Thank you for all of the replies, very glad that it is sewn-in.
I think it is fair to say that when our son is a few years older, we will look at a larger tent as well as larger items, eg. coolbox, etc. My wife isn't keen on the idea of not being able to stand-up inside a tent, but she agrees that there has to be a compromise between a tent that we can backpack with and a tent that we can put in a car.
Also, as my wife has pointed out - when our son is 7 or 8, he and I can go camping with the backpack tent whilst my wife and future daughter can have a girly weekend. If the tent survives that many years of course!
We looked at the "light-weight" backpacking tents, but they are far too small for two + baby + backpacks. At the same time we don't want something that can't be put into a backpack. (As above, in a few years we will get a bigger one.) The Vango Alpha 400 seems to fit the bill, it's only 1kg heavier than the biggest light-weight I could find and yet offers much more space.
On our first camping trip we didn't take an airbed or anything like that, just a few blankets for the little one and a "2 season" double sleeping bag ... oh my, what a mistake that was! Our son was happy, snoring like a little trooper, whilst we held on to each other trying to conserve body heat and wondering why our hips ached so much! It wasn't even that cold, but obviously as you sleep you feel it! We learned our lesson (and still had a great time)! We will invest in seperate sleeping bags that can do minus figures; better to have to peel back layers in the summer than peel back icicles!
The best thing we invested in rather than borrow was a baby carrier backpack; it would be a nightmare to use a pram or buggy mountain areas, no matter how well defined the paths are. I hope it's okay to share this, I'm not trying to advertise, just return the favour of friendly advice incase anyone here has a baby and needs help with logistics. The one we got was actually from eBay for just under £40 including postage, but it is only suitable up to 18kg. That was fine for us because as soon as our son can walk, he will walk!
There is a much better one though called the Deuter Kid Comfort which takes up to 22kg for bigger kids and more storage. The great thing about these is that you can put all the stuff you will need for a day out (baby wipes, nappies, lunch, spoon, spare clothes, etc.) into the compartment and carry your little one as if you were carrying a backpack, quite comfortably too.
One of the best things about this was the plastic rain cover which doubles up unofficially as a wind shield. When we were up a mountain with very harsh winds, it meant our little one had no problems with breathing. (Babies find it difficult to breath if wind is blowing in their face.) The other great use for this was when you stop to eat and rest, take the backpack off and baby stays inside, feet off the ground, sound asleep.
