Aislabeck plantation, North Yorkshire

Architecturally striking but homely, these two modern lodges sit side-by-side in a peaceful private woodland valley close to the market town of Richmond. Each sleeps up to four people (from £155 a night), and glass doors run the length of the cabins with views across the Yorkshire Dales. These lead out to a deck, down to the communal fire pit, and 55 acres of private woods and hills. Hiking, biking, horse riding and castles (Richmond, Bolton and Ravensworth among others) can be found in the countryside beyond.
• togethertravel.co.uk

National Trust bunkhouses

From a restored military building overlooking the Dorset coast to a barn conversion in the Yorkshire Dales, the National Trust is opening its bunkhouses from summer onwards forexclusive use. Unable to take large group bookings, it is allowing up to two households to stay in each of the simple self-catering buildings that come with bunk-bed dorms and living spaces, and are well-placed for outdoor adventures. Both Octavia Hill in Kent (sleeps 10, from £788 for 3 nights) and Town Head in the Dales (sleeps 14, from £388 for 2 nights) are in former farm buildings with hiking trails nearby. Also available is Castle Ward in County Down (sleeps 14, from £388 for 2 nights), used as a location for Games of Thrones ; and Cragside in Northumberland (sleeps 16, from £380 for 2 nights) in a restored Victorian cottage close to both Hadrian’s Wall and the Northumbrian coast. There are also options in north Cornwall, north Devon and Dorset, with more to be listed soon.
• nationaltrust.org.uk. Available to book from 15 July by email bunkhouses@nationaltrust.org.uk or call 0344 800 2070

Pop-up campsites, various locations

With the summer festival season cancelled, posh camping companies are loaning out their bell tents to create pop-up campsites with a festival vibe.

Many are already booked up but in north Somerset, Wild Canvas Camping has availability, featuring an outdoor cinema, wool and felting workshops, bush craft for kids, daily yoga and qigong. Set on a farm in the Mendip hills, it will run from 13-24 August. Pitches cost £22pp a night (8-15 year olds £5, under 7s free). Furnished bell tents costs £175 a night for couples or £200 for four. Prices include most activities.

Glamping specialist Canopy & Stars has also teamed up with a bell-tent provider to host a campout summer, with tents usually used on the festival circuit taking temporary residence on private sites across the UK. There are over 20 sites, each featuring a single bell tent, including Ty’r Chanter in the Usk valley, Powys. Prices start from £85 a night, sleep 2-4, and as the tents are in the grounds of properties of sister company Sawday’s, guests have access to facilities such as a loo and shower in the owners’ main house.

Boundless Outdoors, Worcestershire

By offering cosy bell-tent glamping alongside rock climbing, zip wires, bushcraft and assault courses, this summer activity centre Boundless Outdoors is prolonging the fun on its two sites. Each tent sleeps six (from £99 a night plus service fee) and comes with proper beds, its own kitchen and bathroom facilities and a campfire area. The glamping site is situated in the Malvern Hills, with lots of walking and cycling trails nearby; the Bell Heath is in the Clent Hills, 20 minutes south-west of Birmingham. Each offers various activities (2.5 hours from £16.50pp) bookable separately to the tents.
• boundlessoutdoors.co.uk

Tiny Homes Holidays, Isle of Wight

Handcrafted cabins are part of the tiny-house movement, advocating simple living in smaller homes. The miniature village is set in a wildflower meadow next to the wildlife-rich Parkhurst Forest, between Cowes and (for fossil-hunting) the Hamstead heritage coast. There are four houses of varying styles costing from £120 a night: a smaller one for two, and three sleeping up to four, with Scandi-inspired decor, wood-panelled rooms, mezzanine beds, woodburners, galley kitchens and decks with barbecues. They have strong green credentials too – the site has solar power, composting toilets and water recycling.
• tinyhomesholidays.com. Packages available including the ferry: wightlink.co.uk

Author’s Escape, Devon

Once home to Henry Williamson, author of Tarka The Otter, this small coastal house is perched on a cliff in north Devon, with sea views through Monterey pines and meadows. An architect-led restoration of the original house took six years and includes an open-plan living space and two double bedrooms (sleeps four, from £150 a night). Nearby there’s surfing and lolling on the sandy beaches of Croyde, Putsborough and Saunton Sands; walking on Exmoor; and cycling on the traffic-free Tarka Trail. Nights can be spent getting cosy with a book by the woodburner or – this being in a designated Dark Skies area – stargazing out on the deck.
• kiphideaways.com

Oaker, Herefordshire

Paintballing, high-rope challenges and quad trekking around the 175-acre woodland make Oaker activity centre the dream location for families with older children. The two glamping sites, each with eight/nine wooden pods , sleeping four to eight in bunks, can be hired exclusively by a group of families (weekend activity package costs £160 per person, including two nights and two activities). Each site also has three bathrooms, a large communal kitchen, barbecue hut and campfire area. If there’s time after all the onsite adventures, Croft Castle and gardens, Ludlow Castle and cycling or horse riding in the Shropshire Hills are all close by.
• oakerwoodleisure.co.uk

FSC family trips, various locations

Environmental educational charity Field Studies Councilusually hosts thousands of schoolchildren around the UK but unable to cater to large groups this summer it is offering families the chance to book no-frills breaks in its various properties (from £90 a night for four, with breakfast). They include the converted naval base of Dale Fort close to the beach on the Pembrokeshire coast; the tudor mansion Nettlecombe Court on the edge of Exmoor national park; and the very first centre, Flatford Mill, on the banks of the River Stour in Suffolk – built in the 1500s and made famous by John Constable’s Haywain painting. Inside they have simple bedrooms, most with bunks, and as well as breakfast some also offer dinner (self-catering not available but outside takeaways welcome).
• field-studies-council.org

Overland Campers, West Yorkshire

If a more mobile, footloose trip appeals, Overland Campers have taken campervanning up a notch with several 4x4 off-road vehicles converted for overnight stays. The fleet includes a Land Rover Defender 110 (from £95 a night); a Land Rover military ambulance, with original blue light inside (from £125); and two army green and camo Land Rover Defender Pulse battlefield ambulances (from £125), one with modern blue interiors, the other with leather upholstery and wood panelling. Each vehicle has beds for 3-5 people (some on a pop-out roof), small kitchens, toilets, showers and solar panels. Pick up the vans from Halifax and explore the surrounding Calderdale villages, or (with 150 miles per day mileage included) head further afield into the Yorkshire Dales, Peak District or Lake District.
• coolcamping.com

Cycling adventure, Peak District

One for active older teens, this new small group trip takes cyclists on a range of rides accompanied by a guide: from the peaceful parklands of National Trust’s Longshaw Estate and around the Ladybower Reservoir; to the steep climb up through the striking limestone gorge of Winnats Pass. There are views along the way across the moors and woodland of the Derwent Valley, and the hills Mam Nick and Mam Tor. The trip includes 20 to 30 miles of guided riding a day, and three nights’ B&B (from £520pp). It’s part of a new range of trips based in one location created by the adventure specialist Intrepid in response to lockdown restrictions easing in the UK and Europe. Suitable for children 15 and over and available from the end of July.
• intrepidtravel.com