RUBERSLAW WILD WOODS CAMPING Glamping Scotland

Glamping Scotland

The Scottish Borders has no other camp and glamping site like Ruberslaw Wild Woods Camping. Our 500 acres of unspoilt upland is set in the heart of the Teviot Valleys Special Landscape Area. From one of our wonderful camping options glamp in a safari tent, leaving urban life behind, living under canvas, close to nature, views and sunsets and possibly adventure. Isolated on the slopes of Ruberslaw by hundreds of metres of woodland, our safari tents will give you all of this. The tents have a wide front verandah where you can sit quietly enjoying the peace and quiet of the woods. A fire bowl is provided with logs supplied daily, so you may sit around the open camp fire in the evening, cooking and chatting.

• Runner up in the Scottish Outdoor & Leisure Awards 2016
• Scottish Borders tourism business of the year 2015
• Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence Awarded for 4th year in a row

OUR SAFARI TENTS
We limit the occupation of the hill pitches to 4 people per pitch. If your party is larger we have set aside a separate area of woodland for group hill camping. This is “Glamping” mixed with Wildness.

RED SQUIRREL RIDE sits on the edge of Denholm Hill Wood, facing Ruberslaw Hill with views up Rule Water valley towards the Cheviots. Here you have a good chance of spotting a native Red Squirrel if you’re quiet as well as Roe Deer and Badger
15 minutes* walk from the Hub

GLEDSWING VIEW faces into the woods in another part of Denholm Hill Wood. The “Grey Gled” is, we are told, an old Scots name for Hen Harrier but “Gled” was also used in some localities for Goshawk. With Goshawks now nesting again not far off the name Gledswing could be an interesting historical reference to their forbears. A Honey Buzzard has also been spotted, on more than one occasion, near here. Keep a lookout for Stoats in and out of holes in the old wall that runs through the wood.
20 minutes* walk from the Hub

ROE DEER REST sits in a natural hollow near the source of Tower Burn (burn is Scots for watercourse) at the lower end of Ruberslaw Covert, facing east over the Teviot Valley. The trees here often shelter roe deer, and you’ll see a variety of birds, including possibly a Buzzard or an Owl.
20 minutes* walk from the Hub

WOODLAND ESCAPE nestles in mature mixed woodland that has seen continuous tree cover for several hundred years, lying behind the Edwardian Walled Garden Campsite. This wood resounds to the sounds of woodpeckers in the day and owls at night. Squirrels, badger and deer are all seen in this wood. (5-7 minutes walk from the Hub)
* walk times may vary if you have children
We take the environmental impact of our hill pitches seriously, so you must leave your car behind at the main campsite car park and walk up to your tent. This will take between 15 and 30 minutes depending on the pitch and how fast you walk.

YOUR SPACIOUS TENT includes

• Fully equipped camp kitchen, with gas hob, cool box, crockery, cutlery, utensils etc
• Paraffin fuelled Hurricane Lamps, a candle lantern, 3 rechargeable electric Lamps and a head torch
• Large wooden kitchen table and chairs for meals or maybe a game of cards in the evening
• Comfortable canvas armchairs for relaxing in inside or outside, and a bench on the verandah
• Two bedrooms, one with a King Size double bed and one with bunks beds for two, made up with fresh bed linen
• Natural coir carpet throughout, made from coconut husk fibres
• Sink supplied with fresh water daily for drinking, washing and washing up

THE COMPOSTING LOO is set not far away in the woods behind the tent in the exclusive Thunderbox pine hut. These are cleaned daily (you will be asked to follow the rules for using this greenest of technologies to ensure that the composting works perfectly see Eco & Safety)

A FIRE BOWL and a bag of logs so you can sit around the open fire under the trees, cooking and chatting. A top up bag of logs will be supplied daily. You will be asked to follow the rules for Fire Safety to ensure that no accidents happen and that we can continue to allow open fires.

WHAT WE SUGGEST YOU BRING
Built into the price is carrying one load of your kit up to your pitch (and bringing it down again). We have fitted out the safari tents so that all you must bring are –

• Your warm and wet weather clothes
• Towels and toiletries
• Food and drink (you are supplied with water)
• Dish towels
• Books, binoculars, camera etc
• Quietness and stillness make for successful nature-watching. Our really wild pitches are fairly remote and are provided primarily with nature-watching in mind and we ask you to consider this when booking

WILD WOODS LIFE
Wildness is the spirit of our rolling Borders Hills, and Wildness permits wild life. If you are quiet, patient, slow moving and observant our wild woods and hill offer some exciting sightings, and lots of interest. Roe deer, hare, and rabbits can be seen. Small invertebrates thrive too, supporting small mammals (shrews, voles, moles, mice), and brown long-eared and pipistrelle bats. These in turn support larger predators including badger, fox, weasel, stoat, and ferret. We are pleased with increase in otter in the area, and the knowledgeable may recognise spraints (droppings) near our burn. We are especially pleased with the recent return of the native Red Squirrel to our woods, as a result of a 5 year programme of control of the north american Grey squirrels (though you may see these as well). Birdlife is also very healthy, from a rich small bird population (goldfinch, yellowhammer, greenfinch, blue tit, coal tit, chaffinch, bullfinch, chaffinch, skylark, treecreeper) through larger birds such as woodpecker, skylark, jays and occasional snipe and cuckoo to raptors such as Buzzard, Sparrow hawk, Goshawk, Hen Harrier, and kestrel. You will hear their cries as they hunt over the heather. After dark you will hear owl.

OUR OTHER CAMPING OFFERINGS
If you already have a much loved tent and gear you may camp in your own tent up in the Wild Woods, in Castle View or Minto View overlooking the Teviot Valley, or – this season’s additional woodland site – Home Wood looking up the Rule Valley, which is proving popular.
OR
Pitch your own tent in the Edwardian Walled Garden, on a specially landscaped individual pitch among the restored flower beds around the Vinery, or in the Old Orchard

THE HUB
The Hub is where you check in at reception. Here you will find the steaming hot showers, the loos (all with under floor heating in the colder months), the well-equipped camp kitchen, and the Gathering Area centred on the huge fireplace. Here you may charge your phones or use the free Wifi. Information about local walks, rides, and attractions will help you plan your day.

SHOP AT THE HUB
The Reception shop in the Hub has everything (almost) that you have forgotten to pack, and a range of beautiful, hand crafted children’s toys, nature spotting kits and local, hand made gifts to take home. Our popular range of quality local hand made sausages, jams and Breakfast or BBQ meat packs are also good value

PRICES
￡140 per night per Safari Tent at weekends, or ￡125 midweek
Single night stays attract an additional servicing charge. Please enquire about pitch-your-own camping prices, uplift from the train or bus, and anything else you may wish to know.