I Took My Cat On A Camping Trip

As Glawning’s newest team-member and resident crazy cat person, I wanted to see for myself if Glawning’s bell-tent awnings were as glamorous as the rumours said and cool enough to impress my house cat, Peebee. Not ones to shy away from adventure, Peebee and I borrowed James & Sarah’s campervan and set off into the North Yorkshire countryside for some glamping fun!

I’ve put up a few tents in my time and was pleased to find that setting up a Glawning was really easy (even while holding a beer). James & Sarah were on hand to show us a few expert tips like attaching the Glawning to the campervan’s awning rail and the whole setup was really simple. Click here to check out James putting one up by himself in 10 minutes and click here to check out his cheeky demo for fitting a campervan awning — what a champion!

With a beer in one hand and bunting in the other, I added the final finishing touches to our home for the next few days. Our neighbouring campers, although a little surprised I’d brought a cat, were so friendly and came to tell us how cool they thought our Glawning was! When I say ‘cool’ I literally mean ‘cool’ — their nylon tents were a lot hotter than our canvas awning in the 30°C July heat — they were really feeling it in their nylon ovens!

Once Peebee sussed out her surroundings (and decided that the cows in the neighbouring field posed no greater threat than mooing loudly), she was keen to explore. Unlike dogs, you kind of have to let cats lead the way otherwise they stubbornly sit in one place and refuse to budge no matter how encouragingly you tug their lead. We had a great time having a wander around the campsite and went on a little adventure.

It was really nice to have an area outside the campervan to hang out in the evening and, even though we had the smaller 4m Glawning model, we found we had more than enough space to stretch our paws and relax. We were loving the glamping life! James & Sarah brought their 3-year-old, Tilly, to visit us for lunch. Peebee and Tilly bonded over a mutual love of Disney princesses and are now BFFs.

I set myself the personal challenge of installing the flashing kit for a Glawning GLOW wood burning camping stove chimney without having to call James & Sarah for help. To be honest, I was also curious to see how far I could get using on the Glawning website FAQs and product guides to help — click here for the flashing kit instructions. I also used Sarah's handy blog: 'Making the cut! Advice for installing your Flashing Kit'.

I am pleased to tell you I was successful; the website instructions are really easy to follow — so don’t let the fact that you’ve got to cut a hole in the side of your immaculate looking canvas awning deter you. All it took was a screwdriver, some scissors, a little confidence, and I was ready to cook!

Obviously, the hottest week of the year so far was maybe not the best time to try out the Glawning GLOW inside my tent but, you know, I was determined to have the full experience. I stuffed my face with vegan hot dogs and grabbed a few of Aldi’s finest cheeky pre-mixed tinnies to help me feel extra fancy. Neither of us had ever slept in a campervan before, but Peebee made her bed in the pop-top roof of the campervan which had a window for us to see the stars. In this luxury I was starting to dread having to leave!

The sunny weather could only last so long (this was Yorkshire after all) and the heavens truly opened on our second night there. Peebee slept through the whole thing of course! I actually love a good thunderstorm but this one lasted 12 hours which was maybe a bit much! That being said, once you’ve weathered a canvas tent, it’s totally waterproof; we were really lucky to be staying in a Glawning as it kept all our things safe and dry through the night and the canvas dried dry super quick the next morning in the sun. We begrudgingly packed up; our wanderlust satisfied by the stunning countryside but sorry to leave the little cosy Glawning home we’d shared for the past couple of days. I’m sure there will be many more Glawning adventures to come for me & my best bud — Peebee: the glamping cat.