FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Bell Tents:
Erecting your bell tent, including interior and exterior decoration, beds, and linen, can take 1.5-3 hours. Several factors can affect the time taken, including the weather, ground suitability, the distance of your plot from the available parking spot, and your chosen package.
Please let me know at the time of booking when your event is due to start and any access restrictions, so I can ensure adequate time for setup.
Indoor Teepees:
A typical setup takes 45 minutes to 1.5 hours, and collection 30-45 minutes, depending on the number of guests and how far I need to carry the equipment to your room of choice.
I will always try to be as flexible as possible when arranging a time to set up and collect the teepees or bell tents for your party. I typically set up the party in the morning on the day of the party, or sometimes the day before, and collect the following morning once your guests have departed.
Bell tents are hardy and waterproof. They provide the perfect setting for the unpredictable British weather during Spring and Summer! A wind- and waterproof space to shelter in the event of inclement weather means your outdoor event need never be spoiled.
Bell Tent bookings may not be postponed due to rain. In the event of high winds or an electrical storm, I will happily move your booking to an alternative date.
For luxe picnic bookings, please ensure you have a wet-weather plan. This could be a space to move indoors, or you could consider hiring one of my bell tents as an appropriate shelter.
For health and safety reasons and insurance restrictions, I do not allow or provide heaters for the bell tents. However, blankets are a-plenty, so you should never be chilly!
For regular bell tent, luxe picnic, and teepee sleepover bookings, delivery and collection are free of charge within 15 miles of our headquarters in Fen Ditton, Cambridge. This roughly takes me to Newmarket, Ely, Soham, Huntingdon, St Neots, Royston, Saffron Walden, and Haverhill.
Beyond this, mileage is charged at £1 per mile travelled to compensate for travel time, fuel and vehicle upkeep.
For larger glamping village bookings, for example for weddings and corporate events, I'm happy to travel a little further afield: 45 miles tends to be the limit. If you're beyond this point, please get in touch and I'll do what I can to help, even if that means recommending another provider.
Yes! I will deliver to any location: wedding venue, pop-up glamping site, private field, campsite, garden lawn…the choice is yours!
I've developed a special relationship with the Hatters Meadows campsite in Ely, so if this is where you’re staying, please let me know, so I can ensure you have the right information for your booking.
Sleepover teepees are only suitable for indoor use. If you're looking to arrange an outdoor sleepover, a bell tent will be better suited.
Although my bell tents and indoor teepees are CE-approved and suitable for children aged 3+, I would recommend a minimum age of seven for teepee sleepovers with adult supervision. There is no upper age limit (why should the kids have all the fun?!)
Indoor Teepees:
My standard teepees are 180cm tall and each teepee/mattress combo requires floor space of 90cm wide by 190cm in length.
The double lace wigwam is 235cm tall and the floor space required is 140cm square, with an extra 50cm in length required if you’re using it for a sleepover.
I can be clever with styling to maximise the available space, so please get in touch if you’re worried about space.
Bell tents:
Each bell tent requires a one-metre area around it to allow enough space for the guy ropes. So overall, a 3m tent needs a circular area of 5m in diameter. A 4m tent needs 6m of space. And a 5m tent needs 7m of space.
Please note that the tents require firm, fairly flat ground. Lawns are perfect. I cannot erect tents on bare earth, artificial grass, astroturf, concrete, decking, or similar surfaces.
The typical hire period is 24 hours. If you would like to keep the setup for additional nights, this can usually be arranged, subject to a small additional fee.
Indoor teepee tents can be hired year-round. Outdoor glamping bell tents are available for hire from April to October half-term. Outside these months, the weather is too cold and/or unpredictable, so the tents go into their winter hibernation.
Most people book about four weeks before their party date.
However, Summer weekends get snapped up much further in advance by wedding couples, so the best answer here is: book as soon as you can! I advise you to book for the maximum number of guests you expect, and we can adjust the numbers once you've received your RSVPs. There will be no penalty for amending the guest list up to two weeks prior to the party.
It’s never too early to book. My calendar is always open for reservations.
Please get in touch by completing my contact form, emailing hello@cambridgebelltentsandtipis.com, or calling 07917 465271. Once I have confirmed your requested date is available, you’ll be sent a link to an online booking form. You’ll complete the form and transfer a £75 booking down payment to secure your date.
I’ll send your final invoice via email, due two weeks before your event, and you can pay by bank transfer or credit/debit card.
You will forfeit your initial £75 booking down payment in the event of a cancellation notice received within 14 days of your event. If you cancel more than 14 days before the event, 50% of your booking downpayment will be refunded.
For bell tents, I don’t accept cancellations or postponements due to cold or wet weather, except in the event of an electrical storm or high winds. In this case, we’d agree on an acceptable alternative date, or I’ll issue a voucher for the amount already paid, to be used within 12 months.
I reserve the right to cancel your booking at any time and for any reason, and will provide as much notice as possible before doing so. A full refund would be issued to you for any monies paid to date. Howver, please note that, so far, I have never cancelled a booking, and I will always move heaven and earth to honour my commitments!
Full cancellation policy details are included within my Terms and Conditions document, which you’ll receive when placing your booking.
I do understand that accidents happen, so I take a damages deposit of £50 for teepee and luxe picnic bookings and £100 for bell tents.
After collection, I’ll contact you to discuss any damage I find, notify you of any deductions required from the deposit, and inform you of any additional costs incurred.
If there are no issues with the equipment upon collection, your full damages deposit will be refunded to the card used to make the booking within seven working days.
Full details of the damages policy are included within my Terms and Conditions document, which you’ll receive when placing your booking.
Absolutely! I maintain employers’ liability cover of £5m, public and products liability cover of £10m, and professional indemnity cover of £100,000. Certificates can be provided upon request.
All lights provided are either battery- or solar-powered, so no power supply is necessary.
A power supply is only required when hiring our movie equipment. Although we provide a fully charged battery pack for the projector, we like to also have access to power, just in case. We will supply the necessary extension lead; all we’d need from you is the socket point.
No, sorry, just the tents!
