Four fantastic camping trips in the UK

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Getting the adventure underway

For some adventurers, self-driving is the only option. If you drive a Land Rover Defender, even better. Add to that a safari tent (or, more indulgently, a full glamping kit, with a Nordisk tipi tent, solar-powered lanterns, camping beds and chairs, and even a portable pizza oven). Ooni, if you wish), you will be perfectly prepared to go almost anywhere in Britain. Overland Adventures ticks all of these boxes, providing customers with a well-maintained Defender and everything they need for a self-guided expedition, including a handful of Lake District and Northumberland itineraries.

The Nland 250 is a 250-mile route that takes between five and seven days to complete and takes in coastline and castles, forests and picturesque villages, tidal islands and fragments of Hadrian’s Wall. The Lake District, however, is OA’s sweet spot – they have more than three decades of form here. Defender handover can happen at any airport or regional train station, and their team will lend as much or as little help as needed with planning and ground services.

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Last minute tents (and tipis, domes and yurts) from Sussex to Scotland

If you’re still looking for a July night or two under canvas, Canopy & Stars is a go-to for the country’s best glamping sites, cabins and grounds. It’s easily searchable by all sorts of criteria, from region to occasion (honeymoon, this is your aggregator), last-minute specials or type of stay – geodomes, tick; gypsy caravans and treehouses, tick and tick. Find a sheep hut in Devon, a lodge in Argyll and Bute, or just those accommodations with outdoor bathrooms or within national parks.

Over the next few weeks there will be several discounts available, so if your schedule allows for a last-minute getaway, you’ll want to look here; Additionally, its B Corp score of 122.3 is one of the highest in the travel industry.

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More space to travel (in a motorhome) throughout the UK

Wild With Consent was conceived in 2021 to reinvent the way campers connect with nature across the UK. By working with landowners to facilitate off-grid camping options on private properties and farms, you are changing the map of possibilities for the self-sufficient adventurer.

In May, a number of exciting new sites went online, ranging from the grand High Weald estate in Kent to a Dartmoor country house on the edge of a medieval village, where you might encounter wild ponies on your evening stroll. There are also new sites near Dorset’s Jurassic Coast, working farms in Scotland and Somerset, and a Northumberland Tower that’s within (good) walking distance of Dunstanburgh Castle and some nice beaches.

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Wild nature appears in Bedfordshire

Wild Canvas, the five-week pop-up camping experience, returns in summer 2024. This year, it reoccupies the 150-acre grounds of Turvey House Estate in Bedfordshire and includes an expanded wellness offering. In addition to the treatment tent and riverside sauna, there are free public sessions first thing in the morning: from yoga and Pilates to bootcamp HIIT training and smaller classes throughout the day.

The range of activities includes kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding on the Great Ouse, children’s craft sessions, storytelling sessions and the Saturday Supper Club in a huge tipi tent. Kids will have their own nightclub, while on weekends adults have a rotating roster of live DJs (though everyone is welcome). If you don’t feel like bringing your own gear, you can rent one of Wild Canvas’s yurts or tipis – they sleep up to four people and come with their own beds (and sheets), portable fire pits, and outdoor seating. However you choose to sleep, there will be plenty to snack on, from wood-fired pizzas to empanadas, not to mention a good old-fashioned barbecue.