How do I camp in the rain without a miserable time?

Pitch choice, keeping the wet outside, drying things that will not dry, and the small pieces of kit that make a wet British weekend genuinely pleasant.

Difficulty: beginner
Time: 25 min
Read: 6 min

Short answer

Pitch on slightly raised ground, never in a hollow or a channel, and get the flysheet up first if the tent allows it. Run a strict wet zone in the porch and a dry zone in the inner, and never let boots, waterproofs or wet dogs cross the line. A tarp over the porch or between trees gives you somewhere to cook, sit and take wet things off, and it transforms a wet trip more than anything else you can carry.

Rain is the normal condition for camping in Britain, and the difference between a good wet trip and a bad one is almost entirely organisation. The things that ruin it are a wet sleeping bag, wet spare clothes and nowhere to be except inside the tent — and all three are preventable.

What you'll need

A tarp or basha with cord
Dry bags for sleeping bag and spare clothes
A microfibre towel
A sit mat
Spare socks, more than you think
A book, cards or something to do

Step by step

Choose the pitch for water, not for the view.Slightly raised ground, on grass rather than bare earth, away from the bottom of a slope and away from any channel, rut or hollow. Look for the lines where water has run before. A hollow that is dry in the afternoon is a puddle at three in the morning.
Do not dig a trench.It damages the ground, it is prohibited at most sites and under most access codes, and a well-chosen pitch does not need it.
Get the fly up first if the tent allows.Flysheet-first or all-in-one pitching keeps the inner dry. If your tent only pitches inner-first, practise it fast, and consider whether that is the tent you want for British camping.
Establish a wet zone and a dry zone.The porch is wet: boots, waterproofs, the stove, the dog. The inner is dry, and nothing wet ever enters it. Enforce this from the first minute; once it slips, everything is damp for the rest of the trip.
Sit in the doorway to change footwear.Sit on the inner floor with your feet in the porch, take boots off there, swing your legs in. This one habit keeps the groundsheet clean and dry.
Put up a tarp.A tarp over the porch, between trees, or off the side of a car creates a dry space to cook, eat, sit and take waterproofs off. It is the single highest-value piece of wet-weather camping kit and it weighs almost nothing.
Dry-bag the things that must stay dry.Sleeping bag, spare clothes, down jacket, electronics. Roll-top dry bags, or bin liners inside stuff sacks. A wet sleeping bag ends a trip; a wet jumper is just annoying.
Bring far more socks than seems reasonable.Dry feet at the end of the day is the thing that most changes how a wet trip feels. Keep one pair permanently sealed as camp socks that never go outside.
Ventilate, because condensation looks exactly like a leak.Four people breathing in a closed tent produce a great deal of water. Open the vents even in rain, keep the inner from touching the fly, and do not cook inside the tent — as well as the carbon monoxide risk, it dumps litres of moisture into the fabric.
Do not touch the inside of a single-skin fly.On some tents, pressing on wet fabric breaks the surface tension and lets water through at that point. Keep gear and bodies clear of the fly.
Cook and eat somewhere sheltered.Under the tarp or in a large porch with real ventilation. Never with a stove inside a sealed tent: carbon monoxide from a camping stove in an enclosed space kills people every year, and it is odourless.
Have something to do.A wet afternoon in a tent is long. Cards, a book, a podcast downloaded in advance, a pub within walking distance. This is a serious planning point, especially with children.
Pack up wet and deal with it at home.Shake off what you can, bag the wet fly separately, and get home. Then pitch or hang the tent to dry completely within a day or two — a tent packed away damp grows mould and delaminates, and that is permanent.

Tips

A microfibre towel mops condensation off the fly in a minute and dries almost instantly. It is the most useful small item in wet camping.
Peg out the guy lines properly on arrival. Rain almost always comes with wind, and re-pegging in the dark in a downpour is nobody's idea of a good time.
Take a sit mat. Everything outside is soaking, and the ability to sit down anywhere improves morale disproportionately.
Waterproof trousers turn a wet trip from an endurance into an ordinary day. Most people take a jacket and forget the legs.
Camp near a pub, a village hall or a cafe on trips where rain is forecast. Having an option that is not the tent is a legitimate plan.

Common mistakes

Cooking inside a zipped-up tent to stay dry — Carbon monoxide from any stove burning in an enclosed space is odourless and lethal, and it has killed campers in exactly this situation. Cook in a well-ventilated porch or under a tarp.
Storing the tent packed away wet — Mould grows within days, it smells permanently, and it degrades the waterproof coating. Dry it fully at home even if it means the hallway.
Letting boots and waterproofs into the inner — Once mud and water are on the groundsheet, everything you own gets damp and the sleeping bag goes next.

If it doesn't work

Water coming in at the groundsheet edge

Cause: Pitched in a hollow, or the fly not reaching the ground and rain splashing under — Fix: Move the tent to higher ground. Tension the fly properly so it reaches down, and check the pegging points.

Everything inside is wet but the tent is not leaking

Cause: Condensation — Fix: Ventilate more, stop cooking inside, keep the inner off the fly, and wipe the fly's inner surface down in the morning before it drips everywhere.

A puddle forming under the groundsheet

Cause: Water running across the ground beneath the tent — Fix: Re-pitch. A groundsheet holds water out for a while and eventually loses. There is no fix that does not involve moving.

Fly leaking through the fabric in heavy rain

Cause: Failed durable water repellent finish or ageing coating — Fix: Reproof it at home with a proofing spray or wash-in treatment. Check the seam tape at the same time, since that is what fails first with age.

Nothing dries out overnight

Cause: High humidity in a wet tent — Fix: Accept it. Keep one dry set sealed in a dry bag for sleeping, wear the wet set during the day, and dry things properly at home.

Questions people ask

Should I dig a trench around my tent?

No. It damages the ground, it is prohibited on most sites and by access codes, and the correct answer is choosing a pitch that does not need one.

Why does my tent leak only where I touched it?

On some fabrics, contact breaks the surface tension holding water on the outside and draws it through. Keep gear and people from pressing against a wet fly.

Is it worth going at all if the forecast is bad?

Often yes, with a tarp, dry bags and a plan for the afternoon. Wind is a better reason to cancel than rain — a well-chosen pitch handles rain, and a gale is a different problem.