27 campsites
Every site here is hand-picked for the guide.
Retorrick Mill
A bohemian, communal camping site hidden in Cornwall's Lanherne Valley, with a cosy live-music bar, courtyard fire pit, and a car-free clearing that feels genuinely cool without trying too hard
In a valley
Bank House Farm Caravan and Camping Park
Two gently undulating fields with the River Manifold meandering around them in the Peak District hamlet of Hulme End, with a perfect pub sharing the site's name between them
Derbyshire
Royal Oak Campsite
A quiet farmland campsite in the shadow of a great Peak District pub near Bakewell, where a full car park, hearty venison stew and pints outside your tent set the tone
Derbyshire
Lower Porthamel Camping
A real working organic farm near Hay-on-Wye on the edge of the Brecon Beacons, where you choose between a manicured family orchard or a wilder open group field
In an orchard
Newgale Camp Site
A booking-free beach camp metres from the surf on Pembrokeshire's Newgale coast, where you camp all but on the sand and fall asleep to the sea crashing
By the sea
Golden Lion Inn
A cosy year-round site tucked behind a proper Cornish pub near Redruth, beside Stithians Reservoir, where you can camp in the pub garden and go sailing before breakfast
Cornwall
Cliff House Holiday Park
A woodland holiday park on the Suffolk Heritage Coast where meandering wooded pitches lead right onto the beach, big park style facilities somehow feeling small and intimate
On the cliffs
Big Sky Hideaway Camping Farm
Dave and Em's 15-acre Lincolnshire operation is part rewilded meadow, part social campsite, held together by alpacas, communal fires, and wood-fired pizza.
In the forest
Anchor Barrow Campsite
A sociable, family-run field campsite five minutes from the north Cornwall coast, with an on-site bar, food nights, and an indoor barn that keeps the party going in any weather.
In a field
Bob's Field
A solar-powered Somerset Levels field with a South American cantina, sunset views, and a walk into Glastonbury from the gate.
In a field
Cartref Caravan
An adults-only Shropshire base that earns its reputation through obsessive upkeep, a proper bar with a log fire, and two characterful glamping units worth booking for their own sake.
In a field
Lillyroo's
Thoughtfully kitted bell tents on one flat acre in East Kent, with a proper bar, fire pit per pitch, and an owner who takes the whole thing seriously.
In a field
Painters Farm Campsite
A two-acre orchard campsite on the Kent Downs slope, with an ale house a short walk from your pitch and the Augustine Camino starting at the gate.
On a farm
Pennine View Park
A family-run base on a former railway goods yard at the midpoint of the Coast to Coast, with an on-site bar that keeps walkers well-fed.
In a valley
Pigs in Blankets Campsite
A working livestock farm outside Southwold with a private footpath to the beach, a proper bar, and views across wildfowl marshland that make it hard to leave.
On a farm
Cefn Coed
Seventy-five acres of ancient woodland and meadow within Eryri National Park, at the foot of Cadair Idris, with a path down to the Mawddach Estuary.
In the forest
Dolbryn
A Teifi Valley family-run site with woodland, a fishing lake, a vineyard and Preseli Hills sunsets just under two miles from Newcastle Emlyn.
In a valley
Pencarnan Farm Caravan & Camping Site
A 96-acre working farm on Pembrokeshire's westernmost point, where the fields run down to Porthsele Beach and the view opens west toward Ramsey Island.
By the sea
Blaithwaite House
A 250-acre Cumbrian estate that does proper tent camping alongside glamping pods, a barn bar, and a 25-acre dog-walking wood.
In a field
Hillend Camping Park
Fourteen acres of grass and dune at the foot of Rhossili Down, three minutes' walk from one of Britain's finest stretches of sand.
By the sea
Koa Tree Camp
Woodland glamping in North Devon with geodesic domes, a pub on site, and coast-and-countryside views that earn the premium.
In the forest
Maker Camping
Perched on the Rame Peninsula with panoramic views across Plymouth Sound, Maker Heights is a community-run campsite where the setting does the heavy lifting.
Cornwall
Masterland Farm
Fifty years of family farming behind it, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park all around it, and a clubhouse bar that earns its keep.
On a farm
Mousley House Farm Campsite
A 29-pitch Warwickshire farm with its own bar and pizza kitchen, sitting four acres from the Grand Union Canal and within easy reach of Warwick Castle.
Warwickshire
Beltonville Farmshop & Camping
A working farm in the Derbyshire Dales that earns its keep with a genuinely good café, a proper bar, and views over Miller's Dale.
In a valley
Coast & Castles Camp Site
Solar-powered coastal base on the Northumberland coast, a mile from Boulmer, with an on-site bar, visiting food vendors, and the Coast Path from the gate.
By the sea
Park Farm Camping
Eighteen acres of working farmland on the River Rother where you pitch wherever you like, light a fire, and walk to Bodiam Castle before lunch.
On a farm
Why these made the list
- Anchor Barrow Campsite
A proper on-site bar with a good selection, plus themed food evenings and a silent disco on Fridays, the bar here is the campfire by other means.
- Beltonville Farmshop & Camping
The Drinking Trough is a real bar, not an afterthought, with live music on weekends and the Cow Shed café next door.
- Big Sky Hideaway Camping Farm
The barn bar at Big Sky is genuinely good, the kind of place where you sit down for one drink and wake up the next morning having made friends.
- Blaithwaite House
A barn conversion with a proper selection of ales and ciders, open to campers in the evening.
- Bob's Field
Bob's Field runs a South American-style cantina with cocktails, a full bar, and Sadie's Mexican cooking beside a communal fire pit.
- Cartref Caravan
A cosy log-fire bar with food twice a week, run by wardens who make conversation feel easy.
- Cefn Coed
A small on-site bar that keeps things simple and social without drifting toward holiday-park territory.
- Coast & Castles Camp Site
An on-site bar with a relaxed atmosphere and visiting food vendors most evenings: the social end of the Northumberland coast.
- Dolbryn
On-site pub within the campsite grounds so the walk back to the tent is a short one.
- Hillend Camping Park
On-site bar and restaurant with consistent reviews, useful after a long day on Rhossili Bay or up Rhossili Down.
- Koa Tree Camp
The Jolly Roger Tavern on site is the centrepiece for evenings, with catering that means you never have to venture out if you don't want to.
- Lillyroo's
The barn bar at Lillyroo's has log burners, cosy blankets, and a proper drinks offer that makes the evening social without needing to leave site.
- Maker Camping
The Garrison cocktail bar serves proper drinks and puts on live music at weekends, making it one of the better reasons to stay on site after dark.
- Masterland Farm
The on-site clubhouse bar earns its spot with proper food and drink at campsite-friendly prices.
- Mousley House Farm Campsite
The Farmyard at Warwick is an on-site bar and pizza kitchen open to non-guests, not a trestle table, a proper operation.
- Painters Farm Campsite
The Alma ale house is seven minutes on foot, serves Shepherd Neame ales and hot meals, and functions as the campsite's social anchor.
- Park Farm Camping
The converted barn on site does bar, cafe, and covered entertainment, with a 10pm curfew keeping things in check.
- Pencarnan Farm Caravan & Camping Site
Rooftop bar overlooking the courtyard, with the Atlantic light fading behind Ramsey Island most clear evenings.
- Pennine View Park
The Engine Shed bar serves rotating evening food menus and proper beer at the end of a long day on the Coast to Coast.
- Pigs in Blankets Campsite
The Show Store bar runs daily with live music sessions, and it's designed to be used rather than endured.