Our First Family Staycation – Glamping in The Cotswolds

These family-friendly glamping pods in the heart of The Cotswolds will please the parents as much as the kids. Enjoy home comforts with country views close to some of the UK’s prettiest villages. Luxury Cotswolds camping from just £59 per night.

With an aversion to the cold and a bad track history with nature, I’m not cut out to be a camper. Give it a luxury spin, however, and I’m much more interested.

This weekend we embarked on our first family staycation to The Cotswolds. For those unfamiliar with The Cotswolds (surely not?) it’s an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (official title) speckled with story book villages. Despite being only an hour and a half drive from where we live in Berkshire, I’d never been there, so it seemed like the perfect place to take our first mini break with our 3-month-old baby.

Bourton-on-the-water Cotswolds
Exploring The Cotswolds with my family

Due to its popularity, accommodation in the Cotswolds can be on the pricey side, which is why glamping suited our little family perfectly. From just £59* per night you can stay in a glamping pod in the heart of the Cotswolds, which has all the comforts you need in a compact and affordable package.

  • A minimum stay of 2 nights applies.

Experience Freedom Glamping Pods

While everyone will have their take on what puts the glam in glamping, I can tell you what made me a happy camper during our stay with Experience Freedom in Moreton-in-Marsh.

Aside from the en-suite bathroom with dual shower-head, this pod has luxury touches including a heated towel rail, sumptuous bedding, USB ports in the bed head and a welcome basket with tea and biscuits that made sure we were more than comfortable.

Experience Freedom glamping pod Moreton-in-Marsh Cotswolds
Our Cotswolds glamping pod

The space in the pod, similar to a static caravan, has been well thought out. Designed to fit a family of 4, there is a double bed that pulls down from the wall, 2 bunks for the children and a fold out table hidden under the sofa.

Experience Freedom glamping pod Moreton-in-Marsh Cotswolds
Sofa bed and bunk bed to accommodate 2 children

Check out the Cotswolds highlight on my Instagram profile for a virtual tour.

The tiny kitchen has all you need including a kettle, toaster, microwave and crockery. I love that you can just rock up for this staycation with only your clothes and a few toiletries as everything else is already here, including the kitchen sink.

If you visit during the summer, I expect you won’t need the hob as there’s a BBQ pit on the outside deck and a disposable BBQ tucked away in the kitchen. It wasn’t quite warm enough for us to enjoy the outdoor facilities in April but we enjoyed watching the mist rise off the fields from the warmth on the other side of the double doors.

Experience Freedom glamping pod Moreton-in-Marsh Cotswolds
All you need to self-cater in the kitchen

While the space would be tight for a family of 4, we had my parents over for tea and we all squished in, including the baby. The baby slept in the bassinet from his pram, which I popped on the sofa bed, and somehow all the bits you need for a young hungry baby fit in the various shelves and cupboards dotted around the unit.

Enjoying woodfire pizza from the campsite’s pop up truck

You’ve also got a TV and Wi-Fi in the pod and on Friday and Saturday night a food truck popped up on the campsite, so you needn’t go anywhere if you want a chilled night in. We tucked into pizza and prosecco on the Friday night we arrived and got stuck into planning our weekend of sightseeing.

Experience Freedom Moreton-in-Marsh Club Site

Location-wise I cannot fault this campsite.

The Experience Freedom pod is found on the outskirts of the Moreton-in-Marsh Club Site. Our deck faced fields where we could watch dog* walkers parade a medley of cute pooches and the site is only a 10-minute walk into the charming town of Moreton-in-Marsh.

*The glamping pods are also dog-friendly. Read my friend Jen’s post about her weekend here with Rowland for more information.

Martha's Cafe Moreton-in-Marsh Cotswolds
Cafes and cute stores galore in Moreton-in-Marsh

Moreton-in-Marsh is a typical Cotswold town with history, charm and everything you could want during your staycation, including a Tesco Express for supplies and a different coffeeshop or tea house to try every day for a fortnight!

Martha's Cafe Moreton-in-Marsh Cotswolds
Martha’s gives Melbourne cafes a run for their money!

We went for brunch at Martha’s Coffee House and it surpassed my expectations. With framed windows, timber beams and roaring fires, there’s no cosier setting for your bacon and eggs in the morning. (I actually went for smashed avocado and feta – because, when don’t I?)

3 places you can’t miss in The Cotswolds

The cutest places in The Cotswolds

A little further afield you have a number of The Cotswolds prettiest villages within a 10 to 15-minute drive away. We explored the bakeries and waterways of Bourton-on-the-Water, known as the Venice of The Cotswolds, shopped the independent boutiques of Stow-On-The-Wold, stumbled upon a Jane Austen movie being made in Lower Slaughter and spent all morning gorging and shopping for delicious organic produce at Daylesford Farm.

Bakery on the Water Bourton-on-the-water
We ate our weight in afternoon tea during our Cotswolds trip
Bakery on the Water Bourton-on-the-water

You can read more about all these places here, but I think you’ll agree that combined they make quite the perfect weekend getaway.

Family-Friendly Fun in The Cotswolds

In terms of family-friendly activities, you’ve got quite a lot to choose from in this area. There’s the Cotswolds Motoring Museum & Toy Collection (home of Brum), The Dragonfly Maze and Birdland in Bourton-on-the-Water and the Cotswolds Farm Park in Cheltenham. There’s also a small adventure playground close to the glamping pods at the campsite so the kids can run off steam before dinner.

Our first family staycation was a roaring success and a huge part of that is due to the Experience Freedom glamping pod having everything we needed in a charming location. I guess you could call it camping for cheaters, but when the result is this much comfort, I think it’s worth bending the rules. Don’t you?

Glamping in The Cotswolds - Experience Freedom Moreton-in-Marsh review

More Info

Experience Freedom Glamping Pods start from £59 per night and can be found at 5 Experience Freedom Club Sites across the UK.

Our stay at the Experience Freedom Glamping Pod in Moreton-in-Marsh was complimentary. All opinions are my own and the rest of our trip was self-funded.

Read next: 5 ways to find stylish places to stay on family holidays

About the author

I’m Jayne, a travel blogger, content creator and mum to a 4-year-old son. I’ve been blogging since 2010, travelled to 65 countries and share travel guides and tips to help you plan stylish, stress-free trips.

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