Camping at Cardewlees

Walkers, couples, groups, kids, dogs, tents, campervans, motorhomes and glampers: all are welcome at Cardewlees Farm. It’s the sort of campsite guest list you’d expect at a huge holiday park with a rulebook as long as your arm. But Cardewlees is quite the opposite; a small live-and-let-live campsite where respect keeps things running smoothly. There’s respect for your camping neighbours; respect for the ponies, sheep and cows in the surrounding fields and respect for the idyllic rural location between the northern Lake District and the Scottish Border. Most of all though, there’s respect for the welcoming Glaister family who have decided to share a little piece of all this with us lucky campers.

There’s no formal campsite reception but, as you pass the house and farmyard, someone will come out to welcome you. More often than not it’s Becki, with between one and four children and a dog or two in tow. If not, it’ll be her husband Johnny or his dad, Billy who are just as happy herding cattle as campers. They’ll tell you what’s what and point you towards the camping meadows – one for pod campers and one for tents and tourers; both with views of Cumbrian countryside overlooked by distant fells.

There are three simple camping pods, five hard-standing caravan pitches and 10 undesignated pitches for tents. Facilities are simple and shared but there’s electric hook-up for everyone and campfires are allowed. In fact, if you see Becki striding towards you as you throw another log on the fire, she’s more likely to be on her way to join you for a drink by the fireside than to tell you to douse the flames.

When you’re relaxing on site, gazing at stars or the surrounding countryside, it’s hard to believe how incredibly well-connected by road and rail this place is. It’s just five miles outside Carlisle: easy to get to and to explore from. The Lake District is a half hour drive south and Hadrian’s Wall, the Scottish border and the west coast are the same distance in other directions. With something exciting to explore at the end of every compass point, along with the site’s ‘everyone’s welcome’ policy, this place is a bit of an all rounder. Glampers with a lust for luxury will want to look elsewhere but couples with caravans, walkers with backpacks and families with kids will all enjoy the farm setting. And it’s a great spot for people who want to explore the Lakes without the high prices and the hustle and bustle of some of the larger sites in the national park at night. No single campsite can suit all campers all of the time, but this one is certainly giving it a good go.