The world is split between two sorts of people: Those who enjoy camping and those who don’t. The Camping Life was written with the aim of inspiring those who don’t enjoy camping to try sleeping under canvass.
That said, in its 222 pages, the book does more than encourage the reader to sleep under canvass. It has chapters on all sorts of camping options such as: Glamping, staying in treehouses and staying in vans. There is also a small section dedicated to families wanting to camp, although I will come on to that in a moment (Editors note: Please be advised the giveaway has now closed).
I should add that most years, I take my kids on the one camping trip. They love going camping, and while I can’t tell you I am a hardcore camping enthusiast, I do feel cheated if I don’t get a couple of nights in a tent each year, usually over the summer holidays, with the added comfort of camping lights.
Let’s not get too carried away. Let me introduce The Camping Life to you properly. The book was produced by writer Brendan Leonard and photographer Forest Woodward. This pair first met while on a camping trip in California in 2012. They’ve made a number a short films about their subsequent camping adventures, but this is the first book they’ve created.
The one stand-out thing about this book is Woodward’s photography which is stunning. In the age of Instagram you really do have to go for it to produce head-turning photography and the landscape images in this title are amazing.
As Leonard makes clear in the introduction, The Camping Life was inspired by the following quote, from Scottish-born writer and naturalist John Muir in his book Our National Parks:
“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilised people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity.”
Our National Parks was published in 1901. If people were “nerve-shaken” back then, Leonard figured things must be much worse now with the constant onslaught of digital communications. With that thought in mind, The Camping Life was made to encourage people to discover the great outdoors.
Following the introduction, there is a list of vital camping equipment and also some advice about packing a backpack and camping with dogs.
There are chapters dedicated to camping in snow, combining kayaking and camping, cycling and so on. The book is interspersed with other brief chapters with titles such as A brief List of Feelings you Can Experience Camping That You (Nearly) Can’t Get Anywhere Else, How to Spend a Month camping Without Quitting Your Job and Camping Solo.
Each section of the book features a list of good camping sites. If, for instance, you are a hardcore camper and want to camp in the snow, the book suggests Mount Shasta in California, Mount Adams in Washington and Mount Whitney in California. If you want to try glamping, the book suggests destinations in New York State and California.
This highlights The Camping Life’s one weakness: The overwhelming majority of camping destinations it suggests are in the Americas. There are exceptions such as The Dolomites in Italy and some Nordic cycling trails, but they are few and far between. In fact the one destination to feature in the book where I have actually camped is the beautiful Torres del Paine National Park in Chilé.
There’s no escaping the book has a bias towards the United States. When it comes to providing advice on what to take and the various different styles of camping, that’s not a problem as it’s relevant no matter where you are in the world. When it comes to imagery, it’s a blessing as Woodward has taken stunning pictures in the wilderness of the US. If you were looking for specific information about camping in the Lake District, however, you aren’t going to find it in this book.
As for advice for families, there are a couple of pages featuring Ten Tips for Camping With Kids. The advice in this section is good, such as having a second tent kids can play in if it gets wet and doing a test camping trip in your back garden before going on a big camping adventure. That said, it was a bit disappointing to see that was the only advice for families. Considering huge numbers of families do camp, a bit more dedicated advice for those of us with youngsters would have been a good idea.
That said, the strapline for the book is: Inspiration and ideas for endless adventures. This is a beautifully bound, hardback book. It is inspiring and the imagery is first rate. Don’t expect any detail about camping in the UK and this book is not specifically aimed at families. That said, if you’re looking to inspire your family to go camping or are interested in trying it out, The Camping Life is a good place to start.
The Camping Life by Brendan Leonard and Forest Woodward is published by Artisan Books. It is on general release and widely available with a cover price of £18.99.
The Camping Life giveaway
I have one copy of The Camping Life to giveaway. To win a copy, follow the instructions in the Gleam below and leave a comment at the very end of this blog post explaining why you’d like a copy (Entrants must be 18 years old or older and UK residents).
All images excerpted from The Camping Life by Brendan Leonard and Forest Woodward (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2021. Photographs by Forest Woodward.
35 thoughts on “Review and giveaway: The Camping Life”
This looks as if it would be an interesting book to read.
Love reading about something I wouldn’t normally read about, like learning about something new.
We are off camping in july and having had our caravan stolen by some awful people two years ago “hmph!” we are going to venture into a new travel world fro us and it would be great to get some tips and advice!
We love our camping trips & would be amazing to read of some new places to visit and explore, all the tips would be fantastic to read.
I’d love to win this for my dad, it sounds fab!
Something different to read
My husband has just been given a tent so this book would give him some ideas for trips!
It would be really useful to pick up some useful tips
During lockdown last summer, we didn’t fancy going away, so pitched a tent in the garden – made for a nice holiday of sorts for my kids.
I’d like to try a camping holiday.
I haven’t been camping for years!! Way before I had my children, so would love to read something encouraging to get me ready for taking them!
I love camping with the family
We started out camping in the 1980s and need to return to our roots as posh hotels bore me to death.
Superb Book, The Whole Camping Tribe Will Like This ???? ????
I love camping with the family this sounds a good read!
I would like to win this so I could give this to my brother how really like camping I think they might be a good read for him.
Looks good for holiday planing
Would love to win this, we have just got a brand new tent and are looking for ideas for camping this summer
This looks really interesting
love camping and taking the kids you cant beat the out doors xx
We love camping and are lucky enough to have the Lake District nearby.
Me and my partner have been looking forward to going camping since the lockdown began!
Can’t wait to go camping again, hopefully it will be soon. This sounds like a great read especially the “Ten Tips for Camping With Kids”
We go camping at least twice a year, so something like this would be handy to win. Thanks for the chance!
Would love to win as my son has just taken up camping with his family and it would be a good present to give to him if I won.
Looks a great read, we love camping
Hoping to take my boys for the first time this summer, would love to read this before!
love taking the kids camping xx
We love camping, so this would be an interesting read.
We’ve just bought a tent & camping equipment so this would inspire us!
I love exploring the great outdoors and the countryside and would love some camping tips and new ideas
I’d love to win this for my husband who has just started enjoying exploring and camping with our daughter
Always wanted to try going camping but never felt brave enough!
I would love to win because I can;t wait to go camping again. Everything is so busy or booked up at the moment. Bring on Autumn when hopefully things calm down.
With everything so booked up this summer, we could well be camping so need all the help we can get!