We are in the process of hiking all the high point in every county of Ireland. When we were in Northern Ireland hiking the high peaks, we needed accommodation as it was too far to drive back to our house, we love glamping sites, so that is what we were researching. We have previously stayed in log cabins, pods and treehouses before but we have never stayed in a Bell Tent, so we are looking forward to the new experience.

We can never book accommodation in advance of our hikes because we only like going up the mountains when the weather is very good for safety reasons with a baby. So we have been driving to the mountains, hiking and driving home the same day, this is tiring with a toddler but we always manage to have a good sing song on our road trips.

This time we are going to the top of Ireland. which is a four-hour drive from our house, so we did some research and found just what we were looking for at Carrowmena Activity Centre. When I rang a few days before, the lady on the phone said we were in luck, there was one Luxury Bell Tent left. The Bell Tent cost £70 sterling and I paid over the phone straight away, as we didn’t fancy driving 4 hours home after hiking a few mountains.

Getting to Carrowmena Activity Centre

Earlier in the day, we explored the Giants Causeway, Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, The Dark Hedges and Climbed Antrim’s highest mountain Trostan. All of the above were in the County of Antrim. We went from the Mountain straight to our glamping accommodation in Co. Derry which was a little over an hours drive.

Below is the details of the camp site:

Carrowmena Activity Centre Details

Address: 100 Carrowclare Rd, Limavady, Co. L’Derry,BT49 9EB

Phone: 028 77763431 (this is also the number you can ring during the night if you need anything as it is linked up to the mobile of the member of staff on duty)

Website: http://carrowmena.co.uk/

First Impressions of Carrowmena Activity Centre, Glamping Site NI

When arriving first, you see a vintage lime green campervan with their logo on it and also a large surfboard again with their logo. We were loving it already. You are greeted with an old school house, this is where the reception is but as we arrived late, 6:35 pm there was a sign on the door saying “Sorry they have been and gone and to follow the stones around to the coffee pod”.  (Also just bear in mind that check-in is from 3pm-7pm and late check-in will cost an extra £10). I then went into the coffee pod, to be greeted by some super friendly staff. I had to sign a form about rules, for example, no music or loud noise after 11 pm and before 7 am which was a great idea and really suited us.

The Tour around Carrowmena Glamping NI

I was then given a tour of the campsite, the shower block, toilets and the Glitchen (where you had your own shelf in the fridge), cooking and eating area. If something has a Carrowmena logo sticker, this means that everyone can use theses items, like tea, coffee, milk and cereal (which was a nice touch). The staff guided us to our Bell tent along a little footpath, to one side was a sand pit, swing area and mini climbing wall, to the other side was a row of lovely timber frame huts. There was also an outdoor BBQ and eating area, which allowed parents to cook while also watching their children play on the swings.

Token-operated shower block (£1 per token)

Changing area & Toilet Block in our Glamping site in Northern Ireland

Our Bell Tent in Carrowmena Activity Centre Glamping Review

Our home for the night was “Bell tent one” this was beside the car park. We loved it straight away, amazing views of Binevenagh behind us, vintage bunting, fairy lights, double bed and two single beds which were elevated off the ground on top of wooden pallets. There was a little electric fire heater that you could be turned on if the tent got chilly, we put it on for ten minutes and it made the tent nice and cosy. The bedspreads were of VW vintage campervans which we love, we even drove one on our wedding day.

The decor in the tent was a mixture of vintage, boho and rustic, there were wooden pallet boxes turned upside down and painted which were used as a nightstand. Ourlittlehiker loved every minute of it, the excitement on her face was priceless, she was so busy running and jumping on each bed and exploring the tent.

Here is a list of everything in our Glamping Bell Tent:

• 1xDouble bed
• 2x Single beds
• Pillows, mattress, duvet and all linen provided.
• Electric fire heater
• Basket for our shoes. (no shoes allowed inside the tent)
• Rubbish bin
• 2x Electric plug
• Picnic table and bench beside each tent

Here is a list of everything in the Glamping site:

• Free car parking
• Free WiFi access
• Outside Toilet and token operated shower block(1 pound per token)
• Family-Child friendly environment including kids play area
• Coffee Pod and shop
• Outdoor activities.

Parking at our Family Gamping site in Carrowmena Activity Centre

There is free parking to the side of the old school and also down beside the bell tents which is handy when you are unpacking your car for the nights stay. We were lucky to get parking right beside our Bell Tent which was super handy for 3 tired hikers.

The overall conclusion of our time Glamping in a bell tent in Northern Ireland

Overall we were very happy, the staff and the friendly families that were also staying there made it an enjoyable experience. The beds were very comfortable and we loved the whole set up. It rained heavily through out the night so it was lovely listening to the rain hitting off the tent. Most of the camp site were all families with young children, except for one tent which had a bunch of young men, who were out drinking alcohol in the town, they arrived back at the campsite around 3 am and made a lot of noise, but in fairness the staff had set up their tent far away down the field from everyone else and had pre-warned us all and apologised in advance about the noise. We didn’t mind at all as we are easy going and you get that in most accommodations. The staff handled it well and tried their best to keep them quiet.

Carowmena has loads of activities for older children and adults like climbing walls along with a bouncy castle for smaller hikers but we didn’t use or take part in any of this as we came late and left early. I’d say it is very popular for hens/stages and school tours.

We would highly recommend this accommodation and we would be happy to go back again in the future.

Ourlittlehiker loved the friendly Staff and as you can see below she was more interested in her toast than the climbing wall, She loves her food just like her Mother.

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