Glamping at a family holiday park in Keswick is to be taken to a new height of refinement for guests when it gets the green light to reopen this spring.
Castlerigg Hall Caravan and Camping Park will welcome visitors to its new Hex Pods, which have been hand-built in the Lake District to an original design.
The Hex Pods will provide a luxury holiday base for up to two adults and two children with breathtaking views across the Cumbria fells from the site, which is owned by the Jackson family.
Each has its own distinctive interior design theme and has plenty of living space as well as a kitchen area and shower and toilet facilities.
However, according to business owner David Jackson, their introduction is far from being a “first” for glamping at the park.
“Our family has been at Castlerigg since 1938, originally as farmers, but we recently discovered that glamping has been going on here for over a century,” he said.
“In fact, the new Hex Pods are sited on an area of the park once know as Derwent Holiday Camp, which was used in 1909 for bell tents for Lake District visitors, and we have newspaper articles and photographs from those early days.
“It’s an amazing heritage – and although the beautiful scenery which today’s guests will wake up to is unchanged, we’ve gone all out to ensure the refinement of the pods is very present-day.
“Items such as flat-screen TVs, fridges, ovens and private balconies might have been unheard of 100 years ago, but they are very much on people’s wishlists now,” he added.
Built with sustainability in mind, the pods feature underfloor heating from renewable energy, furniture and beds made from recycled pallets, and the extensive use of local materials.
Cumbrian craftsmen helped complete the project and the pods’ design includes a hexagonal glass roof prism inspired by the early bell tents which helps connect with the great outdoors.
Named as the holiday park of the year in the Cumbria Tourism Awards 2019, Castlerigg Hall was one of the first Lake District parks to offer stays in pods to visitors.
The new Hex Pods are now one of three glamping facilities at the park which also offers holiday caravans for hire as well as pitches for tents, caravans and motorhomes.
David says advance bookings for 2021 holidays are the highest they have ever been at the start of the year and have continued to gather pace during the current lockdown.
He and his staff are looking forward to when guests return in April and Castlerigg can once again provide its escapes into the countryside.
