No matter how stressed you feel after the journey to your campsite, if you choose a lakeside pitch we predict you’ll be as calm as the water in no time. There’s something so relaxing about camping on the water’s edge. Even more so if the tent is pitched for you and offers glorious views over peaceful countryside. Such is life at Pennlake Vale where just two bell tents share a lakeside setting in age-old Worcestershire farmland.
The campsite may be tiny but the farm is far from it; 100 acres of lush grassland and occasional seasonal crops. The lakes were once used to irrigate the asparagus, lettuce and coriander that were grown here in the farm’s heyday. Now the land is semi-retired it’s an altogether quieter scene – and restricting the camping to just two bell tents means it’s destined to stay that way. Two families or two couples together would have this whole place to themselves.
Each bell tent is well-equipped for a comfortable stay and can sleep up to four. Anna-May has two double beds while Tumbling Tom has a double and two singles. Bedding is provided and if you want to bring your dog you can ask for a dog bed too. There’s electricity to power an in-tent fridge as well as a log-burning stove and a fire pit outside. Each tent has its own separate composting toilet and shower.
It’s the sort of place you could idle away whole days reading, throwing a ball about and wondering what to cook for your campfire dinner but, should you want to head out, there’s an easy option. Witley Court, once one of England’s most magnificent stately homes, is less than a mile away and an easy walk from the glamping site. Indeed, the farmland was once a part of the vast Witley Court estate before the house was struck by a great fire and the land divided up in the 1930s. It’s now in ruins but, arguably, all the more fascinating as a result. The folk from English Heritage have added a wilderness play area and a cafe to the things that kept visiting royalty entertained in years gone by: glorious gardens, woodland walks and, of course, the mark of any great holiday home, its very own lake.
The English Heritage-owned Witley Court (01299 896636) is the big attraction here. The main Witley Gardens Car Park is a mere quarter of a mile from Pennlake Vale, the benefit of which is that you can walk there easily from the site (down the lane and then there's a pavement beside the short stretch of A443) and you don't have to pay for any parking. Alongside the ruins of one of England’s grandest country houses – a great Italianate mansion designed, in part, by John Nash – the heritage site also has a wilderness play area, a tearoom and magnificent formal gardens. Families looking further afield may want to head to the West Midlands Safari Park (11 miles away) or Wyre Forest (10 miles) where there’s bike hire, mountain-biking, horse-riding, nature trails and Go Ape! treetop adventure. The cathedral city of Worcester is around 11 miles away.
There are no notable pubs or restaurants within easy walking distance (aside from the Witley Court tearooms). The Bell at Pensax (01299 896677) is the place to head for a pint of real ale with your dinner, while The Elms Hotel and Spa (01299 896666) offers sophisticated afternoon teas and dinners – both are around four miles from site.
