7 quirky ways to go glamping

A yurt simply doesn’t cut it anymore when it comes to camping out in style and luxury, says Philip Thomas. Check out these maverick glamps...

Glamorous camping, but not in a yurt

GEODOME

Devon Where: Sleeps: Loveland 2-6 Vibe: Farm, Space Colonist Cost: From £300 for two nights ( www.lovelandfarm camping.co.uk) Where else? Loch Tay, Stirling ( www.lochtay-vacations.co.uk); Fforest Farm, Pembrokeshire ( www.coldatnight.co.uk); In the Stix, Rutland ( www.inthestix.co) Echoing the botanic biomes of the Eden Project, these mushroom-like pods would look more at home on the moon than tucked away in a remote corner of North Devon’s Hartland Peninsula. Letting the outside world in, their large windows open onto living spaces equipped with homely comforts and comfy furnishings. Combining simple style and luxury, they’re more like bijou apartments than tents, complete with kitchenettes, showers and eco loos. Should you need to briefly check-in with civilisation while you’re here, there’s wi-fi too.

TREE TENT

Where: Newbridge-on-Wye, Powys Sleeps: 2 Vibe: Ewok Cost: From £270 for two nights (www.sheepskinlife.com) Where else? Wendy, Ceredigion ( www.underthethatch.co.uk/wendy); Cromdale Station, Cairngorms ( www.cromdalestation.co.uk); Levisham Station, North York Moors ( www.nymr.co.uk/levisham-camping-coach) Not suitable for anyone who hates heights, enclosed spaces or a combination of both, the Red Kit Tree Tent brings you closer to nature, suspended 10ft above the ground from the sturdy pine trunks in a cosy tarpaulin orb. It looks small from the outside, but the minds behind this tree tent in deepest mid-Wales have cleverly arranged a double bed and log-burning stove inside. The tent’s linked by a bridge to a cooking, dining and shower deck raised above the forest floor.

SHEPHERDS HUT

Where: Fernwood, New Forest Sleeps: 2 Vibe: Thomas Hardy Cost: £90 first night, £50 additional nights (07730 586601, www.fernwoodringwood.co.uk) Where else? Rydal, Lake District ( www.theherdwickhuts.co.uk); The Rolling Downs, East Sussex ( www.therollingdowns.co.uk); The Nut Plat Retreat, Kent ( www.nutplatretreat.co.uk) Not just for ex-Prime Ministers writing their memoirs, a shepherd’s hut is the perfect rustic retreat for anyone wanting to escape modern distractions and the stresses of everyday life for a week. Refurbished by its owners, this one in the New Forest is decked out in a suitably olde worlde style but is by no means sparse. Insulated against night-time chills, its spacious double bed is complemented by a small log burner. After a peaceful night’s slumber, there’s also a good chance you’ll wake up to see foxes or deer right on your doorstep.

HELICOPTER

Where: Mains Farm, Thornhill, Stirling Sleeps: 2 adults + 3 children Vibe: Search & Rescue Cost: £150-a-night for 2 adults ( www.helicopter glamping.com) Where else? Windmill Campersite, Isle of Wight ( www.windmillcampersite.com); Ream Hills, Lancashire ( www.reamhills.co.uk) Take off for a glamping holiday with a difference. After decades of military service, this ex-Royal Navy Sea King was spruced up for a new life putting a fun and comfy spin on camping. Featured on Channel 4’s Amazing Spaces, this retired whirlybird is located on Mains Farm just outside Stirling, not far from Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. A shower, mini-kitchen and fold-out double bed are squeezed inside, plus further bunks for up to three little ones. You can even take tea in the cockpit.

HOBBIT-HOLE

Where: The North Shire, North York Moors Sleeps: 6 Vibe: Middle Earth Cost: Two-night breaks from £240 (01287 642228, www.northshire.co.uk) Where else? The Quiet Site, Lake District ( www.thequietsite.co.uk); West Stow Pods, Suffolk ( www.weststowpods.co.uk) “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell… it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.” Inspired by the underground dwellings of the Shire in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth, this human-sized smial is a novel base for an idyllic family getaway at the edge of the North York Moors National Park. Sleeping a family of six, it’s fully plumbed and is as cosily furnished as Bag End.

DOUBLE DECKER

East Sussex Where: Sleeps: Blackberry 4 Vibe: Wood, Cliff Richard Cost: From £60 (01273 890 035, www.blackberrywood.com) Where else? Trafalgar Square, County Durham ( www.southcausey.

co.uk); Pigeon Door, Shropshire ( www.pigeondoor.com); Ceridwen Centre, Carmarthenshire ( www.ceridwencentre.co.uk) “We’re all going on a summer holiday, no more working for a week or two…” Yes, there’s no escaping the retro vibes (or references to the 1963 film Summer

Holiday) radiating from this big red bus parked up on the Blackberry Wood campsite at the foot of the South Downs. This classic 1964 London Routemaster has been transformed into a home-from-home on wheels. Downstairs is a fully-equipped kitchen and dining area, while the top deck is set aside for sleeping. A soft play area doubles up as a bedroom for younger passengers.

CAMPING COACH

Where: High Cross (near Bridport), Dorset Sleeps: 4 Vibe: Enid Blyton Cost: A two-night stay costs £210 (01308 488701, www.campingcoach.co.uk) Where else? Wendy, Ceredigion ( www.underthethatch.co.uk/ wendy); Cromdale Station, Cairngorms ( www.cromdalestation. co.uk); Levisham Station, North York Moors ( www.nymr.co.uk/levishamcamping-coach) There’s nothing new about camping coaches, but now they’re back in fashion. They’ve undergone a first class upgrade since the days when obsolete rolling stock was fitted-out with bunk beds and shunted into empty sidings. The interior of the coach at High Cross in Dorset oozes with the Victorian charm befitting its vintage. It sports woodpaneled walls and period fittings, and there’s a kitchen, bathroom, fold-out double bed and even a vintage stove.