Tents go all the way back 40,000 years!

The earliest known tent-like shelters date to around 40,000 BC, built by prehistoric hunter-gatherers from branches, animal skins, and leaves. That’s way old – older than pyramids or written language! These early tents helped people travel with herds, keeping families safe from weather and animals. Think of it as Stone Age glamping – less marshmallows, more mammoth-watching!

Bedouin tents are “houses of hair”

In deserts like the Middle East, nomadic Bedouin use tents made from black goat hair, called “houses of hair.” The goat hair acts like natural sunscreen – keeping cool by day and warm by night. The fabric shrinks in rain, making it even more waterproof. Plus, they’re portable and can be packed quickly for desert journeys. That’s stylish survival!

The UK’s biggest tent

The O2 Millennium Dome is often referred to as a giant tent despite its dome shape, because it is not structurally self-supporting. The roof, made of Teflon-coated glass-fibre fabric, is suspended from twelve 100-meter high yellow masts – one for each month of the year, and a network of steel cables.

Asia’s biggest “tent” is bigger than stadiums!

Astana, Kazakhstan, is home to Khan Shatyr, the tallest tensile structure in the world: about 500 ft tall and covering 140,000 m² – more than ten football pitches! Inside there’s shopping malls, a boating river, and even an indoor beach with real Maldives sand. It’s like camping, but with burgers and slides!

Scottish campers can pitch (almost) anywhere!

Thanks to Scotland’s Land Reform Act, you can camp almost anywhere on “unenclosed land” – that’s places that aren’t near houses, or on farmland – as long as you’re polite, light on the land, and don’t stay too long. So whether it’s a mountain topside or beside a loch, you’re free to camp under the stars. It’s like nature’s own sleepover party!

Edward Whymper invented the mountain tent

In the 1860s, climber Edward Whymper designed the first rugged, lightweight A-frame tent especially for mountaineers. His design helped others conquer peaks like the Matterhorn – and kept campers sheltered in icy winds. Many modern mountain tents still follow his clever shape. Thanks, Whymper – camp high and dry!

Bender tents from willow – naturally strong

A bender tent, used historically in the UK and beyond, is made by weaving flexible willow or hazel branches into a dome and covering it with fabric. They’re nearly magical: strong, windproof, and blend into woodland surroundings. If Groot made a tent, this is it!

Glam-ping, Tudor Style!

Today’s camping is all muddy boots and burnt sausages but what is known as “the Field of the Cloth of Gold” was more five-star fantasy than back-to-basics. In 1520, Henry VIII and Francis I tried to outdo each other with a glittering display of tents made from silk and cloth of gold. They filled the valley near Calais in France, and the scene is captured in a famous tapestry at Hampton Court. These luxurious pavilions weren’t just shelter they were royal showstoppers in a political power-play stitched in splendour.

The Boy in the Tent

In 2020, Max Woosey, the “Boy in the Tent,” camped in his backyard for three years straight, raising over £700,000 for a hospice. His record set a Guinness World Record for “most money raised by camping (individual).” All from sleeping under canvas at home!

Brilliant Big Tops

Circus tents, known as “big tops,” are large, iconic structures that house circus performances. They became popular in the mid 1800s and the largest circus tent belonged to Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, with a diameter of 61 meters (200 feet) and a total area of 8,492 square meters (2.10 acres). This tent was used for their tours from 1921 to 1924. While currently used circus tents are smaller, Circus Extreme in the UK boasts a large big top that can accommodate up to 3000 seats.