Fire and Stars Woodland Camping

Camping in the woods has always appealed to the wilder kind of camper. There’s something blissfully primitive about bedding down amongst the trees, lighting a campfire and listening to the wind as it rustles through the leaves. We're not blessed with as many forest campsites as those in North America but it makes the ones we do have in the UK very special indeed. Sites like Fire & Stars in Leicestershire’s National Forest, where camping is very much of the back-to-basics kind. And all the better for it.

In fact, there are two ways to camp in this 47-acre stretch of woodland. You can pitch your tent in one of the 21 leafy clearings, each with a stone firepit and ample space to pin out your guy ropes or you can go even wilder and hang a hammock instead, or even build your own shelter for a seriously off-grid experience. Yes, you can come here with nothing but a sleeping bag and a box of matches and craft your very own accommodation out of sticks!

Privately managed in partnership with the National Forest and Forestry England, Fire & Stars is a leafy haven that offers different colours, not just through the seasons, but seemingly at different times of the day, as the sunlight breaks through the canopy on shifting angles. Money generated from the campsite goes into the upkeep of the wood, a heart-warming benefit of camping here. It’s also pretty unsurprising, given there aren’t exactly heaps of facilities to maintain. There are portable toilets dotted around at convenient locations and the pub across the road, The Old Crown Inn, has a small shower block campers can use for a small charge. But there’s little else besides (including mains water, so make sure you bring some bottles or a pre-filled tank with you).

A big part of camping here is about kicking back beside the campfire, climbing trees or building the mother of all homemade shelters. If you do find the time to escape the trees (and the pub), though, there’s a decent bit to do on the doorstep. Families will love Twycross Zoo (four miles), history lovers can ride the Battlefield Line Steam Railway (three miles) and walkers will enjoy striding along sections of the 75-mile-long National Forest Way. Afterwards, back at basecamp, you can rekindle the campfire and rest the feet again. Or start building up your shelter for the night.