Koko’s Lakeview Glamping must be one of the only glamping sites you can reach by tube. It’s just 35 minutes outside London on the Chiltern Railway from Marylebone, a little longer than that on the Metropolitan Line. From Amersham station where you disembark, it’s a short taxi ride or a 40-minute walk away. Yet, for all the easy connections, this is a rural site. It’s the Chiltern Hills. Your bell tent or yurt here offers glamping with campfires, a view of Shardeloes Lake, and country walks into quaint villages in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It’s an ideal location for a weekend escape in the countryside.
There are just two cosy little four-metre bell tents and a yurt here, each set up to sleep two. The yurt is the most luxurious with more space, more furnishings and better insulation, but all have what you need for a good night’s sleep. Each has a made-up double bed and, though they’re off grid, there’s solar and battery-powered lighting and a charger for mobile phones. The bell tents have log burners too. Outside you have a fire pit, a picnic bench, and a log supply, with a pair of shared composting loos nearby. There’s also a glamper’s kitchen and a shower over where you’ll have left the car (if you came in one) a short walk away.
The parking area is by your hosts’ house. Sanela and Emir have been welcoming guests to the micro-glamping site on the edge of a little woodland in their seven-acres for a few years now. They’ll show you where everything is and point out local walks and good places to eat – which includes their own rustic outdoor cafe, Koko’s Gourmet Food Trailer. It’s on the nearby walking route which passes the site connecting Old Amersham and Little Missenden. Both are pretty Chilterns destinations, neither more than two miles away. Old Amersham was a location in the film Four Weddings and a Funeral, Little Missenden was a backdrop for Midsomer Murders. This is quintessential old England and it’s ideal for a weekend of grown-up glamping in the countryside.
You can head out through a gate on the glamping site to reach the South Bucks Way, a long-distance footpath. In one direction it takes you along the edge of Shardeloes Lake (the body of water you can see from your tent) and into the village of Little Missenden. In the other direction, it’s just a little less to Old Amersham where there are lots of lovely shops and eateries. Amersham Museum is a free-to-enter little museum in town. This is the Chiltern Hills, An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, so there are plenty more lovely places to walk and visit too. Great Missenden is another historic village nearby (five miles) and home to the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre. There’s also the Chilterns Open Air Museum and Belonscot Model Village and Railway, both within 10 miles of site.
The obvious place for breakfast, coffee, cake and sandwiches is your hosts' gourmet food trailer, a short walk way, where sandwiches are made with homemade bread and Bosnian speciality, burek, is on offer. Rustic tables under a stretch-canopy mean you can eat undercover while still enjoying the outdoor setting. They also have a cafe in Beaconsfield (seven miles) if you are over that way. The closest cafes, pubs and shops are in Old Amersham where there are plenty to choose from. The Crown Inn and The King’s Head Inn are good options as is The Elephant and Castle which has a beer garden. Pluma offers spanish dishes, The Griffin is a nice bistro and Artichoke has a Michelin star. There’s a lovely cheese and wine shop, Gershon & Sons, in Old Amersham and, if you continue towards the modern part of town, a Tescos supermarket for more supplies. If you head in the other direction from the site, to Little Missenden, you can dine out The Crown or The Red Lion.
