ASHBOURNE WOODS, DEVON
Choose from pre-erected bell tents, pods or pitch your own tent on this secluded woodland site flanking Dartmoor. Set across 68 acres, it’s a back-to-nature experience: rabbits, deer, badgers, foxes, hedgehogs and owls are among the cast. Facilities are pretty simple (showers, lavatories and coin-operated washing machines) and campfires aren’t so much permitted as encouraged. A 10-minute walk leads to The Church House Inn – one of England’s oldest pubs. Beams hang above antique furniture and fires flicker in fireplaces that seem to demand a spitmounted pig.
Semi-wild pitches £19, extra children 3-13 £4, under-3s free. Bell tents from £35 per night, pods £45 (Ashbourne Farm, Rattery TQ10 9JZ; ashbournewoods.com)
BOUDICCA FOXLEONARD VISITED IN JUNE...
Swigging from a bottle of Sainsbury’s champagne, I watched guiltily as my boyfriend Harry squinted through the smoke to tend the campfire. Arriving at Ashbourne Woods in Devon had been so easy. We’d been allowed to drive right up to our gipsy wagon, nestled into its own woodland glade. With no heavy bags to carry or tents to pitch, I’d been the Devil making work for Harry’s idle hands.
My own were feeling a bit gnarled from a day climbing on Dartmoor. Type 2 fun: the sort where it only feels like fun in hindsight.
Camping is the essence of Type 2 fun for me; burnt food, late-night walks to have a wee, backache in the morning. Climbers have a reputation for being “dirt bags”, but if I’ve been hanging from a wall by my finger tips for most of the day, then a chilled glass of wine and a proper meal doesn’t seem like the height of decadence.
So news that the Church House Inn in the village of Rattery was a decent pub with less than a 10-minute approach, made this tired climber happy.
We crossed a tree lined meadow, through a rickety gate and turned left until we spotted the church spire. The main Grade II* listed longhouse of the Church House Inn dates back to 1028 and the recently refurbished restaurant makes the most of the aged oak interiors. The bar retains an egalitarian air; packed with chatty locals.
We sat in the garden with a bottle of Viognier. Sadly, it seemed to have spent as much time outdoors as we had. I dropped ice cubes into my glass, and scoured the menu for veggie options (I know). A baked camembert to share and a veggie rogan josh and spinach and ricotta ravioli would have to beat a tin of baked beans back at the ranch.
Every last scrap of the fine food brought out to us was eaten while we drained the last drops of sun from the sky. And as we meandered back to our wagon, the wine having done its work, if you’d asked me, “What Type of fun?”, one would have won.
thechurchhouseinn.co.uk farm, so the homemade ice cream is a must. The other of life’s necessities is available by the pint at The Turks Head, the island’s only pub, overlooking Porth Conger bay, it might just be the UK’s best beer garden view.
Adults £10.25, children 1-4 £5.75, under-1s free (St Agnes, Isles of Scilly TR22 0PL; troytown.co.uk)
CANAL CAMPING, NORFOLK
At the northern tip of the Norfolk Broads, there’s a private canal so you can hire a Canadian canoe (£50 per day) and set off, looking for swans, kingfishers, and elusive otters. Simple, tent-only meadow camping, with hot showers and fresh drinking water. A 15-minute walk, the Cross Keys serves everything from baby back ribs with chips to Sunday roasts and banoffee waffles.
Adults £12, children 3-5 £6, under-3s free (Honing Road, North Walsham NR28 9PL; canalcamping.co.uk)
FFOREST, PEMBROKESHIRE
It is all about outdoor living at Fforest Farm, a few miles outside of Cardigan. Bell tents, Kata cabins – half tents, half cabins – and a cluster of geodomes with outdoor kitchens and private Japanese “onsen” are all on offer. Spend days river swimming or kayaking, before drinks at Y Bwthyn; an old former farmworker’s cottage, now a tiny pub. Six-night festival camping for 2 adults £610. Onsen geodomes from £344 for two nights (The Lodge, Cilgerran SA43 2TB; coldatnight.co.uk)
COTSWOLDS CAMPING AT HOLYCOMBE, WARWICKSHIRE
In a field where a Norman castle once stood. There are lavatories, hot showers and a camping kitchen, but the clinchers are the stone circle and labyrinth – a nod to the site’s impressive history. The Norman Knight (a 15-minute walk), is a classic Cotswold pub.
Adults £10, children 12-18 £5, no children under-12 (Whichford, Warwickshire