Camping may not seem like a particularly glamorous activity to most people. Most of the camping I used to do was on the shores of loughs. We went fishing not camping. We just slept in tents. Our camp sites were open fields. There was grass, rain, and wind and not much else. Cows would wander around and occasionally make nuisances of themselves. Once, memorably, they relieved themselves all over the sides of our tents while we were away fishing and when we eventually returned in the dark and turned in for the night we found the zips and fly sheets and guy ropes were liberally coated in cow shit.

There was certainly no glamour on those trips – that´s for sure. There were no facilities of any kind – everything you needed you brought yourself or, more often, you forgot to bring. If you wanted a shower you just stood out in the rain. It was always raining.

A few weekends ago I set off “glamping” with Trinny and Pippa. Both of these ladies expect and deserve a little more luxury than I might have grown accustomed to. On our glamping trip they were not disappointed. You could stand up in the tents and sleep in a bed with legs. There were loos and showers. There were no misbehaving ruminants. It didn´t rain. It was great.

Best of all was a river just a few minutes walk away. It was the upper Guadiaro. I had never really taken a look at this river before and it was really lovely. I had left my fly fishing gear at home deliberately so as not to be tempted to simply abandon my fellow glampers for the duration of our stay. We all know that if the river looked good that is exactly what would have happened. The river did indeed look good and when I first met it at a broad pool I was greeted by the sight of many large gypsy barbel cruising around at the surface lazily sipping down dry flies!

If you are in the market for a bit of glamping I would recommend the Orange Tree Garden. The people who run it are Sharron and Declan and they looked after us very well. If you live in this neck of the woods and want to give glamping a whirl you can find out more on their website: http://www.orangetreegarden.com

Here is Pippa crashed out on a hammock. The tent we stayed in is just behind. Girls like Pippa deserve as much luxury as they can get!

Here is Pippa crashed out on a hammock. The tent we stayed in is just behind. Girls like Pippa deserve as much luxury as they can get!

Here is a section of the Upper Guadiaro.

Here is a section of the Upper Guadiaro. The river alternates between rapid sections and slow pools.

Gypsy barbel have a very distinctive yellow belly and this can often be enough to identify them.

Gypsy barbel like this one have a very distinctive yellow belly and this can often be enough to identify them. 

Here is a Guadiaro fish. Even though it is indistinct, enough can be seen to identify it as a gypsy barbel.

Here is a Guadiaro fish. Even though it is indistinct, enough can be seen to identify it as a gypsy.

And I left my fishing rod at home!

And I left my fishing rod at home!