Glamping at Field of Dreams

Last month, we had the most amazing experience glamping at Field of Dreams at Melbourne Hall, Derbyshire.

Comedian Johnny Vegas (and friends) are the brains behind the glamping site, and everything about it works. You may have seen the site on the TV? As there’s been a whole TV show (season two will be out next year) of Johnny Vegas: Carry on Glamping.

It is unique, exciting and offers an unforgettable experience suitable for the whole family. And as a bonus, the prices stay the same the whole year round. There’s no hiking the price up for the school holidays.

There’s a variety of vehicles that you can choose to stop in.

Patricia: A Maltese public transport bus. Patricia has a fixed double bed, and a seating area that converts easily into a double bed. There is a fully kitted kitchen, her own WC, and a beautiful shower with tiles hand-made by Johnny, as well as many more of Johnny’s personal touches.

The Puma: The Puma (a helicopter) served in Chile and Sierra Leone from 1970 until 2005 when he was retired from service. The Puma is perfect for up to four people. It has a fixed double bed and seating that converts to two singles, and has all the amenities you need for cooking, dining and relaxing! There is even a playstation 4 to enjoy. And outside, The Puma has a roof deck, and its own ground level decked area with table and seating, and an outdoor fire pit – perfect for BBQs.

Mahala: A converted boat with a bathtub overlooking the lake. She has a fixed double bed, and has all amenities you need for cooking, dining and relaxing. And outside, Mahala has a table, seating, a handmade swing, and a fire pit – perfect for BBQs.

Dino: A stunning and rare 1964 Austin J2 Bluebird Highwayman, perfect for up to two people. With a spacious living space, Dino is wonderfully roomy inside, and with a skylight made from antique stained glass panels the interior is flooded with beautiful natural light. He has a large sofa that easily converts to a double bed, plenty of storage, a fully kitted kitchen, and a dining area.
Outside Dino has a table with seating, and an outdoor fire pit – perfect for BBQs. He also has his own beautifully converted horse trailer bathroom.

The Citroën Camper: This striking and rare 1960s French Citroen van is one of only thirteen ever made, characterised by its quirky detachable camper trailer. She is perfect for up to four people. She has two bunks and a seating area that converts easily into a double bed. An outside table and seating is positioned between the two sections of the van, and inside, she has a fully kitted kitchenette.
The Citroen also has a spacious outside ‘glawning’ tent, together with wood burning stove; an outdoor fire pit –perfect for BBQs; and her own beautifully converted horse trailer bathroom.

Fire Truck: This beautiful and rare 1960’s Mercedes fire engine began life as the only volunteer fire wagon in a small village in Germany, before coming to the UK six years ago. She is perfect for up to two people. The bench seats for dining drop down to form a spacious double bed, and the kitchenette has an induction hob, bamboo sink and marine pump tap.
The Fire Truck also has a spacious outside ‘glawning’ tent, together with wood burning stove; an outdoor fire pit –perfect for BBQs; and her own beautifully converted horse trailer bathroom.

Billy the Snail: Billy is a unique British campervan, a hybrid of a 1970 Morris Minor Pick-Up and a 1960 Fisher Holivan Junior caravan. He is affectionately called ‘The Snail’ – as he carries his home on his back. With his own five metre bell tent, he is ideal for up to two people. On-board Billy has a fully kitted kitchenette and spacious dining area, and outside he has a gorgeous bell tent with full-sized bed and wood-burning stove, so you can enjoy Billy purely for cooking, dining and relaxing.
Outside there is a table with seating, and a fire pit – perfect for BBQs. He also has his own beautifully converted horse trailer bathroom.

The Skoolie: This iconic 1970’s American School Bus transported children to school in Minnesota for many decades before coming to the UK. She is perfect for up to five people. She has a large double bed at the rear, and three single bunks. The front space includes a cool kitchen dining space, and she also has a fully tiled mosaic styled shower with beautiful hand-made copper pipe fittings.
The Skoolie has outdoor seating, table, and fire pit – perfect for BBQs, and her own beautifully converted horse trailer bathroom.

Which one would you choose?

We decided on the Skoolie, and we were so chuffed. It was an experience we will remember fondly for years to come.

From the moment we arrived, we felt really welcomed and like part of the family. The site looks amazing and is so peaceful and quiet too.

We were shown to our accommodation and were greeted with a lovely welcome pack which included some tasty cookies, bottles of water and some milk and shown how to work everything within the bus.

The girls, super excited, jumped on board and went straight to check out their beds.

We were all impressed.

The bus had a seating area with a table, perfect for the 4 of us, but easily could have fitted another person.

We had a kitchen area complete with fridge, sink, hob, kettle and toaster and all the utensils you might need.

We had a quirky shower area on the bus which Matilda and me liked to use.

James and Jemima were in love with the horse trailer attached to the bus, which had a bathroom complete with toilet, sink, and large shower area, and that’s where they would shower.

We had a large double bed area at the end of the bus which had lovely views over the countryside field and there were 3 single bunk beds. We used one to store our suitcase and bags on (we always fail to travel light) and the girls slept on the other two beds.

Outside we had a seating area and fire pit that was just ours to use. It was perfect to sit at to have breakfast listening to the birds on a morning.

But there were also communal areas too including a mock garage where we enjoyed a Chinese takeaway one night.

They have a communal bell tent and games and we sat playing monopoly one late afternoon together.

The land that the glamping site is on, is stunning. Fields and fields to explore, a beautiful lake and places to sit and enjoy the silence and sounds of nature.

You can take a lovely little walk up to the The Brewhouse. Where they sell drinks and a bite to eat.

Melbourne village was a gem. Quaint shops, places to eat and a children’s playground. All of the people that we met were so lovely and friendly.

If you have a dog, the glamping site has a couple of vehicles that allow dogs – including the Skoolie that we hired and also the Fire Truck.

Would we recommend the site? Yes! It is fantastic and we are already looking at which one we would like to stop in next year when we hope to return.

For more information, including prices and booking availability, take a look here: https://www.melbournehall.com/johnny-vegas-glamping

Disclaimer: We were invited along on a complimentary basis with no request to write a review. All thoughts are entirely our own and honest.