Posted By Laura in Family Friendly Holidays, Featured, Travel, Travel Tuesday | 1 comment

Us grown ups might be all longing for long lazy beach days, and trips to ancient monuments, but if you stop for just a nanosecond to consider what your 1/4/7/10/12 year old (delete as appropriate…) might want, then the chances are they’re not remotely interested in rural seclusion and cultural excursions.

And here’s where glamping comes in.  There’s nothing quite like it, and genuinely, it suits everyone.

For the `I’m not a fan of camping’ naysayers – it’s not really camping!

For the `I love the back to nature element of camping’ yaysayers – it’s just like camping! 

Genuinely, you get it all (well, without a sunshine guarantee if you stick to the UK).
All the good bits of camping – getting back to nature, being outdoors all the time, being surrounded by beautiful countryside, ridding yourself of central heating and air conditioning.
And then you also get all the good bits of not-camping: a proper bed to sleep in, kitchen facilities, washing facilities etc.

One Off Places is home to over 50 UK glamping options

from airstream caravans and gypsy wagons, to yurts, tipis, safari tents and treehouses.  Most are geared up to cater for families, and offer an amazing opportunity for youngsters to get back to nature, whilst ensuring that adults get to enjoy their holiday too!

Take Bleasdale Glamping for example, a small collection of glorious safari tents – luxurious holiday hideaways wrapped in canvas, set at the end of a private country lane in Lancashire, with the Bowland Fells as a backdrop.  This is a place the children will love – where they can build dens and camps in the woods, toast marshmallows round the campfire, and run to their hearts’ content.  Each tent sleeps up to six people in three separate bedrooms – one double, one twin and one bunk room.  The beds are solid, the duvets plush, the kitchen well equipped, a dining area for six, a private bathroom and a deck for al fresco dining. 

This wonderful site is set above a private section of river, where you can laze in the shade of the trees, dip into quiet pools, build dams and catch sticklebacks.  Truly a natural adventure playground for children.

The Isle of Wight is also a fabulous place for a family glamping holiday.  Bursting with things to do for all ages, it’s a wonderful holiday destination. 

One Off Places is thrilled to feature The Hideaway, a stylish corral of 4 hand built shepherd’s huts, for exclusive use by one party.  Two huts joined together make up the kitchen / living room, and then there are two en suite bedroom huts, one with double bed and one with two sets of bunk beds.

The huts are set around a deck where you can sit out when the weather is fine, and the huts are completely private and surrounded by nature and wildlife.
There is Bike hire and mini tractor rides on site, as well as a games room and a whole host of indoor and outdoor games to make use of.  And of course the Isle of Wight is jam packed with things to do, from castles to beach trips and coast walks to theme parks.

If you’ve got a family of adventurers, then you can do no better than a stay at The Dome Garden, a unique collection of geodesic domes in the heart of the Forest of Dean, each of which can sleep from 2 to 8 people.  Once again, don’t be deceived that you’ll be in discomfort – all the domes have an en suite bathroom and a wood burning stove, their own kitchen, and comfy beds!  There’s even a residents-only bar on site, and a pizza oven which gets fired up for guests twice a week, as well as a little shop for all those glamping essentials.

And what is more, there is tons to do, right on site – cycling and hiking, caving, canoeing and climbing.  You can even go llama trekking!  Build camps, sit under starry skies, and enjoy passing the time with no distractions other than the nature that surrounds you.  Even a long weekend at the Dome Garden will remind you why summer felt so long when you were younger.

If the idea of an airstream caravan floats your boat, then we can do that too!  Happy Days is set in the beautiful Suffolk countryside and comprises a collection of rather fabulous vintage airstream caravans.  The ultimate ‘chrome from home’!  Each airstream is individual and has been lovingly restored.  The site is surrounded by farmland and is just a short hop from the Suffolk coast.


There’s a children’s play area, a communal firepit, and individual firepits for use outside your own personal kitsch camping home.  For those with younger children, cots, black out blinds and other useful kit can all also be provided

If those examples haven’t sold it to you, then we don’t know what will.
Glamping is truly the way forward – happy adults, happy kids, happy holidays.