Domaine de Fontaine Châtel

If campers complain about sloping meadows, lumpy ground and roots under the tent then there's one way glampers can beat them hands down – by leaving the ground altogether! And, if you've got a sense of adventure, Les Cabanes de Fontaine-Châtel in north-east Normandy has found a way to elevate the glamping experience to the next level. Take a stroll through their leafy beech, oak and ash trees and high above you'll discover 10 quirky treehouses, connected to the forest floor by way of ladders, staircases, zip-wires and wobbly wooden bridges. Even the traditional French campsite breakfast is given a lift – with a complimentary petite déjeuner hoisted up to your treetop cabin each morning by way of a nifty winch-and-pulley system.

Scattered across a forest 20 miles east of Rouen, these staggering treehouses have been built in and around the branches of some 27 hectares of trees. While all glampers here should have a head for heights ("only for the brave", you're informed on their website), the place has been designed to suit a wide range of ages and abilities. The most daring of guests can channel their inner monkey with a stay in 12-metre-high 'Berceau', accessed via an irregularly shaped puzzle bridge – with compulsory harness required – while those in 'Terriers' whizz into their sky-high home via, not one, but two zip lines, the first of which is over 50 metres long! For families, meanwhile, there are more sedate options, and the lowest in the range of treehouses sits a more manageable four metres off the ground, with some structures linked together like siamese-treehouse-twins, allowing them to sleep up to six or even eight people. Each has a dry toilet – so you needn't perform aerial acrobatics to nip to the loo – but there’s a more traditional toilet block on terra firma too, along with hot powerful showers. It’s a simple set-up and you’ll need to pack sheets for the bed and your cooking kit; unless you book winch-delivery dinners in advance.

The woodland wildlife makes the experience magical. With cars parked away from the wood, wild boar, deer, pheasants and birds can wander as freely as the kids. Treehouses make for great hides to watch it all from but you can explore on foot too and there’s an orienteering experience to help you find your way. On a wider level, meanwhile, it’s less than an hour to the ferry ports at Le Havre and Dieppe and just under two from Calais; making Les Cabanes de Fontaine-Châtel as good for a weekend away, as a week-long summer holiday – or as an extremely left-field option to break a longer journey south. And whether you're looking for a sky-high couples’ hideaway or a place for your own Swiss Family Robinson-style adventure, there should be a treehouse in this woodland village to suit.