Aylesmore Farm Campsite

It’s very much back-to-basics and back-to-nature at Aylesmore Farm Campsite. It’s the kind of place to bring the kids if you want them to have a taste of camping on the wilder side. Here on a Warwickshire hillside, deer and hare are often spotted and owls twit-twoo at night. The views are far reaching and green, the sunsets can be spectacular and, on a clear night, the stars are just as impressive. A family-friendly ethos and the fact that there’s just a handful of pitches means it’s a peaceful place where groups are not allowed. It’s somewhere to enjoy space, freedom and fresh air just north of The Cotswolds and not far from Stratford-upon-Avon.

The sense of adventure starts with your approach to the two-acre campsite. Your hosts will be in touch with a message to explain, in detail, where to go. You leave the road and travel up a rough farm track to reach the hilltop camping field where the view of rolling countryside is revealed. There’s not a lot to distract you from that. A few cows grazing in nearby fields and the simplest of facilities. There’s a couple of (rather nice) compost loos, a washing-up sink and a cold water tap. That’s it. Your hosts might pop along to deliver logs or to check on you and the facilities but, by and large, they leave you to enjoy the site on your own.

The slower pace that an off-grid site like this encourages offers a lovely break from modern life. You may simply want to stay put and enjoy it but there’s much in the surrounding landscape that’ll tempt you to get out and explore. And most of that is pretty relaxed too: countryside walks and long lunches at Cotswolds pubs, the pottery in nearby Whichford, Batsford Arboretum and plenty of gardens and stately homes. A National Trust membership comes in handy. The liveliest place is probably riverside Stratford-upon-Avon which, though often bustling with visitors, is yet another pleasant place to explore.