, kitchens and shower 

rooms would attract a new set of 

people that would go on to buy 

statics and lodges on the same 

parks. 

The history of Clear Sky 

Clear Sky was formed six years 

ago, to market and sell safari tents 

to the holiday park market. In 

the beginning, we spent a lot of 

time educating potential clients 

what exactly glamping involved. 

We worked hard to prove the ROI 

to landowners and holiday parks 

alike. To get the ball rolling, we 

set up our own glamping site on 

my farm so we could provide real 

numbers and demonstrate how it 

can help a landowner, or farmer, 

improve the income from their 

operations. 

Our first challenge was to find 

“THERE ARE 

NO CROWN 

POSTS, 

SO THE 

INTERNAL 

SPACE IS 

FULLY OPEN, 

AND NO GUY 

LINES SO 

THERE IS 

LESS IN THE 

WAY OF TRIP 

HAZARDS” 

a design that would work for 

the holiday park market as well 

as the farmer and landowner. 

I approached a number of UK 

companies, but none were able 

to provide the high quality and 

low price we were aiming at, 

so we teamed up with a factory 

in Europe. From the start, we 

have maintained a high-quality 

approach to both our products 

and our service, and this has 

paid off through many long-term 

relationships with the major 

park groups, as well as with land 

owners and smaller camping and 

touring parks. In our first year, I 

sold one tent, and that was rather 

by accident. We now sell over 150 

tents a year in the UK, and have 

exported to France, New Zealand, 

Greece and Portugal. 

The appeal of Clear Sky safari 

tents to glampsites 

The Clear Sky tents are all the 

highest quality, made from 

fireproof canvas, and designed 

to be left up all year round and 

withstand the harshest UK 

weather. Our range of safariinspired 

tents provide flexible 

layouts perfect for the family and 

couples market, and with our large 

size, double storey tents our clients 

can maximise their night rate with 

some achieving over £450 per 

night in peak season. There are no 

crown posts, so the internal space 

is fully open, and no guy lines 

so there is less in the way of trip 

hazards. The tents come in a range 

of colours and sizes to make sure 

the client has the best option to 

suit their specific situation. 

The ‘tent to income’ ratio is 

excellent, and we would expect 

a site to make back its capital 

investment within the first year. We

ACCOMMODATION 

provide a full, all round service that 

covers everything from an initial 

free of charge site visit through to 

an eventual site opening. As we run 

our own site we can also provide 

full on-site support and advice 24/7 

when needed. 

The appeal of Clear Sky safari 

tents to end users 

The tents from Clear Sky are safe 

and resistant to all weathers, 

providing the reassurance that 

UK holidaymakers demand from 

their accommodation. The natural 

cotton canvas, which is the only 

canvas approved for use by the 

scouting movement in Europe, is 

fully breathable and provides for a 

warm tent that doesn’t suffer from 

sweaty condensation. 

How would you describe the 

state of play in the glamping 

industry? 

The UK glamping market has 

changed significantly since I 

started my own site seven years 

ago. Then, you could get away 

with some cheap furniture from 

the local charity warehouse; call 

it shabby chic and you would 

get early glamping adopters. 

We were 84 per cent full in the 

school holidays in our first year. 

However, the demand now is for 

much more upmarket interiors, 

higher specification tents, new 

and innovative tents and a wide 

range of on-site comforts, such 

as electric, hot water and even 

fully-equipped bathrooms. This 

trend will continue, but at some 

point, the investment to move 

things up market in this way will 

start to cross over with lodges. 

As many planning authorities are 

now considering glamping tents as 

permanent structures, the initial 

“I BELIEVE 

THAT WE WILL 

SEE MORE 

INNOVATIVE 

AND 

INTERESTING 

APPROACHES 

TO COLOURS 

AND MODERN 

INTERIORS” 

barrier in the way of planning 

permission is the same. 

I believe that we will see 

more innovative and interesting 

approaches to colours and modern 

interiors, following The White 

Company and Farrow and Ball 

interiors and exteriors we see 

every day in house magazines. I 

also think the market will begin to 

broaden with some sites offering 

more adventurous environments 

and some offering 5-star luxury 

and all levels between. In 

particular, I believe the bell tent 

market will demand high quality 

tents that last more than six weeks. 

How have you personally 

impacted the industry? 

When we started our business, 

we were a disrupter by offering 

low price, high quality tents to 

the market place. Our ability to 

manufacture over 400 tents per 

year ensured reliable supply within 

a reasonable time frame all year 

round. 

I was the first person to provide 

a complete service for clients 

who wanted to get into glamping. 

My approach of high quality and 

known price opened the market 

up for landowners and farmers by 

providing them with certainty of 

return. The development of the allround 

service (from initial dream 

through planning, setting up a web 

site and into opening a site and 

providing on-site support) is still 

unique in the market place. 

Major achievements of Clear Sky 

as a business 

› The largest supplier of high 

quality, all year-round safari 

tents in UK 

› Year on year exponential 

revenue growth 

› Year on year increase in numbers 

and range of tents sold 

› Introduction of two storey tents 

to the UK 

› The leading supplier of safari 

tents to the holiday parks 

market, with the top five groups 

as our clients 

› Very high customer retention 

based on our attentive customer 

service approach 

› Introduction of a full range of 

furniture made from recycled 

scaffold boards 

Plans / innovations for the future 

In the coming two seasons, 

Clear Sky will extend its range of 

products aimed at the glamping 

market sector in line with our 

mission statement: “To evolve 

Clear Sky to provide a wide range 

of innovative products to the 

holiday park and land owner/ 

farmers market within the UK. 

The products must be new and 

innovative, and disrupt the existing 

market perception.” 


EVENTS 

CASE STUDY 

HIDDEN ART 

Cornwall 

Design Fair 

One of the Duchy’s largest design fairs, attracting 

over 4,000 people and hosted by seventh 

generation owners of Trereife House 

Events are an important revenue stream for Trereife House, a Queen Anne manor 

house set in rolling grounds just outside Penzance. Open Air Business talks to owner 

Tim Le Grice about the Cornwall Design Fair, which is now solely organised in-house. 

Describe your event and how 

many people it attracts 

The Cornwall Design Fair was 

started by Hidden Art, a not-forprofit 

organisation that promotes 

and supports designers and 

makers, but we have now taken on 

organising the event ourselves. 

The first Cornwall Design Fair 

took place in 2006 at Godolphin 

House, a National Trust property 

near Helston. It came to us 

in 2009 when it needed more 

room to grow, and our in-house 

event organiser at the time 

spotted an opportunity. The 

event now has over 90 exhibitors 

including designer-makers of 

“WE ALSO 

TRY NOT TO 

CHARGE TOO 

MUCH FOR 

ENTRY AS THE 

IDEA, FOR 

EXHIBITORS 

AT LEAST, IS 

THAT PEOPLE 

SHOULD BE 

SPENDING 

THEIR MONEY 

WITH THEM” 

ceramics, glass, jewellery, fashion 

accessories, furniture, lighting, 

prints and textiles. We also put 

on family entertainment and 

special design-led activities for 

children, as well as workshops and 

demonstrations. 

How do events fit into your main 

business? 

We have been running public 

events at Trereife since 2005. It is 

a good diversification option but 

we have noticed that in the last 

two years there has been more 

competition. Farmers markettype 

events are proliferating 

everywhere, and of course you 

don’t have to pay to go to those. 

With the Cornwall Design Fair we 

are trying to be a bit different, 

and to attract families by putting 

on entrainment for children. We 

also try not to charge too much 

for entry as the idea, for exhibitors 

at least, is that people should be 

spending their money with them. 

It is a fine balance. Of course, entry 

to the fair is also entry to Trereife 

House, and we have cream teas in 

the courtyard and guided tours of 

the house and gardens. 

This year we are in the middle of 

extensive renovations of the house 

so we are taking a break from the 

spring and summer events. We will 


HIDDEN ART 

HIDDEN ART 

be back with a Christmas Fair, and 

the design fair will be back next 

year. 

How have you planned the 

layout of the event? 

We have four marquees in the 

grounds and a curated design 

exhibition inside the house, 

which is a unique opportunity 

for designers to showcase their 

work against the backdrop of the 

interior. 

Food and drink is served 

from the on-site cafe and we 

have a variety of other catering 

concessions too. We have porta 

loos we hire in but find people 

prefer to queue up for the public 

toilets we have on-site by the cafe. 

How did you source your 

marquees? 

Truro Marquees supplies the 

marquees for the event. We went 

to a few firms to get quotes initially 

but liked what Truro Marquees 

had to offer. They are expensive 

HIDDEN ART 

“I THINK IT IS 

IMPORTANT 

TO CATER FOR 

CHILDREN 

AT AN EVENT 

LIKE THIS 

SO WE HAVE 

A BOUNCY 

CASTLE, 

STORY 

TELLERS AND 

A ROUND- 

ABOUT THAT 

HAS BEEN 

ATTENDING 

FOR SOME 

YEARS” 

HIDDEN ART 

structures to hire and we have 

considered buying them but there 

is the storage to think about. 

What entertainment do 

you offer? 

I think it is important to cater for 

children at an event like this so 

we have a bouncy castle, story 

tellers and a roundabout that has 

been attending for some years 

now and is very popular. We also 

have a band set up outside of the 

entrance area. 

As far as the exhibits themselves 

go, we are careful to make sure 

there is a good mix. We have an 

application process so we can 

make sure of the quality of exhibits 

and prevent having too much of 

one type of product. 

What provisions do you make for 

power, lights and sound? 

We are set up for power and water 

in an area where there had been 

two tennis courts, and distribute 

from here. We charge stall holders 

extra to have access to this. There 

is also Wi-Fi on site, pulled through 

from the Wi-Fi at the cafe. 

How do you manage admissions? 

We have a very simple system, 

just a small tent at the top of the 

drive that people pass through to 

get to the fair. We are cash only for 

admissions. 

What ground protection do you 

use for cars and footfall? 

We try and keep the look and 

feel of the event as natural as 

possible, so people can enjoy the 

grounds in which it is situated 

and the backdrop of the house. 

Consequently we don’t put down 

paths. To date we have had little 

damage to the grass; the most 

damage comes from children 

pulling up flowers. 

We have an area where two old 

tennis courts were that has a good, 

solid base and this is perfect for 

exhibitors. In the marquees we use 

matting but try to avoid leaving it 

down too long to protect the grass 

underneath. 

HIDDEN ART 


EVENTS 

HIDDEN ART 

HIDDEN ART 

As far as cars and parking goes, 

we do have a dedicated car park 

but, as we don’t use it much, it is 

leased to a company that manages 

the parking for people visiting 

the Isles of Scilly. We use a field in 

front of the house for the design 

fair visitors and have a tractor 

ready if the weather is bad to help 

people if they get stuck. We have 

disabled parking nearer the house. 

The whole set up gives the event a 

nice, enclosed feel. 

How do you publicise the event? 

Mainly using signage. We have 

some rather large signs that we 

put out on the big roads near Truro 

up to a month before the event, 

and they have been very effective. 

However, they aren’t strictly ‘legal.’ 

The local authority hadn’t minded 

on a limited basis – after all we are 

encouraging people and money 

into the area – but recently they 

have cracked down on the number 

of signs going up in the area. 

HIDDEN ART 


The biggest challenge has to be 

competition from other events in 

the area. We need to keep one step 

ahead. Originally the Cornwall 

Design Fair was seen to be a bit 

different but now we are having to 

prove we are different. 


year? 

The design fair will continue much 

as it already is, although we will 

continue to think up ways to make 

it appealing to families. As for 

events in general at Trereife, we 

are planning on reducing costs 

by using more of the buildings 

at the back of the house rather 

than having to hire in multiple 

marquees. The plan is for smaller, 

more intimate events. 

HIDDEN ART 

What other hospitality sectors 

do you operate in? 

We offer self catering holidays on 

the estate, and bed and breakfast 

in the main house and converted 

courtyard block. We regularly host 

country fairs, concerts, functions 

and other events and provide a 

unique setting and facilities for 

unforgettable weddings and other 

important occasions. 

The estate also boasts home 

produce, a well known horse 

breeding stable and many other 

country family holiday pursuits 

suitable for all ages, as well as 

a treasure trove of history to 

explore. 

What advice could you give 

to someone coming into the 

outdoor event industry? 

When running an event, don’t 

assume the public will know 

what’s going on throughout the 

day. Make information widely 

available and invest in a public 

address system if necessary. 

If running an event is something 

you are doing above and 

beyond another activity, such as 

weddings or accommodation, 

then make sure you have the 

team in place to handle the 

organisation. It can be a strain on 

the system otherwise. 

DETAILS 

Trereife, Penzance, 

Cornwall TR20 8T 

01736 362750 

www.cornwalldesignfair.co.uk 


LIVE 2017 

COUNTRY HOUSE 

BUSINESS INNOVATION 2017 

INNOVATION 2017 

The event for farmers, land owners and rural business 

entrepreneurs to gain inspiration, resources and advice 

INSPIRING RURAL ENTREPRENEURS 

7 

A WORLD OF IDEAS 

TO MAKE YOUR LAND 

MORE PROFITABLE 

8 & 9 NOVEMBER 2017, NEC BIRMINGHAM 

7,500 VISITORS 

200 SEMINARS 

400 EXHIBITORS 

Register for FREE tickets at www.farmbusinessshow.co.uk 

@Farm_Innovation 

#FarmBiz 

IN 

PARTNERSHIP 

WITH: 

LINKING ENVIRONMENT AND FARMING

EVENTS 

Open Air 

Cinema 

Open Air Business investigates the outdoor 

cinema scene and asks what a venue owner 

needs to run an event themselves 

AS WE LOOK forward to longer days 

and warmer evenings, why not take 

advantage of the growing demand 

for alfresco film screenings? 

Increasingly, they are attracting 

a crowd looking for a different 

experience that includes the 

opportunity to take in atmospheric 

surroundings as well as a movie. 

It’s not all about California 

sunsets and convertible Cadillacs 

- Britain has so much more to offer 

the outdoor movie-goer than that. 

For many, escaping to the cinema 

is the ideal treat for a cold and 

rainy afternoon or evening. Despite 

the unpredictable British weather, 

enjoying a movie outdoors is an 

increasingly popular pastime in the 

UK. With a wide variety of beautiful 

as well as historic settings already 

hosting events, there is certainly 

an air of romanticism about the 

concept. 

The growing popularity of the 

alfresco film experience may be 

due to advances in screening 

technology, or simply the desire 

for an alternative to the standard 

multiplex cinema. Of course, 

advances in digital technology 

have made it possible to provide 

the highest quality images and 

surround sound to suit settings 

that would previously have been 

considered unsuitable. There 

are also a growing number of 

companies that can provide hire 

of the equipment required as the 

demand increases for the ‘pop up’ 

cinema experience. 

Warwick Royden, owner of 

Skylight Cinema, a company 

specialising in the hire of mobile 

outdoor cinema equipment, 

agrees: “There has never been a 

better time to organise an outdoor 

cinema screening. With increasing 

awareness and demand on the 

up, events can be very profitable, 

whether it is a commercial affair, 

or one raising money for charity, a 

community group, or a school PTA.” 

There are more screenings taking 

place in unusual temporary venues 

all the time, from palaces and 

manor houses to themed locations. 

So, what makes a suitable venue 

for an open-air cinema screening? 

As Roydon explains: “The list is 

endless. However, the main factors 

are whether there is enough space 

SKYLIGHT CINEMA 

“PERSONALLY, 

I THINK THAT 

THE VENUE 

CAN SELL 

ITSELF. FOR 

EXAMPLE, A 

CLIFF TOP 

LOCATION IN 

CORNWALL 

ALWAYS 

SELLS WELL 

BECAUSE OF 

THE VIEW 

AND THE 

ATMOSPHERE 

IT CREATES” 

for your audience and whether 

the site is sheltered from the wind. 

Personally, I think that the venue 

can sell itself. For example, a cliff 

top location in Cornwall always 

sells well because of the view and 

the atmosphere it creates.” 

Karen Pitman, director, Future 

Projections and Cineanywhere. 

com, agrees: “Anywhere with a flat 

area for the screen and enough 

room for the projector image to hit 

the screen, although we did have a 

client hire our set up for a hen night 

in the woods and it looked great.” 

While Future Projections provides 

design, procurement, project 

management and installation 

services to the cinema and 

theatre industry, sister company 

Cineanywhere.com manufactures, 

supplies and rents custom and 

standard portable cinema packages 

for use indoors and out. 

If you’re looking for inspiration, 

there are plenty of high profile 

mobile cinema venues that have 

become a resounding success and 

a regular fixture. These include 

Film4 Somerset House screenings, 


SKYLIGHT CINEMA

EVENTS 

CINEANYWHERE.COM 

which take place every July/August. 

Secret Cinema is also a name that 

many Londoners, as well as those 

within commuting distance, will 

be aware of and its reputation is 

spreading. Launched in 2007, Secret 

Cinema describes what it offers 

as “immersive experiences” that 

include anything “from grassroots 

film screenings in abandoned 

London buildings to large scale 

productions in some of the most 

spectacular spaces worldwide”. 

Luna Cinema operates in 

locations that range from stately 

homes to botanical gardens and 

medieval castles, while roaming 

pop-up Nomad Cinema has 

screened The Lost Boys in Coram 

Secret Garden and Jaws in Hyde 

Park Lido, as well as The Jungle 

Book in Bushy Park and Psycho and 

The Birds in Brompton Cemetery. 

Choosing a film that suits 

the venue can make it a unique 

cinematic experience. Other 

examples include Titanic and 

The Poseidon Adventure, which 

have been screened on a ferry, a 

screening of The Blair Witch Project 

in the woods, Monty Python’s Holy 

Grail at a castle and Top Gun in an 

aircraft hanger. 


THE WEATHER 

In countries where the climate is a little more 

predictable, outdoor screenings have been 

popular for many years. Spanning New York, 

Los Angeles, Chicago and now London, the 

Rooftop Film Club screens films – you guessed 

it – on a roof, so viewers can make the most of 

the city skyline, popcorn in hand. 

But, what if it rains? For the Rooftop Film 

Club screenings go ahead come rain or shine 

- free ponchos are even available if it pours, 

according to the company website. “The 

simple answer is, be prepared,” says Roydon. 

“Last year, I think it rained on us four or five 

times. All the equipment is fully weatherproof, 

so the show goes on.” 

A little light rain is usually fine, but heavy 

rain, wind or snow can of course result in 

the cancellation of an event, which is a 

good reason to stick to times of year when 

the weather is warmer and more settled. 

“We are busiest from June to October,” says 

Roydon. “September tends to be the best 

month because sunset is earlier, giving a more 

reasonable start time, plus the weather is 

normally alright!” 

When planning an event, Pitman 

recommends checking the sunset times online 

and then looking at your dates. “You cannot 

screen in daylight; the sun needs to have set 

and usually a start time would be 10 to 15 

minutes later for it to be nice and dark,” she 

says. “Technically, you cannot line up the 

projector on screen until there is a certain level 

of darkness. The most popular months are 

June, late August and September, so hopefully 

it’s warm enough but not too late starting. 

However, Halloween is also always booked as 

is Singalong Frozen at Christmas.” 

WHAT DO YOU NEED? 

In order to show a film publically, you need a 

licence, and you may also need a Temporary 

Event Notice from the local council. A Single 

Title Screening Licence (STSL) allows the 

screening of films on a title by title basis 

to audiences in a range of venues and 

establishments across the UK. 

As Pitman explains: “You need a licence to 

show the film, although any DVD or bluray can 

be used. There are three providers - Filmbank, 

BFI and MPLC - all of which are contactable 

online, but we are happy to book them for 

clients.” 

Whether you require staff, stewards or 

security for your event of course depends on 

your audience size and the requirements of 

your local council. “If you are running a drive-in 

you will need stewards to ensure the cars are 

parked correctly,” says Roydon. 

“Informed staff are essential,” agrees 

Pitman. “As these events are purposefully 

dark, pay attention to the safety of cabling 

and have a lit means of escape no matter what 

size of the event. Solar garden lights staked 

in the ground are a possible option for small 

screenings,” she says. 

Other health and safety considerations 

depend on the space you have available, 

but anything that obstructs the view of the 

audience, such as tents, should be avoided 

as well as barbecues. “Some places say no 

glass, while others don’t mind,” says Roydon. 

“It really does come down to the individual 

event.” 

Of course, you also need the right 

equipment for your event and to know what 

it is that you require. Purchasing everything 

would mean a significant outlay, so it makes 

sense to hire, at least at the beginning. “I 

always advise those interested in buying to 

hire once first, especially if they are setting up 

a business,” says Pitman. “If it goes well then 

it makes sense to buy and not be dependent 

on hire companies and their availability. If you 

choose a reputable company, there will be 

good after sales help and training. You could 

even rent out the equipment locally yourself to 

recoup some of your outlay,” she adds. 

Skylight Cinema provides a turnkey solution, 

which includes an inflatable 8x4m screen, 

which is suitable for an audience of up to 500, 


EVENTS 


plus a six kilowatt PA system, powerful 6,000 

lumens projection and back up projector, as 

well as event support equipment including 

flood lights, usher torches, jackets, radios 

and spare chairs. “We provide the screen, 

all projection and sound kit and two 

technicians for every event,” says Roydon. 

“We offer a full package that leaves only the 

licence down to the customer; everything 

else is covered by us.” 

Pitman also recommends an inflatable 

screen for outdoor use. “Fast folds look 

amateurish and small and are more likely to 

blow over,” she says. “Some providers use 

built scaffold screens, but they can ruin the 

grass underneath so certain venues will only 

use inflatable. You will also need a projector, 

mixer, amp, speakers and stands and all 

the cabling, and possibly microphones and 

an FM transmitter if your event is a drive 

in,” she adds. Of course, you also need to 

consider all the other facilities required at 

an outdoor event, such as toilets, disabled 

access and so on. 

THE AUDIENCE 

Key to the success of any event has to be 

the number of people it attracts. “We have 

had over 2,000 people in front of our large 

screen and the atmosphere was incredible,” 

says Roydon. “On average, I would say the 

audience sizes are around 500, which is a 

CINEANYWHERE.COM 

good size,” he adds. 

“Just make sure, especially if you have a 

paying audience, that they stand a chance 

of actually seeing the film,” advises Pitman. 

It is also worth considering what size screen 

you might need to suit your venue to ensure 

everyone has a good view. “This is why we 

put advisory numbers of different screen 

sizes,” she adds. 

Cineanywhere.com can supply a variety 

of screen and kit sizes to match the 

audience size. The smaller kits are for up 

to 200, so ideal for birthday parties, village 

green community screenings, weddings, 

campsites, pub gardens and so on, while 

the larger screens, which are for up to 1,500, 

tend to be used for larger festivals, drive-ins, 

etc. “Our smaller kit can be self-operated by 

the hirer, which means they can pick it up 

on a Friday and hold events for the whole 

weekend for one fee before returning it on 

Monday. We are available on the phone to 

assist,” says Pitman. 

MAKING MONEY 

Covering your costs and hopefully making 

a large profit is obviously the reason for 

holding an event in the first place, but 

what can you hope to achieve? Of course, 

this depends where you are, what film you 

are showing and what else you have on 

offer. “Down here in Cornwall, we cannot 

charge much more than £7 to £8 for a ticket, 

whereas in London people don’t blink an 

eyelid at £20,” says Roydon. 

Whether you are looking to make a profit 

or just to cover your costs, you must take 

into account not only the equipment hire 

but the film hire costs. “A paying event could 

see 35 per cent of your ticket sales go to the 

licensee,” warns Pitman. “Always check the 

rate cards - a good hire company will send 

you this or point you in the right direction. 

Other advice is to look for revenue 

outside of ticket sales. Outdoor screenings 

also offer the opportunity to promote 

a festival vibe, with gourmet food and 

cocktails on offer. “Just like in cinemas, 

the money is made on concessions – either 

provide your own or sell pitches – and ‘on 

screen’ sponsorship can be a great revenue 

strand as many local companies like to be 

associated with film,” Pitman suggests. 

In order to attract the audience that 

you want and need to make your event a 

success, effective marketing is key. “Some 

smaller screening companies use online 

ticketing companies such as Eventbrite. If 

you are hiring a venue, it may be keen to 

handle ticket sales as many like to keep the 

concessions to themselves – it depends on 

your relationship with them,” says Pitman. 

You can also make use of all the usual 

social media options, such as Facebook, 

Snapchat and Twitter. “I often recommend 

that clients try and get the audience to 

choose the film to be screened – it drums 

up interest. You can even do this through a 

local radio station – many are keen on this 

sort of thing and often become sponsors,” 

she adds. 

Advertising fancy dress, singalongs and 

even screenings to which dogs are welcome, 

are all tried and tested ways to attract 

interest, but according to Pitman, the best 

thing you can do is get your location and the 

film right. 

“The top audience figures last year were 

for all the old favourites, such as Dirty 

Dancing, Top Gun, Back to the Future and 

Grease, which were all held in creative 

locations such as castles, on the beach 

(Jaws in Selsey went down very well with 

all the local shops selling blow up sharks 

for the event) and creepy films that were 

screened in the woods.” Ultimately, it’s up to 

you – the possibilities really are endless. 

USEFUL LINKS 

Cineanywhere.com - 020 8766 7100 

www.cineanywhere.com 

Future Projections - 020 8766 7100 

www.fproj.com 

Skylight Cinema - 07739 710272 

www.skylightcinema.co.uk

Coopers Marquees 

Event Structures Nationwide 

One of UK's Leading 

Outdoor Cinema Companies 

Skylight Cinema specialises in the hire 

of Mobile Outdoor Cinema equipment 

Proud members of MUTA 

working to the highest standards 

Tel: 01759 380190 

@CoopersMarquees 

www.coopersmarquees.co.uk 

Fully inclusive package 

Large Screen suitable for up to 750 people, starting from £1,250 + VAT 

Small Screen suitable for up to 250 people, starting from £650 + VAT 

Any location possible • No obligation quote 

Call us Today! 07739710272 | info@skylightcinema.co.uk 

www.skylightcinema.co.uk 

Rock solid, cost effective event WiFi and 

technology solutions from the industry experts 

Venues • Tours • Festivals • Product Launches • Fashion Shows 

• Sporting Events • Experential • Conference • Exhibitions • Specialist Projects 

• Rapid deployment • Fast Internet anywhere • CCTV 

• Livestreaming • Bespoke Apps • UK, Europe and Worldwide 

• Scalable systems from 1 user to 10,000+ • PDQ and EPoS 

• Satellite, bonded LTE, point to point, leased line, fibre, WiMAX and more 

www.noba.co.uk | t: 020 3440 4610 | e: info@noba.co.uk 


EVENTS 

Events on 

Your Land 

Whether you go DIY or rent your property to organisers, 

events on your land can be a profitable enterprise if you 

follow some golden rules, says Linda Krawecke 

GETTY IMAGES 

SAY THE WORDS “outdoor event” to 

someone and what springs to mind can 

be quite varied. Some will think of a music 

festival. Others will think of a fair or show 

such as a game fair, garden show or food fair. 

There are also weddings, company parties, 

sporting activities, team building days and 

historical re-enactments. 

Outdoor events are popular and can be 

profitable. You may have entertained the 

thought of using your property to run such 

events. It’s a good idea. But what are the 

first steps? How do you begin if you’ve never 

ventured into this area before? Here are a few 

basic steps to consider. 

STEP 1. KNOW YOUR PROPERTY 

You probably think you know your land but 

consider it from an outdoor event point of 

view. What are ground conditions like when 

it rains? Is there easy access to open spaces 

for non-farm vehicles that need to drive on 

the land or park for a duration of time? How 

much level space is there? 

Are there features on the land that would 

help or hinder an event? An area that stays 

wet or muddy is great for mud runs/sporting 

events but not so great for weddings. A 

lake or pond can be a beautiful feature but 

hazardous to events with small children 

running around. 

Think through what it would take to bring 

marquees, stages and hundreds, or even 

thousands, of people on to your land. Is it fit 

for purpose? 

STEP 2. YOUR EVENT OR THEIR EVENT? 

There are two ways an outdoor event can be 

organised on your land: you run the event 

yourself, i.e. you decide the nature of the 

event, organise all the contractors, and make 

a profit or loss on the outcome. Or you hire 

your property to someone else who organises 

the event and makes the profit or loss. 

STEP 3. THINK SAFETY 

Whether it is your own event or one someone 

else has organised, you as the land owner 

have the ultimate responsibility for the safety 

of any persons that are invited on to your 

property. Do a bit of research. Make sure you 

understand the safety laws and regulations 

that cover events. There is much useful 

information on the internet and several 

professional organisations that can support 

you, some of which are listed at the end of 

this article 

Investigate insurance for your event or 

the insurance of anyone hiring your land. 

You may even want legal advice from your 

solicitor on making sure you have a good 

contract with any outside organisers so you 

both know where your responsibilities lie. 

STEP 4. PERMISSIONS 

This is a big one. By inviting the public on 

to your land, you will very likely need to get 

permission for the event from your local 

authority. It will be the primary body making 

sure you’ve taken the steps necessary to have 

a safe event with as little impact as possible 

on your neighbours and local resources such 

as the police, ambulance crews, fire and 

rescue services. Here are some of the things 

they will want to know: 

› Is your event going to unreasonably disturb 

your neighbours? 

› Will the local roads leading to your 

property be jammed with vehicles coming 

to your event? 

› Will your event be serving food? If so, will 

it be prepared and served so that no one 

is harmed by food poisoning or allergy 

reactions? 

› Will your mains water or bore hole water be 

used? If so, is it potable? 

› Will your event be serving alcohol? How 

will you make sure that children don’t get 

access to alcohol? Or that those who are 

drinking don’t cause a social disturbance? 

› Will you have thieves, pick pockets or 

trouble makers at your event? How will you 

prevent them from being there or causing 

trouble? 

› Have you thought about potential fire 

hazards? 

› What if there is an emergency; flooding, 

lightning striking a marquee, collapsed 

stages, a bomb threat etc. What will you do 

to make sure people are moved to an area 

of safety? 

If people are invited to your property 

either by yourself or by an event production 

organisation and the event is “for a 

consideration or with a view to a profit”, then 

you are responsible for ensuring it is safe. 

Your local authority is the body responsible 

for seeing that you meet this responsibility by 

issuing the event with a licence. 

LICENSING AN EVENT 

There are certain activities carried out at 

events which must be authorised - also 

called ‘licensable activities’. The licensable 

activities which may be authorised are: 

selling or serving alcohol, serving late night 

refreshments (after 11pm), or providing 

regulated entertainment e.g. music, dancing 

or indoor sporting events. These activities are 

covered in the Licensing Act 2003 in England 

and Wales, and by the Licensing (Scotland) 

Act 2005 in Scotland. 

Regulated entertainment includes: 

› a performance of a play 

› an exhibition of a film 

› an indoor sporting event 


EVENTS 

› boxing or wrestling entertainment 

› a performance of live music 

› any playing of recorded music 

› a performance of dance 

› entertainment of a similar description to a 

performance of live music, any playing of 

recorded music or a performance of dance. 

Chances are that an event on your property 

will include some of the above activities 

and will probably need a licence. For events 

that have less than 500 people attending, 

the organiser can apply for a TENs licence 

(Temporary Event Notice), but for any event 

that may have more than that the organisers 

need a premises licence. 

A premises licence can be applied for 

on an event-by-event basis by the event 

organisers. This could be you or it may be the 

organisation hiring the property from you. 

A premises licence is: “a permanent licence, 

granted in respect of a specific location, 

which authorises the licence-holder to carry 

on licensable activities. Once a licence is 

granted, unless a limited duration is specified 

in the application, a premises licence will be 

valid for the life of the business, or until it is 

surrendered or revoked”. 

An attractive possibility is holding a 

permanent premises licence on your 

property, which means it is licensed all 

the time and not just for specific dates for 

specific events. Think of pubs. They hold 

a permanent premises licence, not just for 

certain days of the year. This can be very, very 

attractive to event organisers who want to 

hold an event but don’t want to go through 

the entire licence application process. 

If you hold the licence, whether it is for 

‘limited duration’ or it is on a permanent 

basis, you have the ultimate responsibility 

for upholding the conditions of this licence 

regarding safety, otherwise known as the 

‘licence objectives.’ 

FOUR THINGS YOU 

MUST ENSURE 

To acquire a licence from the local authority, 

the potential event organiser will be asked 

to fill in an application. This might be you 

or it may be an event organiser holding 

a licensable event on your property. The 

application is reviewed by the council’s 

licensing department, environmental health 

team, emergency planning team, the “blue 

light” services (police, fire, ambulance) and 

others. 

Part of the application will ask the 

organiser how they will meet four licensing 

objectives as defined within the Licensing 

Act 2003: Prevention of Crime & Disorder, 

Public Safety, Prevention of Public Nuisance, 

Protection of Children from Harm. 

Here are some suggestions on meeting 

each of these four objectives. 

1. PREVENTION OF CRIME AND DISORDER 

How will the event organisers: 

› monitor guests or attendees for disorderly 

behaviour or criminal conduct? 

› ensure that there are no weapons or illegal 

substances or items at the event? 

› ensure that only invited or ticketed persons 

enter the event? 

Possible things the organiser can do 

to maintain this objective: 

› advertise “terms and conditions” of entry to 

the event 

› secure the perimeter of the event: fencing, 

personnel, signs or in some cases CCTV 

cameras 

› have specific personnel whose job it is to 

watch for and act upon crime or disorderly 

behaviour. In other words, security 

personnel. 

A note about professional security 

guards: security personnel need to have 

something called an SIA badge to indicate 

they are registered with the Security Industry 

Association and have had proper training. 

And if you don’t want a big ‘bouncer’ kind of 

security guy at your event, please be aware 

that SIA badged people can be men, women, 

old, young, dressed in suits or in outdoor wear. 

It’s up to the event organiser on the type of 

security they hire. 

2. PUBLIC SAFETY 


› prevent people from being harmed or 

injured by any item or activity within the 

event area? 

› keep people safe in the event of an 

emergency such as a fire, collapsed building 

or severe storm? 

› make sure that people who may become ill 

or injured receive quick effective treatment? 

Possible things the organiser can do to 

maintain this objective: 

› create a risk assessment for the event 

identifying elements that may lead to injury, 

illness or damage, and list how they will 

reduce those risks 

› have an Emergency Evacuation and Incident 

Plan in place 

› have adequately trained medical personnel 

on hand to treat any immediate illnesses or 

injuries. 

The local fire and rescue service will want 

to see what fire prevention methods will be in 

place and how the event will assess fire risk, 

prevent overcrowding in tents and marquees, 

and evacuate people during an emergency. 

Event organisers may wish to hire the support 

of an event safety advisor or event fire service 

to help with some of the planning. 

3. PREVENTION OF PUBLIC NUISANCE 


› ensure minimal impact on neighbours and 

other public? 

› prevent noise and sounds from keeping 

people awake during unsocial hours or for a 

very long period? 

› make sure that roads and highways nearby 

aren’t jammed or blocked so that others can 

go about their business? 


EVENTS 



› inform the local community of the event 

and be open to questions and concerns 

› for music events, have an ‘acoustic survey’ 

done of the event area to assess the levels 

of acceptable projected sounds 

› have a traffic management plan and 

personnel who will ensure that event traffic 

is quickly off the public roads and safely 

parked. 

The larger the number of people attending 

the event, the more that the Highways 

Department and police will want to know 

how there will be prevention of traffic build 

up, both when people arrive for the event and 

when they leave. 

4. PROTECTION OF CHILDREN FROM HARM 


NOT MY EVENT, NOT MY PROBLEM 

But what if you don’t want to run your 

own event or hold a licence? What if you 

want to hire out your property to others 

and let someone else take on the licence 

and responsibility of the ‘Four Licensing 

Objectives’? How then are you still 

responsible for a safe event? 

Other than the moral duty of wanting to 

see that everyone is safe and sound while 

on your property, don’t forget, it is your 

name and reputation associated with that 

land. If you want to continue to use your 

property for events, you have a vested 

interest in making sure any organisers 

coming to your site are practising safety as 

this will reflect on you. 

Don’t forget, these are your neighbours 

and your council. Event organisers can 

leave once the event is over but you live 

here. A poorly organised or unsafe event 

that has a negative impact on neighbours 

or the council will make future events on 

your property difficult. 

You have a right to question anyone 

wanting to hire your land about how they 

plan to meet the four licensing objectives. 

Ask to see their safety plans and risk 

assessments. Ask how they plan to 

manage traffic and control noise – things 

› make sure children separated from their 

parent are kept safe – or a child who goes 

missing is found? 

› ensure that alcohol is not sold or 

consumed by those under the age of 18? 

› make sure anyone who is working 

specifically with children is vetted as safe to 

do so 

› ensure children are not exposed to any 

movies, performances, acts or material 

that are of an adult nature. 



› have a strong child safety policy in place 

which details how found and missing 

children will be dealt with 

› make sure all bar personnel check IDs and 

security personnel are available to back 

them up 

that impact on your neighbours. Talk to 

the council’s Licensing Department, ask if 

they have concerns about the event. Often 

councils may request meeting with you 

even if you are not the licence holder. 

No one knows your land the way that 

you do. Offer advice and support to 

organisers. Let them know about things 

on the property such as the presence of 

overhead power lines or underground 

cables that may be damaged if marquee 

pegs are driven into the ground. They will 

also need to know about water supply 

and ground conditions – is there good 

drainage, are there trackways to follow? 

Don’t forget to mention if there are any 

public right of way paths or protected 

areas of Specific Scientific Interest (SSI). 

Finally, think about what support can you 

offer. Do you have tractors or plant that 

may be useful? Straw bales that can be 

used? All of these things can bring in extra 

revenue. 

Running an event can be a creative and 

interesting way to generate income from 

your property. With just a bit of research 

and planning on how to manage the event 

safely for everyone, you could see a wide 

world of outdoor events running right 

there on your doorstep. 

› monitor any adult-themed activities and 

ban those under-aged from attending 

› check the background and safety 

certificates of anyone who will be working 

with children on site. 

It is wise to make sure that anyone under 

the age of 18 is accompanied by a parent or 

otherwise responsible adult at the event. 

Otherwise, the licence holder becomes the 

‘responsible adult’ and should the child or 

youth become ill, injured, drunk or get into 

trouble, the police and social services will 

want to know why the licence holder did 

nothing to safeguard that child or youth. 

USEFUL LINKS 

www.hse.gov.uk/event-safety - the 

Health & Safety Executive website has 

loads on information. This is a good 

place to start. 

www.thepurpleguide.co.uk – the ‘how 

to’ bible for music events and a good 

practical guide for all events. 

www.londoneventstoolkit.co.uk – many 

district or county councils will have 

their own version of the London Events 

Toolkit. Though this one is aimed at 

London boroughs, much of the advice is 

very solid. 

www.noea.org.uk – the National 

Outdoor Event Association is a trade 

organisation for professionals who 

work in the outdoor events industry. 

A good source of current information 

and a members list of contractors in the 

events industry. 

www.ncass.org.uk – the Nationwide 

Caterers Association is a good place to 

source mobile or temporary food units 

and get helpful information on food 

safety. 

www.eventproductionshow.co.uk and 

www.showmans-directory.co.uk – two 

key industry-related trade shows where 

you can visit stalls and demonstrations 

on everything from stages, marquees 

and portable toilets to children’s 

entertainment, fun fairs and temporary 

bars. Free to attend. 


Linda Krawecke, owner/manager of Tiger Tea, has been involved with events for 22 years. Her career started with the management 

of indoor conferences before moving to the world of outdoor events where she was predominantly involved with safety management 

including risk assessing, emergency planning and compliance with councils’ licensing terms. 

Linda has worked on events as diverse as music festivals, historic re-enactments, arts festivals, garden shows, fun fairs, mud runs and 

many others. She has assisted several councils and groups by offering training days and guidance documents for would-be event 

organisers. In helping clients look for locations to hold outdoor events she understands what others want from a site. She has survived 

muddy fields, scorching heat, pounding rain and blistered feet, but still loves to work outdoors. www.tigertea.net 


Humorous, educational 

live stage show about 

sheep and wool 

"Edu-tainment 

at it’s best" 

Nine breeds 

introduced onto 

their own stage. 

Don’t miss the 

Dancing Sheep! 

ALSO: 

CORPORATE ENTERTAINMENT 

Have a go at sheep shearing, 

sheep racing, or sheep dogs 

SHEEP RACING 

Sheep Racing over a furlong 

DOG & DUCK DISPLAY 

In the arena, showing the training 

of the working sheep dog, with 

plenty of audience participation 

t: 01328 829888 e: info@sheepshow.fsnet.co.uk 

www.thesheepshow.co.uk 


EVENTS 

Entertainment 

Entertainment providers advise on how their 

offerings can help make your event a success 

Trevor Kaye, director 

Crowded House 

Entertainments 

07703 258595 

office@crowdedh.com 

Describe the importance of the 

entertainment you offer at public events 

We believe that entertainment can often 

be an overlooked element of an event. 

Choosing the wrong band or an unsuitable 

act can break an event, therefore, we aim to 

ensure that our clients’ needs are catered 

for, whether this be the requirement of a 

family friendly show, a small band, show 

or a full-sized orchestra. We work closely 

with our clients to ensure the act/acts 

on stage fit the perceived audience and, 

as a production company, we have more 

flexibility to adapt to a client’s wishes. 

For example, we are able to increase 

or decrease the size of the majority of 

our shows to suit any budget, or build 

something specifically bespoke. We have 

a team of professional musicians who are 

capable of writing or transposing music 

for any genre and choreographers to add 

dancers if required. In addition to main 

stage entertainment, we can also supply 

meet and greet and roaming artists; the 

more creative the better. 

We have found that entertainment for 

family audiences is generally the hardest, 

while themed or age specific audiences 

are, on the whole, more straightforward. 

Putting aside named artists and 

inexhaustible budgets, choosing the act(s) 

to draw an audience is ultimately a make 

or break decision for a successful event. 

Budgets are, even at the top end, getting 

tighter which is where using smaller 

companies with lower overheads can make 

a great deal of sense. 

How does your business model work? 

As a small company, financially, we tend 

to work on one of two ways. We offer 

the choice of a one-off buy out fee, or a 

reduced fee and a percentage of the box 

office/takings. When, supplying PA, lighting 

equipment, marquees, stages and crew 

like everyone else this is fee-based and 

dependent on requirements. 



We work on various types of events, 

anything from the Outdoor Theatre at 

Hever Castle, acts for festivals to stage, PA, 

lighting and entertainment for independent 

private schools. We have supplied headline 

shows on main stages where the audiences 

are circa 4,000 and private events for an 

audience of 150. We endeavor to attend all 

our events when possible, which clients 

certainly appreciate. This gives us the 

ability to deal directly with any requests, for 

example recently we arranged for a band to 

play a song, not on the pre-arranged set list 

because the CEO suddenly wanted to hear 

it. This was one specific turning 

point in an evening impossible 

without professional playing 

musicians. 

How has your attraction 

impacted events you have 

attended? 

A personal touch and attention 

to detail, professional artists, 

and flexibility is the key to our 

success. We tend to let our 

clients speak for us and this 

quote pretty much says it all; “A 

big thank-you, in particular, for 

turning what could have been 

a disaster into a rip-roaring 

success”. 

Freddie Parker, partner 

Freddie’s Farm 

07890 418133 

www.freddiesfarm.co.uk 


entertainment you offer at public 

events 

Freddie’s Farm provides displays and 

entertainment across the country for 

shows, educational talks and corporate 

events. The Sheepdog Show is an 

opportunity for us to demonstrate the 

wonderful skills of working sheepdogs 

as the dogs are challenged to move 

ducks around an obstacle course. Full 

audience participation is encouraged 

and we always invite the children in to 

meet the dogs and ducks, as well as 

giving them a complimentary sticker 

for their help. In general, two shows 

(30 mins each) are performed each 

day, and this acts as a great draw for 

families as well as adults interested in 

country ways. As an additional extra we 

can also provide a static stand offering 

another opportunity for children to ask 

questions and meet the animals. This 

invariably proves very popular as well 

as being educational with ducklings 

on display and other farming-related 

information available. 


There is a daily rate for the Sheepdog 

Show, and we also offer our highly 

amusing Duck Racing for an additional 

fee. The Duck Derby runs three or four 

times a day (about 15-20 mins each 

time) with runner ducks competing 

for the Gold Duck Cup. Since the Duck 

Racing requires a static race track, this 

display can be used as a filler between 

arena acts to retain customer interest 

in the attractions as they setup and 

take down equipment. Tickets can be 

bought to bet on your favourite quacker, 

and the backers of the winning duck 

receive a small prize. We are also able to 

personalise the duck racing to suit the 

occasion, for example we held the ‘Race 


EVENTS 

to the White House’ at a local show 

and have also had ducks dressed as 

the bride and groom for weddings. 

All proceeds from the betting go 

to charity, being split between the 

charity choice of Freddie’s Farm and 

the event organisers. 

How has your attraction impacted 

events you have attended? 

Our shows allow a structure and focal 

point at events and fairs for families to 

join together for a bit of easy fun and 

laughter as well as being educational 

and very different. At a number of 

events children will specifically seek 

us out each year to update us on 

their own experiences in farming 

and agriculture. We hope to inspire 

shepherds of the future as well as 

illustrate some of the lost aspects of 

countryside management. 

Bethyn Barrass, 

managing director 

Odin Events 

015242 63740 

www.odinevents.com 



Keeping the younger generation engaged 

is key at events, if there is something for 

children and teenagers to do then parents 

are happy. We have taken our activities to 

all sorts of events, ranging from the NFL 

on Regent Street with our mobile climbing 

wall, to looking after all of the event 

entertainment at Pedal Norfolk (Holkham 

Hall) during a cycling festival, whereby it 

is imperative to have something for the 

children to take part in while waiting for 

mum or dad to finish the cycling. Good 

event entertainment, marketed correctly, is 

a huge draw to an event. 


If you were to hire Odin Events to look after 

your event entertainment, there would be 

a one-off hire fee. Any monies taken on the 

day are returned to the event organiser. 



We can offer everything from a one-off 

activity to entertain a small number of 

guests, to a complete entertainment set 

up to include mobile climbing walls, trailer 

caves, Segways, giant human hamster balls 

and more. 

How has your attraction impacted an 

event you have attended? 

For the past four years, Odin Events has 

been providing children’s activities to the 

Bolesworth International Showjumping 

event. The activities are used as part of a 

‘family zone’. The publicity for the event 

always includes the children’s activities, 

ensuring that it attracts families rather 

than just equestrian enthused individuals. 

In 2015, we also provided our mobile 

climbing wall for the ‘Gladiator Challenge’ 

at Bolesworth, which saw six of the original 

‘Gladiators’ (Jet, Hunter, Saracen, Lightning, 

Wolf and Scorpio) go head to head with the 

showjumpers in a serious of games inspired 

by the original TV series. 

Richard Savory, 

owner and presenter 

The Sheep Show 

www.thesheepshow.co.uk 


entertainment you offer at public 

events 

The Sheep Show is a live stage show 

about sheep, shearing and wool, and is 

‘edutainment’ at its best. It is suitable for 

all the family, and its clever design makes 

it action-packed for the kids, while a 

humorous script makes it entertaining for 

adults as well. 

It is set on its own 40-foot stage trailer 

and brings everything with it. All that 

is required is an area of reasonably flat 

ground and an enthusiastic crowd! 


The Sheep Show charges a one-off fee 

including transport, and can deliver up to 

four 30 minute shows per day. Currently, 

it appears all over the country at over 130 

different events from agricultural shows, 

rallies and family fun days, to food events, 

village fetes and festivals. The Sheep 

Show is suitable for large and small events 

and is very visible. 



The Sheep Road Show is a smaller version 

with just four sheep breeds, but it includes 

sheep shearing and is suitable for smaller 

audiences. The Sheep Show has been a 

great draw for a large number events and 

its popularity means it has a 75 per cent 

return visit portfolio. It is the easiest way 

of having the countryside come to town, 

giving a fantastic display while educating 

the general public at the same time. 



Lee Valley, near London, has been using 

The Sheep Show for its two schools days 

prior to a countryside weekend to educate 

over 2,000 six to 11 year olds. A lot of these 

children have never seen a real sheep and 

certainly not seen a sheep shorn before. 

The Countryside Weekend itself invites 

the general public to learn about the 

countryside and The Sheep Show is a great 

favourite with visitors. 


EVENTS 

Shelley Eckford, partner 

Tropical Roadshow 

07517 881396 

www.tropicalroadshow.co.uk 



As a new business, in the last 12 months, 

Tropical Roadshow has attended a wide 

range of events, from large country fairs 

and comic conventions, to charity events 

and corporate morale days. At every 

event we have drawn a crowd; people 

are genuinely interested in what we have 

to offer. It’s not every day you see a 14ft 

python, a tarantula as big as your hand, 

or a tawny owl up close and personal. 

The most frequent piece of feedback we 

receive is how well our service works 

in ‘bringing the family together’. Even 

events where you would not expect to 

see something like ourselves, such as 

food festivals, have enquired about our 

services in order to ensure their more adult 

themed event has a child friendly element, 

thus keeping all members of the family 

entertained! Children especially enjoy the 

experience of learning about the different 

creatures we bring, as well as having the 

opportunity to get physically ‘hands on’ 

with animals they would ordinarily never 

have access to. An important note to add is 

that we do not perform at set times, we are 

fully interactive with the public throughout 

the entire show day/session. 


The business model works on a hire fee 

basis. Standard hire includes the use of 

our purpose-built exhibition trailer, fully 

trained animal handlers, as well as a 

wide range of exotic animals (mileage fee 

calculated in addition to ‘trailer hire’ cost). 



We recognise the need for flexibility, from 

both a price perspective and with regards 

to what we can offer. We can tailor our 

packages to suit all budgets and event 

sizes, both indoors and outdoors. Although 

our exhibition trailer is the most popular 

option, especially for outdoor events, we 

are also geared up to provide professional 

table top type set-ups. This option 

utilises fun backdrops, camouflage table 

coverings, and animals presented in their 

own mini-display environments. 



In August 2016, Tropical Roadshow 

attended the Denbigh and Flint Show, a 

large local country event suitable for the 

whole family. As previously mentioned, 

people are attracted to the uniqueness 

of our business. The public is used to 

domesticated animals and livestock, 

whereas most individuals have never 

experienced the types of animals we work 

with. Due to this, we were certainly able 

to draw a crowd, what with people mainly 

associating Denbigh and Flint as a purely 

agricultural show. Adults and children 

alike commented on how fantastic it was 

to interact and learn about less commonly 

known species of animal. As a result of the 

impact we had on the entire show, we were 

hugely fortunate to win 1st prize for the 

best trade stand in attendance. 

John Lowery, operations 

director 

Hire A Funfair 

01759 371844 

www.hireafunfair.com 



A concern for organisers of events is how 

to keep everyone entertained. One way of 

doing this can be funfair attractions; either 

by hiring them in, so all guests ride for free, 

or charging an operator a fee to attend 

– they then charge the guests. If you are 

organising an event and looking for a ‘wow’ 

factor then funfair rides and games could be 

the answer. 


Our business model is built around making 

sure the client gets what they want within 

their budget, and that the attractions we 

supply are first class in presentation, and 

are safely operated and maintained. 



Some small family events have children’s 

rides such as the Cups and Saucers whilst 

larger festivals go with much bigger and 

more thrilling rides such as roller coasters 

and giant wheels. Costs for hiring rides 

start from £300 to £15,000 for the larger 

rides. The most common for corporate and 

private events are Ferris Wheels, Dodgems, 

Carousels and Waltzers. 



We have been involved in events for the 

last 25 years around the UK. Our clients 

have included the National Railway 

Museum, Jaguar/Land Rover, the London 

Fashion Show, Virgin Atlantic, Sky TV, Virgin 

Media, Mars, Microsoft, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, 

and many more. We have also attended 

weddings, birthday parties and college 

balls so have experience dealing with all 

types of clients in all types of environments. 

The common thread is that our funfair 

attractions have been the focal point of all 

their events. 


EVENTS | PRODUCT FOCUS 

Entertainment 

Entertainment options to pull in the crowds 

BIG THINGS IN LITTLE TENTS 

Bigtopmania 

01409 211178 

www.bigtopmania.co.uk 

Celebrating 30 years of show 

business, festivals and events! 

Bigtopmania is a family run 

circus company based in 

the South West. We offer 

a wealth of expertise and 

tailor entertainments to your 

requirements, being fully 

committed to your event’s 

success. We stock and provide a 

unique range of entertainment, 

hands-on play and event 

equipment; typically supplying 

tented circus shows, entertainers, 

children’s play areas and colourful 

circus tents and marquees. We 

are known for creating immersive 

festival children’s areas and have 

long standing relationships with 

lots of the UK’s finest festivals 

and events. 

WE’LL BRING YOUR EVENT 

TO LIFE! 

Tropical Roadshow 

01323 769363 

www.tropicalroadshow.co.uk 

At Tropical Roadshow our aim 

is to entertain and educate. 

From public events and 

corporate days, to weddings 

and school visits, we can bring 

your event to life - literally! 

If you are looking for a truly 

unique experience, with 

individuals who share a 

genuine passion for a whole 

host of exciting creatures, 

then look no further. From 

owls, snakes, lizards and 

tarantulas, to tenrecs, toads 

and millipedes, we have it 

all. We are fully licensed, fully 

insured, and all members of 

staff are DBS checked for your 

peace of mind. No event is too 

big or small. 

HEXAGON RANGE: 

MOBILE AND 

TEMPORARY STAGES 

Star Events Ltd 

01234 772233 

www.stareventsltd.com 

Hexagon is a collection of 

the most popular options 

from Star Events’ range of 

over 150 different stages, 

seating and overlay 

structures. Delivery price, 

to anywhere in the UK, 

CALL: 0845 601 5427 

is already worked out, 

the drawings you need 

are available now, the 

H&S documentation is 

prepared (and externally 

accredited) and even 

the picking and loading 

lists are on our system, 

reducing the risk of delays 

on site due to missing 

parts. Get an immediate 

quote online today 

at stareventsltd.com/ 

hexagonquotationform 

S1000 DUOSPAN 

Silver Stage 

01594 800700 

www.silver-stage.com 

The new addition to 

the SL range combines 

flawless efficiency of 

design with complete 

flexibility, comprising of 

two SaddleSpan structures. 

The S1000 DuoSpan has a 

sleek tubular frame for a 

clean finish with a tighter 

Event Hire Equipment 

opaque skin and a variety 

of arrangements, and the 

option of extended ends 

and base extensions, adding 

to the overall height and 

capacity of the venue. 

With plenty of space to 

accommodate a bar and 

performance area, the S1000 

DuoSpan is the professional 

choice for all events from 

concerts to product launches 

and company socials. Make 

your event stand out in style. 

Pre & Post Event Support 

Nationwide Coverage 

www.winnerevents.com 


ADVERTISING FEATURE 

Spot light 

A roundup of products for the outdoor hospitality industry 

ILLUMINATED TREES TO RENT 

OR BUY 

Twilight Trees 

01962 877644 

www.twilight-trees.com 

Twilight Trees is the go-to 

brand for specialist faux 

arboreal lighting and flora. 

Whether opting for its sparkling 

and vibrant LED trees or softer, 

yet show-stopping, ‘Trees in 

Bloom’; Twilight Trees promises 

to create a unique and 

unforgettable atmosphere that 

will leave guests talking about 

your venue and events for 

years to come. Its expert team 

will take care of all the finer 

details; delivering, installing 

and returning the trees for 

minimum hassle, leaving you 

free to run your event. Twilight 

Trees are available to buy or 

hire and are suitable for inside 

and outside use. 

‘TRY BEFORE YOU BUY’ 

GLAMPING PODS 

One Night Stand 

020 3773 3101 

www.one-nightstand.co.uk 

The safest way in the market 

to get into glamping - One 

Night Stand’s unique ‘Try 

before you Buy’ scheme. 

We are offering you the 

opportunity to dip your toe 

into the glamping industry 

by trying our pods out. This 

gives you the flexibility to 

test your market and find 

out which pods will work for 

your business, if any. This 

offer is only available through 

ourselves and is currently 

a limited offer, available on a 

first come first serve basis. To 

start your ‘Try before you 

Buy’ lease, call Nick Feeney 

020 3773 3101. 

PORTABLE, PRESSURISED 

SHOWER SYSTEM 

RinseKit 

01404 890320 

www.rinsekit.co.uk 

RinseKit is a portable, 

pressurised shower 

system. With no pumping 

or batteries, it fills in 

20 seconds, storing the 

strength of a regular 

household tap to deliver a 

pressurised spray for two to 

three minutes. Fill the two 

gallon pressure chamber 

with hot or cold water, 

attach the spray nozzle to 

the hose with the quick 

coupler, and fire away using 

one of seven spray settings. 

This patented design has 

no moving parts and can 

be filled an infinite number 

of times. Simple, versatile 

and durable, the patented 

RinseKit is perfect for any 

clean up on the go. 

THE MOST THERMALLY 

EFFICIENT PODS 

Green Eco Living 

01257 453791 

www.greenecoliving.co.uk 

The new bigger range of 

glamping pods from Green 

Eco Living features en-suite 

facilities, lockable windows 

and doors, and the option of 

a small kitchenette. They are 

the most thermally efficient 

pods on the market and are 

designed to deal with even 

the most extreme weather. 

Clad with Smartside to resist 

decay, fungi and termites with 

a 20-year (limited) warranty, 

all pods are also fully fitted 

with electrics ready for 

connection. With custom sizes 

and layouts, pods are typically 

installed within 4-6 weeks. 

We fully manage the process 

from preparation of the site, 

planning, foundations and 

services. 


LEISURE AND PLAY BUS 

CONVERSIONS 

The Playbus Company 

07706 945529 

www.theplaybuscompany.co.uk 

With over 30 years’ experience in 

the leisure and play industry, we 

specialise in play conversions 

of retired buses, and also 

offer leisure and education 

conversions ideal for any 

outdoor event or activity. This 

enclosed play facility offers a 

perfect alternative to traditional 

bouncy castle hire and is an 

ideal all round outdoor activity/ 

service. Converted buses are 

perfect for family fun days and 

fetes, weddings, parties, as 

an attraction for children at 

outdoor events and much more. 

If you are interested in your own 

playbus, we offer a ‘Try before 

you Buy’ concept where you can 

hire our demonstration vehicle. 

BESPOKE LUXURY TENTS 

Tentickle Tents 

07826 843099 

Facebook - TentickleUK 

www.tentickle-luxurytents.com 

Tentickle Stretch Tents is 

recognised internationally as one 

of the most innovative stretch 

tent manufacturers worldwide, 

constantly redefining the 

possibilities of Bedouin-style tents. 

We have developed a brand new 

and innovative tenting solution 

that is designed specifically for 

the luxury camping market. The 

result is a revolutionary fusion 

of technology and style – a 

bespoke product combining the 

cutting edge Tentickle Tentflex 

FR fabric with a fully enclosed 

floor and customisable side 

walls in a combination of rip stop 

mosquito netting and clear PVC. 

The durable stretch tent roof is 

100% waterproof, UV-resistant, 

fire-retardant and withstands wind 

up to 45 knots. 

MAGICAL STRUCTURES 

My Shire Houses 

07817 856999 

www.myshirehouses.co.uk 

Beautiful garden 

structures handcrafted in 

the Cotswolds, My Shire 

Houses has been building 

glamping pods and all 

types of other magical 

structures for the public 

and farming community for 

over five years. We have a 

wide range of designs for 

all of your needs, whether 

you’re looking to start a 

glamping business or simply 

purchase a unit for your 

own requirements. We offer 

a wide range of functions 

for our Shire Houses, with 

many people using them as a 

home office or putting them 

on a plot of land to rent out. 

Prices starting from £7,990. 

WI-FI ANYWHERE! 

noba Event Intelligence 

020 3440 4610 

www.noba.co.uk 

noba is one of the longest 

running event specific IT 

companies in the industry. 

Specialising in event Wi-Fi 

and internet anywhere, noba 

is the go-to connectivity 

company for brands, festivals, 

production companies and 

agencies. Working in the UK 

and globally, we have delivered 

internet and Wi-Fi services to 

virtually every conceivable 

location; from boats, trains, 

abandoned warehouses, fields, 

cathedrals, palaces and more 

conventional venues - we’ve yet 

to be defeated by a technology 

challenge! We can deliver 

services at very short notice, 

sometimes less than 24 hours! 

From one to over 1,000 users, 

get in touch today to discuss 

your requirements. 


CLASSIFIED DIRECTORY 

Classified Directory 

Providing luxury bell tents available 

for both hire & purchase 

info@boutiquecamping.com 

Providing 

Providing 

luxury bell 

luxury 

tents perfect 

bell tents 

for: 

perfect for: 

• Camping • Camping 

+44(0)203 

• Outdoor 

394 2986 

• Outdoor summer play summer roomsplay rooms 

boutiquecamping.com 

• Garden • lounge Garden areas lounge areas 

• Festivals • Festivals 

info@boutiquecamping.com 

info@boutiquecamping.com • Weddings 

• Weddings 

and much 

and 

more! 

much more! 

+44(0)203 394 2986 

+44(0)203 394 2986 

boutiquecamping.com Available for both hire & purchase. 

boutiquecamping.com Available for both hire & purchase. 

www.classicpodcompany.co.uk 

T: 07971 869058 

Sewage Treatment Systems 

For all residential, commercial 

and industrial applications 

08450 945 603 • info@theseptictankstore.co.uk 

www.theseptictankstore.co.uk 

traditional tepees with a 

modern twist... 

Retailer of single pole canvas tepees with fly 

screens & windows in 3,4,5 and 6m diameter 

tent hire in the north east 

www.northernstartepees.co.uk 

Your own private bathroom 

right next to your tent or caravan 

Tel. 0031 186 769 054 ❤ info@campplus.co.uk 

www.campplus.co.uk 

InPartyTentsCo. 

HIRING ALL OVER KENT & SUSSEX, NO VAT 

AND FREE DELIVERY WITHIN 30 MILE RADIUS 

O7917 457 820 | inpartytentsco@aol.com 

STYLISH & UNIQUE MARQUEES 

FOR WEDDINGS & PARTIES 


A4 - Full Page Ad.indd 1 04/04/2016 17:17 

A4 - Full Page Ad.indd 1 04/04/2016 17:17 

CLASSIFIED DIRECTORY 

Festival 

Trackway 

the Ultimate solution for 

restraining temporary structures 

the Ultimate solution for 

restraining temporary structures 

FOR ALL YOUR 

FURNITURE HIRE NEEDS 

0800 122 3304 www.anchorbloc.co.uk 

Multi award-winning trackway 

& safety flooring solutions 

01455 553700 

sales@ecotrackway.co.uk 

Ec 

Track 

& Access Ltd 

incorporating 

UmTech 

Epic Group 

0845 459 9875 

Info@furnitureonthemove.co.uk 

www.furnitureonthemove.co.uk 

0800 122 3304 www.anchorbloc.co.uk 

ü Hire or buy your Anchor Blocs outright 

ü 1000kg, 500kg, 330kg and 250kg options 

ü Take advantage of our 'Anchor Managment' 

ü Perfect for securing marquees, inflatables and any 

programme - great if you have multiple events at 

other fabric temporaty structures. 

different locations. 

CDM 2015 compliant Lloyd British Testing Certifed 

ü 

Hire 

Full 

or 

logistics 

buy your 

and 

Anchor 

storage 

Blocs 

facilities 

outright 

are available 

ü 1000kg, 

in accordance 

500kg, 

with 

330kg 

BS5975:2008. 

and 250kg options 

ü 

Take 

Payment 

advantage 

by credit 

of our 

card 

'Anchor 

for convenience 

Managment' 

ü 

Perfect 

Custom 

for 

options 

securing 

avalible. 

marquees, inflatables and any 

ü 

programme 

Emergency telephone 

- great if you 

service 

have 

for 

multiple 

24/7 support 

events at 

other 

Huge 

fabric 

Range 

temporaty 

of accesories, 

structures. 

From branded covers to 

different locations. 

ü CDM 

specially 

2015 

adapted 

compliant 

all 

Lloyd 

teraine 

British 

pallet 

Testing 

trucks. 

Certifed 

ü Full logistics and storage facilities are available 

in accordance with BS5975:2008. 

ü Payment by credit card for convenience 

ü Custom options avalible. 

ü Emergency telephone service for 24/7 support ü Huge Range of accesories, From branded covers to 

specially adapted all teraine pallet trucks. 

BRAND NEW POP UP 

Erection and dismantling included 

in the price. Excellent for garden 

parties, birthdays, markets, 

weddings and other events 

Tel: 01789 267000 

Email: info@sketts.co.uk 

www.popuphire.co.uk 

Luxury Toilet Trailers, Event Loos, 

Themed Toilets, Shower Units & 

Accommodation Hire 

01256 384 134 

www.site-equip.co.uk 

event@site-equip.co.uk 

TIMBER INTENT 

Tensile structures: 

facilities, camp, glamp & event 

Architecture: 

design & planning application 

01297 444416 timberintent.co.uk 

Simply the Best Events own and operate over 350 

different attractions in house for Corporate Fun Days 

and It’s A Knockout events throughout the UK. 

Speak to one of our Event Managers 

on 0800 019 3908 

www.simplythebestevents.co.uk 

Ensure your guests have the best!! 

• Luxurious eco-friendly modular vacuum toilet facilities 

• Bespoke and stylish 

• Ideal for all prestigious corporate and private outdoor events 

• Covering the UK 


• Luxurious eco-friendly modular vacuum toilet facilities 

Tel: • Bespoke 0345 and 459 stylish 0589 

• Ideal for www.classicalloocompany.com 

all prestigious corporate and private outdoor events 

enquiries@classicalloocompany.com 

• Covering the UK 

Tel: 0345 459 0589 

www.classicalloocompany.com 

enquiries@classicalloocompany.com 

LEADING LIGHT 

AND POWER 

FOR THE EVENTS 

INDUSTRY 

0345 409 0280 

COOLING & HEATING SOLUTIONS 


COOLING • Luxurious eco-friendly & HEATING modular vacuum SOLUTIONS 

toilet facilities 

temperature • Bespoke control and stylish 

specialists 

• Ideal for all prestigious corporate and private outdoor events 

• Covering hirethe UK 

sales hire 

Tel: 0345 459 0589 

portable sales units 

www.classicalloocompany.com 

temporary portable systems 

enquiries@classicalloocompany.com units 

temporary systems 

sales@candhs.co.uk – coolingandheatingsolutions.com – 01590 681 434 

Marlwood House, Silver Street, Lymington, Hampshire SO41 6DG, UK 

sales@candhs.co.uk – coolingandheatingsolutions.com – 01590 681 434 

Marlwood sales@candhs.co.uk 

House, Silver Street, Lymington, Hampshire SO41 6DG, UK 

coolingandheatingsolutions.com 

01590 681 434 


PERIWINKLE 

NEW YEAR RESOLVE 

Periwinkle and friends look ahead to 2017 and contemplate 

a new tranche of entrepreneurial activity 

AMID THE STRAGGLY remnants of last year’s 

Christmas decorations, which the landlord of 

the Glamper’s Retreat could not be bothered 

to take down, Tubby, Chuffer and I blew the 

froth off a couple of ales and mused about 

what 2017 might have in store. 

Chuffer reported that a rural development 

grant he’d been waiting four years to arrive, 

had finally come through. He bought a 

round to celebrate. We had agreed that 

none of us could think of a resolution 

which was not doomed to fail before the 

end of February, when Chuffer announced 

that he’d use the grant to revive an earlier 

entrepreneurial project - the conversion of 

an old barn into an adult soft play area. “I’m 

thinking exotica,” Chuffer enthused. “Old 

Constantinople, the bazaars, the mystery, 

the intrigue. Work up a sweat on the bouncy 

castle then chill with a communal water 

pipe. We could use herbal tobacco. My 

target market will be people lying between 

the two packs a day crowd and committed 

vapers. I reckon they’ll thrill to the water pipe 

experience. 

“If I make enough money, I’ll be able to 

settle the insurance claims for the hot tub 

incident.” Chuffer explained that his insurers 

had cautioned him that another hot tub 

debacle might quadruple his premiums. 

Was this crackpot scheme number 

86 or 87? I couldn’t remember. 

Anyway, in the spirit of reconciliation, 

Tubby offered to help, and we all 

took up Chuffer’s invitation to try the 

water pipe later that day - he claimed 

he’d brought one back from a cruise trip 

to Turkey. We supped up and went our 

separate ways, agreeing to meet again 

around three. 

In the meantime, I had other things 

to think about. I had to find a caterers 

for Woodstock 2 for starters. Now that 

the year had turned it wouldn’t be long 

in coming around. Spurred on by Chuffer’s 

talk of the exotic, I wondered whether 

paella might fit the bill. Ms Meadows 

passed me on to an acquaintance of hers, 

a Spanish chef called Miguel. Miguel 

offered to fly to Andalusia to personally 

select the seafood ingredients, at my 

expense. A fag packet calculation 

showed that I’d need to charge £200 

a portion for the paella and I dumped 

both the idea and Miguel without 

ceremony. 

Tubby, who featured a number of low-lifes 

in his circle of friends, suggested an outfit 

called the Gallagher Brothers for the paella 

— ‘Low class food at high class prices!’ 

‘Not the other way around?’ I asked when 

I talked to the Gallaghers on the phone. 

‘No, the elder Gallagher said sniffily, it’s 

our business model.’ 

‘Ingredients?’ I enquired. 

‘Depends what falls off the back of a lorry 

that week. German sausage, pasta, salmon, 

corn flakes.’ I was getting nowhere and Ms 

Meadows had of late become as elusive 

as the Snow Leopard. Would Woodstock 2 

actually happen? 

* * * 

Chuffer told us that his trip to Turkey 

involved daily promenades. At various spots 

along the seafront Chuffer found groups of 

old men sucking on their water pipes. By 

Tuesday of his first week, he plucked up the 

courage to join one of these groups and was 

soon puffing away like the smokestack of the 

Lusitania. 

Bedazzled by what he saw as the sheer 

sophistication of the device, on the way 

home Chuffer bought a water pipe he 

spotted in a souvenir shop window at his 

“SOMETHING WAS 

WRONG. IT WAS 

CLEAR (TO ME 

AT LEAST) THAT 

THIS WATER PIPE 

WAS TO ALL 

INTENTS AND 

PURPOSE, 

A TOY” 

embarkation point. Chuffer, Tubby and I 

now sat around this contraption in one of 

Chuffer’s reception rooms. 

Something was wrong. It was clear (to 

me at least) that this water pipe was to all 

intents and purpose, a toy: There appeared 

to be no receptacle for water through 

which hot smoke could pass and cool. A 

sticker could have been stuck to the side, 

proclaiming, in Turkish, English, French and 

German: ‘THIS IS A TOY’. 

‘That’s a toy,’ Fatty said, somewhat 

superfluously. 

Chuffer would hear none of it. ‘This is 

the real McCoy,’ he said. He set to packing 

200 grams of rolling tobacco into the bowl 

designed for this purpose. He stuck the 

flimsy pipe into his mouth, lit the tobacco 

and simultaneously forced his lungs to their 

elastic extremity, producing enough suction 

to pull the wool off a sheep. 

The searing smoke turned Chuffer’s 

bronchioles to broccoli. Straightaway he was 

panting like an octogenarian rickshaw driver 

trying to overtake a Toyota Prius on the 

Okayama freeway on the promise of a 50,000 

yen tip. 

His hands tried to grab random chunks of 

space in front of him. He looked as if he was 

milking an imaginary goat in slow motion. 

There were dark satanic mills that belched 

less smoke than Chuffer did at that moment. 

I half expected plumes as black as Casey 

Jones’ boiler suit to erupt from his mouth. 

Were these the first stages of spontaneous 

combustion I wondered? Would Chuffer 

be consumed by fire, reducing his eventful 

life to a Tupperware container of soot? He 

staggered about the tent, desperately trying 

to hoover up cool air. If the scorching of his 

lungs didn’t kill him, I thought, then surely 

the impact of that amount of nicotine — 

enough to kill a shark — would end his days. 

In short, this was not a good start to the 

year. January, and already the outlook was 

bleak. No resolutions, looming insurance 

claims, indecision over the caterers for 

Woodstock 2, not to mention the highly 

speculative idea of bouncy play 

equipment for adults. It might 

shortly be time to countenance 

sucking up to Twistleton-Penge 

should everything start to go 

pear-shaped. 


C R E A T I N G 

SPACES OF WONDER 

UK MANUFACTURER OF GIANT EVENT TIPIS 

0800 1930052 

tellmemore@katatipis.co.uk 

www.katatipis.co.uk

Open Air Business February 2017

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?