Glamping with kids: Let your kids go wild - in style!

Let little ones explore and discover
Discover nature

Family glamping UK, the best experience.

When we were all young and carefree few things beat camping, whether it was in the garden or further afield. That new-found sense of freedom coupled with toasting marshmallows over an open fire and staying up as late you wanted (not that you ever made it up past 10pm with all that fresh air and exercise!) made for some epic holidays.

As you get older, camping can start to lose its allure. Trying to put up a tent missing that final vital tent peg, sleeping on the cold, unforgiving ground and having to escort the children half a mile to the loos in the middle of the night aren’t on anyone’s criteria for an enjoyable time away.

So how do you get that sense of wonder back into camping? How do you capture that ‘Swallows & Amazons’ feeling you had when you were a kid again? Simple – family glamping.

Thanks to the high specification of Lantern & Larks’ tents, furnishings and equipment, what’s an adventure for the kids is now easy and enjoyable for you too. In fact, glamping with children has never been simpler. Gone are worries about putting up and taking down your tent - you’ll all sleep in proper beds in proper bedrooms and our excellent cooking facilities mean you’ll never dine on meals of cold baked beans. No more hiking to the toilets either – each tent has its own shower and WC. With all of this, glamping with kids is as comfortable and easy as staying in a cottage and hotel… just a little more exciting!

Getting up to mischief
Get imaginative outdoors

Glamping family holidays are a wonderful way to make some memories and spend time with your nearest and dearest, away from screens and the stress of work and school. There are many way to enjoy glamping with kids – outdoor games, days out, evenings around the fire and much more. Glamping holidays with kids are bursting with adventure, fresh air and special moments. You could even try family glamping with hot tub, to add a splash of something extra special to your getaway.

With sites located all over England’s glorious countryside, catered to glamping for families, you’re never far away from something to see and do nearby. Everyone, from babies to toddlers to troublesome teens, is welcome to enjoy a family friendly glamping holiday under canvas that won’t just be a new adventure for them, it’ll be new for you too.

Explore our sites today and start planning your family glamping UK holiday.

Book your family glamping break

Packing for glamping with kids

When it comes to packing for a glamping holiday with your kids you should remind yourself that you’re not just going camping. You won’t be staying in an ordinary tent or caravan, but instead in one of our canvas-wrapped three bedroom homes from home. All our tents come with fully made beds and bed linen, as well as kitchens equipped with butane hobs, wood burning stoves and tableware. As well as your fine selves and your children, you simply need to bring things to make your stay even more fun and luxurious like:

  • Tin foil. Essential for baking potatoes, bananas and the like in the embers of your firepit.
  • A picnic rug, for enjoying lunch in the fresh air on.

Campfire cooking for kids

All of our tents come with a wood burning stove and a double gas hob inside, for more conventional cooking and a firepit outside (with unlimited wood provided for you) for more rustic cooking attempts. When it comes to campfire cooking, the only limit is your creativity, so to get those creative juices flowing we’ve listed three simple and fun meals to cook with your children on your next camping trip:

Grilled pizza bites

Ingredients:

  • 1 pack of English muffins
  • 1 jar of pizza sauce
  • Grated cheese
  • Your favourite pizza toppings

Method:

Simply halve the muffins, spread the pizza sauce, add a layer of cheese and plonk the toppings of your choice down on top. You can either put foil down on a warm fire or just cook on an open campfire with a grill on top. Either way, cook the pizza slices until the cheese is golden brown and then enjoy!

Foil Dinners

Ingredients:

  • Butter
  • Meat (chicken breast etc.)
  • Diced veggies

Method:

Place a large square of tin foil on the table. Add a large square of butter, the uncooked meat and the diced vegetables and season to taste. The butter will ensure that the meat and veggies cook nice and evenly without burning. Next up you should wrap up the foil like parcel, making sure you seal the edges so those yummy juices don’t run out and then double wrap with some more foil, just in case. Then all you need to do is place the foil parcel in hot coals for an hour, turning once and hey presto!

Baked campfire apples

Ingredients:

  • Green apples
  • Butter
  • Brown sugar
  • Raisins
  • Walnuts
  • Any dried fruit you

Method:

First off, core the apples with a sharp knife, making sure to leave the bottom of the apple intact. Soften and mix the butter, the brown sugar, the raisins, the walnuts and the dried fruit and fill the hole. Then simply double wrap the apples in tin foil, and place on the coals for 20-25 minutes.

Free kid’s glamping activities

Some of our glamping locations across the UK have a range of free to use books, games and toys for you to use during your stay with use. All that we ask is that, after you and your brood are done with the book, game or toy that you’re using, please simply return it.

Books to read

Some of our luxury glamping sites have a free to use bookshelf for you and the little ones both. We keep them stacked high with something for everyone from classic children’s fiction, to thought-provoking reads for young adults to something a bit more mature for mum and dad. Also if you’re looking for something to do, why not have a browse of one of the local guides, maps and nature handbooks?

Games to play

Nothing says family glamping like sitting down of an evening and bonding over a board game (or falling out terribly and not speaking for the rest of the night, in Monopoly’s case). Some of our glamping locations across the UK have a range of family-friendly games for you and your brood to enjoy for absolutely free. Take your pick from classics like Scrabble, Snakes and Ladders, Twister and of course Monopoly!

Toys to use

Some of our nationwide glamping sites also have a range of fun toys and sporting equipment suitable for all ages, shapes and sizes. Feel free to help yourselves to footballs, frisbees and anything else present at our sites, just make sure you return them once you’re finished playing!

Pond dipping

Pond dipping is a great way for kids to have fun whilst learning. Your kids will be fascinated by the number of different wild life creatures living together underwater.

Pond dipping is one of those things that everyone can do and enjoy. There are no particular skills involved, yet everyone has a hidden explorer in them. You can do it all year round, as the shapes of some of the specimens will change as they age. This means that you can have different experiences in the same pond at different times of year. If you do pond dipping in summer, you’re likely to see bigger animals, and more of them.

What you need

You don’t need much for pond dipping. There are only a few key things that you can’t do without and they are available at the Kittisford Barton Lantern & Larks’ honesty shop.

  • Bucket
  • Fishing net
  • Magnifying glass

How to pond dip

To get the fun started, you need your pond fishing equipment, your wellies and find your nearest pond, the Kittisford Barton glamping site has a few to find. Fill your bucket with some pond water and stir the sediment gently with the net. Take out the net with some of the sediment and tip it carefully into the bucket. Once the water is settled, get a plastic spoon to take out some creatures if you want to look at them in more detail with your magnifying glass. See how many species you’ve found and take pictures of them. When you’re ready to move to another spot, or go back to your tent, remember to put your critters back in the pond!

Mum, little boy and a dog enjoying the outdoors pond dipping

Glamping with children basic safety

Whilst pond dipping is like a game, there are some basic safety rules you need to follow. You don’t want to ruin the fun, do you?

Be careful around the edges of the pond

Don't go into the water

Don't touch the creatures

Wash your hands when you're finished

We recommend you bring

Wellies to keep your feet dry

Notepad and pen to note down all the species you've found!

Camera to take photos of the exploration process

So, what are you waiting for? Get dipping!

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