Before you go camping, you should practise pitching your tent at home. Even if you are an experienced camper, you should practise if you have a new tent. A good idea is to put a sheet of polythene under the ground sheet. It protects the tent and keeps it clean. The pictures on this page show how to pitch a ridge tent withtwo single poles and a built-in ground sheet. Those on the page opposite show how to pitch a ridge tent with two A poles and a separate ground sheet.