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We hope you are all having a great start to the summer holidays. Earlier this year Cool Camping very kindly offered to sponsor our Trinity camp out. Even though we had to cancel it they have very kindly said they would still support us, which was very cool indeed!
Cool Camping brings together the best camping and glamping sites across the UK, providing everything you need to help you find that perfect getaway.
Here are their recommendations for 8 Outdoor Escapes close to home.
We hope that you have a fantastic summer holiday!
This hilltop campsite, an hour from Henley, is best known for its eight, private camping pitches with far-reaching views towards the Cotswolds. Though they book out many months in advance, the farmers have recently opened an additional meadow in a separate part of the farm. It’s simple, spacious and there are no showers, but there’s still a private toilet for each pitch and it’s still just 10 minutes from Faringdon Folly, Badbury Hill and the National Trust’s Buscot Park Estate.
Enjoy tractor rides and feeding the animals at Bucklebury Farm, host to a collection of five rustic safari lodges with en-suite bathrooms and quirky children’s beds inside a cupboard. You can cook over a wood-fueled stove and there are oil lamps for atmospheric evenings, with a chunky wood table for dining and ample living space. The farm has an adventure playground and a Pat-a-Pet barn where you can meet rabbit and smaller animals. 45 minutes drive from Henley.
For a quick and easy break, this meadow, just north of Streatley, is a half-hour drive away and has pre-pitched and furnished bell tents waiting. Inside there are proper beds, fire-effect heaters and travel cots can be added for littl’uns. There’s plenty of space to explore, with woods edging the meadow, and it’s a 10-minute walk to the riverside Beetle and Wedge pub.
There are really two campsites on this farm just east of Cirencester. Shepherd’s hut guests go one way, to their private two-person abodes at one end of the farm, and campers go another, to a family-friendly field, where campfires are allowed and you can pitch where you please. It’s a 15-minute walk to the aptly named Village Pub, while the neighbouring, riverside village of Bibury, three miles away, is said to be the most photographed spot in the Cotswolds.
This classic Cotswolds site edges the beautiful market town of Charlbury, just over an hour from Henley, with stunning views across the Evenlode Valley. It offers a spacious main camping field flanked by pine trees, with footpaths accessible through a gate at the back. Caravans aren’t banned, but there’s more grass than gravel and the scale of the place appeals far to dedicated tenters. Wander into the village for its many pubs, or head to tiny Chadlington for a community-managed shop at its best.
It takes around an hour and 25 minutes to drive to Rouselands from Henley, arriving at an informal campsite with just 10 pitches and a recently refurbished washblock with good toilet and shower facilities. Campfires are allowed, there are farm animals to see and the quiet road, just north of the campsite, is part of the national cycle network, leading you five miles (about 30 minutes’ ride) into the town of Malmesbury and it’s grand, partially ruined abbey.
It doesn’t get much easier, or quieter, than this single safari tent, 25 minutes’ drive away near Pangbourne. Luxuries include a rain shower, a fully equipped kitchen and separate bedrooms (with a four-poster bed in one), while, outside, there’s a campfire pit and acres of space to roam. A footpath follows the far side of the field, linking up with the Chilterns Way, and it’s a five-minute drive to the animals, gardens and play areas of Beale Park.
It feels a long way from camping when a glamping holiday gets this luxurious. An hour’s drive across the Chilterns from Henley, this modern site is home to three timber pods, each with a double bed and extra sofa beds, a compact kitchen, WiFi, thermostatically controlled heating and a smart TV. Outside, meanwhile, there’s a private barbecue area and a wood-fired hot tub. Campfires are encouraged, however, and there are footpaths on the doorstep, so maybe it is just a bit like camping after all.
