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Our adventure in Comrie teepee – cosy enough to camp all year around

Nordic katas set in the forest around Comrie Croft are equipped with woodburning stoves and sheltered outdoor kitchens.

The Peebles family at their Comrie Croft Nordic kata. Image: Cheryl Peebles/DC Thomson.
The Peebles family at their Comrie Croft Nordic kata. Image: Cheryl Peebles/DC Thomson.

For several days before our winter teepee break at Comrie Croft I panicked that we would freeze overnight.

I’m very much a fair weather camper who hates the cold.

But I need not have worried a jot about our two-night stay in a Nordic kata. With our wood-burning stove roaring, we were snug as bugs in rugs even in the wee, small hours.

I visited Comrie Croft, near the village of Comrie, in Perthshire, with my husband Keith, two children Alex, 13, and Edie, 11, and our schnoodle puppy Ivy.

It was mid-February and the temperature hovered around zero degrees Celsius.

Our Nordic kata looks charmingly rustic set amid Comrie Croft forest. Image: Cheryl Peebles/DC Thomson.

But the cold – and thankfully dry – weather made it all the more fun as we relished keeping our fire stoked.

We’d brought headtorches for after-dark walks with Ivy round the campsite’s woodland paths.

Comrie Croft’s Nordic katas are large teepees spaced out among the croft’s birch forest.

Each has its own sheltered outdoor kitchen kitted with gas stove, basic utensils, cool box and picnic table. We didn’t need the coolbox during our stay, with the outdoor temperature providing a natural fridge!

Toasting marshmallows outside and ourselves inside!

There’s also a firepit but after toasting a few marshmallows on the first evening we decided to save our wood supply for indoors.

And each kata has an outdoor eco-loo. Edie wasn’t keen after spotting some cobwebs but the rest of us appreciated it. Particularly as it’s a short but steep climb uphill from the main toilet and shower block!

Inside, as well as the stove, there’s a large padded platform to sleep on, and another table and chairs. The bed is supposed to sleep six, but you’d need to be happy to cosy up close with more than four people!

The wood-burning stove kept us cosy as we slept on the semi-circle bed platform. Image: Cheryl Peebles/DC Thomson.

The katas are basic but charming and rustic. This is camping not glamping.

I’d seen the teepees on a previous summer camping trip to Comrie Croft and thought they looked idyllic.

So we were excited to return.

Alex and Edie were delighted with their home for the next two days and Ivy had a good sniff around her new surroundings.

Making our kata cosy

Always worryingly keen to play with matches, Alex was quick to get some of the complimentary kindling and logs provided burning.

There’s a shop on site – with a fabulous selection of food, fresh bread, gifts and crafts – so we stocked up with more logs to keep us going through the night.

Before darkness fell we decided to explore. A short walk uphill to the top to the top of the site took us to a play area with a rope swing.

Alex has a shot on the rope swing. Image: Cheryl Peebles/DC Thomson.

There are loads of paths round the site, but also mountain-biking trails so we had to take care not to get mowed down!

The nearby camping fields – unsurprisingly deserted during February – have stunning views over the surrounding countryside.

The Nowhere Sauna and cold plunge bath

A new addition since I visited last is the Nowhere Sauna, housed in a converted horse box. It was closed as it was mid-week and off-season. Although looking at the cold plunge bath outside, I was rather relieved not to feel obliged to try.

Also closed as it was off-season was the site’s Tea Garden café. But I can highly recommend it from my previous stay.

An outdoor seating area near the Tea Garden and shop. Image: Cheryl Peebles/DC Thomson.

The nearby sheltered outdoor seating area looks divine with its strings of lights twinkling after the sun sets.

There was still time before dinner for a walk along the many woodland trails surrounding Comrie Croft and it wasn’t long before we came across a glorious waterfall.

Alex takes a rest at a waterfall just a few minutes’ stroll from Comrie Croft. Image: Cheryl Peebles/DC Thomson.

After a camping staple dinner of pesto pasta with freshly baked bread from the site shop back at the kata, we retreated inside to the warmth of our roaring fire and some card games.

In fact it was so warm we had to open the door to let some of heat out!

For a while we were struggling to see by the light of our torches and the single lantern we had brought. Until we realised our solar power hadn’t been switched on – and to our great relief we had light!

Cosied up on our huge bed for six

Once it was time to get tucked up in our sleeping bags on the huge shared bed – with Ivy in her warm fleece jacket – we had a cosy night’s sleep.

Keith and I restarted the fire when we woke up a couple of times through the night to keep the chill at bay.

Comrie Croft provides a warm welcome year round. Image: Cheryl Peebles/DC Thomson.

Next morning after warm showers down at the main block, we decided to take the bus into Crieff. There’s a stop right at the entrance to Comrie Croft.

We had a good browse around the many independent shops, including loads of lovely gift, craft and chocolate shops.

Edie treated herself to a plush new rabbit friend for her beloved soft toy Bunny. And I drooled over the wares in Crieff Food Company.

A runabout and hot chocolate in Crieff’s MacRosty Park

Once we were done shopping, we headed down to MacRosty Park for a walk and to let Ivy burn off some energy on its network of paths.

There are loads of particularly impressive pine trees here and there’s a great children’s play area. It was really busy during our mid-term break visit.

Luckily the park café was open for some much-needed warming hot chocolates.

We decided to have an early dinner before heading back to Comrie Croft and The Square Bar and Kitchen took our fancy.

Eco-friendly Comrie Croft is popular with mountain bikers as well as campers. Image: Cheryl Peebles/DC Thomson.

Not only is it dog-friendly but the menu had something to suit everyone. I enjoyed some tapas and helped Keith finish his massive beer battered haddock and chunky chips.

Comrie Croft’s award-winning mountain bike trails

Comrie Croft is a mecca for mountain bikers, with an award-winning 21-kilometre network of trails weaving round the site and hillside beyond.

Before leaving the following morning we watched kids learning the ropes by tearing round the training track.

The site has its own bike rental shops but as we had Ivy we didn’t partake this time.

Next time maybe, because there will definitely be a next time.

We love camping in the summer. So we were delighted that Comrie Croft’s Nordic katas make that possible year-round for those of us without the constitution of Bear Grylls.

And they take away the rigmarole of having to pack away a tent afterwards!


Comrie Croft katas, camping and lodge

Six of Comrie’s seven katas are set on hillside among the trees. One is next to the main facilities block and is wheelchair accessible.

They are equipped with solar power lighting, a gas cooker, kitchen utensils and crockery.

Each kata sleeps six people and costs from £135 a night for a minimum of two nights.

A 35% discount is applied for stays between November 4 and March 31.

Accommodation also includes the farmstead Eco-Lodge – described as a “posh hostel” – and car-free meadow or forest camping pitches.

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