Dartmoor Domes, Devon
There are four geodomes on this idyllic site in a valley on the edge of Dartmoor, backed by woods and a stream. Each dome has a kingsize bed, woodburner and skylight for stargazing; a private kitchen, toilet and shower; and an outdoor space with a firepit and barbecue. Two are couples’ domes with wood-fired hot tubs, and two are family domes. Guests can walk to Sheepstor for views over Burrator reservoir and down to Plymouth Sound, cycle the nearby Drakes Trail or head to the village pub. It is a half-hour drive to the nearest beaches.
Domes sleep 2-5, from £135, hostunusual.com
Muiredge, Perthshire
Surrounded by heather and hills, this moorland site has a wild camping feel, but with none of the hardship. There is a choice of six bell tents, a converted railway carriage and a shepherd’s hut. The tents have double beds, decks with firepits and private shower/toilet pods. The carriage and hut have en suites, kitchens, woodburners and firepits. Muiredge is off-grid, using solar power, water from a spring-fed burn, compost loos and local larch cladding; and guests can plant a tree or sow wildflowers. It’s just outside the town of Auchterarder, about an hour’s drive north from Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Bell tent sleeps 4 from £100, train carriage sleeps 2 from £120, coolcamping.com
Brook Cottage Shepherd Huts, Llŷn Peninsula
Five huts – variously shepherd’s, poacher’s and gypsy – sit in a wildflower meadow overlooking a lake close to Pwllheli on north Wales’s Llŷn Peninsula. They have double beds, woodburners, kitchens, en suite shower rooms and firepits. Guests can eat breakfast outdoors, with eggs from the site’s hens, taking in a view of the Yr Eifl mountains. As well as the seaside town of Pwllheli, some of the peninsula’s top sights are nearby, including Abersoch, Criccieth Castle and Portmeirion. Walkers can beach-hop along the Llŷn section of the Wales Coast Path.
From £115, sleeps two, luxuryglampingwales.co.uk
Hillside Huts & Cabins, Northumberland
Owners Fiona and Philip have built two huts and a two-storey cabin on their 145-hectare farm near the historic market town of Morpeth. Philip knows a bit about camping, having spent 20 years running safaris, and his expertise shows. The huts have indoor and outdoor showers, decks, wood-fired hot tubs, firepits with skillets and toasting forks. They are made from reclaimed wood and corrugated iron, and are insulated with sheep’s wool and hemp. The farm is also run on ecological lines – 12,000 trees have been planted over the past 20 years, and guests can walk through the woodland, wildflower meadows and ponds. Local milk and eggs and homemade chocolate cake are provided.
From £130, sleeps two adults and two children, canopyandstars.co.uk
Moat Island, Haveringland Hall, Norfolk
This is glamping fit for royalty: a turreted castle-style hut on wheels in the moat of a former medieval hall near Norwich. Haveringland Castle hut has a fairy light-bedecked tower for eating and sleeping, plus kitchen, compost toilet and woodburner. Other options on the wooded island include a cabin with covered deck; furnished six-metre bell tents with proper beds, woodburners and firepits; and basic bell tents, one with transparent panels for stargazing. There are compost loos near each tent, plus a shower block and a camp kitchen made from Christmas trees cleared from the site. Best of all, guests can take a dip in the natural swimming pond and sunbathe on the jetty.
Bell tents from £65, castle hut from £350 for two nights (both sleep five), hostunusual.com
Penhein Glamping, Monmouthshire
The glampsite on this farm near Chepstow has a Persian vibe, reflecting the owner’s Iranian heritage. This year, two new high-domed Alachigh tents (from northern Iran) take the total to eight. The tents have proper beds, kitchens, toilets, woodburners and firepits. The new ones also have showers; the others have a shower block with underfloor heating, rain showers and a rolltop bath. There is a new social space – a Persian-style grand pavilion – and lots of activities, from guided tree walks to moon workshops.
From £295 for two nights, sleeps five, penhein.co.uk
Wheatsheaf Huts, Oxfordshire
This mini glampsite is ideal for a family holiday: the adults can sleep in the two shepherd’s huts, with kids in the bell tents. The accommodation is in its own field on a 200-hectare farm near Banbury. Children can meet donkeys, kunekune pigs, emus and a rhea, while grownups relax in the wood-fired hot tub. There are kitchens and firepits – the owners offer hampers of their own meat and eggs, plus homemade and local goodies. The huts are off-grid, and the farm produces renewable energy from solar panels, a biomass boiler and a combined heat and power pump.
From £150, sleeps two adults and four children, kiphideaways.com
Foot of the Downs, South Downs
On the edge of Fulking and just off the South Downs Way in the national park, Perching Manor Farm now has a shepherd’s hut and two curved pods. Each is insulated and heated, and has a kitchenette, en suite shower room and a welcome basket of essentials. Guests can order barbecue and breakfast hampers, and firepits and logs. There is a pub a short walk away – walkers can earn a pint with a climb up Devil’s Dyke first, which is two miles further on – and it is nine miles from Brighton.
Curved pods sleeping four from £120, footofthedowns.co.uk
Wantisden Park, Suffolk
This site on a private estate near the Suffolk coast overlooks ancient oak woodland and lakes. Accommodation includes eight lodges and pods (some with hot tubs), such as a little timber-framed roundhouse, two converted vans once pulled by steam engines, and six wooden tents. There are also pitches for tents, caravans and campervans, plus cafe and shop. Miles of footpaths encircle the park and it is a 15-minute walk to the nearest pub. Sutton Hoo is 10 minutes’ drive, and it’s 15 minutes to Orford and the coast.
Wooden tents sleep two from £50, pods and lodges sleep four from £320 for two nights, pitchup.com
Spire View Yurts, Derbyshire
These three yurts are on a rural site near Ashover, on the edge of the Peak District. All have a king-size bed and bunks, woodburners and a deck; two have hot tubs. They have private shower rooms and share a kitchen/diner. Ashover has three pubs and is roughly equidistant from Matlock and Chesterfield. As well as walking in the Peaks, glampers can cycle the High Peak Trail. The yurts can be booked individually or exclusively, for up to 14.
Seven nights from £631, sleeps five, sykescottages.co.uk
