|
Camping holidays have never been quite so popular in the UK. The last decade or so has seen several cultural movements that have contributed to the rise of this once Great British tradition. As the number of summer festivals has increased exponentially, so has the number of people buying tents and caravans, the staple accommodation of these events since the first Glastonbury festival in 1970. More recently, celebrities like Jamie Oliver have championed an embrace of the Great British Outdoors as a summer holiday location of choice, rather than compromise, although whether Mr. Oliver is a cultural movement may be a moot point.
Predictably, more punters has led to a development of the industry. An increased number of pitches for camping are now being offered by holiday park operators like Park Resorts, alongside their core business of providing caravan pitches (they’re also very good if you’re looking for a static caravan for sale), while the aforementioned music festivals have produced the hybrid lovechild of boutique camping, more recently christened Glamping.
Glamping is to camping holidays what corporate boxes are to football; lacking in gritty authenticity, but nonetheless appealing for that very same reason. Indeed, it can be convincingly argued that the average punter would simply be lying if they said that they had never cast a jealous eye at the heated environs of the prawn sandwich brigade during a sleet filled afternoon on the stands in early January. And for those that never joined the Scouts, or indeed remember all too well the lingering power of the special scent of ‘real’ camping, boutique camping can offer relative luxury while still providing an evening in the great outdoors – just take a look at the Guardian’s top ten glamping sites and you can’t fail to be impressed. And the fact that someone else made and lit the fire for you, well, that’s just progress, isn’t it?
In actual fact, modern day holiday park pitch options are perhaps closer to boutique camping than it might first appear, with many modern pitches supplying both running water and electricity, and sometimes even access to a TV aerial - for both tent and caravan campers. While this is some remove from the Spartan style championed by that genuine camping icon of the last decade, Ray Mears, those with younger children will well understand the benefit of compromising with a few mod cons.
The main difference between boutique and holiday park camping is not really the conditions, but the emphasis. Perhaps understandably, given the original reason for the development, boutique camping or glamping is more geared up for adults. Eating chef-cooked food in the middle of a beautiful orchard may be something special for grown-ups, but can’t really compare with access to the facilities provided in the average holiday park for kids. Both approaches come with the option of arriving with your accommodation and facilities set up for you, which depending on your point of view is either cheating, or avoiding what seems a little too much like hard work during your precious leisure time.
|
