Break away without breaking the bank: Top camping and caravanning trends for 2012

Holidaying at home is more popular than ever, with spend on domestic camping and caravan trips up 11%¹ in 2011. As purse strings tighten, Pitchup.com presents a round up of holiday trends for 2012 that won’t break the bank - Brits spend an average of only £149² during their caravan or camping breaks.

A vast array of alternative accommodation options is now available, and glamping remains all the rage for a luxurious, inexpensive get away in 2012. No-frills campsites, offering a more self-sufficient style of holiday, are also enjoying a revival.

One in three UK residents reports having been on a camping or caravanning holiday in the last three years, according to 2011 research by Mintel³ - a significant increase from February 2009, when one in five had done so.

Shorter, closer, later is set to be the booking trend for this year, as people trade the set-piece fortnight away for a series of more casual short breaks. In 2011, 44% of bookings on Pitchup.com were for within one week of departure, with an average stay of three nights and many within one to two hours of home.

There has been a 50% increase in 'glamping' sites listed on Pitchup.com in 2011. Camping pods offer affordable glamping from £30 per night - with their sheep's wool insulation and double glazing, these cosy 'wooden tents' were spectacularly successful in 2011. Try The Quiet Site in the Lake District. The site's facilities are housed in old converted farm buildings, including a fantastic seventeenth century barn, housing the cosy Quiet Bar. Pods sleeping up to four people are priced from £35 per pod per night.

In 2011 green campsites were among the most popular, as Pitchup.com saw an increase in searches for eco-friendly campsites all over Britain and Ireland. With travel abroad down 20%⁴ in the last three years, the environment is already benefiting from the rise in domestic tourism: Pitchup.com estimates that, compared to a holiday in the Med, travel to a typical camping or caravan site generates 95% less CO2 and takes 61% less time⁵.

British destinations are pushing their green credentials – check out Buzzards Bridge in Cornwall where fuel is provided by willow grown on site, the off-grid electricity supply is powered by solar energy and the toilet is a “tree bog”, high up in the willows. Trundle your luggage to your pitch courtesy of the site's wheelbarrows and stay from £20 per night per pitch. Bell tents sleeping up to four adults cost from £30 per night.

Pitchup.com has seen a sharp rise in the number of adult-only trips. Between 2006 and 2010 the number of domestic camping and caravan trips in England taken without children rose from 44% to 50%⁶, and Pitchup.com now lists over 200 adult-only sites. Longnor Wood Holiday Park in Derbyshire is surrounded by woodland and farmland in the heart of the Peak District. This four-star park is dog friendly and near the charming village of Longnor - once a market centre for the region, and now home to four pubs and a dolls' hospital – as well as numerous villages, markets and stately homes in the area. Pitches are priced from £8 per night.

The allure of traditional camping remains strong and no-frills camping is holding its own against glamping and eco-chic camping options. In a recent poll by Pitchup.com, 49% of respondents preferred traditional tent camping⁷. Redlands Farm in Dorset makes for the ideal traditional family camping adventure. Offering back-to-basics camping at its best, the site is set only six miles from the Olympic sailing event at Portland, with a well-stocked farm shop and a tea room serving a cracking fry-up. Pitches priced from £12.50 per night for up to four people.

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