If this is to be your first ever experience of camping it would be a great idea to go out for a weekend somewhere near your home to test the tent. Learn how to put it up (and take it down) and to check your other equipment. Either use your garden (or borrow a friend's) or go to a campsite.
You will need (minimum):
- A tent. Borrow one from friends, rent one (see www.beansonline.co.uk for example), or buy from specialist suppliers, outdoor stores, Army & Navy shops or even from some supermarkets or catalogue shops. Like most things, you get what you pay for. Don't expect a £30 tent to last you very long. However, a £150 tent (two-man) will last for years. Be realistic about the size of tent you need. Manufacturers' descriptions of how many people a tent will accommodate are often on the optimistic side. Try to see the tent erected before you buy. Many specialist camping shops have tent showrooms - use these to browse and then make a final decision as to best value.
- A sleeping bag. It's August. You will NOT need an Arctic, hooded, five-seasons model. A cheap bag will be fine. A duvet will do, but remember it could get damp. An extra blanket would be handy, though. And maybe an inflatable pillow.
- A sleeping mat. A foam rubber mat that will provide insulation from the cold ground and some padding from uneven ground.
- A torch or two - and spare batteries.
- A kit of spares. Buy a dozen extra tent pegs, a reel of nylon guy rope and a roll of Duct Tape (or similar) for emergencies. If you can, buy good, strong pegs, rather than the cheap, thin variety that usually come with your tent and which bend at every opportunity. Don't mess about with a wooden mallet. Buy a metal claw hammer from a DIY shop. It will not only hammer the pegs in, it'll help pull 'em out again, too! The ground at Cropredy is usually soft and easy to peg - but you only have to hit one subterranean rock and you are in trouble!