Camping in Goulceby

Camping in England always requires the landowner's permission - wild camping without consent is not legal here, unlike in Scotland - so the sensible approach around Goulceby is to book a proper site rather than pitch up on open land. The village's own Three Horseshoes combines a pub, shop, campsite and glamping in one spot on Shoe Lane, with space for tents, campervans, caravans and motorhomes alongside insulated and heated glamping pods and huts built to be used all year round. It is a genuinely useful base if you want to explore the Lincolnshire Wolds on foot or by bike without driving far each morning.

The terrain here is gentler than it looks on a map - the Wolds rise only to around 550 feet at their highest, but the valleys and chalk streams give the walking real variety, and the ground can turn heavy after rain, so it is worth choosing pitches with good drainage and packing accordingly if you are bringing your own tent. Nearby Red Hill Nature Reserve, with its exposed red chalk quarry and wildflower grassland, is an easy walk or cycle from most sites in the area and is at its best from late spring to late summer.

May to September is the most comfortable stretch for camping here, with long evenings for sitting out and drier ground underfoot; the Wolds can catch a stiff breeze even in summer, so a sheltered pitch is worth seeking out. Outside those months, the insulated glamping pods at the Three Horseshoes are a good way to enjoy the Wolds' quieter, colder-weather charm - autumn colour in the beech woods and crisp winter walks - without needing to rely on a tent. Whichever you choose, book ahead in peak season, as sites in this part of Lincolnshire are relatively few and far between compared with the coast.