The post-lockdown summer staycation spot Howgills Hideaway on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District

Camping could again prove popular, as travellers seek to explore nature and rediscover the outdoors - with one spot on the edge of both the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District highlighted for its particular charms.

Howgills Hideaway in Kendal has featured in a round-up of eight campsite locations by the Press Association news agency.

Describing itself as a “glampsite” featuring en-suite pods, bell tents and static caravans, the spot is run by the Stainton family, who live at nearby Beck House, a traditional upland livestock farm run by David and Siobhan with their three children Jen, Beckie and Chris.

The couple first met when Siobhan stayed at the farm as a young woman and, many years later, what started as a holiday romance resulted in marriage.

Siobhan, 53, says: “They used to have a holiday cottage and I came to stay with my parents. A lot of years down the line I’m now living in the house that used to be the holiday cottage. We holidayed a few years at the cottage. I used to think ‘Oh, he’s a grumpy old farmer’.”

But a couple of years later, she helped with chores at the farm.

“I got interested in milking the cows and then got interested in the farmer,” she says

In 2020 the family had a bumper summer season as the trend for staycations grew.

“Last year was wall to wall people. We were turning enquiries away every day. We didn’t have any nights at all where we didn’t have anyone on site.”

The family, whose sheep dog Meg is a hit with visitors, are expecting another big year when they can re-open.

Some people who had booked last year but could not make it have rescheduled for the coming months, and one of the site’s pods is booked up on every weekend up to November, says Siobhan - so holidaymakers need to get in quickly.

“It’s a chance for people to switch off and get away from it all,” she says.

“We hope we offer a ‘getting back to nature’ sort of holiday, but the accommodation is not basic - we try to find all the equipment they need.”

It offers walkers somewhere close to the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge and the Dales Way route, as well as rambles at nearby Sedbergh.

The Lake District is also close by, as the site is just over the Cumbrian border.

Visitors can expect fresh farmhouse breakfasts, a barbecue and fire pit, and a small on-site shop.

A range of price options are available for the different forms of accommodation.

The Press Association’s highlighted a new report by website Cool Camping, which sells a variety of campsite holidays.

And by studying page views, the site estimated that there are 1,624 interested customers to every one treehouse. The website also says almost half of enquiries requested a hot tub.

Other locations included in the agency’s round-up are Melin Mabes, Pembrokeshire, which offers its Templar Treehouse with its own private hot tub - and a slide to take visitors down to the ground.