The Apple Farm

If you want to experience ye olde English countryside at its best, you couldn’t do much better than a bell tent at The Apple Farm. This off-grid site offers glamping in an apple orchard on the outskirts of the town that Shakespeare called home. Stay here and you can marvel at the views, cook on campfires, and pluck apples straight from the tree. Head out for the day and you can visit the Bard’s well-preserved birthplace, hike up to a hill with views all the way to Warwick Castle, or go for a swim at a bend in the river known locally as The Old Bathing Place.

While Warwickshire is famed for its history and The Apple Farm has a fair bit of its own, this place isn’t wholly untouched by modern life. First up, there’s the app you’ll have access to after booking, which details all aspects of your stay. Second, there’s the comfort and convenience of modern glamping: the bell tents may be off grid but, with beds made for you and a private loo and shower per tent, you’re not exactly roughing it. The third contemporary convenience is the road that brings you here. This country campsite is not far off the A46 and, while it’s a bonus for getting around, it’s fair to mention that if the wind blows in the wrong direction a little road noise can be heard on site.

It’s a small price to pay for the space and situation of a camping and glamping site where four bell tents sit among apple trees and just six camping pitches are spread across a three-acre field with views of the Welcombe Hills. Between the two, an honesty shop is the place to purchase local produce and has a fridge/freezer and plugs for guests to charge their mobile phones. 

You can head out from the site on the Monarch’s Way to walk to the wild swimming spot we mentioned or a little further into Stratford town—it’s about three miles from here. There, you can visit Shakespeare’s birthplace and his wife Anne Hathaway’s house, watch a play at the home of the Royal Shakespeare Company or simply watch the canal boats on the river. Warwick Castle is another popular day out from here and just seven miles from site.