The camping season in the UK begins on the Easter weekend, the caravan awakes from the hibernation, the damp of the winter, the first drive to the campsite, the argument about the awning, and the first cuppa of the tea on the camping stove, the steam rising into the cold April air. The UK camping season runs from the April to the October, and the essential months are the June (the long days, the 16 hours of the daylight, the warmth, and the campsites that are the quieter than the July and the August), the July–August (the peak, the school holidays, the crowded, and the essential strategy: the book the months in advance for the popular campsites), and the September (the best month, the children are back at the school, the weather is the often the better than the August, and the campsites are the half-empty). Here is your guide.

UK Camping Season, Essential Guide

• The best campsites in the UK: The Three Cliffs Bay, the Gower, the Wales: the most beautiful campsite in the UK, the pitch on the dunes, the view of the Three Cliffs, the river that meanders to the sea, and the beach that is the 5-minute walk. The campsite is the basic (the toilets, the showers, the no electric hook-ups, the essential “wild” campsite experience), and the essential strategy: the June weekday, and the campsite is the quiet and the beautiful. ~£15/night. The Sligachan, the Isle of Skye, the Scotland: the campsite at the foot of the Cuillin Mountains, the view of the Black Cuillin, the Sligachan Hotel next door (the whisky, the fire, the essential post-walk drink), and the best walking campsite in the UK. ~£12/night. The Park Farm, the South Downs, the England: the campsite on the South Downs Way, the view of the sea from the pitch, the campfire permitted (the essential, the campfire is the reason for the camping), and the essential campsite for the South Downs Way walkers and the families. ~£15/night. More UK →
• The essential kit and the essential rules: The tent: the essential is the waterproof (the HH rating, the hydrostatic head, the 3,000mm minimum, and the essential British camping rule: the “There is no such thing as the waterproof enough”). The Vango (the Scottish, the reliable, the best value in the UK market, the £100–300 for the 4-person tent). The sleeping bag: the 3-season (the comfort rating of the 0–5°C, and the essential for the British summer, the nights are the cold, even in the August). The campfire: the essential upgrade, the fire pit (the £15 from the Amazon), the wood (the buy locally, the campsite shop, and the never transport the wood more than the 10 miles, the pests), and the marshmallows. The essential rule: the leave no trace, the British countryside is the precious, and the camper who leaves the rubbish is the worst of the society. The midge: the Scottish midge, the Culicoides impunctatus, the tiny, the biting, the most effective deterrent is the Avon Skin So Soft (the essential, the £5, and the reason the Scottish camping in the summer requires the preparation)