Bert’s Kitchen Garden, Llŷn Peninsula
Twenty camping pitches and two safari tents sit among wildflower meadows on a 200-hectare farm outside the small village of Trefor on the northern coast of the Llŷn Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. There’s a treehouse and rope swings for the kids, while the big draw for grown-ups is its seasonal kitchen-garden restaurant for breakfast and lunch every day, and dinner six nights a week (drinks and cocktails are garnished with herbs from the garden). There’s a private shingle beach and you can hire paddleboards and kayaks at the nearby sandy beaches of Porth Iago or Aberdaron. Take bus 30 from Caernarfon or Pwllheli to Ganolfan, from where it’s just over a half-mile walk down the lane to the site.
Adults from £22 a night, children from £10, two-night minimum, bertskg.com
Lee Valley Almost Wild Campsite, Hertfordshire
A 17-pitch site among the green spaces of the 4,000 hectare Lee Valley Park on the Essex-Hertfordshire border. Choose between 12 riverside or five woodland pitches with basic amenities, including a compost toilet, cold water tap and solar-powered lights. Take the train to Broxbourne, from where it’s a 10-minute walk to the campsite. You could also cycle 17 miles along the River Lee navigation towpath from London.
Pitches from £22pp a night, visitleevalley.org.uk
Guilden Gate Smallholding, Hertfordshire
Choose between a yurt and a renovated campervan in either a coppice woodland or the “Secret Garden” reached via an oak doorway at this site less than an hour on the train from London and just 15 minutes from Cambridge. The owners provide their own seasonal veggie-box scheme (asparagus and rhubarb in May, sprouts and leeks in December), along with fruit, herbs, mushrooms, honey and eggs. Take the train to Royston, then the 17 bus to Park View, from where it’s a five-minute walk to the smallholding.
Two nights from £250, guildengate.co.uk
Brook Lodge Farm, Bristol
With buses running from Bristol right to the entrance, this camping and caravan park is easy to reach without a car. In the historic hamlet of Cowslip Green, the farm dates from the 1730s and is a beautiful spot with a stream winding across the grass park, plenty of mature trees and abundance of wildlife. Many conservation initiatives are in place too, from bat boxes to construction of wildlife corridors. Close to the Mendip Hills, the area is great for walking, birdwatching and cycling.
Pitches from £10 a night, plus £4 adults, £3 children, brooklodgefarm.com
Tapnell Farm, Isle of Wight
Safari tents, wood cabins, ecopods and “modulogs” (log-built pods for groups of up to six) feature at this innovative farm park in the north-west of the island, where onsite facilities include a restaurant, bar, bike hire and slip-n-slide aqua park with huge, free-fall drops. Take the ferry from Lymington to Yarmouth, then Southern Vectis 27 bus to the farm.
From £360 for up to eight for two nights. Two-night cycling break for two from £350 in the ecopod, or £500 in the Modulog or Dome, including luggage transfer (by electric cargo bike) from ferry at Yarmouth and cycle hire from Yarmouth and back (electric bikes additional £50), tapnellfarm.com
Ty Du Farm, Llanelli
This is a back-to-nature, car-free campsite on a small wildlife-friendly farm with just five pitches and a seven-metre imperial bell tent (sleeps up to eight), where the owners, members of the Greener Camping Club, encourage children to explore the woodlands and collect firewood. Walks and cycle rides on smooth tracks lead to Furnace Pond, Swiss Valley reservoir and local beaches. Take the bus L2 or 128 from Llanelli to Felinfoel, from where it’s a 20-minute walk to the site.
Pitches from £15 plus £5pp a night (kids free), glampingcampingtydufarm.co.uk
Graig Wen, Gwynedd
Pitch in more than 16 hectares of car-free sheltered glades and secluded meadows, or head up high on a bluff overlooking Mawddach estuary in the southern part of Snowdonia national park. It’s a basic site (compost loos, hot shower trailer and drinking water taps), and 600 metres from the Mawddach Trail below the foothills of Cadair Idris – great for cycling along the former railway line that runs from Dolgellau to Barmouth on the coast. Take bus 28 from Fairbourne railway station, ask to get off at Graig Wen between Arthog and Penmaenpool.
Pitches from £20 a night, graigwen.co.uk
La Valette, Channel Islands
A family campsite on the France-facing east side of the Isle of Sark (between Guernsey and Jersey), where you can swim at the nearby Grève de la Ville bay with views across to Alderney. The site is basic, but there’s a shower block, toilets and washrooms and you can also hire a pre-erected tent or pods for three or four. Sark is car-free – take the ferry there (several sailings a day in summer from Poole or Portsmouth, changing in Guernsey), then tractor to the site.
Adults £11 a night, children £5; pods from £39, sercq.com
The Lazy Duck, Cairngorms
New owners Phil and Sarah are breathing fresh life into this well-established glampsite in the Cairngorms national park. There’s a pre-pitched safari tent (sleeps six), three off-grid cabins and a bunkhouse with wood-fired hot tubs and sauna, plus yoga and massage in the wellbeing studio. Phil runs guided mountain biking in nearby Abernethy forest. From Aviemore or Inverness, bus 37 stops at Nethy Bridge; ask for the Causar Shelter stop from where it’s a five-minute walk to the site.
Safari tent from £348 for a three-night weekend or four nights Mon-Fri for 2 adults and 2 children, lazyduck.co.uk
Abbey Home Farm, Cotswolds
A family-friendly organic farm campsite near Cirencester where you can camp in a car-free field with basic amenities (compost loos, cold water taps and hot gas showers) and views across Cotswold farmland, or stay in a yurt camp (good for groups), shepherd’s hut or stone cottage. It’s a five-minute stroll through the woods to the site’s farm shop and cafe, and there are farms walks, tours and activities for kids. Catch bus 881/855 from Kemble railway station to Cirencester, from where it’s a 40-minute walk along the farm’s own footpaths or a 10-minute cycle to the campsite.
Adults £8, children £4, theorganicfarmshop.co.uk
Richard Hammond, author of The Green Traveller (Pavilion, £18.99). Order a copy for £16.52 at guardianbookshop.com
