Follow the harvest season around Europe with Pitchup.com

Outdoor accommodation provider offers a number of places where visitors can stay and enjoy seasonal local produce

Eat local, eat fresh, eat seasonal.  It’s a message we’re used to hearing all the time so why not incorporate this lifestyle into your holidays with a food-themed break with Pitchup.com?

The outdoor accommodation provider features places to stay all over the UK and Europe, many of which are located in areas famed for their local produce with some sites making their own wine, growing their own delicious fruit and veg, and even producing their own sausages!

For a gastronomic holiday to remember, book one of these places for summer 2015:

Wine

Wine producers often save their best bottles for direct sales and what better way to pick up one than staying on a vineyard this summer? From the UK to the south of France there are plenty of choices:

• Located in Winkleigh, Ten Acres Vineyard Camping is in a prime spot for visiting Dartmoor, Exmoor, Eggesford Forest and the north coasts of Devon and Cornwall. Visitors who are here for the good stuff can enjoy guided tours of the vineyard and the winery, which are arranged on request. The site has two campfire areas and an on-site shop where visitors can purchase a bottle or two of the house wine. Pitchup.com offers pitches here from just £12 per night or bell tents from £35 per night.

• France has long been considered the champion producer of wine. Camping Les Peupliers, a friendly campsite offering traditional camping holidays and comfortable stays in modern holiday homes, is perfectly located for exploring the Montlouis-sur-Loire area. Sample the region’s dry, demi-sec, sweet and sparkling Chenin Blanc wines. The campsite is also in close proximity to other vineyards for red wine tours, Restigné for its wines aged in caves, and Sancerre/Pouilly-sur-Loire for Sauvignon Blancs. The site has a restaurant/pizzeria and bar, kids’ playground, free wifi and a grocery store selling fresh local produce. Tent pitches start from £11 per night, while larger groups or families may wish to book a six-berth holiday home which starts from £68 per night.

• Located in the heart of the Catalan Pyrenees, Berga Resort Camping is in a prime location for visiting the numerous wineries and cava producers of the Penedes. The Cuscó Berga winery in the picturesque village of Gunyoles d'Avinyonet, where the Cuscó y Esteve family has been producing wines since the last century, is just an hour’s drive away. The campsite itself is also only an hour from Barcelona, Andorra and France, and has a large playground, a games room, a bar/restaurant with a large terrace serving delicious Mediterranean dishes, a pizzeria, mini market and wellness centre. Tent pitches start from £17 per night or for something a little more luxurious, the site has one-bedroom microlodges from £43 per night.

Fruit and vegetables

• Nothing beats rising in the mornings to enjoy eggs straight from the farm washed down with fresh-pressed apple juice. This is exactly what visitors to Dunn Street Farm near Ashford, Kent will wake up to. This quiet family-run site offers visitors a spacious and well-maintained pitch set on a working farm. It’s close to main towns for ease of access and shopping while the local hills and woodland provide the ideal spot for walking and enjoying the outdoors. Back on site the farm has its own sheep, cattle, horses, chickens and a separate fruit farm nearby.  Visitors can purchase daily freshly laid eggs and apple juice along with other products. Pitches start from £14 per night.

• Camping La Fontaine du Hallate is a little piece of French paradise. Set in a lush garden of flora and fauna, this campsite is also home to a fantastic array of homegrown fruits and vegetables. Visitors are encouraged to pick and enjoy all types of seasonal delights including raspberries, tomatoes and fresh herbs. As an added bonus a local supplier sells fresh vegetables on site every Monday during high season and there is a purveyor of fresh oysters just three kilometres away. Every Friday in July and August local chef, Audrey, visits to cook crêpes and other French specialities for guests. What more could a foodie ask for? Oh yes, bargain accommodation! Pitches here start from just £10 per night.

• Bosavern Community Farm in Penzance is a small community-run site offering just a handful of pitches for tents in this pretty region of rural Cornwall. The pitches are located in a large farm field which is owned and run by the local community. The farm was set up to provide sustainable living for the visitors and residents of St Just and the surrounding area. Visitors are encouraged to take part in farm activities during their stay including collecting eggs, feeding chickens and planting and harvesting crops. Whether staying for a true rural escape or bringing the family to learn about eco-and-sustainable living, this is a truly unique campsite. The on-site farm shop sells all the local produce including eggs, vegetables, honey, jams, chutney, chocolate, candles, soaps and even hand-knitted socks! The facilities are basic but there are tree toilets with a composting system. Pitches start from £14 per night.

Truffles and foie gras

These two wonderful (if a little controversial for the latter) European specialities are widely available in many parts of eastern Europe and southern France.

• Le Relais de la Bresque is a lovely family-oriented site located near Var, a region considered to be the capital of the truffle and oil mills. The site is just 900m away from a medieval village which features ramparts and a 42m-high waterfall. The area also has caves nearby in Cotignac, the potters’ town of Salernes - famous for its terracotta tiles, and of course the wines of the Provence route. Aside from enjoying the local food specialities the area also offers excellent outdoor activities including hiking, mountain biking and kayaking. Woodland pitches start from only £10 per night or for a little added comfort the two-bedroom holiday homes start from £32 per night.

• Camping le Repaire is just outside the village of Thiviers, an area known for its foie gras and truffles. Visitors can enjoy a peaceful holiday setting from only £10 per night leaving plenty of spare cash to spend on local tasty delights. There is a swimming pool on site where guests can burn off the calories consumed with other local attractions including a cave, castle and abbey ruins.

Fish

• Foodies who prefer their edibles to have come from the water should look no further than Mains Farm Camping and Caravan Site in the Lake District.Pick a pod or pitch at this quiet countryside site with private walking routes and easy access to Hadrian’s Wall and the Scottish Borders. There is also a privately owned stretch of single bank salmon and trout fishing available just a short stroll away from the pitches. Perfect! Pitches start from only £16 per night or family-sized pods start from £35 per night.

Sausages

• Whether it’s a breakfast staple or a poshed-up version for the barbecue, nothing beats the British banger and this along with all other types of pork products can be purchased and enjoyed at the aptly named The Pig Place in Banbury, Oxfordshire. Visitors here can camp from as little as £11 per night and enjoy a range of locally-made tasty treats including bacon, sausages, roast pork, stuffing and apple sauce. The site here is pretty basic - it’s really all about enjoying the food, animals and the great outdoors.

For more information visit www.pitchup.com.  All prices correct at time of writing.

-ends-

For media information:

Contact Samantha Marsh or Jardine Howlett  at White Tiger PR

samantha.marsh@whitetigerpr.com 07711 265666

jardine.howlett@whitetigerpr.com 07866 508737

About Pitchup.com

Founded in 2009 by former lastminute.com man, Dan Yates, multi-award winning Pitchup.com is a free guide to all types of outdoor accommodation in the UK, Ireland, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Croatia, Luxembourg, Austria, Poland and Switzerland.  Pitchup.com, which currently lists over 5,800 sites, provides users with a simple platform in which they can search and book an outdoor holiday with total ease: the customer journey from landing on the homepage through to booking a holiday can be completed in as little as four pages.  The site also goes beyond traditional searches by allowing users to search for accommodation based on more than 80 criteria, such as adults only and campfires allowed, and view nearby events, Good Pub Guide pubs and VisitBritain attractions.  It’s also possible to check out water bathing water quality in the surrounding area with data provided by the European Environment Agency.  Users can also search on the offers page to find the best deals available.

In 2013 Pitchup.com became the first business of its type to launch a bookable mobile app and site, making the site easily accessible to users of mobile and tablet devices.  The mobile site, m.pitchup.com, now accounts for 21% of bookings.

Pitchup.com enables users to search for all types of parks and sites from the major brands right through to one-off campsites and unique outdoor accommodation options, which may not have previously had a web presence.

Awards include Best UK Travel Website of the Year at the British Travel Press Awards 2011, and most recently Best Travel / Leisure / Sports / Mobile Strategy / Campaign at the Marketing on Mobile Awards 2014.