’Glamping’

CPRE is always keen to encourage appreciative, informed and sympathetic use of and access to the countryside. With this in mind I raised the issue of "glamping" (that is glamorous camping for the uninitiated) in May's High Weald Network meeting at Blackboys and this was discussed at length (particularly with regard to glamping in woodland) at September's meeting at Flimwell with the directors of the High Weald AONB Unit, representatives from The Ramblers and our former director Stuart Meier who chairs the High Weald Network meetings.

It is clear that in the High Weald AONB - which has a high proportion of its land designated as ancient woodland - there are many instances of woodland (ancient and secondary) being used for "glamping". Such use ranges from official sites with planning permission - through to mobile shepherd huts or lodges or just a few yurts or teepees that are truly temporary in nature and come and go with the seasons. The "season" though can well be from Easter to a warm October as much as 8 months of the year.

While glamping may prove to be be a fad, nevertheless it can damage woodland (ancient and secondary) from trampling of ground flora, to disturbance of woodland fauna (macro and micro) and even destruction of precious ancient woodland habitats. The view of the meeting was that glamping in ancient woodland should not generally be allowed and that careful consideration should also be given to requests to allow camping in woodlands of any kind. A key factor to bear in mind is the density of the glamping units and the size of the ancient (or other) woodland as well as more obvious planning points such as protecting the environment, infrastructure; waste disposal; access; sanitary needs etc.

It was also felt that since camping in woodland can easily be hidden from the public gaze, there may be a perception that the landscape is unaffected by such use - when this could result in a pernicious degradation of the landscape as a living, sustainable, biodiverse and - although such a word is subjective - beautiful entity.

As mentioned at the beginning of this article - we are keen to promote the enjoyment of the countryside in all its aspects but glamping and related activity is a current trend of which we should all be aware. Of course appropriate camping has been carried out for many decades in woodland - as with the Scouts and Guides - but the current trend towards luxury and semi-permanent structures can easily place more strain on the countryside - and on woodland in particular.

Report: Gary Marshall

Any relevant information regarding this can be passed on to Gary Marshall, through our Blackboys office at Tel: 01825 890975 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.