Thistledown
Stroud, Gloucestershire
This enchanting Cotswold environmental centre's spacious surroundings take in trees, undulating pasture, glades of wild flowers and lovely views of the rolling Cotswold hills. The upper field offers camping in pitches individually mown into a pretty elderflower orchard, while the nearby pastures are flanked by woodlands that offer numerous opportunities for walks, nature watching or some good old-fashioned running around.
It's a popular place for daytrippers, who stop for lunch at the picnic tables and sawn-log benches dotted around, and come to enjoy the nature trails and activities on offer. Keep an eye on Thistledown's varied programme of events throughout the year, in which you can hone your outdoors skills, too. Planned events include "bronze-age baking", milking, flintknapping, badger watching and safaris.
Apr–Dec; tent £5 per night, adult £5, child (over 3 years) £2, under-3s free; 01453 860420
Turner Hall Farm
Seathwaite, Cumbria
For a remote wilderness camping experience, pitch up at Turner Hall Farm in the Lake District's less-visited Duddon Valley.
The most spectacular way to arrive is over the Wrynose Pass, a tortuous but exhilarating zigzag of a road that matches some of the best Lake District walks view for view. The campsite is tucked into the folds of the fells with the mountains of the Scafell range to the north-west, and the Old Man of Coniston to the south-east.
It's a basic campsite set up for walkers and climbers, the attraction being its location rather than the flashy facilities, but it does the basics very well with recently upgraded hot showers and filtered drinking water. Weathered and worn, the site merges seamlessly into the beautiful, rugged landscape – you're not so much looking at the view as being part of it.
Apr–Oct; adults £5 per night, children £2, cars £1, dogs £1; 01229 716420
Park House campsite and Keld Bunkhouse
Keld, North Yorkshire
Keld is delightful in its simplicity: a working farm that breeds pedigree Swaledale sheep in a particularly isolated area of the Yorkshire Dales.
While the farm and house sit atop a steep hill, the campsite is nestled down by the river Swale. There's a large field set aside for tents, ringed by a protective stone wall, and another area right next to the river. There's water from the farm's own natural spring supply. Not only is the setting splendid, but the drive to get here, along narrow lanes lined with dry-stone walls and punctuated with rustic farms and remote villages, is highly scenic too.
In fact, the whole area is gorgeous. From nearby Keld you can access waterfalls and walks aplenty, including the 192-mile (268km) coast-to-coast hike that passes through three contrasting national parks. Or just relax near the river and enjoy the peace and quiet of being utterly off-grid.
Open all year; adults £6 per night, children £3, electric hookup £3, dogs free; 01748 886335
Ardnamurchan
Kilchoan, Highlands
Ardnamurchan turns out to be a combination of all that's best about camping: a very small site, in a spectacular location, offering magnificent views out over a sea loch. It feels like you're camping on a genuine working highland croft – which is what this site used to be.
Some of the loveliest beaches on the planet can be found around the campsite's edges, as well as a remarkable remnant of a volcanic caldera, unlike any other volcanic site in Britain, nearby.
The road to the beach at Sanna Bay goes right through the middle of the crater, so you can abandon the car and walk around the rim of the real (but thankfully extinct) volcano.
Ardnamurchan is a place of geographical wonder, and no amount of scenic superlatives can fully explain why this place grips your spirit so tightly and entices you to make the journey back.
Apr–Sep; tent and two adults £13, children £3, families (two adults, two children) £22, campervan £14 + £3 electrical hookup, dogs on a lead free; 019725 10766
Ty Parke Farm
St David's, Pembrokeshire
The Pembrokeshire coastline is home to some of the most diverse landscape in the UK. If it's high clifftops and sweeping beaches you want, this part of west Wales will offer them up in droves. And Ty Parke Farm is a good base to start exploring them from.
A serene retreat, Ty Parke Farm can be found at the end of a long track, well away from traffic, noise and nuisance. There are 10 pitches (and two yurts) in a space where 100 might take up residence on other sites, so there's plenty of room to spread out. Each pitch has its own fire pit for that most essential of camping activities.
But it's the emphasis on nature that sets Ty Parke apart from the multitude of campsites in this popular corner of Wales. Three thousand trees have been planted on the campsite since 2007, and the young forest is already laying down a soft edge to the wild, open countryside. There's also a five-acre nature trail running alongside a small stream, with badgers and foxes in residence. It's a great countryside base for exploring this pocket of Pembrokeshire, including the surf at Whitesands beach and the tiny cathedral city of St David's with its range of cafes, restaurants and art galleries.
Easter–mid Sep; two adults £20 per night, children £5 per night, tipi hire (sleeps four) £395 per week, 01348 837384
Wheems Organic Farm
South Ronaldsay, Orkney
Wheems boasts the sort of big, blustery seascape that just wouldn't look the same viewed from a hotel window. Campers pitch their tents in a field that slopes down towards the ocean – a great vantage point from which to view this impressive rocky shoreline. A stile in the field leads to epic beaches and cliffs in a few minutes.
The picturesque village of St Margaret's Hope is just two miles away from the campsite and offers pubs, eateries and an arts and crafts gallery. But if you'd prefer to be self-sufficient, Wheems Farm's own organic fruit, vegetables and livestock products are available from the shop, so you needn't move an inch from that inspiring view. It's also a great place to stay if you're going to the St Magnus festival in nearby Kirkwall in June.
Apr–end Oct; £5 per tent plus £3 per additional person, cars £1; 01856 831556
Camus More
Kilmuir, Skye
Camus More has been in the MacDonald family for four generations, and Iain and Bryony started the small campsite a good 20 years ago, but it has remained under the tourist radar. The low visitor numbers add to the edge-of-the-world feel of this incredible place.
There are only a dozen pitches, shaved out of the grass and separated from the beach by a low wall. The site is basic – and the owners want to keep it that way – with just a couple of loos and a cold-water sink for washing, but that seems in keeping with the sparse surroundings.
The site looks straight across the Little Minch towards Harris and the Uists (look out for a golden eagle overhead or the occasional school of basking sharks in the bay) and as the sun sinks down behind the line of the Outer Hebrides, you can count the islands poking from the fiery sea.
Mid-May–mid-Sep, tent plus two adults £6, 01470 552312
La Valette Farm
Sark, Channel Islands
Pitch a tent in the east-facing field of La Valette campsite on the tiny isle of Sark and on a clear day you'll get a pristine view of the French coast.
La Valette provides a good base from which to explore the island, but it has plenty to offer in its own right. Around the rear of the farmhouse – it is still a fully functioning farm – you'll find the campsite has breathtaking views and direct access to the cliff path and seashore below.
Though the cliffs are sheer, it's only a five-minute walk down to the beach at Grève de la Ville, where you can watch the sunset and maybe take a night-time dip, then lie outside your tent in blissful silence gazing up at the stars in a truly dark night sky.
Open all year; adults £7 per night, children (under-11) £4, pre-erected tents an extra £18–£45 per night, 01481 832202
Stoats Farm
Isle of Wight
Stoats Farm, with its 400-year-old farmhouse and collection of ramshackle outbuildings, is in a great location, nestled in a valley at the far-western tip of the Isle of Wight.
The splendour of this campsite owes much to its views of the famous Tennyson Down, but there is also some terrific coastal landscape to be enjoyed. Just across the lane from the farm, a short hill climb leads to the top of some dramatic cliffs, which plunge suddenly and vertically into the crashing sea below. From here you can follow the coastal path to Alum Bay with its multicoloured sands, and the Needles – the island's most iconic attraction.
Alternatively, north along the path, Totland Bay can be found arcing into the island. Headon Warren offers a spectacular view of the bay – its shingle beach has won a Blue Flag Seaside Award for its superb environmental quality.
Mar–end Oct, tent + two adults £12-£14, extra person £3.50 per night, under-5s free, electrical hook-up £3.75
Cae Du
Rhoslefain, Gwynedd
A Snowdonian seascape to take your breath away lies in wait at Cae Du. The grassy banks of the campsite spoon the rocky shoreline of the north Wales coast, where the Irish Sea bubbles over the pebbled beach.
The coastal contours curve into the distance on all sides of the site, with Snowdonia's dramatic mountains providing the landward backdrop.
Even the facilities offer a special vantage point; time your washing up right to enjoy the sunset over the sea. The nearest train station is a mile's walk away, and from there it's just three miles to link up with the picturesque Talyllyn railway.
And then there's the Fairbourne railway, dropping passengers at the sand spit overlooking one of the most ravishing views in Wales – out over the Mawddach estuary to its encircling mountains.
Mar–Oct; two adults £10, family £15 per night, 01654 711234
Sophie Dawson is co-author of Cool Camping England, (Punk, £16 .95). To order a copy for the special price of £12.45 (including UK mainland p&p), go to theguardian.com/bookshop or call 0330 333 6846. coolcamping.co.uk
