Pencuke Farm
St Gennys, Cornwall
This yurt village has been set up in a wildflower meadow on an organic farm, surrounded by long grass and crooked paths. The handmade yurts combine the comforts of a luxury hostelry with the benefits of fresh sea air and rolling fields. The walls are two metres high and the domed canvas ceiling has a wide skylight for stargazing. Wooden floors, rugs and sofas and oak-framed beds create a country atmosphere with a log burner in one corner.
The nearby guest barn has a larger kitchen with a freezer, washing-up area and communal dining table. There is a barbecue and a firepit for cooking. Each yurt comes with a copy of Annie Bell's excellent The Camping Cookbook and in the farm shop you'll find plenty of local produce for family feasts.
A number of walking routes are being developed throughout the seven hectares of the farm, but if you fancy a little drive, less than two miles down the road is Crackington Haven, with one of Britain's best surfing beaches.
Mar-Oct; from £295 per yurt per week; 01840 230360
Jollydays Luxury Camping
Scrayingham, North Yorkshire
Glamping is often what happens when one half of a relationship loves camping and the other hates it – and this is how Jollydays came about: part chic hotel, part off-the-grid ecoshack, set in 200 acres of private woodland.
There are three types of tent. A belltent sleeps four on two double futons and has shared facilities, the luxury lodge tents have their own toilet and shower and sleep six (double bed, two singles and a sofabed), while the deluxe tents have extras such as four-poster beds and candle chandeliers, a large wood-burning stove and a fridge. They all have raised wooden floors, woollen rugs and flowery duvets. The owners will provide a breakfast basket on request.
The location – on the edges of two designated areas of outstanding natural beauty, the Howardian Hills and the Yorkshire Wolds – is unbeatable. You're less than an hour's drive from the coast to the east and the North Yorkshire moors to the north, and York is to the south-west for a daytrip steeped in history.
Bell tents Apr-Oct, £110 per night/£470 per week. Lodge tents Mar-Dec, £120 per night/£585 per week, deluxe lodge tents Mar-Dec, £135 per night/£670 per week. 01759 371776
Harvest Moon Holidays
Lochhouses, East Lothian
Everything about Harvest Moon says "space!": from the roomy safari tents to the sand dunes they take shelter behind, down to the windswept beach and the northern seascape that unfolds at its edge. Harvest Moon is set up on Lochhouses, an arable farm with stretches of woodland and wetland all the way to the coastline – one of Scotland's quietest and least visited.
Canvas comfort is assured – the tents easily sleep up to six, and eight if the sofabeds are shared. There are separate sleeping and living areas, an extended back porch with a shower room and toilet and a fully equipped kitchen with a wood-burning stove. They have a seaside-chalet-meets-midwestern-prairie-lodge feel about them, with solid pine furniture and floorboards and old-fashioned brass taps.
Dogs, cats and horses are welcome onsite, with bike rentals and pony treks available.
The natural sand dunes attract a plethora of birds, including oystercatchers, wagtails, curlews, skylarks, wild pheasants and grey partridges.
The farm is close to hand, as is the new Cockadoodle Kids Corner, complete with chickens, ducks, rabbits, lambs, ponies and guinea fowl, as well as a treehouse and pirate boat.
Open all year; from £325 midweek, £350 weekend, £475 per week; 07931 633544
Ecopod Boutique Retreat
Loch Linnhe, Argyll and Bute
At the south-western end of the Great Glen, where loch Linnhe empties its deep-blue water into the Firth of Lorne, Jim and Nicola found the perfect setting for a campsite. Recognising the impact of tourism and the need to keep their new discovery as pristine as as possible, they set up Ecopod, inspired by the Berlin-based firm Zendome's eco-friendly geodesic structures.
This June they will open their second dome, nestled, like the first, among rhododendrons looking out on Castle Stalker and the loch.
The domes sleep two people and are furnished and equipped to stringent environmental and aesthetic standards – designer furniture, digital TV and Wi-Fi, a wood-panelled bathroom with organic beauty products, and an outside wooden deck with a capacious hot tub. The domes are amply heated by wood-pellet stove, fuel for which is provided upon arrival along with a hamper-full of local delicacies – handmade chocolates, beers, malt whisky, fresh seafood – along with other essentials. You might just never leave …
Open all year; £995 per week (high season), short breaks available (low season); 07725 409003
The Dome Garden
Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire
These geodesic domes sprout in this ancient forest like giant fungi. Inside they're big enough to house a family of six. You won't get phone reception here, and there's no Wi-Fi, but there is a wood-fired pizza oven that gets lit twice a week, and you can use the embers to bake your own bread in the morning. And if you can't face a tramp through the forest to the pub, you can lean on the Edge Bar – the site's own saloon in the owners' kitchen.
The domes have solid floors, insulated covers, wood-burning stoves and comfortable beds that they'll make for you in the morning. You also have your own camp kitchen and ensuite shower or bath.
Open all year; from £375 for 3 nights, £445 for 4 nights, £620 per week; 07974 685818
The Wood Life
Kenn, Devon
A safari-style tent in a clearing in a secluded wood in a secret location, somewhere in Devon ... and all of it to yourself. Pitched on a wooden deck, with a picturebook chestnut fence out front, it is the very image of tranquillity. There are armchairs, a sofa, and a wood-burning stove in the kitchen – but you can cook outside on the open fire too.
Kids will love the treehouse and swing. In late April and May, the floor of the wood is carpeted with bluebells, and if you're patient you might just spot badgers, foxes, deer, plus a wide range of birds from woodpeckers to owls. Beyond the trees there is alot to do and see, with Exeter a mere five-mile drive away, but you probably won't want to budge, as you sink into the simple life.
Apr-Oct; from £375 (Fri-Mon/Mon-Fri)/£825 (1 week); 01392 832509/ 07980 277971
Barefoot Yurts
Broad Oak, East Sussex
This is hotel comfort in an evergreen glade. There are two traditional, handpainted Mongolian yurts, the larger a sitting room and the smaller the bedroom yurt. Both have pristine white floors, intricately decorated blue-and-white ceilings and solid wood furniture. They are heated with wood-burners, for which a generous supply of logs is provided. A separate cooking and washing log cabin provides an oven, hob, barbecue, fridge and hot water.
Solar lighting, recycled wood and a composting toilet ensure the place is ecologically sound. The High Weald and Ashdown Forest are to the west; Dungeness and Romney Marsh to the east.
Open all year; from £240 for 2 nights, £260 per weekend, £620 a week, 01424 883057
The Yurt Retreat
Crewkerne, Somerset
These luxury yurts on a working organic farm in a lush corner of Somerset are aimed at couples and groups (adults only) who fancy an alternative to a French farmhouse. The yurts fan out from the communal lodge and firepit, with trees forming a leafy backdrop. Each yurt is south-facing, on a redwood platform for lazy summer evenings on deckchairs. Each comes with a wood-burning stove and a separate, cedar-panelled toilet. In the lodge you'll find a kitchen and dining table, hot showers and a comfy lounge.
Apr-Sep; from £160 for a weekend, £240 midweek, £495 per full week; 07773 505671
Cae Wennol Yurts
Conwy, Gwynedd
Cae Wennol is situated in an 11-acre, family-run smallholding in the north-eastern approaches of the Snowdonia national park. There are only two yurts for a maximum of 10 visitors. No other camping is allowed – leaving the yurt field, with its silver birches and water lilies, all to yourself.
These are authentic handcrafted Mongolian yurts, named Seren and Heddwch. The spacious interiors have wooden floors, log burners, heaps of cushions, and tea lights and lanterns for atmosphere. There is also a fully equipped communal outdoor cooking hut and barbecue area as well as an endless supply of clean water from the spring.
Dragonflies, mallards, herons and buzzards visit by day, and on a clear night the stars are spectacular.
Apr-Oct; Seren: £80 per night, £210 for 3 nights, £500 for 7 nights; Heddwch: £90 per night, £240 for 3 nights, £550 for 7 nights; 01492 650138
Lakes Yurts
Keswick, Cumbria
Erdene, Saran and Altan (Mongolian for "jewel", "moon" and "golden") are the magical names of these Cumbrian yurts.
Erdene accommodates up to two people in the cosy comfort of fitted carpets and sheepskin rugs, lamps and an oil heater, and sits in a lush garden in the heart of Keswick. There are private showers and a cute little kitchen in a nearby shed. Tea, coffee, milk and biscuits are provided, and hampers of locally produced food, such as bacon, cheese, bread and jam, are available to buy. There are great views of the surrounding fells such as Skiddaw and Latrigg.
Saran and Altan are situated on a quiet National Trust campsite at Seatoller farm, 15 minutes' drive from Keswick. They both sleep up to five with a double bed, two single daybeds and a camping mattress. They have a wood-burning stove, rugs, solar-powered lights and a kitchen with double gas hob and grill.
Toilets with washing facilities are next door, hot showers are available at the farm. There's also an outside deck and barbecue area if the weather stays fine.
Open all year; from £70 per night or £480 per week; 017687 80355/ 07771 982344
Sites chosen by Garri Rayner at goglamping.net
