Southey Creek Glamping

The Binder family have been cultivating pods at their farm on the Essex coast for a long time. But, until now, you couldn’t stay in one. While the two luxury glamping pods they are offering to guests are new, this farming family has been growing peas, and other arable crops, on their 500-acre farm here for three generations. It makes for an ever-changing and peaceful patchwork of fields that will be much enjoyed and little disturbed by the grown-up glampers it aims to attract.

This image of rural bliss is only half the story though and the clue to the rest is in the name; Southey Creek Glamping. It’s just a short walk across the fields until you can see the peaceful waters of Southey Creek and the Blackwater Estuary on the east Essex coast. Watch for a while and you’ll see the rusty red sails of old Thames Barges plying the waterways. If you follow the seawall for a couple of miles, you’ll reach the nearby town of Maldon; rich with maritime history and home to pubs and independent shops and eateries where you can refuel before meandering back the site. If you wish for something a little different, there are many events happening in Maldon Promenade Park and around the local area throughout the year.

The two glamping pods at Southey Creek Glamping have identical facilities like, well, two peas in a pod. Each is self contained with an en-suite shower and toilet, a little equipped kitchenette and a made-up bed with linen and towels provided. They are neat little glamping units with all the facilities of a self-catering cottage in miniature. They're insulated and heated, so as to provide a cosy cocoon when it’s cold, but it’s what’s outdoors that sets them apart and there’s seating and a barbecue provided to help you enjoy it.

There’s plenty of birdlife on the farm and in the wider area with pheasants, kestrels, woodpeckers, cuckoos and owls often seen on the site and wading birds out in the estuary. Guests are welcome to explore the farm on private, marked footpaths and public byways. The walk into Maldon is a must and, if you’ve got your sea legs, a trip on a Thames Barge is highly recommended. If not,  If not, just enjoy looking at them moored up while enjoying a glass of something refreshing at the quayside Queen’s Head. It was at this pub that the tradition of the town’s most-famous event, the Maldon Mud Race where contenders sprint, slip and slide across 500-metres of the river bed, was born. Further afield (but not far) are many more interesting attractions: the New Hall Vineyard, the Tiptree Jam Museum and the RHS gardens at Hyde Hall. Plenty of laid back attractions for grown-up glampers.