The Black Swan

There’s something missing at The Black Swan’s glamping site in the Yorkshire Dales. It’s got an amazing location in a national park, a pub just steps away and all the campsite staples except the kitchen sink. There’s simply no place to wash up here – but it’s all quite deliberate, of course, because you’ll have nothing to wash up. The three yurts are set up in the lovely riverside garden of a top-notch Cumbrian inn with a two-rosette restaurant. A hearty Cumbrian breakfast is included in your stay and if you’d rather be washing up a blackened bean pan in the campsite kitchen than dining in the cosy bar or elegant restaurant then you’d better go elsewhere.

The glamping here is hotel-style, developed by Louise and Alan Dinnes, who have owned The Black Swan with its 17 rooms for more than a decade. They dipped their toe into the world of glamping with bell tents a couple of years ago and, with the idea proved, they’ve now upped their glamping game to yurts. These Yorkshire-built roundhouses stand up better to the Cumbrian weather and, thanks to their log-burning stoves, offer year-round accommodation. Beds are made up, towels, robes and slippers are included and there are tea and coffee making facilities too. These are hotel rooms out in the garden. It’s only the compost loo and the open-air woodland shower that separates them from the indoors – and a babbling beck with a little bridge that separates them from the pub garden.

The yurts each have their own space in a little woodland that’s shared with free range chickens and wild red squirrels. There’s outdoor seating and a log burner for each as well as a communal fire pit and a rope swing. Glampers can also use the tennis courts and three-hole mini golf course which are just off-site in the village of Ravenstonedale. It’s a pretty place in the Eden Valley, beneath the Howgill Fells. It’s just inside the Yorkshire Dales National Park with the Lake District only a 30-minute drive away. To make the most of all these places you might want to come by car but you can also get here on foot, as it’s not far off Wainwright’s Coast-to-Coast route, or by train as the scenic Carlisle-Settle Railway has a stop at nearby Kirkby Stephen. To be frank, we don’t care how you get here but if you’re looking for luxury glamping in the Yorkshire Dales we’d advise you to get here if you can.