Now, don't be misled by the title. We're not suggesting you take your camping gear and climb over the fence of someone's nicely-kept garden and pitch your tent there. That might end with the police waking you up at three in the morning just as you're reaching the closing stages of a particularly pleasant dream.
Sleeping in someone else's garden is actually possible in a
legal way, thanks to a website which has helped facilitate the coming together of campers and garden owners.
Founded in 2011 by Victoria Webbon,
campinmygarden.com claims to be the only online garden camping community in the world.
Writing on the website about her venture, Victoria says, "I hope that one day there will be thousands of private gardens being offered as temporary campsites across the world.
Everyone will welcome and be welcomed into our gardens with open arms and hearts, sharing in one passion for the universal adventure that is life."
It all sounds rather lovely, though the only way to really find out is to try it yourself. The majority of gardens are currently available in the UK, though as the website gains exposure and people spread the word, gardens from more and more countries are bound to be added to the directory.
Other countries besides the UK with gardens open to campers include Spain, France, Italy, Morocco, Thailand, India, Australia and Indonesia.
The website it easy to navigate, showing gardens by
location or – and this is a particularly good idea – by
event (ie. gardens close to an event like a music or arts festival).
A huge range of gardens have signed up (or at least, their owners have), offering both bamping (basic camping) and glamping (glamorous camping) experiences to visitors.
It'll be less crowded than this!
Each garden has a profile page on the site listing all the information you need, including the facilities available and the cost of a night's stay.
Keep in mind that garden stays are offered on a temporary basis (maximum stay two weeks), after all, it's unlikely the owner will want a permanent resident living in their back yard.
So if you enjoy camping and are looking for an experience a little different to the one offered up by a regular campsite, why not give it a go? Some places even provide tents!
Of course, if you have a garden you're interested in adding to the site, take a look
here for more information on how to go about it.
Images, top to bottom:
CIMG website, TrevM,
Dan Kamminga
