Three new farm campsites - and four new glamping sites - have opened around Shaftesbury in the past month as the demand for staycation breaks remains high.

With France and Spain now off the holiday list, and all holiday homes in the south-west booked up weeks ago, many families are desperate for a summer holiday.

The demand has seen farmers move quickly to open up fields with running water in place and hired in Portaloos – this is wild camping, by and large, but with a small bill: £20 for up to six people on some sites.

The farms are taking advantage of newly relaxed planning rules, which allow temporary structures on land for 56 days without planning permission. It was previously 28 days.

Farmer Alex Gibbs at Edwards Farm says their first visitors were a mix of couples, families, and singles. Many were coming short distances, with guests from Southampton, Bath and Dorchester - and one family from just a mile away.

Two of the new sites listed are on the foothills of Shaftesbury, making them within walking distance of the town – Mayo Farm is just a 10-minute walk from town. All four have joined Pitchup.com, a website with 1,200 bookable campsites in England.

The site says it has added 130 new sites in recent weeks. Site founder Dan Yates says: “A lot of the new campsites are on farms, with large landowners also taking advantage of the new government relief on planning.”

The first of the four sites is Mayo Camping.

A mile from Shaftesbury, it’s a new site which opened on August 6. Owners Barney and Ellie are keeping numbers low for the rest of this season as they trial the mix of campervans and tents. It’s an adult-only site, with no under-16s.

There are two loos and cold water, but no showers or washing up facilities.

“This is exactly what it says on the tin. A friendly wild camping field,” says one early review.

Edwards Farm is another new site on the southern slopes of Shaftesbury’s hilltop location, which means fabulous sunset views and out to Duncliffe Woods. It’s a Portaloo and water site and is only opening at weekends, with just 10 spaces.

But it rates 9.9 on PitchUp reviews as a "back to basics campfire and dog-friendly site," says one. “For a family of five with children aged 8-13, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay – very relaxed laid-back site with lots of room to yourself,” said one review.

Froghole Farm is a family run site that opened last summer with 20 tent pitches: no campervans/RVs. It’s about three miles southwest of Shaftesbury and has loads of space to run around. Facilities include a communal fridge, picnic area, fire pit and wood to rent, toilet block, water supply close to the pitches. There’s no shower.

One review from August said: “Brilliant spot, kids loved animals, friendly owners, lovely dog!”

And finally Provost Farm is another brand-new site which opened last week. The farm is five miles due west of Shaftesbury on the edge of the village of Stour Provost.

This is a ten-only site (10 pitches) on a working farm within reasonable walking distance of a pub, fishing lakes and Duncliffe Woods. There is a toilet block but no showers or washing up facilities.