Camping in Broxbourne

Broxbourne sits at the heart of the Lee Valley Regional Park, and the surrounding countryside offers a genuine taste of camping and glamping within Hertfordshire's green belt, despite being so close to London. As in the rest of England, wild camping without the landowner's permission is illegal, so pitching up in Broxbourne Woods or along the riverside meadows without prior arrangement is not an option - visitors should instead look to the licensed campsites and glamping sites dotted around the wider Lee Valley and Hertfordshire countryside.

The terrain here is gentle and low-lying, shaped by the River Lea, its old mill channels and a string of former gravel-pit lakes now managed as nature reserves - ideal for family camping trips that mix easy cycling and walking with canoeing, paddleboarding or a day at the Lee Valley White Water Centre. Broxbourne Woods National Nature Reserve, just to the west of the town, adds a very different character, with dense ancient oak and hornbeam woodland, waymarked trails and a wheelchair-accessible sculpture route that makes for a memorable woodland walk from a nearby pitch.

Late spring and summer are the best seasons to camp in this part of Hertfordshire: the woods are at their most vivid after the bluebells fade into full leaf canopy, the river and lakes are at their most inviting for boating and paddling, and long evenings suit campfire cooking in a riverside pitch. Glamping options in the wider Lee Valley area range from simple canvas bell tents to fully-equipped safari lodges, giving visitors who want the outdoor setting of the valley without the full demands of traditional camping a comfortable way to experience Broxbourne's waterways and woodland at a slower pace.