Some families camp, others marvel at their fortitude, writes Harriet Walker. I grew up in the latter … camp. My only nights under canvas have been in a raucous Guides tent, then a smaller, equally raucous one at a rainy festival, halfway through which I booked into the nearest hotel. Like my delicate flower forebears, I assumed I (allergic to everything, quick to sunburn) was simply not cut out for camping.
Some in my daughter’s school year go annually en masse, an expedition I found laudable but “not for us”. Being wide awake and cold all night in a tent with her brother, a toddler, had all the appeal of a mini-break to a war zone. And yet. When this year my daughter asked for camping instead of a birthday party, I worried that I’d deprived her and agreed to give it a whirl. That toddler is almost five now, and I feel sturdier than I have done in years. Also, camping in the southeast during a heatwave is different to doing it in the Peak District climate of the late Nineties.
We and three other families booked pitches in the South Downs, eschewing the luxurious bell tent and shepherd’s hut options and borrowing a friend’s Decathlon kit. With a petting farm attached and a craft brewery tap room 40 minutes’ walk away (three minutes by car), Hale Farm in East Sussex had something for everyone, including a man called Gino who arrives on site in a coffee van each morning and an ice cream truck in the evening. Flushing toilets, hot showers and washing-up facilities were further reassurance that this was not the hair-shirt version I had been warned off in my childhood, where men shaved in sand and women had to walk to the nearest village to use the loo.
No, I thought on our first night as I quaffed ice-cold Lady A rosé on a folding chair at sunset then ate perfectly barbecued curried lamb under a star-filled sky and full moon, this is not the wind-blasted endurance test I had been expecting. After a perfectly good night’s sleep on squashy mats (sleeping bags for the children but pillows and a duvet for us as per advice from camping veterans), stepping out into fresh air and glorious sunlight was magical. I am now a person who wakes at 7am regardless; doing so in a two-bedroom blackout tent was not like the memory of coming round in a two-man, dry-mouthed at noon and cooking from the inside out as the drum’n’bass marquee performed a soundcheck next door.
• Read our full guide to camping holidays
The weekend was even more bucolic for the children. Our London kids (albeit leafy ones) were able to roam without being told repeatedly to decrease their volume, stay in sight or watch out for dog poo. After a 20-minute drive to Pevensey Bay for a sea dip followed by fish and chips, they made their own fun (and some alarmingly Blair Witch-esque twig sculptures) in the nearby woods then donned headlamps and wrist torches to toast marshmallows by the fire pit. We celebrated Freda’s eighth birthday with the sort of giant sparklers it would be hard to relax around in a small and enclosed back garden.
I could feel the extended time outdoors — plus the fact that I had no phone reception or reason to scroll — doing us all good. My inherited view was that camping was punitive time spent away from creature comforts to toughen up, but I see that with modern kit so improved as to be comfortable and idiot-proof (it took us about half an hour to put the tent up, once we had figured out the instructions), trips like this are the complete opposite: time off from devices, schedules and hectic city pace. A chance to enjoy nature. As long as the rain stays away.
What is it they say about the zealotry of the convert? We’re considering another camping trip next month — though I’ll be checking the weather right up to the moment we leave, obviously.
Harriet Walker travelled independently. Hale Farm in Chiddingly, East Sussex, costs £14 per adult and £6 per child a night (halefarm.co.uk)
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More into glamping than camping? Here are the UK’s most stylish sites
By Sarah Baxter
1. Ekopod, near Launceston, Cornwall
Ekopod’s geodomes are ideal for a digital detox
Retreat into your own family bubble on the edge of Bodmin Moor. Ekopod’s secluded geodomes are off-grid — great for a screen-free break — but have all the comfy mod-cons: super-kings, sofa beds, simple kitchens, bathrooms with shower and tub. Magic is added with hammocks, fairylights, welcome cookies and hot chocolate, and views through the roof to the stars. The onsite play area has a pirate ship sand pit and mud kitchen, the communal barn is stocked with books and games, and north Cornwall’s beaches are a short drive away.
Details Two nights’ self-catering for four from £320 (ekopod.co.uk)
• 22 of the best campsites in Cornwall
2. Brook Meadow, near Market Harborough, Leicestershire
The Marabou tent at Brook Meadow has an out-of-Africa feel
It’s fairly posh just pitching at award-winning Brook Meadow. The spacious family-farm site has shared washrooms befitting a boutique hotel, “moovie” nights in the cowshed, pop-up cocktail evenings and lakeside yoga on summer Saturdays. This year it’s hosting a family-friendly music festival (September 13). Take it up a notch by glamping instead, ideally in Marabou, an out-of-Africa fantasy of timber-stilted canvas, with exquisitely picked and upcycled furnishings that bring the Masai Mara to the Midlands.
Details Pitches from £29, four nights’ self-catering for eight from £580 (brookmeadow.co.uk)
3. Penhein, near Chepstow, Monmouthshire
Penhein has a natural playground for kids to run wild in
RORY LINDSAY
Staying somewhere that your brood can run wild doesn’t have to mean going feral. Penhein is all about getting kids outside: there’s a natural playground, a wildlife hide, a stream to paddle in and trails to follow, as well as bookable activities, from junior bushcraft to the Mini Adventurers Club (both £35pp). Penhein’s elegant alachighs (Persian-style yurts) are civilised indeed, with proper beds, private monsoon showers and en suite loos. If you like, you can try cooking on your fire pit. Alternatively, buy delicious prepped meals from the Pantry, made with local ingredients.
Details Three nights’ self-catering for six from £465 (penhein.co.uk)
4. Spot House Farm, Romney Marsh, Kent
Spot House Farm has a fully stocked field kitchen
The biggest luxury? Exclusivity. Which is what you get at Spot House Farm. Book this bijou site out on the edge of Romney Marsh and you will have it to yourselves. It has all that’s required for a great outdoor gathering: four smart, handmade bell tents with crisp-sheeted beds, vintage fittings and wool blankets (designed by the farm’s owner); a full field kitchen stocked with fresh eggs and coffee roasted on site; a hot open-air shower; woodlands and meadows to explore; and a big table for dining out under the stars.
Details Two nights’ self-catering for ten from £900 (spothousefarm.co.uk)
5. Tweed Valley Pods, Innerleithen, Scottish Borders
Tweed Valley Pods have hot showers and forest-backed valley views
There are four wee pods at this forest-backed Tweed Valley site. Deer Hunter is cosy and perfect for families, with its double and sofa bed. You could spend hours sitting on its deck, watching for hedgehogs, deer and red squirrels. However, adventures beckon. Innerleithen Forest’s vast network of mountain-biking trails is a mile away; the Glentress trail centre — which has some of the country’s best MTB routes — is 2.5 miles. No matter if you get muddy — the pods have hot showers, plus shared drying lockers and a bike wash.
Details One night’s self-catering for four from £120 (tweed-valley-pods.co.uk)
• Read our full guide to glamping holidays
6. Broadleaves, near Calke Abbey, Derbyshire
An outdoor hot tub at Broadleaves
The beauty of Broadleaves is that you can drive there, then ignore your car for the rest of your stay. Six elegant bell tents, sleeping two to six people and each with an outdoor kitchen and access to a luxe bathroom block — lie in the heart of the National Forest alongside Foremark Reservoir. Walk to Foremark’s children’s play area or the Burton Sailing Club, which offers watersports including paddleboarding and windsurfing for beginners. Or ramble across to the National Trust’s Calke Abbey estate to hire a bike, find its 1,200-year-old oak tree and enter the atmospherically crumbling manor.
Details One night’s self-catering for two from £99 (broadleavesglamping.co.uk)
7. Stackpole Under the Stars, Stackpole, Pembrokeshire
Stackpole Under the Stars’ tents sleep up to seven people
Sitting pretty within the UK’s only coastal national park, Stackpole Under the Stars is perfect for accessing some of the UK’s best beaches, including the soft sands of Broad Haven South and Barafundle. It’s a peaceful spot with ten pitches: five for campers, five for glampers. The latter include two yurts, two safari tents sleeping seven and a posh wooden barrel-shaped pod. Opt for the cheaper eco-package (bring your own sheets), then spend the savings on an on-site axe-throwing session (£8); under-eights can fling mini squishy axes instead.
Details Pitches from £30, one night’s self-catering for four from £115 (stackpoleunderthestars.wales)
8. Original Hut Company, Bodiam, East Sussex
The accommodation at Original Hut Company is set in ancient woodland
SALTWICK MEDIA
Stay at the Original Hut Company and you get a bit of everything. The site is a delight, set amid ancient woodland with the River Rother running through. The shepherd’s huts are classy and snug, with hobs inside and fire pits out. The Hub café sells camper hampers if you want to cook, local-sourced dishes if you don’t. Meanwhile, the on-site activity centre offers paddleboarding, kayaking and canoeing as well as archery and bushcraft. If you can pull yourself away, roam through the orchards to magnificently moated Bodiam Castle.
Details Pitches from £28, one night’s self-catering for five from £150 (original-huts.co.uk)
9. Secret Meadows, near Woodbridge, Suffolk
Secret Meadows is an award-winning glampsite
During school holidays this award-winning glampsite, tucked in a nature reserve near the Suffolk coast, is for families only. That means it’s a haven for kids then, but others will love it at other times. Sleeping options run from a converted horsebox to luxury tented lodges with country-style kitchens, four-posters, bunks and a den-like cupboard bed. There’s a rich mix of nature-based activities, from goat walks and “meet the animals” sessions to bow-making and whittling. Fresh-made stone-baked pizzas can be bought from a van on site, while Easton Farm Park, Framlingham Castle and Jimmy’s Farm are all close by.
Details One night’s self-catering for six from £155 (groupglamping.com)
10. Welsh Glamping, near Llanwrtyd Wells, Powys
The log cabins at Welsh Glamping are made from locally felled wood
P LOVEGROVE
Want to switch off? Head to Welsh Glamping, squirrelled away in the remote Cambrian Mountains. There’s no phone signal or wi-fi here, but there are 185 acres of wild farmland, woodland, rivers and waterfalls, plus star-spangled dark skies and smarter camping options. The bell tents are a bargain: you bring your own sheets but get an iron-frame bed and futons, a simple kitchen and private bathroom from £45 a night. The luxury log cabins, made from wood felled on site, offer cosiness and more mod-cons, from £120 a night.
Details Two nights’ self-catering for two from £90 (welshglamping.com)
• I love camping and have done for 40 years — these are my best tips
11. Woodfire Camping, Firle, East Sussex, and Petworth, West Sussex
Woodfire Camping offers site-cooked meals for campers to buy
JO HUNT
Happy to pitch your own tent but want to upgrade the experience? Woodfire Camping supplies plenty of idyllic green space across its two sites at the foot of the South Downs. It also supplies the food on request. Each night big meals are made from scratch, prepared over an open fire — think spicy beef stew, flame-grilled chalk stream trout or ember-roasted beetroot (£10 to £20pp). You bring your own plates and cutlery, and wash them up after. All the joy of eating alfresco, en famille, none of the hassle of cooking.
Details Pitches from £22 per adult, £10 per child (woodfire.co.uk)
12. Teal Lodge, near Stamford, Lincolnshire
Teal Lodge feels like a slice of the African savannah in Lincolnshire
Get an African savannah feel a ten-minute taxi ride from downtown Peterborough. Teal Lodge is one of four billowing canvas bolt holes looking over a grassy meadow to a tree-fringed lake. The owners used to live in Kenya, and have recreated a tiny piece of it here — you can even jump into their Land Rover for a wildlife safari. Use the lake to swim, fish and paddle (there are kayaks, free to borrow), build a den in the woods, dip in the outdoor bath or watch a movie on a projector, under the stars.
Details One night’s self-catering for six from £188 (kiphideaways.com)
13. Barnutopia, near Oswestry, Shropshire
Barnutopia offers discounts for single parents
Secreted in the rolling Welsh borders where a wooden bridge at the site’s edge marks the meeting of England and Wales, Barnutopia is a place to roam free. It’s great for big groups, who can spread across a range of good-value glamping spaces: comfy yurts, cabins, tiny houses, bunkhouses and lean-tos. And it’s especially good for single parents — they get a 10 per cent discount year-round, plus the site runs single-parent takeovers on selected dates that include accommodation, breakfasts, suppers, marshmallow toasting around the campfire, scavenger hunts, donkey walks and the company of like-minded glampers.
Details Three nights’ self-catering for four from £245 (groupglamping.com)
14. Wild Luxury, near Thornham, Norfolk
Spacious safari lodges are available at Wild Luxury
The enormous beaches and wide horizons of the north Norfolk coast are perfect for outdoorsy breaks. And Wild Luxury is particularly perfect, offering easy outdoors access from the most comfortable in canvas living spaces. A handful of smart, spacious safari lodges — sleeping between six and ten — are dotted across two sites. One of them, Summerfield, is surrounded by woodland and birdsong, with possibilities for den-building and zip-wiring amid the trees, while Drove Orchards, near Holme Dunes, is a hop-skip from the sea, a nature reserve and great local pubs.
Details Two nights’ self-catering for six from £691 (wildluxury.co.uk)
15. The Bus Stop, Gifford, East Lothian
The Bus Stop has nine retrofitted vehicles on site
Their wheels no longer go round and round, but it’s still gleeful to stay in one of the nine restored buses at this site overlooking the Lammermuir Hills. Each vehicle has been kitted out with cosy beds and wood-burning stoves but retains its essential bus-ness: kids (big and small) will love sitting in the driver’s seat. “Eco buses” have loos but share bathrooms and a Kitchen Bus, while the “luxury buses” have cooking areas and en suites. While there, book a tour of the surrounding farm to meet alpacas, sheep and goats (£25 per adult, £15 per child).
Details One night’s self-catering for two from £145 (campsites.co.uk)
16. Dragon Orchard, near Ledbury, Herefordshire
The Zephyr yurt at Dragon Orchard has views of the Marcle Ridge
Want to wake up and smell the apples? There are two handmade, individually designed yurts hidden away on this 22-acre family-owned Herefordshire orchard. Cai is great fun, with bright red-yellow decor and apple trees flourishing all round; Zephyr sits apart, on a raised platform, with big views towards the Marcle Ridge. Orchard-bathing is encouraged on site — the owners suggest walking barefoot between the trees, letting your senses be your guide and sampling the fruits. Community events and gatherings are often held here too.
Details One night’s self-catering for four from £75 (hostunusual.com)
17. Nyth Robin, near Aberdovey, Gwynedd
Nyth Robin has an array of glamping options
Sitting between Eryri National Park (Snowdonia) and the sea, Nyth Robin is small but very well formed. There are nine pitches for campers and a handful of options for glamping, each with a unique feel. Bluebell makes a fun off-grid family base, with its bunting-strung bell tent, rustic kitchen and fire pit. New for 2025, the Dome sits in its a private glade, offering hotel-style smartness — pretty decor, a super-king bed — and a covered camp kitchen outside, so you get the best of both worlds.
Details Two nights’ self-catering for four in a bell tent from £175 (nythrobin.co.uk)
18. Lee Wick Farm, St Osyth, Essex
The glass-fronted cabins at Lee Wick Farm offer soothing views of the surrounding pasture and salt marsh
LEE WICK
The Essex coast is big sky country, and the Lushna cabins at Lee Wick Farm ensure the biggest views. These budget-friendly huts are glass-fronted so both beds — downstairs and on the mezzanine — look out across the surrounding pasture and salt marsh. It’s a short walk to a shingle beach and nature reserve; a mile away is Curve Wake Park, where you can kayak, paddleboard or leap off giant inflatables. The site’s Secret Garden camping area is more basic but, with three pitches, very exclusive.
Details Pitches from £35, two nights’ self-catering for five from £155 (leewickfarm.co.uk)
19. Loose Reins, Shillingstone, Dorset
The log cabins at Loose Reins are near to the Jurassic Coast
Channel your inner cowboy/girl at Loose Reins in north Dorset, where the log cabins have rustic finishes, rocking chairs on the verandas, stable doors and faux fleeces and furs so they feel fit for the American Wild West. Named Gold Panners, Ranchers and Trappers, three sleep two adults, two kids, while Foresters is a little bigger, sleeping five. The joys of the Jurassic Coast are close and, if you want to play real-life wrangler, Bushes Equestrian (a ten-minute drive away) offers horse rides for all abilities.
Details Two nights’ self-catering for four from £500 (towanderuk.co.uk)
20. Kingfisher Lakes, Brandesburton, East Yorkshire
The Dragonfly Dreams safari tent at Kingfisher Lakes can sleep up to 10 people
Feel the relaxing benefits of blue space at Kingfisher Lakes, where varied glamping options — yurts, safari tents, lodges with hot tubs — sit beside two lakes in the Yorkshire countryside. They all have decks or terraces with water views: watch for kingfishers, bring a rod to fish for huge carp or hire a kayak for the length of your stay (from £45). The Lily Pad yurt suits small families — compact and comfy. Hare’s Hideout safari tent offers more space and has ramp access for wheelchairs.
Details Three nights’ self-catering for four from £300 (glampinghideaways.co.uk)
21. Loveland Farm, Hartland, Devon
Loveland Farm’s geodesic pods have transparent walls so you can feel immersed in nature
The joy of Loveland Farm’s nine geodesic pods is that they’re see-through on one side, so you feel immersed in nature, but they have every creature comfort. Each pod is unique, but all have outbuildings with private showers and kitchenettes. Eden is a fun choice: there’s a tepee inside — a tent in a tent! — that contains a double bed, there’s another bed on the mezzanine, and table football below. If the weather’s fine, nearby Bude provides sand and surf, if it isn’t, there’s an indoor heated saltwater pool on site.
Details One night’s self-catering for four from £179 (canopyandstars.co.uk)
22. Cotswold Farm Park, near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
The lodges at Cotswold Farm Park are in a private field
There are some lovely too-posh-to-pitch options at Cotswold Farm Park. Go minimalist with a budget glamping pod — a step up from camping, these come with bunkbeds, electric sockets and little else — or opt for the comfort of a glamping tent, which has more style and pretty much everything you could need. Either way, all overnighters enjoy free access to the Farm Park, with its rare-breed animals, giant sandpit, softplay and discovery barn, where you can hold chicks and watch ducklings take a bath.
Details One night’s self-catering for four from £80 (cotswoldfarmpark.co.uk)
23. Ffynnonwen, near Llangrannog, Ceredigion
One of the bell tents at Ffynnonwen
With one of Ceredigion’s loveliest beaches, Llangrannog, three miles away, and chances to spot dolphins at Cardigan Bay just along the coast, Ffynnonwen is a fantastic site for sea-loving campers. If you don’t want to pitch your own, the site has two simple bell tents, one amid the meadows, another tucked among the apple trees. You get real beds and real seclusion. Pick up veg grown on site, fresh eggs from the resident ducks and herbs from the communal patch then cook a feast in your camp kitchen.
Details Pitches from £44 for two nights, two nights’ self-catering for four from £136 (ffynnonwen.com)
24. Cairngorm Bothies, near Ballater, Aberdeenshire
Keep your eyes peeled for wildlife at Cairngorm Bothies
There’s a pleasingly Hobbity vibe to these conical-roofed hideaways, tucked deep into Blelack Estate in the Cairngorms National Park. The solar-powered, off-grid timber retreats, raised and flanked by trees, have been integrated into the century-old Scots pine forest to cause minimal disturbance to nature but maximal immersion in it for guests: look out for blossoming heather and blaeberries (especially in August-September), woodpeckers, buzzards and sparrow hawks, scurrying red squirrels and roe deer drinking from the lochan. This is an excellent area for mountain-biking, hill-walking and castle-visiting too.
Details Two nights’ self-catering for four from £265 (cairngormbothies.co.uk)
25. Sherwood Pines, Kings Clipstone, Nottinghamshire
Sherwood Pines has plenty of trails for guests to explore
Sherwood Pines, originally part of ancient Sherwood Forest, was replanted in 1925 to counter wood shortages after the First World War. Now it is Forestry England’s flagship site, with camping pitches, geodome tents and (slightly higher priced) bothies spread amid the trees. Glampers get their own kitchens and living spaces but share the site’s solar-powered bathrooms. Other facilities include a play area, a nearby Go Ape course and a handy bike wash — the forest has a wide network of trails, from gentle loops to gnarly downhills.
Details Two nights’ self-catering for six from £216 (sherwoodpinescamping.co.uk)
The furniture in Westgate Farm’s safari tents is by the Norfolk designer Birdie Fortescue
26. Westgate Farm, Walsingham, Norfolk
A short drive from north Norfolk’s beaches and tucked into the Stiffkey Valley, two smart safari tents sit on a 350-acre farm. Roll-up gabled fronts and west-facing decks for watching the sunset make them as romantic as can be, while the interiors feature furniture by Norfolk designer of the moment Birdie Fortescue. Home-cooked meals can be arranged and plonked in your fridge, to be enjoyed before a nice hot open-air bath. And you can pick your own sunflowers.
Details A night’s self-catering for two from £200 (kiphideaways.com/hideaways/owls-nest-foxley-lodge-westgate-farm)
Are you more into camping or glamping? Or neither? Let us know in the comments
