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Best glamping sites in the UK, from luxury spots to eco pods

Camping doesn’t have to mean roughing it; we’ve rounded up the best breaks, from countryside cabins to yurts on the coast

Sunday 09 April 2023 11:33 BST

Explore an array of places to stay, from luxury spots to eco pods (Mallinson’s Woodland Retreat)

Credited with bringing nights under starry skies to people who swore they would never camp, glamping has become a popular holiday choice in the UK. There are many ways to do it. You could snuggle up under blankets in an old-fashioned bell tent or stay in an architect-designed cabin or treehouse that comes with a sauna and hot tub with views. All across the UK, there are glamping sites to suit every type of traveller, from families looking for access to the countryside in comfort, to walkers needing a warm bed and couples seeking intimacy in natural surroundings.

Here we recommend 10 of the best glamping sites in the UK for different types of breaks, in the countryside and by the seaside.

The best UK glamping sites are:

Best for friends: Marston Park, Somerset
Best for remote location: Inverlonan, Oban
Best for activities: Home Farm, Hertfordshire
Best for luxury glamping: Mallinson’s Woodland Retreat, Dorset
Best for romantic getaways: Aller Dorset, Dorset
Best for tipis: Cornish Tipis, Port Isaac
Best for animals: Bumblebarn, Norfolk
Best for quirky breaks: Apple glamping, Pembrokeshire
Best for walkers: The Quiet Site, Lake District
Best for seaside escapes: Fforest Coast, Ceredigion

Countryside glamping

Best for friends: Marston Park, Somerset

Enjoy the hedonistic atmosphere, plus a sauna, plunge pool and hot tubs (Marston Park)

This lakeside glamping site has a grown-up, artsy and – when DJs play – happily hedonistic atmosphere. That’s not to say children aren’t welcome, it’s just that the bar, restaurant and disco balls are the focus. Gather some pals and book a string of bell tents along the lake edge. Chat beside the individual fire pits then pad down a wood chip path to the Wild Spa area, which should see a sauna joining the plunge pool and hot tubs this summer. Food in the restaurant for 2023 is expected to be Japanese, with a local twist, while an award-winning cocktail bar takes over libations in the horsebox. Fancy a splurge? Stay in Futuro – a model UFO from the 1960s.

Read more on UK travel:

Best for remote location: Inverlonan, Oban

This remote, rustic bothy boasts a breathtaking view (Inverlonan Bothies)

Leave the world behind and lose yourself in a secluded wilderness on the shore of Loch Nell. Not far from Oban but reached by a remarkable drive, three design-led bothies have rustic-chic interiors and are set beside ancient oaks. With decking outside, kayaks and paddleboards, the idea is to slow down and take pleasure in simple things. A couple of hours in the lochside sauna, amid wildflowers, helps. Cook for yourself on a stove or pizza oven and heat your own outdoor shower, which comes with an impressive view. Those in need of spoiling can arrange for a private dining experience with a chef in a secret location.

From £440 for two adults to experience a two-night stay

Best for activities: Home Farm, Hertfordshire

There’s plenty to do, including flower-arranging and yoga (Sophie Anneliese)

A short hop from London, this retreat suits those who want to breathe in some country air for a few days while dabbling in a workshop or enjoying the At Home Farm music and feasting festival happening during the summer. The bohemian bell tents and yurts sleep up to four or five and are set among woodland and historic parkland that includes a lake. Sign up for a watercolour, flower-arranging or writing class, or a massage, facial or yoga inside a yurt. Gourmet breakfast and barbecue food boxes can be ordered if all that leaves you peckish.

From £100 a night

Best for luxury glamping: Mallinson’s Woodland Retreat, Dorset

The Woodmsman’s Treehouse even has a Nespresso machine (Mallinson’s Woodland Retreat)

The striking tree houses at this well-established wooded glamping site on the Dorset/Devon border incorporate gnarled tree trunks into their design and have won architectural awards from RIBA. Making an otherworldly impression but crafted from natural materials, these indulgent suites feature private hot tubs on wraparound decking beneath the canopy. The Woodsman’s Treehouse has an open-air shower and a sauna, plus a copper bath that looks onto the branches. Other luxuries include bathrobes, toiletries, log burners, kitchens and Nespresso machines. This is a child-free wood and guests are encouraged to turn phones off.

From £990 for two nights

Shepherds’ hut glamping

Best for romantic getaways: Aller Dorset, Dorset

Sip a glass of fizz while tucking into a fireside feast (Aller Dorset)

Set above a lake and with festoon lights strung above private, outdoor bathtubs, these four immaculately dressed shepherds’ huts are perfect for an intimate break for two. The interiors are made cosy with log burners and feature pretty, busy patterns on fabric headboards and cushions, which are designed by the owner. Couples can try yoga and reflexology by the lake or they can swim. Hampers come with champagne or guests can cook their own fireside supper, featuring lobster tails, steaks and burrata. The two newer huts have fancy tiles wrapped around their open-air bathtubs and two crittall doors that let the outdoors in.

From £185 a night

Family glamping

Best for tipis: Cornish Tipis, Port Isaac

An onsite lake is ideal for swimming and rowing (Cornish Tipi Holidays)

The private plots in woodland clearings above a flooded quarry are a real treat at this much-loved, low-impact campsite. The tipis have wooden poles, stoves, firepits and cool boxes and are carpeted with Turkish rugs, sleeping up to six in two sizes. Cars are kept in a separate meadow and the peaceful spot is busy with wildlife, contributing to the feeling of being in a magical, faraway place. The spring-fed lake is a picturesque spot where you can swim or take a rowing boat out. If you can bear to leave, Port Isaac is just minutes away.

Tipis from £160 a night

Best for animals: Bumblebarn, Norfolk

This friendly site of bell tents gets everything right and is great value for money. The natural canvas tents are spacious and comfortable, with thoughtful details like bedding, lanterns, chairs, blankets, tea and coffee and a cool box. They sleep up to five and are set slightly apart, in a pretty field with sea views. The campfire kitchen includes a cocktail cabinet and there are lots of animals nosing around, including pygmy goats, ponies and alpacas that you can take for a walk. Children will love the mud kitchen and playground. Sheringham beach is a mile away.

From £175 for two nights

Best for quirky breaks: Apple Glamping, Pembrokeshire

Accommodation options cover a UFO, igloo, submarine, train and speedboat (Apple Camping)

The fields of the Pembrokeshire countryside are a sight to behold at Apple Glamping, where wacky yet comfortable digs have been carefully sourced and converted. Kids young and old are thrilled to spend the night inside a private jet, peering out through porthole windows from the lounge and pretending to fly – with or without the help of a stack of Xbox flying games – in the cockpit. There is also a UFO to sleep in, an igloo with underfloor heating, a submarine, train carriage and a speedboat. Tenby is less than five miles away as is the beach at Saundersfoot.

Bell tent from £75 a night

Budget glamping

Best for walkers: The Quiet Site, Lake District

This affordable eco-friendly site looks out onto Ullswater (The Quiet Site)

This eco-friendly campsite is located among fells overlooking Ullswater, so is in a handy position for lacing up the walking boots and tackling the Ullswater Way, a 21-mile circumnavigation. Best of all, views of the mist-covered valley and the site’s post-hike pizzeria, pub and games room are brought to you as sustainably as possible. There is a zero-waste shop too. The wide-ranging accommodation is purse-friendly and includes snug, basic pods, Glamping Burrows dug into the hillside, and new, carbon-neutral Gingerbread Houses. These have a kitchenette and covered outdoor picnic table but don’t have beds, rather a raised mat, which large families (two adults and four children) can sleep on. For more luxury, the Glamping Cabins have double beds.

Camping pods from £90 for two nights

Seaside glamping

Best for seaside escapes: Fforest Coast, Ceredigion

Choose between a cabin or dome for your signal-free stay (Leia Morrison)

It’s less than a 15-minute walk to golden, cliff-backed Penbryn beach from this seaside camp on a former dairy farm. Fforest are rustic living specialists who also run the bigger Fforest Farm site in the countryside beside Cardigan. Fforest Coast has a cedar barrel sauna and you can choose to stay in either cabins or domes. The domes sleep up to four people, with mattresses for kids and have log burners, plus kitchen huts outside. The cabins have two or three bedrooms, wooden walls, woollen blankets and proper beds. A stay allows you to switch off, as there’s no phone signal or TV.

From £590 for four nights

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