Nature's Spectacular

Nature’s Spectacular is the new campsite from Arcadia. If you know, you know — and you can head straight to the booking page. And if you don’t know, the word Arcadia might still be familiar, but perhaps you can’t quite put your finger on why. It might be that you simply know it as another word for Eden, a pastoral paradise. Or it might be that once, late at night at Glastonbury Festival, you stumbled into Arcadia; an otherworldly sound, light, and fire show. The creative team behind this experiential show were left without a festival space to create this year and, instead, put their energy into something altogether calmer: an off-grid campsite in Somerset’s Chew Valley.

The result is just as immersive and no less spectacular but here it’s nature that’s the star of the show. The Arcadia team has taken over 35 wooded acres on the edge of Chew Valley Lake and set up encampments for people to escape to. There’s a disparate mix of accommodation styles that lend the place an organic, bohemian vibe: a showman’s wagon here, a cabin over there, and a smattering of tipis across the place. It’s these that we’re interested in.

You can choose to book a single tipi with views across the lake (Beech View or Hawk’s View) or come with friends and camp out in the woods. Wise Oak, Woodland Camp, and Fire Circle are the group pitches with ever-increasing numbers (from two tents together up to four). Each tent sleeps three on low futon-style mattresses, you just bring the bedding. Importantly and unsurprisingly fire plays its part. Each encampment has a fire pit outside with a provided supply of firewood and more to buy on site.

With the campsite’s origins in the festival scene, it’s not surprising that there’s an area for people to come together if they want to. There’s a communal fire pit, a covered kitchen and dining area, and a state-of-the-art sound system which means you can listen to music without disturbing other campers. There’s also a touch of magic in the woods which are lit up with coloured lights at night. Apart from the views and the immediate surroundings, the fact that all this is in a beautiful part of Somerset is almost incidental. It’s the very top of the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with great walks, not least around that lake. Cheddar Gorge is 10 miles south but the trip festival fans might want to make is the 17-mile one to Glastonbury for a poke around its quirky shops and to the famous tor. For the festival and Arcadia’s next spectacular gathering space you’ll have to wait another year but, for now, Nature’s Spectacular will more than do.