LIFE'S A BEACH
Ten campsites in the UK with nearby beaches – and they start from just £15
There's even a spot where you can live just like a hobbit
HOLIDAY accommodation by the sea can cost a packet, unless you go camping or glamping.
Whether you have your own gear or not, there’s a huge range of affordable campsites with pitches, tents, yurts and huts, on coastlines around the UK.
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Trisha Harbord suggests ten top sites within walking distance of fab beaches . . .
1. ISLAND HEAVEN: Life couldn’t get more peaceful than bedding down in an island wildlife haven.
Brownsea Island, the birth-place of the Scout movement, just off Poole in Dorset, has tents, tree tents and bell tents for hire or you can pitch your own.
It’s a ten-minute ferry ride from the mainland then a 20-minute walk to the National Trust site on the south shore.
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There you’ll find communal cooking shelters, showers and a play area.
You can take your own kayak or paddleboard. The one-and-a-half-mile island has woodland, lagoons and reedbeds attracting birds, red squirrels and deer and there are more than 100 tree species.
WALK TO BEACH: Less than five minutes.
GO: Three-person tree tent is from £176 for two nights, bell tent for four from £364, grass tent pitch from £92.
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For details, see nationaltrust.org.uk
2. YORKSHIRE YURT: Stunning Cayton Bay is nestled between the buzzing resorts of Scarborough and Filey.
Inside stunning glamping site in breathtaking location - where guests can stay in treehouses, domes or a cottage
It is one of only around 100 British beaches awarded the Quality Coast Award so its clean waters are popular with surfers and families.
Glamp at the Cayton Village site, with all facilities, in a spacious yurt or luxury pod, or pitch your own tent.
Barbies are allowed, as are dogs, which can also go on the beach.
There are lots of cycling and walking trails out to the North Yorks moors and the Stained Glass Centre, Scarborough Castle and Sea Life Sanctuary are nearby.
WALK TO BEACH: 15 minutes.
GO: A yurt sleeping two adults and two children is from £49 a night, pods are from £59 and a tent pitch is from £18.
See experiencefreedom.co.uk which has discounts until July 18.
3. JURASSIC JEWEL: It doesn’t get much better than a campsite with private beach.
Ladram Bay Holiday Park on north Devon’s beautiful Jurassic coast is a resort in itself, with fantastic family activities.
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There’s a pool complex with splash zone, a Jacuzzi and sauna, indoor and outdoor play areas, crazy golf, a restaurant and a supermarket.
Go rockpooling on the sand-and-pebble beach, or hire a kayak, rowing boat or motorboat from the Beach Shack.
The South West Coast Path, at 630 miles the UK’s longest national trail, is on the doorstep and nearby attractions include the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Centre, showcasing 180million years of the Earth’s history, and Crealy Theme Park with more than 60 rides, entertainment and shows.
WALK TO BEACH: Two minutes.
GO: Grass tent pitch with electric is from £15. See pitchup.com
4. HOBBIT HOME: Lord Of The Rings fans will love living like a hobbit in Pembrokeshire.
At Abercastle, Trellyn Woodland Camping’s Woodend Halfling hobbit-themed yurt, sleeping up to five people, is just like the home of Frodo and Bilbo Baggins.
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The yurt is three wooden structures linked together, with some special features from the movies.
There’s a camp kitchen area and outdoor sower.
Other yurts and tent pitches are available on the 16-acre site, in a woodland valley with pathways to the beach at St Davids.
Campers get free use of watersports gear.
WALK TO BEACH: A minute.
GO: A four-night stay in the Woodend Half-ling yurt is from £450. See trellyn.co.uk
5. SEASIDE SAFARI: Let the waves lull you to sleep under canvas at Catchpenny Safari Lodges.
They are as close to the beach as you can get on the Fife coastal path, an hour from Glasgow or Edinburgh.
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The eco-friendly, canvas-covered lodges sleeping up to six have a large front deck with sea view.
Their facilities are powered using wind and solar.
There’s watersports nearby, or explore wildlife reserves, the seaside town of Elie and the pretty fishing village of St Monans.
Take a chance on seeing dolphins, seals and puffins on the St Andrews & Elie safari.
WALK TO BEACH: Less than a minute.
GO: Four nights in a lodge sleeping six is from £575 in total. See catchpennyelie.co.uk
6. CELEB HOTSPOT: You may spot stars such as Hollywood actress Cate Blanchett and Fifty Shades star Jamie Dornan if staying at Cornwall’s Sun Haven holiday park, as they have holiday homes near the local Blue Flag beach of Mawgan Porth.
The dog-friendly park has just added six wooden glamping shepherd huts.
It has a cafe, shop and communal fire pit, and you can hire beach carts and surfboards.
Seaside village Mawgan Porth, near Newquay, has independent shops, cafes, pubs and restaurants including the Beach Box.
WALK TO BEACH: 15 minutes.
GO: Three nights in a hut sleeping four people, in mid-June costs from £320 in total. See lovatparks.com
7. CLIFF HANGER: Camp on the White Cliffs with stunning sea views across the Channel.
Kingsdown Campsite is on a 35-acre site positioned to explore the Kent Heritage Coast.
Pitch your tent where you like and access the shingle beach, with sandy stretches and rock pools, by footpath.
It’s a short walk to a golf course, village shops and pubs including the 1863 Zetland Arms, dating back to 1863.
It’s just seven miles from Dover ferry port and 20 miles from the Eurotunnel terminal.
8. WILD PITCH: Get back to nature on a car-free site with no wi-fi or electric hook-ups.
You get a wheelbarrow to transfer your camping gear to one of 20 pitches, mowed out from wildflower meadows, at Bert’s Kitchen Garden on the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales.
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There’s a communal kitchen, shower blocks and you can hire barbies, kayaks and paddle-boards.
Prefer glamping? Go for one of Bert’s safari tents or huts.
The site has a restaurant and has also just opened one on its private Trefor beach.
WALK TO BEACH: Five minutes.
GO: Pitches are from £24 per person a night, child £10, under-threes free. See bertskg.com
9. BIRD BATHS: Go wild swimming in the clear waters of a Blue Flag beach.
Then warm up in a sauna, a stone’s throw from your hideaway “birdhouse”.
Wildcomfort Birdhouse Cabins, set among evergreens and pines above Blackpool Sands in South Devon, are eco-friendly wooden structures for two people.
They have a private deck overlooking the sea and you have your own bathroom next door.
There’s a takeaway, cafe and watersports on the golden Blackpool Sands.
Get a kayak to discover hidden coves.
Visit Blackpool Gardens, an 1896 semi-tropical garden which is being restored, and take a steady climb for views of Start Bay.
WALK TO BEACH: Four minutes.
GO: A birdhouse for two people for two nights is from £260. See wildcomfort.co.uk
10. SUPER SUNSETS: Norfolk’s Hunstanton has famously dry weather — and fabulous sunsets over the North Sea.
Enjoy boating, golf, an entertainment centre, watersports, shops, markets and the Sea Life sanctuary with 2,000 creatures.
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Stay nearby at Hunstanton Camping & Glamping, near the dog-friendly beach at Heacham.
You can pitch your own tent or hire a bell tent, available from June 1.
Barbies are allowed and there’s a shop, pub, fish-and-chips shop and amusement arcade.
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WALK TO BEACH: Two minutes.
GO: Pitch for two adults is from £30, two nights in a bell tent is from £190. See pitchup.com
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