30 campsites
Every site here is hand-picked for the guide.
Llanthony Priory
Gloriously basic camping in the shadow of an 11th century priory, pitched in a circular clearing under the Black Mountains in the Vale of Ewyas for a few pounds a night
In a valley
Middle Beardshaw
A tiny, sheltered field for a few tents on a working farm in the Brontë country hills of East Lancashire, a mile from Trawden with campfires allowed on a stone platform
Lancashire
Bryn Ifan Camping
Nine wildflower-meadow pitches on a working sheep farm at the edge of Snowdonia, with views stretching from Snowdon to the Menai Straits.
In a valley
Brynhaul Clover Field Camping and Shepherds Huts
The highest campsite in Pembrokeshire, perched on the Preseli Hills with fire pits at every pitch, private composting loos, and serious dark skies.
On a hillside
Chrome Hill Campers
Five hardstanding pitches on a moorland ridge above Hollinsclough, with Chrome Hill and Dragon's Back on the doorstep and owners who actually understand campervan life.
Derbyshire
Coed Temple Druid
Four named pitches in a Pembrokeshire meadow, each with its own fire pit and wood, and a stone circle up the hill, as close to wild as you can get with a hot shower.
In a field
Bryher Campsite
A tent-only island campsite on Bryher with Atlantic views west and Tresco Channel east, 28 miles off the Cornish coast.
By the sea
Camping at Banks
A back-to-basics trail camp 150 metres from Hadrian's Wall, run by hosts Oli and Emma who make £5-a-night feel like a genuinely cared-for stop.
In a field
Cheesewring Farm Campsite
A working Bodmin Moor farm where the Cheesewring stones are on your doorstep and the moor stretches out in every direction.
On a farm
Cockingford Campsite
A family-run Dartmoor farm where the East Webburn river runs along the boundary and the moors are walkable in both directions from your pitch.
On a farm
Middle Woodbatch Farm
A working Shropshire Hills farm where every pitch comes with a fire bowl and the Milky Way is the evening's entertainment.
On a farm
Haggs Bank Bunkhouse and Campsite
A former lead mine in England's Last Wilderness, with terraced pitches above the river and a wildflower meadow for those who want proper quiet.
In a valley
Canna Campsite
A ferry-only island campsite where the wildlife outnumbers the guests and the view west at sunset is the whole point.
On a farm
Gumber Campsite
A converted flint barn and tent field on the South Downs Way, inside a National Trust sheep farm, with dark skies that earn the journey.
In a field
Lawnsgate Campsite
A working moorland farm perched above the Esk Valley, with panoramic moors views and llama walks thrown in for good measure.
In a valley
Gurt Yurts
A Mendip Hills yurt field run by Tim with the kind of personal hospitality that makes first-timers book again before they've driven home.
In a valley
Halse Farm
A working Exmoor farm where you walk straight off the pitch onto open moorland, with red deer and Exmoor ponies as your nearest neighbours.
On a farm
Knotlow Farm
A proper White Peak farm in the heart of the national park, with real cattle, a trail running through the fields, and pods with hot tubs for when you want the views but not the tent.
On a farm
Low Bell End Farm Campsite
A quietly kept adults-only farm in the North York Moors where Tracy and Paul's welcome is as reliable as the views.
On a farm
Endon Cottage
A 200-acre Peak District sheep farm at the foot of Wetton Hill, with tent pitches, a camping barn for twelve, and hosts who still take you to meet the lambs.
On a farm
Gwersyllt Rhos y Gallt Campsite
A quiet valley campsite in Montgomeryshire with a riverside wild field, hilly sunsets, and Glyndŵr's Way a mile from the gate.
In a valley
Coves House
A private Weardale estate farmhouse with pitch-black skies, sheep on the drive, and the Weardale Way on the doorstep.
Durham
Dartmoor Shepherds Huts
Shepherd huts and tent pitches on a working Dartmoor farm, with the River Dart a short walk away and Holne Moor starting at the gate.
On a farm
Middle Corscombe Farm
A family-run working farm a mile from Dartmoor, with woodland, stream and communal fires that earn their keep after a day on the moor.
On a farm
Lickisto Blackhouse Camping
A restored Hebridean blackhouse anchors one of the most atmospheric campsites in Scotland, deep in the Isle of Harris with views over Loch Stockinish and real dark skies above.
By the sea
Balinoe Campsite
The Hebrides' honest base camp: a small, owner-run field on the Isle of Tiree with views to Mull and the Treshnish Isles, ten minutes from the sand.
In a field
Hafod Hall
Six hundred and fifty acres of Dark Sky Denbighshire with spread-out pitches, mountain views, and no mobile signal to distract you.
In a valley
Bayview Campsite
A family-run site right on Talmine Bay in remote Sutherland, where the beach is the back garden and the Milky Way is the ceiling.
By the sea
Abbots House Farm Campsite
Back-to-basics farm camping in the North York Moors, with a heritage steam railway running past and some of Yorkshire's best walking trails starting at the gate.
On a farm
Barrisdale Estate Campsite
The walk-in proves the point: Barrisdale is a wilderness campsite on Knoydart's south shore where the mountains do all the talking.
By the sea
Why these made the list
- Abbots House Farm Campsite
Grass pitches on an open North York Moors farm, with steam trains passing and nothing but moor on the horizon.
- Balinoe Campsite
Tiree's flat, wind-wide landscape and the Hebridean horizon make this the kind of place where the emptiness is the attraction.
- Barrisdale Estate Campsite
Wide valley floor, mountain weather, and a horizon with no buildings. Barrisdale is as empty and weather-true as mainland Scotland gets.
- Bayview Campsite
Surrounded by open Sutherland moorland with Ben Loyal and Ben Hope as the backdrop.
- Haggs Bank Bunkhouse and Campsite
North Pennines AONB, England's Last Wilderness, with terraced valley pitches and a wildflower meadow for those who want the wide, empty horizon.
- Bryher Campsite
Dry-stone walls, craggy moorland beyond the fields, and a horizon of open Atlantic: Bryher delivers the wide-empty feeling even in a campsite context.
- Bryn Ifan Camping
High and exposed between the Snowdonia peaks and the Llŷn coastline, with wide mountain and sea views and only nine pitches to share it with.
- Brynhaul Clover Field Camping and Shepherds Huts
Hilltop camping on the edge of Foel Cwm Cerwyn, with panoramic Preseli views and the open moor accessible from the gate.
- Camping at Banks
A sheltered field on the Northumberland moorland fringe, sheep in the adjacent pasture, the Wall path on your doorstep.
- Canna Campsite
Wide island skies, no mobile signal to speak of, and nothing between you and the horizon but sea.
- Cheesewring Farm Campsite
Stowe's Hill at your back, the Tamar valley ahead, and the Cheesewring a short walk from your pitch, this is Bodmin Moor without the buffer zone.
- Chrome Hill Campers
Five pitches on a moorland ridge with Chrome Hill rising behind and nothing but sky ahead.
- Cockingford Campsite
Pitched in the Widecombe valley with the moor walkable in either direction, this is the unhurried Dartmoor many people are looking for.
- Coed Temple Druid
The Preseli Mountains are the backdrop and the water source; the stone circle above the site belongs to a landscape that rewards quiet attention.
- Coves House
Weardale valley farmland with wide skies, no neighbours to speak of, and a suspension-testing track to keep the casual visitor away.
- Dartmoor Shepherds Huts
Holne Moor walks from the gate, no music allowed, and January stays that earn their keep in silence.
- Endon Cottage
Wetton Hill behind, Narrowdale Hill ahead, and dale walks in every direction from a working farm on the Derbyshire and Staffordshire border.
- Gumber Campsite
High escarpment, wide field, 25+ miles of paths and almost no one out there.
- Gurt Yurts
Perched above Churchill with sweeping valley views, dark skies, and the kind of silence that makes the Severn Estuary feel like a reward.
- Gwersyllt Rhos y Gallt Campsite
Rolling Montgomeryshire hills on every side, wonderful sunsets, and 15 pitches in a valley that rarely feels crowded.
- Hafod Hall
Wide valley, limited signal, spread-out pitches, and the kind of quiet that feels earned after you've settled in.
- Halse Farm
Walk out of the front gate and you're on Winsford Hill, with open moorland and wide views immediately underfoot.
- Knotlow Farm
Flagg sits on the limestone plateau between Bakewell and Buxton: wide sky, grazing cattle, and the kind of quiet that comes from having nothing built within eyeline.
- Lawnsgate Campsite
Wide moorland views, total night-time silence, dark skies: Lawnsgate delivers the Moors experience without a visitor centre in sight.
- Lickisto Blackhouse Camping
Remote east Harris, single-track access, no phone signal, and a landscape defined by sea, loch, and the famous sleeping lady ridge.
- Low Bell End Farm Campsite
Rosedale Abbey is as deep into the North York Moors as you can get with a tourer, and the site earns its setting.
- Middle Corscombe Farm
Less than a mile from Dartmoor National Park, with Belstone Tor walkable from the farm and the moor's wide quiet closing in around the edges.
- Middle Woodbatch Farm
Elevated above Bishops Castle with views across South Shropshire and the kind of quiet that lets you hear the sheep.