A special birthday, recent graduations and a group of friends together: Sophie had plenty to celebrate. Her twins and their friends were heading into Bath for the evening, then returning to the family garden to stay overnight. Our part was to create a welcoming camping area for the end of their night out.
We set up two Rustic Bell tents — one 6-metre and one 5-metre — with 12 airbeds between them. Nestled among mature trees beside the family’s shepherd’s hut, they made a lovely, intimate base for the celebration. But with the camping area some distance from the house, the lighting mattered just as much as the sleeping arrangements.
Festoon lighting: connecting the house and the tents
It is easy to think about outdoor lighting purely as decoration. For this job, it also had a very practical purpose: helping guests find their way between the house and the camping area after dark.
The tents were approximately 100 metres from the house. Guests returning from Bath, or heading back to use the facilities during the night, needed a clearly visible route through the garden. We installed festoon lighting on shepherd’s hooks along the pathway, giving the route a sense of direction as well as a welcoming atmosphere.
Shepherd’s hooks let the lights follow the chosen route across the garden. It is a lovely way to connect separate parts of an event — the house, a social space and the sleeping tents — so the accommodation feels like part of the celebration rather than an afterthought at the far end of the lawn.
The photographs from Sophie’s garden show the daytime setup; the lighting arrangement described here is the one we installed for the evening.
Three layers of camping lighting for an overnight event
For a garden celebration that continues after dark, different lights do different jobs. Sophie’s setup brought three useful layers together:
- Festoon lights for the route: a lit pathway between the house and the camping area, supported on shepherd’s hooks.
- Solar ground lights around the tents: additional markers near the guy ropes and tent perimeters, helping draw attention to the edges of the setup.
- Battery-operated fairy lights inside: a softer glow across the canvas, making the tents feel inviting without the glare of a bright overhead light.
That balance matters. Guests need to see where they are walking, while the sleeping space should still feel calm and cosy. The pathway lighting, ground markers and gentle interior lights each play their own part.
Two Rustic Bell tents, with room to settle in
Inside the tents, the airbeds were arranged around the edges, leaving a useful central area for moving about and space for belongings. Across the two tents, the 12 airbeds gave the group somewhere to settle after their evening out.
Our Rustic Bell package provides a simple starting point with lighting, a large rug and entrance matting. The airbeds for this booking were arranged as additions; they are not a standard inclusion in the base Rustic Bell package.
This sort of setup suits a group who want the fun of staying together without needing a fully furnished bedroom in every tent. For Sophie’s family, it brought a relaxed garden-camping finish to a 21st-birthday and graduation celebration.
A shepherd’s hut for the social space
The tents sat beside the family’s existing shepherd’s hut, which they were using as a social area. With the hut and the sleeping tents close together, the camping corner had its own little gathering place within the larger garden.
The hut was part of the host’s setting, not something supplied by Camp Chic. Our tents and lighting worked around what was already there — a lovely example of how a garden can become a personal, relaxed place to host overnight guests.
Planning festoon lighting hire for a garden party around Bath?
If you are planning a bell tent party in Bath, Somerset or the surrounding area, tell us about the lighting as well as the beds. Where will guests arrive? Where are the facilities? Is there a separate social space? How far is the walk to the tents?
Those details help us plan the layout and discuss suitable festoon lighting and camping lighting as part of your event setup. The route, available power and location all affect the arrangement, so it is something to work through for your particular garden or venue.
Start with our bell tent hire in Bath page, browse the tent packages, or explore more garden glamping party ideas. Whether it is a milestone birthday, a graduation gathering or a private family celebration, a thoughtfully arranged sleeping area can make staying over part of the occasion.
Thank you, Sophie, for choosing Camp Chic. Congratulations to your twins on their graduations and happy 21st birthdays — we hope you all have a wonderful celebration!
A welcoming place to come back to
Send us your date, location, guest numbers and a little about the garden. We’ll help you explore bell tents, sleeping arrangements and lighting for your celebration.
Plan your garden glamping party