The UK’s best summer camps for kids

Off-grid in Cornwall

Camp Kernow was founded in 2008 as a not-for-profit organisation aiming to reconnect children with nature. This summer, kids can spend six days off-grid on the 80-hectare estate near Truro, Cornwall. They will ascend to the canopy of a beech tree on a technical tree-climbing workshop; forge a toasting fork for marshmallows with the help of a blacksmith; go foraging in the hedgerows with a wild food expert; and navigate for themselves on a river kayaking expedition … Campers eat home-cooked food that they have helped to harvest from the kitchen garden and helped prepare in the field kitchen, and sleep in a yurt, bell tent, dome or upturned boat hull.
£694 for six days starting 21 and 28 July, and 4 and 18 August, suitable for ages eight to 15, campkernow.org.uk

Active in Somerset

Mill on the Brue, an outdoor activity centre in Bruton, Somerset, has been running summer camps since 1982. Children do at least six activities a day in the 10-hectare grounds, such as high ropes and zipwiring, canoeing and rafting, watersliding and tobogganing. They sleep in bunk beds in shared rooms and eat local food – about 85% of the fruit and veg is grown organically on site; milk, cheese, eggs and meat are from local suppliers; cakes are homemade daily. Each camp has a weekly disco and ends with a prize-giving ceremony. The centre also runs day camps, with four activities (£72 including lunch, weekdays 2-21 August).
£653 for seven days, 21-27 July (only boys’ places still available), or £590 for six days, 18-23 August, suitable for ages eight to 15, millonthebrue.co.uk

American-style, Norfolk

Camp Crusoe claims to be “as close as you’ll get to a traditional American summer camp” in Britain. It is set at Thorpe Woodlands adventure centre just outside Thetford. Activities include climbing, archery, ziplining and caving; there are also lots of bike trails, and easy river access for swimming, canoeing and kayaking. Less high-octane are cooking and craft workshops and a photography masterclass, while the yurt, barn and hammocks are dedicated chillout zones. Evenings are spent round the campfire with songs, stories and s’mores, or competing in quizzes and talent shows. Children sleep in five-bed cabins and eat healthy, hearty food – outside, whenever possible.
From £650 for seven days, 11-17 August, suitable for ages eight to 15, campcrusoe.com

Bushcraft, various

Camp Wilderness runs a variety of bushcraft-based summer camps in six locations: Boughton Woods, Northamptonshire; Castle Howard, North Yorkshire; Cuffley, Hertfordshire; Sealyham, Pembrokeshire; Penshurst Place, Kent; and the Towers, Snowdonia/Eryri. They range from three-day explorer camps, to give younger children the camp experience without being away from home for too long, to five-day advanced survival skills camps for older kids. Accommodation includes woodland bell tents for the “explorer” camps, eco pods for the “thrill seeker” camps, and bunkhouses on the “mountain adventurer” and “coastal expert” camps. There are also two- and three-day family camps for parents with children six and over.
From £249 for three days or £389 for five, 5, 12 & 19 August, suitable for ages eight to 16, campwilderness.co.uk

Playtime, Shropshire

Active Training and Education (ATE) runs play-based summer camps in Shropshire. Children play indoor and outdoor games all day long: in real-life Cluedo, for example, kids have to interview suspects and search the house for clues. There is also plenty of time in nature, building dens and stargazing; craft projects – perhaps making a personalised piggy bank; a day trip, maybe visiting a castle and having a go at archery; and something surprising tailored to the group, such as circus skills or a scavenger hunt. The venues are Moor Park, a boarding school near Ludlow with an indoor heated pool and dormitories, and Edgmond Hall, a Georgian house just outside Newport with 18 hectares of woodland and farmland.
£399 for four nights and £529 for seven, 11, 16 & 24 August, suitable for ages eight to 16, superweeks.co.uk

Sporty in Eryri (Snowdonia)

Plas y Brenin, the national outdoors centre in Capel Curig, Conwy, runs summer camps in Eryri for teenagers who want to try an adventure sport. On the multi-adventure weeks, the itinerary includes rock climbing, orienteering, coasteering, canoeing and hiking. Alternatively, there are specialist weeks focusing on beginners’ rock climbing, mountain biking or kayaking. For those who have already mastered the basics of kayaking, there is a week of white water, sea kayaking and surf kayaking. The price includes an instructor for every six students, plus evening activities, all meals, bunkhouse accommodation (with wifi) and pickup/drop-off at Bangor or Llandudno Junction stations.
From £819 for five days, 21 & 28 July, suitable for ages 12-17, pyb.co.uk

Inclusive, Perth & Kinross

The SSC – formerly the Scottish Schoolboys Club, now the Club for the Youth of Scotland – runs a summer camp in Struan, near Calvine. Unlike many, it is entirely under canvas: campers sleep in 12-person tents, and there are marquees for eating, activities and entertainment. The campsite has a river running through it and is surrounded by trees and hills. All interests are catered for – children can play sports such as football, volleyball and ultimate Frisbee; do arts and crafts, including tie-dying clothes and making slime; or take part in drama and music workshops. Other activities including swimming, yoga, Dungeons & Dragons afternoons, reading groups, baking sessions, film-making … As the SSC says, “There really is something for everyone.”
£350 for one week or £600 for two, 20 July & 27 August, suitable for ages 11-18, thessc.org

Family-friendly in Flintshire

The whole family can have a taste of camp life at Summer Camp, a series of nature-based micro-festivals in the walled garden of the Hawarden Estate in Flintshire. The founder, Charlie Gladstone, says the events are “based on the fabled camps of America, but for all ages and with better food”. This summer, there is a family camp with lots of children’s workshops, a creche – and free ice-cream all weekend. The kids’ workshops include bushcraft, ice-cream making and open-water swimming; adults may prefer the natural wine tasting, composting talk and DJ sets. Outdoor activities include cross-country runs, paddleboarding and yoga; there is unlimited access to the wood-fired sauna and hot tub; and dinner is cooked by guest chefs. Families can bring their own tent or campervan, or book glamping or B&B accommodation.
Day ticket adult £129/5-15s £79/0-4s free, weekend tickets from £199/£129/free, 26-29 July, thegoodlifesociety.co.uk

Sleepover in Wiltshire

First-time summer campers can dip their toes in with a one-night sleepover at PGL Liddington near Swindon. The two days are packed with activities such as raft-building, abseiling and climbing, and kids stay in bunkbeds overnight. Liddington is the only PGL centre to offer a one-night trip, but plenty of others offer two- and three-night stays, including Bawdsey Manor in Suffolk, Dalguise in Perth and Kinross, and Newby Wiske Hall in North Yorkshire. There are also week-long multi-activity camps, or specialist adventures focusing on everything from baking to pony trekking, surfing or even learning to drive (ages 13-16 only).
From £129 for two days, selected dates in August, suitable for ages eight to 13, adventureholidays.pgl.co.uk