Our Mission
Is to make it super easy and a joy for anyone having a wedding, party or event to create wonderful, extra accomodation for their guests. But not just any accommodation, something special and memorable – Brilliant Bell Tents!
From the team at Cotswold Tipis
We own and run a successful Giant Hat Tipis Hire company here in the Cotswolds, “Cotswold Tipis” and have been hiring out our bell tents under its umbrella for the last 5 years.
The time has now come for the Bell Tents to have their own brand and identity as they are special in their own right….. also because people keep getting confused between tipis and bell tents!!!
BRILLIANT BELL TENT HIRE is born!
Our History
We have been providing event accommodation for over 12 years. From a project started for London 2012 we have navigated a path through many events (enormous and small) with the aim of providing excellent temporary accommodation and customer service for all.
Our timeline below shows you the major headlines but there are so many more we could add (but this may be overkill). We’ve always loved created alternative and wonderful accommodation options which create a sense of community and fun and our scope is hugely wideranging. From Tough Mudders to School Sleepovers; from Further Education Residentals to VIP Glamping Areas at Silverstone we’ve covered it all (literally).
Our over-riding mission is to make it super easy and super fun for party and event organisers to create somewhere special for their guests to stay, whether it a huge site, or a few tents in the back garden – each is special.
London 2012
At The Olympics and Paralympics we created and ran 13 Campsites housing over 12,000 fans, volunteers and workers across London and The South East.
Glasgow 2014
At the Commonwealth Games we created and operated 4 Super Sites for fans, volunteers and workers. We looked after over 16,000 people.
Edinburgh Festivals 2015 - 2021
We grew from a small camping site for performers and visitors to the largest accommodation provider for the Edinburgh Fringe and Festivals. Pre-Covid we housed over 1000 people a night in accommodation ranging from BYO tents to uber luxury glamping bell tents and pods. We also used our Giant Tipis to operate a successful bar, cafe and official Fringe Venue.
Champions League Final 2017
Commisisoned to create the Official Fan Accommodation Site for the Champions League Final in Cardiff. We provided 1000s of Pre-pitched Tents and a VIP Glamping Village including Bell Tents, Teepees and Pods.
After investing in our beautiful Giant Tipis for some of our own large events, we decided to focus more on our own tipi rental business based in The Cotswolds. Whilst we've always loved working on the larger events, we wanted to stay closer to home and build Cotswold Tipis which has fitted in far more with our lifestyle and families as our children have been growing up. We're proud to have provided, and continue to provide, our wonderful tipis and event expertise for hundreds of weddings, parties, corporate events and festivals alike.
Brilliant Bell Tents For Hire 2018 - Present
In truth Brilliant Bell Tent Hire has been in operation since 2018 when Cotswold Tipis was born. We've been creating glamping and bell tent villages alongside our tipis for many weddings and events as well as for standalone parties, sleepovers and corporate dos. So, now in 2024 we have launched Brilliant Bell Tent Hire so the bells can have their own identity.... and so that people don't get muddled up between tipis and bell tents!!!!
Who Are We?
Brilliant Bell Tent Hire Company Founders:
We’re Rhian Evans and Geoff Vaughan and have been friends and colleagues for 20+ years…… a loooong time! We met whilst managing operations and tour leaders for adventure travel company, Explore (after both spending several years on the road as tour leaders).
After working for an organisation for a few years and in 2009, we won investment and branched out by setting up our own business, Campingninja – a start up creating the first online booking system for campsites in the UK – combining our love of camping and making it more easily accesible for everyone.
By 2012 we had decided to pair up our operational expertise, love of all things sporting and camping – we were on a mission to make staying in London for the 2012 Olympics accessible whilst giving back to the community. Following on from the huge success we encountered by creating camping accommodation for the masses, we stuck with it and went on to create affordable and brilliant accommodation sites for Glasgow 2014 and then the Edinburgh Festivals amongst many, many other events. We’ve been extremely proud to enable so many people and families to access and be inspired by sports and The Arts.
As a spin off, Cotswold Tipis was born – our giant tipi event company, which we have grown to be the largest tipi provider in the Cotswolds. We’re proud of our consistent 5 Star ratings and level of service and delivery we offer to all of our customers. Cotswold Tipis has allowed us to stay closer to home and to spend more time with our families – even though we do miss the big events sometimes!!
And, now, Brilliant Bell Tent Hire is spreading it’s own wings and taking off as a separate venture from Cotswold Tipis – time for its own identity and to move out of the shadows of the tipis!!
Geoff Vaughan
Loves cricket, barbequing, camping, hanging out with his family (he has 2 boys) mainly on the side of some sports pitch or court, and travel, especially to Argentina.....
Rhian Evans
Loves rugby, hockey and cricket, spending time with family (she has 3 boys) mainly on the side of a sports pitch or gymnasium somewhere, and travelling - either on epic backpacking trips or in camper van around the UK and Europe.
A quote from a company employee
Client Testimonials
