Glamp and Tipple

Upmarket glamping usually means shepherds huts or safari tents, but at the delightfully named Glamp and Tipple at Rookery Farm in South Norfolk they have managed to stay true to their roots while still offering about as luxurious a glamping experience as you'll find. Born out of a successful bell tent hire company, Glamp and Tipple is more like an outdoor hotel than a glamping site, and as such a perfect spot for those trying out this kind of accommodation for the first time. It's also a great option if you're planning a birthday party or special event.

Guests tip-toe around in fluffy white robes, clink glasses from their minibar while drying their hair after a dip in the hot tub. However, unlike a hotel, you sleep under canvas and instead of boring corridors you have grassy pathways, wheelbarrows instead of luggage trolleys and the sound of birdsong rather than piped muzak. Think of it as a deconstructed boutique hotel, with large canvas suites, posh en-suite loos, a games room, a kids’ play area and its own farm shop! Dogs are welcome, and get their own welcome pack which includes a bed, bowl, lead, treats, poo bags, toy and towel, while owners Helen and Louise are warm and welcoming hosts, on hand to ensure that you have everything you need – just like a proper hotel!

There are just five super-spacious bell tents in all, each one of which is heated and fitted out with a proper bed while retaining all the back-to-nature charm of the glamping experience, with a wood-burning stove, twinkling fairylights and a picnic table and firepit outside. Each tent has a designated eco-toilet and a power shower and there’s a shared log cabin with a snug chill-out area, games room, undercover cooking space, barbecue and pizza oven. There are also lots of extras, including hot tubs, in-tent cinema or massages, in-site catering if you want it, and even bottles of bubbly for sale. Indeed even the tents themselves are named after champagne brands!

Don't forget also that you're in Norfolk and there's lots to explore in this thoroughly rural county, with oodles of country walks, country pubs,  the Broads National Park on your doorstep and the lure of Breckland and the vast expanse of Thetford Forest a short drive away. But the real reason for staying is in the name. This is a place to relax and take a break, to enjoy the outdoors with a glass of champagne in hand, where you can forget about cooking and spend your evening doing what you’re meant to: glamping and tippling!