Mill Farm campsite lies in the land that time forgot. You approach through a time warp of unkempt country lanes, and the farmyard and surrounding buildings are delightfully rustic. It's just a large, no-frills field in quiet scenery, and you can pitch where you want, when you want, and light a campfire where you want, when you want.

Historic Wirwiekshire is geographically and culturally (as birthplace of the Bard) at the heart of England, boasting some of the country's most quintessentially English towns and villages. Sadly, for enthusiasts of the very British pastime of camping, it has tended to offer little in the way of A Midsummer Nights Dream under canvas.The village ofWhichford, however, is harbouring one of the county's best-kept secrets; with its mash-up of the medieval, middle-eastern, and the mystical, Holycombe surely won't stay unknown for long.

The 100 acres of garden and grassland surrounding Wing Hall make for a near-perfect camping spot. Sitting just outside the pretty Rutland village ofWing, the site overlooks a collage of woods and rolling fields of wheat, rape, and (on closer inspection) buttercups. And just a mile down the road is the lovely 3,100-acre reservoir, Rutland Water. Created by flooding in 1974, the lake and its environs now provide a haven for wildlife, and sport and leisure opportunities - with the 25-mile track around its perimeter making a super cycle route.

Unusually for a campsite, this one is run by a local council and actually sits within the grounds of the town's park. So while you may not get that away-from-it-all feeling offered by rural campsites, you do have an outdoor heated swimming pool, children's playground, bowling green, cricket field, pitch and putt, tennis courts, cafe, cycle hire, and even a croquet lawn on your tent-step. All without the holiday park atmosphere these facilities would usually generate, as this is a quiet, low-key place.

As the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness approaches, many campsites begin to close their gates. But this is just when Deepdale Camping, with its cosy tipis and yurts nestled between tent pitches, comes into its own. Which is just as well, because the word is that there's no better time to visit the north Norfolk coast than in autumn and winter, when the crowds of summer holidaymakers have dispersed and the county is a resplendent vision of russet forests and blush-coloured clouds. By day the campsite offers views over downs, marshland, and Scolt Head Island.

Beach huts are a great British tradition. Maybe it's the fact that we can never trust the weather enough to be able to spend a whole day on the beach without shelter. Or maybe it's because most of us can't afford a home by the sea. Either way, these quirky little colourful boxes have become an endearing symbol of the British seaside. And at Pinewoods campsite, in Wells-next-the-Sea on the north Norfolk coast, you can rent one by the day, complete with deckchairs and a windbreak.

Small but perfectly located, this campsite sits atop the Norfolk cliffs with lovely views across the sea and miles of sandy beach stretching out below. Run by Go Camping UK, it's comprised of 10 'ready' tents in a line along the back of the site; and the rest of the small, flat field provides 45 unmarked pitches just for tents - not even campervans can sneak in.

Set in a quiet woodland clearing, Deer's Glade successfully combines modern innovations with old-school camping principles. The owners, David and Heather, have taken great care and attention in creating the site, so that the hotel-style facilities - contemporary bathrooms and wi-fi access — don't come at the expense of nature and conservation. The slick showers are housed in eco-friendly wooden buildings, and the native saplings and hedges planted a few years ago are maturing into a pleasant landscaped environment. While the ground has been levelled and turfed for easy pitching, wild areas have been left around the hedges, providing a habitat for insects and birds.

If you get the urge to disappear off the face of the earth for a weekend but don't want to step on to a plane, then Whitwell Hall Country Centre is the place to go - although you'U have to take a few friends along with you. Because here you don't just get an individual pitch, but a whole woodland-enclosed meadow to call your own, along with a private, sheltered canipfire area.

Clippesby Hall in the Norfolk liroads achieves the near impossible - managing to make a large campsite feel friendly, non-commercial, peaceful, and altogether rather lovely.