Camping in Ellesmere

Camping around Ellesmere means gentle, low-lying Shropshire farmland rather than dramatic hill country — flat to softly rolling fields, hedgerows, and water never far away, whether that's the meres themselves or the Llangollen Canal threading past on its embankment. It's an easy, forgiving landscape to pitch a tent in, with none of the exposure or weather extremes you'd get camping higher up in Wales or the Lake District, though the ground can turn heavy after wet spells given the clay-rich soil that helped form the meres in the first place.

The best-known site is Colemere Caravan Park, a small five-acre spot right on the edge of Colemere itself, a few minutes' drive from town, with grass pitches for tents and tourers alongside camping pods, a shepherd's hut and a yurt for those who'd rather not rely purely on canvas — plus a pondside hot tub for hire, which is a nice touch after a day's walking. It's an adults-only site, so families will need to look slightly further afield; Fernwood Caravan Park, set across sixty-odd acres of woodland and open countryside nearby, is one alternative with a broader mix of pitches. Both give easy access to the meres, the canal towpath and Ellesmere town itself without needing to drive far each day.

As with anywhere in England, wild camping on the meres, the canal towpath or the surrounding farmland is illegal without the landowner's explicit permission — this is private land throughout, unlike the more permissive access rules in parts of Scotland, and the meres in particular are protected wildlife sites where informal camping would cause real disturbance. Stick to licensed sites and you'll have no trouble finding a pitch, even in peak season, since this corner of Shropshire draws far fewer visitors than the Peak District or Lake District.

May to September is the reliable camping window, with long evenings ideal for a walk around The Mere after the day-trippers have gone home, and the canal at its busiest and most sociable with passing narrowboats. Glamping options — pods, yurts and shepherd's huts — have grown steadily at sites like Colemere, giving a warmer, more weatherproof alternative for anyone new to camping or visiting outside the height of summer, and they tend to book up faster than standard pitches given how few there are.