Bozedown Boltholes

Heading out to Oxfordshire for a weekend in the Chilterns is a time-honoured way to escape the city. With grand rural estates, riverside walks and rolling hills, the area offers quintessentially English countryside less than an hour from London. Hop on the after-work train at Paddington and you can be immersed in country life by the time the dinner bell sounds. But, of course, here at Hipcamp we’re all about life under canvas so forget the suit and pack country casuals instead; supper will be served by the campfire.

Bozedown Boltholes is a hop and a skip from the Thames and just ten miles from Henley. At the moment, there’s just the one bolthole: a lone safari tent on an acre of land. It’s got everything you expect from a self-catering cottage with the charm of camping and the great outdoors looming large. Arrive in the evening and it won’t be long before you hear the hoot of an owl; wake up early and you may spot visiting deer. The safari tent seems appropriate in this wildlife-rich environment but its size means it’s comfortable too. There are two bedrooms, a fully-equipped kitchen and an en-suite shower room and loo. There’s room to dine, a wood-burner to warm the place and even a Chesterfield sofa to sit on.

Kids will love the circle of oak trees that sit behind the tent, adults will love the green-hue of the views and everyone will enjoy the fire pit. It has everything you need for campfire cooking – apart from the meal itself. For that, you can walk down the hill and over the river to Pangbourne, a steep mile away. There’s an independent butcher among the shops but, with three pubs and a clutch of decent restaurants en route, temptation to dine out may win you over. In fact, the area is foodie heaven with plenty of good food nearby and much of it within stomping or cycling distance.

The Thames Path passes within a couple of hundred metres and the Chiltern Hills lie all around. There are plenty of stately homes round these parts too with “the real Downton Abbey”, Highclere Castle, only half an hour away. Although motoring out to one’s country estate for the weekend may be out of reach for most of us: good food, fresh air and the chance to mess about on the river are not. Just head for the hills, to this particular bolthole, and enjoy a taste of country life with a spot of glamping-on-Thames.