White House on Wye Glamping

There are plenty of glamping sites in the Wye Valley but few can boast the level of privacy and the immediate access to the river that White House Farm can offer. Home to just a single, family-sized tipi – kitted out with beds, lamps, and hand-made furniture – this working dairy farm is part glamping site and part rudimentary riverside retreat. Home-spun quirks include your own outdoor cinema (a taught canvas screen, a projector and a collection of good DVDs) and up-cycled pallets that have been turned into rustic furnishings. Around the tipi, meanwhile, the orchard setting allows for fresh apple picking in late summer and blackberry foraging along the bushes if the neighbouring cows haven’t already beat you to it.

One of White House Farm’s real gifts is a mile-long stretch of the River Wye that idles its way south east across the farm. A shallow, pebble beach runs down to the water – a prize spot for evening barbecues – and fishing is allowed. Alas, canoes are not provided, so you’ll need to bring your own to make the most of this ideal landing and launching spot, but you can rent them for day-trips nearby if you need. They’re available for hire both in Hereford, to the north, and Ross-on-Wye six miles south (both towns are worthy day-trips in themselves, too).

On foot, the river’s valley offers plenty more to uncover. The wooded hillsides are littered with good walking routes, while even exploring the local village of How Caple provides ample intriguing discoveries. The compact, medieval church, for example, is home to an original Norman font and 16th-centuy artwork from southern Germany (though no-one knows how it got there), while, beyond it, the 11-acre gardens of the Edwardian, manor house, How Caple Court are occasionally open to the public too.