Camping in Boston

Camping around Boston means trading dramatic scenery for the huge skies and quiet, flat expanses of the Lincolnshire Fens, a landscape shaped almost entirely by centuries of land drainage. As with the rest of England, wild camping is not legal here without the landowner's permission, so visitors should stick to registered sites, of which there are a reasonable number scattered through the fen villages surrounding the town. Long Acres Touring Park, an adults-only site to the south of Boston, and the Thatched Cottage Caravan Park are among the established options in the area, typically offering touring pitches with hard standing and full hook-up alongside space for tents.

The flat, well-drained terrain of the Fens makes for straightforward, easy-going camping and touring by caravan or motorhome, with quiet lanes ideal for cycling between sites and the coast. Its position inland of The Wash also means Boston's campsites tend to be a little more sheltered than those directly on the coast at Skegness or Ingoldmells, while still being within a short drive of the beaches, the RSPB reserves at Frampton Marsh and Freiston Shore, and the bulb fields around Spalding in spring. Many of the region's farms also supply small-scale campsites and glamping pods as a sideline to arable and market-garden farming, so it is worth checking for seasonal or farm-based sites in addition to the established touring parks.

Spring through early autumn is the most comfortable season to camp here, when the Fens are driest and the surrounding market gardens and tulip fields are at their most colourful; the flat ground can become waterlogged after heavy winter rain, so many sites operate on a seasonal basis. For those who prefer fixed accommodation with a similar sense of open-sky remoteness, a small number of glamping options in the area offer pods, shepherd's huts or safari tents as an alternative to bringing your own tent or tourer.