We love weddings at Hipcamp and it’s been a tough year for happy couples who’ve had to rearrange their plans. But romance’s loss is camping’s gain, as usually exclusive wedding venues like Hadsham Farm open their doors to glamping guests instead. Open for just a couple of months this summer, this peaceful retreat in the north of the Cotswolds is a perfect place to find some last-minute summer space in a year when staycations are order of the day.
Five miles northeast of Banbury, Hadsham is home to just eight bell tents on the edge of a sparkling, triangular lake with an island in the middle and a cosy couple’s shepherd’s hut in a raised position overlooking it all. The lake is farmer Charlie’s doing. His family have farmed here for over a century and he’s been working hard to regenerate the space, planting thousands of trees to replace old Elm and digging out the lake to create more space for wildlife. The result is a glamping site with ample birdlife and vegetation and handy, wedding-standard facilities you can use, including plush toilets, three modern showers and the covered tipi area that's usually used for wedding receptions (now a handy chill-out space).
Naturally, there’s a beautiful old church a mile away but there’s also a fantastic 17th-century pub, The Dun Cow – thatched, low-beamed, flagstone-floored and with a large garden to the rear. A mile or so beyond, meanwhile, you’ll find the National Trust’s Upton House and Gardens and good footpaths around Edge Hill. You can walk to it all from the glamping site (it’s around an hour’s walk from Hadhsam Farm to Upton House) and then stop off at the pub on the way back.
It takes less than half an hour to walk into the little thatched village of Hornton, which marks the northern edge of the Cotswolds but is perhaps one of the most archetypal of Cotswolds' spots. There's an excellent little pub (01295 670524) there overlooking the village playground. A coupe of miles from Hadsham Farm, just beyond the village, is Upton House and Gardens (01295 670266), an elegant stately home with 1930s period displays, garden terraces and walking trails. It's looked after by the National Trust and there's a good bookstore near the entrance (there's ample parking but you can walk here in under and hour from the glamping site). If stately homes are your thing, it's also six miles Broughton Castle (01295 276070), a fortified manor house with a moat and well tended garden. Banbury Town is less than five miles.
Look now further than the Dun Cow (01295 670524), a lovely, thatched, low-beamed, flagstone-floored pub with a large open fire and a spacious garden to the rear. Freshly-cooked, locally-sourced food is available at weekends and there's Hook Norton Hooky on tap along with Sharpe's Doom Bar. It's a 25-minute walk from your bell tent.
