Exploration
Hidden Britain: The UK’s Top 5 campsites
Good British camping is all about atmosphere, not facilities. Here’s why...
It’s a big cliche, but when the sun is out, we’re immediately in the mood for lazy evenings outside, toasting marshmallows and putting the world to rights around a campfire. As long as nobody has brought an acoustic guitar, that is.
Travel writer and editor of the Cool Camping books and website, Jonathan Knight, gives us his favourite places to pitch his tent this camping season.
We love his personal philosophy on camping: “You want to know what you’re going to be looking at when you unzip the tent in the morning, not how many toilets there are.” Hear, hear...
From prime glamping to beautiful beach views, here are Jonathan’s picks of the UK’s best camping spots.
1. Hillend, Gower Peninsula
Don’t forget your surfboard
© Cool Camping
Selling point: Wake up and surf
Price of pitch: Prices start from £12 for single occupancy of a tent during the week. It’s worth noting that unlike many other campsites you can’t book it advance.
Season: 1st April - 31st October.
Visit: Hillend Campsite
“What makes Hillend campsite on the Gower peninsula in South Wales special is its location, right next to one of the best surf beaches in Wales. The camping pitches are literally just behind the sand dunes, so you can keep an eye out for the waves. When the surf’s good, just grab your board and off you go! The Kings Head pub is a 5-minute drive from the site, a popular hang-out with surfers for a sundowner in the evening.”
2. Thistledown Farm, Gloucestershire.
Thistledown Farm, Gloucestershire
© Thistledown
Selling point: It’s incredibly peaceful
Price of a pitch: It depends on the area, but prices start from £11. Booking is essential and there is a 2 night minimum booking from May – September.
Season: April to October.
Visit: Thistledown
“Very basic camping is becoming very popular, with solar powered showers and compost loos. Often you’re not even allowed to take your car into the field. You have to throw your gear into a wheelbarrow and then wheel your tent down to a pitch.
A great campsite I was at recently was Thistledown in the Cotswolds. It’s a huge site of 70 acres, but it only allows 80 tents in total, so there is nearly an acre each! They don’t allow cars onto the main two meadows, so there’s a quiet, peaceful vibe in this very special valley setting.”
3. Eweleaze Farm, Dorset
Eweleaze Farm, Dorset
© Cool Camping
Selling point: Fantastic beaches
Price of a pitch: It’s £8 a night per adult from Sunday to Thursday, and £16 a night on Friday and Saturday (and Sunday of the bank holiday weekend). Bringing a vehicle? That’s a flat fee of £10.
Season: August.
Visit: Eweleaze
If a cracking beach view is your criteria for a good campsite get yourself down to Eweleaze farm in Dorset. It only opens for 4 weeks in August and is located in an area of outstanding natural beauty. New for 2015 - a wood fired sauna...
According to Jonathan: “They open up four or five huge fields for camping every August. It’s right on the coast and there’s direct access to a virtually private beach, in a sheltered cove and only really used by the campers, so ideal for taking your inflatable crocodile! Campfires are allowed - the most important thing for any camping holiday!”
4. Glampotel, Dorset
“There is a massive increase in the ‘getting away from it all camping’. That’s one end of the spectrum. At the other end there’s a massive interest in glamping. Some people say it’s not real camping but it’s hugely popular now. For people who don’t want to rough it, they can still enjoy the outdoors, still enjoy the feeling of getting out into the countryside and lighting a fire but they can sleep in a comfortable bed and they don't have to take all their own kit with them.”
Glampotel, Dorset
© Glampotel
Selling point: It’s more like a canvas hotel
Price of a pitch: Prices vary according to season. In high season (17th July-3rd September) expect to pay around £370 for 2 people for 3 nights (Friday check-in).
Season: End of March to the end of October.
Visit: Glampotel
“Some glamping places I’ve loved recently include Glampotel in Dorset, which has improved the concept of a bell tent by making it larger and more comfortable and adding an ensuite bathroom!"
5. Little Halden Farm, Kent
Little Halden farm, Kent
© Cool Camping
Selling point: It’s cute and comfy
Price of a pitch: A weekend in a hopper hut costs £235. If you follow them on Facebook they’ll give you a five percent discount and a free bottle of locally made apple juice.
Season: The huts are open all year round apart from Christmas day.
Visit: Little Halden Farm
If you’re after a relaxed stay with bit of history thrown in for good measure you could try Little Halden farm in Kent.
According to Jonathan: “There are some cute little Hopper Huts (the huts that hop pickers used to kip down in, back in the 1800s when whole families of Londoners, including kids, would travel out to Kent for a month to pick hops, before it became mechanised) which have been converted into luxury glamping accommodation.”
