Glamping in the British Countryside with Campden Yurts

Wednesday 4 July 2018
It's fair to say we've been around a bit in the last year and have ticked off a whole load of countries on our list. On such a list of visited countries we'd naturally include the UK our home, although we began to realise that it wasn't somewhere we had explored as much as you might expect. With that in mind we decided that when we next went away it would be somewhere local. This brought us to the Cotswolds, Chipping Campden and Campden Yurts...

The Cotswolds is a beautiful area in south central England known for its idyllic countryside towns which are quintessentially British. Chipping Campden, a small historic market town is in our opinion a perfect slice of british countryside that's definitely worth the visit, whether you're a travelling Brit or are coming from abroad to explore the UK. For us, this made a great base from which to explore the area. 

We were staying at Campden Yurts, a small glamping site on a little farm just 15 minutes walk outside of the centre. It was the first time we'd ever been glamping before as being students at only 19, we would normally opt to camp in such a situation and probably save a bit of money. However after doing extensive research (Will has a problem), Campden Yurts looked like the best place to stay by far, due to it's location (a tranquil out of town site, but not too far of a walk in), its facilities and the yurts themselves. 

A yurt is a large round tent which many have originally been used by the Mongolians hundreds of years ago, but it is now a solid member of the glamping team (along with tipis, bell tents, shepherd huts and many more). In this case it was a large tent which could sleep up to 6 people and included a double bed, two roll-out futons, a table, wood burner and stove. It was clear that it had been set up for comfort in all weather, from the sunny and hot days we were lucky enough to experience, to the more usual cold and windy British climate.







Once we'd arrived and dropped off some of our food in the fridge we then headed straight back out again to Broadway, another town not far from Chipping Campden, where we'd decided that we'd go on a walk. Broadway is famous for having an impressive tower on a hill and so we set out on a short circular walk aiming to reach the tower half way around. In true All of the Gear No Idea style we got lost within 5 minutes. In fact we couldn't even find the start of the walk. Not to worry though, after asking a few people we were back on track within the half hour! 

(Note - Please don't let this put you off doing the walk. The instructions for the walk are most likely completely clear to the average person with no conceivable way of possibly getting even a little bit lost. Getting lost is just something we tend to do, if anything it allows us to live up to our name!)

The walk was perfect. The sun was shining which always helps, but aside from this, it was a great length, tiring in parts but never too steep, and the tower was impressive. There's a cafe/restaurant at the top which looked great but was unsurprisingly expensive and so we opted for getting a drink in town instead. Broadway is a charming town where each house and building is unique and charismatic. Our only criticism would be that it was noticeably popular with tourists and we've heard it can get very busy at weekends. That said, some of the most amazing places in the world are understandably touristy and that shouldn't necessarily put you off!











We spent the evening chatting with the other guests around a campfire, roasting marshmallows and swapping stories we'd each picked up from travelling. It had only been half a day and we were less than an hours drive from home, but we were relaxed like we were well into a holiday and felt far away from our daily lives.



The following day we lazed in the morning, cooked up some breakfast and then headed out into Chipping Campden. We wandered around, took some photos and inevitably ended up at a cafe. Bantam Tea Rooms is where we went and it's a strong recommend from us if you fancy a bite to eat. Afterwards we strolled towards the church and took some more photos, before grabbing a drink at a nearby pub. 






We realised that if you wanted a typical 'British' experience then Chipping Campden wouldn't be a bad place to start. Countryside walks, pubs, individual gift shops and tea & cake were all present across the two nights we were there (and we could've added fish & chips and football to that list if we'd wanted to!)

We spent our final night cooking up the rest of our food and trying to reignite a fire we never really got going in the first place. We love the outdoors but its fair to say we're pretty useless when it comes to camping skills.



Campden Yurts
We found this to genuinely be one of the best places that we have ever stayed. It didn't take long at all for you to feel like you're properly on holiday and everything was set up in a way that made you feel instantly at ease and relaxed. Jane, the owner, had thought of absolutely everything to help make our stay as enjoyable as possible, from providing wood, fire lighters and matches to help us get a fire going to even having an 'oops I forgot' cupboard with toothbrushes, marshmallows and lots of other little useful things.

There were separate bathrooms and fridges for each yurt meaning you didn't have to keep taking stuff back and forth. The cooking facilities were great (gas hob and oven and even a pizza oven called Bob), and the yurts themselves were so thoughtfully fitted out. We really tried to think of something constructive to say about Campden Yurts but honestly couldn't fault it one bit. So, if you are looking for a UK mini-break and fancy going glamping then you should definitely consider Campden Yurts.


Jane was so kind to let us stay 2 nights here for free which made this write up and review all possible, so thank you. That being said, all opinions are our own as always and the positive review you have just read reflects the amazing time we spent there. We can't wait to come back someday and we're sure that it'll be sooner rather than later.

Finally, thank you all for reading!

Will Melissa

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