Discover Eden Heights Glamping in the Heart of the Lake District

Location and Setting

Where is Eden Heights Glamping Located?

Eden Heights Glamping is in the Eden Valley in Cumbria, in the country around Appleby-in-Westmorland, on the eastern side of the Lake District. It is worth being precise about the geography, because "Lake District" is doing some work in the name.

The Eden Valley runs north-east from the Lakeland fells towards Carlisle, bounded by the fells on one side and the North Pennines on the other. Appleby-in-Westmorland sits roughly in the middle of it, a market town of about 3,000 people on a loop of the River Eden, with a castle, a Norman church and one of the most striking main streets in northern England.

What that position means practically:

So this is an eastern-fringe base rather than a central one. If your itinerary is Helvellyn on Monday and Scafell Pike on Wednesday, you will be driving. If your itinerary is a hot tub, a market town, one long walk and the Eden Valley itself, the position is excellent.

The Scenic Beauty of Eden Valley

The Eden Valley is one of the most underrated landscapes in northern England, and its character is entirely different from the national park twenty miles west.

What it looks like: red sandstone, which gives the villages, churches and field walls a warmth the slate-grey Lakes do not have. Rolling farmland rather than steep fellside. Broad river meadows along the Eden. Hedgerows instead of dry stone in the lower parts. And two mountain ranges visible at once — the Lakeland fells to the west, the long whaleback of the North Pennines to the east.

The Pennines side matters more than visitors expect. Cross Fell, at 893 metres, is the highest point in England outside the Lake District, and the escarpment above the Eden Valley is genuinely dramatic. The Pennine Way runs along the top. High Cup Nick, a glacial trench above Dufton, is one of the most extraordinary sights in the country and almost nobody goes.

And the climate. The Eden Valley sits in the rain shadow of the Lakeland fells: moist Atlantic air rises over the fells, dumps its water on Borrowdale and Wasdale, and arrives here considerably drier. Annual rainfall in the valley runs around 900 to 1,000mm, against roughly 2,000mm in Keswick and about 3,300mm at Seathwaite. Over a five-night stay that is the difference between two dry evenings and four.

Accommodation and Amenities

What Amenities Does Eden Heights Glamping Offer?

The model is the small high-specification site rather than the pod field. What that means in practice, at Eden Heights and at comparable Eden Valley operations:

• Wood-fired hot tub, private to the unit, on decking
• Small unit count, with genuine space between units
• Made-up beds, linen and towels supplied
• Private bathroom arrangements rather than a shared block
• Kitchenette sufficient to cook properly
• Heating you control, and often a wood burner as well
• Outdoor seating and a fire pit with firewood available
• Open views in two directions, which the flat-ish farmland setting allows

The wood-fired hot tub deserves a paragraph, because it shapes the evening. A wood-fired tub is a timber or fibreglass barrel with an integrated stove. There is no pump, no filtration and no chemical dosing — the water is drained and refilled between guests. Heating takes two to three hours from cold, longer in winter, so you light it on arrival and get in after dinner.

Practical notes: light it earlier than you think. Stir the water before you get in, because wood-fired tubs stratify and the top can be 42°C while your feet are at 30°C. Keep the cover on while it heats. And expect the whole thing to smell faintly of woodsmoke afterwards, which most people count as a feature.

Booking Your Stay at Eden Heights

Small sites book like cottages rather than campsites, because one booking takes a whole unit for the whole stay.

1. Check the site's own calendar. Small operators rarely list on the big platforms.
2. Confirm the minimum stay. Two nights standard, three over bank holidays.
3. Ask about the tub: exclusively yours, wood-fired or electric, and whether the fire will be laid.
4. Ask for an early arrival so the tub can be lit in time.
5. Confirm what is included: firewood, towels for the tub, welcome hamper.
6. Check the dog policy if relevant — small luxury sites split roughly evenly on this.
7. Read the cancellation terms. Single-unit sites tend to be stricter, because one cancellation is their whole week.
8. Save directions offline. Eden Valley postcodes cover large areas.

Rates for this style of site run £220 to £320 a night in season and £175 to £250 out of it. Book six to nine months ahead for summer and bank holidays; three to four weeks is usually enough for November to February, which is when we would come anyway.

Exploring the Surroundings

Natural Attractions Near Eden Heights

The unusual thing about this position is that it sits between three protected landscapes.

The Lake District National Park, 2,362 square kilometres of Cumbria, twenty to thirty minutes west. Sixteen major lakes, 214 Wainwright fells, Scafell Pike at 978 metres, UNESCO World Heritage status since 2017. From here, Ullswater and the eastern fells are the natural targets: Helvellyn, Place Fell, High Street, Hallin Fell.

The North Pennines, adjacent to the east, an AONB and UNESCO Global Geopark. Cross Fell at 893 metres, High Cup Nick above Dufton, the Pennine Way, hay meadows, and a population density low enough that you can walk all day without seeing anyone.

The Yorkshire Dales National Park, twenty-five minutes south-east. Wensleydale, Swaledale, the Howgills, Mallerstang, and the Settle–Carlisle railway which runs through Appleby itself.

Very few glamping sites in England sit within half an hour of three landscapes of that quality. It is the strongest argument for the eastern-fringe position.

Activities to Enjoy During Your Stay

• Fell walking, Lakeland. Hallin Fell (40 min), Place Fell (3–4 h), High Street from Hartsop (6 h), Helvellyn via Striding Edge (6 h).
• Pennine walking. High Cup Nick from Dufton (5 h) — and it is worth the drive. Cross Fell (6 h) for the highest ground in England outside Cumbria's fells.
• Ullswater. Steamers between Pooley Bridge, Howtown and Glenridding; swimming at Glencoyne; Aira Force.
• The Settle–Carlisle railway, which stops at Appleby. One of the great British train journeys, and you can do it as a day out.
• Lowther Castle and Gardens, near Penrith, with an exceptional children's playground.
• Cycling. The Eden Valley lanes are quiet, rolling and largely traffic-free — better road riding than anywhere inside the national park.
• Fishing the Eden, which is a serious trout and salmon river. Permits available locally.
• Yorkshire Dales day trips. The Howgills above Sedbergh are empty and superb.

How to structure it: use mornings for whichever range the forecast favours, use afternoons for the Eden Valley itself, and keep the evenings at the site for the tub. The drive back east at five o'clock runs against the traffic, which is a small but real advantage.

Travel and Accessibility

How to Get to Eden Heights Glamping

Access is one of this location's genuine strengths.

• By car. M6 junction 38 (Tebay) or 40 (Penrith), then the A66 or the B6260 towards Appleby. Twenty to twenty-five minutes from the motorway on decent roads — not the single-track lanes typical of central Lakeland sites.
• By train, mainline. Penrith North Lakes on the West Coast Main Line: about 3h10 from London Euston, 1h40 from Manchester, 40 minutes from Carlisle.
• By train, Settle–Carlisle. Appleby has its own station on the Settle–Carlisle line, which connects to Leeds and Carlisle. Slow, scenic and genuinely useful.
• By bus. Services link Appleby, Penrith and Kirkby Stephen, though rural timetables are thin.
• By air. Newcastle around 1h40, Manchester around 2h.

Tips for a smooth arrival: shop in Penrith or Appleby before you reach the site, since village shops close around five. Download the map and arrival instructions before you leave signal. Ask for what3words rather than relying on the postcode. And request an early check-in if the tub is wood-fired, because the difference between arriving at three and arriving at six is the difference between using the tub on night one and not.

Local Insights and Recommendations

Historical and Cultural Significance of the Area

Appleby-in-Westmorland was the county town of Westmorland until the county was abolished in 1974, and it still has the architecture of somewhere that used to matter. Boroughgate, the wide main street, runs uphill from the church of St Lawrence to Appleby Castle, with the Low Cross at one end and the High Cross at the other. It is a remarkable piece of medieval town planning.

Appleby Castle retains a Norman keep, known as Caesar's Tower, and the estate was held for centuries by the Clifford family. Lady Anne Clifford, who inherited the Westmorland estates in the seventeenth century after a decades-long legal fight, restored a string of castles across the Eden Valley and is buried in St Lawrence's church. Her story is genuinely worth twenty minutes of reading before you visit.

The town's best-known event is Appleby Horse Fair, held each June under a charter dating from 1685, and the largest gathering of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities in Europe. It transforms the town for a week. If you are booking glamping anywhere in the Eden Valley in early June, check the dates — accommodation is scarce and the roads are busy.

The wider Eden Valley carries other layers: the Settle–Carlisle railway, an extraordinary piece of Victorian engineering completed in 1876; Long Meg and Her Daughters, one of the largest stone circles in England; Brough and Brougham castles; and a series of red sandstone villages — Dufton, Milburn, Kirkoswald — that repay a slow drive.

Personal Reviews and Recommendations

Guest feedback for Eden Valley glamping, including operations like this one where a named host — Robert, in Eden Heights' case — is the point of contact, follows a consistent pattern.

Consistently praised:

• The number of dry evenings, which surprises people who expected Cumbrian weather
• Space between units and genuine privacy
• Hosts who are present and helpful without hovering — the personal-contact model works
• The wood-fired tub, and having the fire laid ready
• Ease of arrival compared with previous Lakeland glamping
• Views in two directions, and the Pennine side being an unexpected bonus

Consistently raised:

• Distance to the central and western fells. This is the recurring reservation and it is fair
• The tub taking longer to heat than expected, particularly in winter
• Limited evening options nearby beyond village pubs
• Mobile signal, variable across the valley

Our recommendation, plainly. Book here for a two to four-night couples' break between September and April, where the evenings matter as much as the days. Book here if you are arriving by train. Book here if you have been rained on in Borrowdale and want to try the other side of the county. Do not book here for a fell-bagging week — take a Keswick or Glenridding base and accept the wetter weather. Compare with luxury glamping generally and Ullswater sites.