Howbeck Lodge

Check in is at the farmhouse, donkeys are in the fields surrounding the campsite, and the ablutions block is in an old stone barn. Howbeck Lodge in the Lake District is about as perfect as farm campsites come. It feels as old as the fells around it and yet this traditional-style Cumbrian campsite is actually rather new. The family behind the place may have been farming here for four decades but it’s only in recent years that they’ve started inviting campers to share the space with their cows and sheep.

Perched just inside the northern border of the Lake District National Park, Howbeck Lodge welcomes campers with tents, campervans, motorhomes, and caravans. It has eight fully-serviced, hardstanding pitches for those with wheels and plenty of space for those without. Tent campers are as welcome as the handful of caravans and motorhomes, with one grassy serviced pitch and space for up to 20 to pitch off grid in a separate field. And there’s an unfurnished bell tent available to hire here too. There are facilities dedicated to each of these areas: flushing toilets, hot water showers, and a washing-up sink. There’s a little pantry where you can pick up a pint of milk or half a dozen eggs but, for more than that, head to the village.

The farm is on the edge of Hesket Newmarket, where a shop and a pub complete this country camping experience that feels worthy of a place in a storybook. Both are just a short walk from your pitch. Further afield, there’s all of the Lake District to explore. From this location, High Pike and Carrock Fell beckon serious walkers and fell runners, with Blencathra and Skiddaw not far away either. Ullswater and Bassenthwaite are the closest lakes but you can explore beyond the lakes too. The Solway Coast, Carlisle, and Hadrian’s Wall are all within 20 miles.