GLAMPING might be the luxurious way to camp; but one step up is caraglamping, and Cumbria is certainly one place to enjoy it.

I have just returned from the most luxurious caravanning experience imaginable, where my wine had its own temperature controlled cooler, where one could watch wide-screen TV from a swivel armchair and where the master bedroom was en-suite. This meant, of course, two shower units and no family queues for the loo.

We stayed at the Holgates site near Silverdale, at the northern tip of Morecambe Bay, where sweeping tides provide a dramatic natural spectacle. The Lake District was just a short drive away to the north, making the site the perfect base to explore two world-renowned beauty spots.

The park itself, on Middlebarrow Plain, was the Cumbria Park of the Year in 2015 and it won a David Bellamy Conservation Award in 2017. This should come as no surprise, given it has two butterfly conservation areas and a woodland regeneration scheme. With facilities including a swimming pool, restaurant and even a bowling alley, it's a perfect spot for a family holiday.

And what about that most luxurious caravan? It was a Chamonix holiday home, - much more like a rustic lodge than a traditional fixed caravan: with its timber roof, skylights and insulation adding to an overwhelming sense of robustness and comfort. Its maker, the Swift Group, based in Hull, is the UK's leading holiday home, motorhome and touring caravan manufacturer, and it shows. (www.swiftgroup.co.uk)

Morecambe Bay is a hard to imagine spectacle for anyone who hasn't seen it. The sea comes within whispering range of the Holgates site, and fine pebbly beaches are within walking distance for anyone of reasonable fitness. When the tide goes out, leaving those famous sand flats stretching away, almost to the far horizon, it is difficult to believe that those waves ever approach the shore.

The beaches are beautiful, scenic and not overly crowded. It is possible to walk them and be lost in private thought; but the Lake District is a different experience altogether. When the lake poets Wordsworth and Coleridge lived there, they were dwelling in a very isolated part of the British Isles. Now the Lakes are an international magnet for tourists, which is an absolute boon for the local economy. Bowness, where we caught a Windermere Lake Cruise, absolutely heaves with tourists from the four corners of the globe; and a lake cruise is recommended for anyone wishing to leave behind those busy shops and lake front and admire grand scenery at its best. There is much to admire, from the looming cloud-wreathed crags over Ambleside to Windermere's many wooded islands and inlets.

Catching the famous Windermere car ferry is also a pleasant experience. For anyone wishing to visit Beatrix Potter's House, Hill Top, the ferry is an essential part of the journey.

The hamlet of Near Sawrey, where Hill Top is located, is a pleasant little village surrounded by verdant, undulating hills. It is easy to see how this location appealed to the best-selling author. The house itself contains the writer's original furniture and, in the low-light conditions that help to preserve many interesting artefacts, it is easy to imagine Beatrix Potter herself gliding in to work on yet another masterpiece. The property has a potent atmosphere of times past; but little that is eerie prevails on the senses, except for the feeling, at times, that one is intruding into someone's private world. That, however, is surely a major appeal of Hill Top. Because the house is so firmly on the touring trail, booking tickets in advance is highly recommended.

At the excellent Beatrix Potter Gallery in nearby Hawkshead, it is possible to see the author's original artwork and both my wife and daughter agreed that fine details were lost with even with the most meticulous prints, compared with those marvellous originals. Beatrix Potter must have been blessed with remarkable eyesight, as well as a slightly obsessive nature, to manage all those miniscule brush strokes and pen strokes.

We were reluctant to leave Cumbria. There's so much to see and do, and we felt we'd hardly scratched the surface. But one thing's for certain: we will return.

And the good news is, Holgates Silverdale is open all year round.

Useful contacts:

Holgates Silverdale: 01524 701508.

Email: caravan@holgates.co.uk

Hill Top - www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hill-top

Beatrix Potter Gallery - https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/beatrix-potter-gallery-and-hawkshead

Windermere Lake Cruises - https://www.windermere-lakecruises.co.uk/