Camping in Mealsgate

The countryside around Mealsgate, straddling the boundary between the Solway Coast AONB and the northern Lake District fells, is well suited to campers who want space and quiet rather than resort-style facilities. As everywhere in England, wild camping on open land requires the landowner's permission — it is not a general legal right outside a handful of specific areas of the Lake District — so pitching up on fellside or marshland without asking first should be avoided. Fortunately the area has a decent scatter of proper campsites and small touring parks, particularly around Wigton and towards Bassenthwaite and Skiddaw, where pitches often come with direct views of the northern fells.

Sites in this part of Cumbria tend to be smaller and simpler than the big holiday parks further south in the Lake District, ranging from basic touring and tent pitches on working farms to slightly larger parks with electric hook-ups and amenity blocks. Some, particularly the pop-up and seasonal sites near Orthwaite and the Caldbeck fells, lean towards an off-grid feel with minimal facilities, which suits campers after a genuinely quiet fellside pitch. Glamping options — shepherd's huts, pods and the like — are increasingly available across the wider Wigton and Solway Coast area for those who want a taste of the outdoors without full camping kit.

The best camping season here runs from late spring to early autumn, when the ground is drier and the long evenings suit walks up onto Skiddaw or along the coast. Come prepared for changeable weather even in summer, since this stretch of Cumbria faces the Solway Firth and catches weather off the Irish Sea; a good waterproof groundsheet and warm layers are worth packing whatever the season. Midges can be an issue near water and rough grassland in high summer, so insect repellent is a sensible addition to the kit list.