There’s something quietly magical about falling asleep to the sound of moving water. At Great Farm Glamping, several of our pitches sit right on the riverbank, close enough that the current becomes the soundtrack to your stay. A constant, unhurried murmur that city life rarely offers. But the river doesn’t just sound beautiful. Look a little closer, and you’ll find it’s absolutely alive.

Here's a glimpse of the wild neighbours who share the water with us.

Otter

If there’s one sighting that will stay with you long after you’ve packed up and headed home, it’s the otter. These charismatic, whisker-twitching creatures have made a wonderful comeback on British rivers in recent decades, and we’re lucky enough to share our stretch with a resident family or two.

Your best chance of a sighting is dawn or dusk, when the light is golden and the riverbanks are quiet. Sit still on the bank with a cup of tea and watch for that distinctive low, sinuous shape slipping through the water, or the give-away rings spreading out from a confident dive. Otters are bold hunters and, if you’re patient, you might watch one surface with a wriggling trout clutched in its paws.

Brown Trout

Speaking of trout, our river holds a healthy population of native brown trout. Lie flat on the bank and peer into the clearer shallows, and you’ll spot them holding steady in the current, noses pointed upstream, fins barely moving. In summer, on warm evenings, you might catch them rising to take flies from the surface. A quick, precise flicker that sends ripples spreading across the pool.

These are wild fish in a wild river, and watching them in their element feels like a genuine privilege.

White-Clawed Crayfish

Less obvious, but no less extraordinary, the white-clawed crayfish hides beneath flat stones on the riverbed. This is Britain’s only native crayfish species, and it’s increasingly rare, making our river a genuinely special place. Carefully lift a stone in the shallows (and pop it back exactly as you found it), and you might find one tucked underneath, legs waving, altogether unimpressed by the interruption.

Children absolutely love this. Just be gentle as these little creatures need all the help they can get.

Mink

Not everyone’s favourite riverbank resident, but undeniably fascinating, the American mink is a sleek, dark-furred predator that patrols the margins with ruthless efficiency. Keep an eye on the opposite bank as you take your morning coffee outside the tent. Mink are inquisitive animals, and they’ll often pause and look straight back at you, seemingly unbothered, before slinking back into the reeds.

The joy of being right here

What makes all of this so special is the simple fact that you’re *there*. Not peering from a car window or rushing between viewpoints on a guided walk, but genuinely living alongside the river for a few days.

At Great Farm Glamping, the water is right outside your door. Your mornings begin with the sound of birdsong and peace of the river, and your evenings end with it too. The wildlife isn’t a scheduled activity - it’s just life, going on around you, the way it always has.

Come and sit by the bank. You never know what might surface.

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