Forest campsites in East Midlands with horseback riding

Derbyshire is hiking country and the gateway to the Peak District National Park, where moorlands, dales, and gritstone cliffs blanket the landscapes. Hiking, mountain biking, and rock climbing are all popular activities within the park, while a pitstop in Bakewell (home of the Bakewell Tart) and a visit to Chatsworth House are also regional musts. Campers have options, whether you want to park up your caravan on the Chatsworth Estate or pitch your tent on the moors.

Lincolnshire’s headline act is Lincoln Cathedral, but there's more to discover than history and heritage in this rural county. Come in spring to see the region's renowned tulips in full bloom, then escape to the lowland forests and valleys of the Lincolnshire Wolds, where walking trails and camping sites line the hillsides. Along the coast, Skegness is the quintessential beach resort of the Midlands, where summer campers can pitch up right by the seaside.

Heritage towns, deer parks, and 15th-century battlefields dot the countryside of Leicestershire. Simple pleasures await campers, whether walking amid fields of snowdrops in the Dimminsdale Nature Reserve (visit in late winter), glamping in the shadows of Belvoir Castle, or checking into a tranquil caravan park in the middle of the countryside.