As conventional campsites fill up, more holidaymakers are discovering the joys of ‘champing’ – and silent nights
Penny Thomas has always favoured adventure holidays over lying on a beach. But this year, with UK destinations in such demand during the pandemic, she found a unique way to avoid the crowds.
Rather than staying in a busy campsite, or trying to get a rare available holiday home, Thomas, her partner Pete Matthews and labradoodle Betty checked into a 13th-century church. “It was the appeal of doing something a little bit different… I hate being disturbed by other people’s noise. You don’t get that when you’re sleeping among the dead,” she says, laughing.