Camping in Britain no longer has to mean a waterlogged tent in a muddy field and a dawn dash to the chemi-loo. New-style campers can choose from a vast array of nights under canvas, from child-friendly sites with play areas and family bathrooms, luxurious yurts complete with four-poster beds, wood-burning stoves and roll-top baths, to the continuing allure of the lone night under the stars in one of the nation's most beautiful, remote spots.

"Camping is cool again," says Patricia Yates, spokesperson for Visit Britain. "The rise in festivals has meant that a lot more young people are buying tents, while the fact that campsites are now safer, have more amenities and the general advent of 'comfy camping' has meant that thousands more people are choosing a camping holiday. This is particularly noticeable in statistics relating to women."

The figures back up Yates's view: in 2003, 4.1 million people spent a night camping in the UK, 1.5 million of whom were female. In the last statistics from 2005, 4.9 million people spent the night in a tent or a caravan, with the number of women rising to 2.2 million.

The statistics for 2006 will be coming out in July and are set to show an even larger rise. Interestingly, this is most noticeable in people camping in the UK rather than abroad, according to a Mintel Survey. Whether influenced by the impact of global warming on our summer weather, anxiety about flying abroad and our carbon footprints or the boom in music festivals, we Brits are packing up our troubles in our kit bags and setting up camp.

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• Our dedicated section on camping and caravanning

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BACKGROUND

• All your tent gear

• Girls go mad on a motorhome in Yorkshire

• A novice and his caravan in Dorset

• Why not buy a static caravan or holiday lodge?

Related Internet Links

• Great campsites and camping holidays

Related Links

• Under the stars in a Cornish yurt

Whatever sort of camping you opt for, many find that there is nothing better than waking up in the fresh air, brewing up that first cup of tea on the stove, and contemplating the view.

One word of advice however: advance bookings for the British Camping and Caravanning Club are up by 34 per cent this year so turning up unannounced is becoming riskier. If like our happy campers featured here, the appeal of the British sun, not having too many carbon emissions to offset and being close to nature tempts you to dust off your tent, it would probably be best to reserve your spot.

Festival camper - Harry Hardie

"Glastonbury was my first festival. I must have been about 17, and I was blown away by it. I had never seen so many people. It was back in the days when you could climb over the fence, so we managed to get in without tickets. I was with a group of friends and the minute we set up our tents it started pouring with rain. One of my friends went back to his tent, only to find it had disappeared, and after spending ages looking for it we realised that it was there, but it was crushed under the mud. Four of us ended up trying to sleep in one, soaking-wet tent, with water running through it. But you know what? You just have to go with it, and say, 'Right, I'm wet, I'm covered in mud, I have nowhere to sleep, I'm tired, but rock'n'roll.' "When I got my student loan the first thing I thought was, 'Every man needs a good tent.' So I went and blew most of my money on this amazing super-tent. It has served me well ever since.

"Camping at a festival is just such a fun thing to do with your mates. You get there, set up your tent, scoot around, drink too much cider, and just hang out. It's a cheap and easy way to get a bunch of your good friends together. A tent gives you so much freedom ­ and it means you can always run away."

Lone Camper - Bill Jenman

Troytown Campsite, St Agnes, Isles of Scilly "I first went camping when I was 16, in Barra, in the Outer Hebrides, which was extremely wet and windy and after a couple of days I retired to a B&B to dry out. But that didn't put me off and I have been going ever since. There is something nice about lying in a secure, dry tent while listening to a howling storm outside ­ it makes you feel something between smug and snugŠ as long as you don't have to move the tent in the middle of the night. It is very seldom that the weather is so wet and cold that it is not worth going.

"I once went camping in the Peak District in May and it was a lovely, clear skies kind of day but because there were no clouds it became absolutely freezing in the evening and my water bottle froze solid. But you wake up in the morning, the sun comes up, you have a warm cup of tea and the world is all right again.

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