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Our History
The staycation sector is booming right now and Glamping has become a buzzword, with almost everyone you speak to having stayed in some type of Glamping accommodation. Lesser known is the history of how the Glamping phenomena started, a history that we’re very proud of here at Wigwam Holidays.
Wigwam Holidays launched in 2000 but our business of building eco-friendly timber cabins dates back even further. Our story begins in 1989, at Dorset's Hooke Park College. It was there that our CEO and founder, Charles Gulland, created the first of many designs for a sustainable cabin built from forest thinnings.
Soon after, Charles was tasked by the countryside commission to develop low cost accommodation on the West Highland Way and it was then that he developed the very first Wigwam - almost 30 years ago! It would be another 15 years before any other manufacturer built something similar. The original camping ‘pod’, our Wigwam Cabin, is the product of continued innovation and an ongoing dedication to quality craftsmanship.
In 1992, Charles founded All Round Buildings, constructing a range of different cabins out of rounded lengths of locally sourced timber. Wigwam Holidays was founded 8 years later and in 2011, the ‘Running Water Wigwam' was launched - the 1st ensuite camping cabin and a product that would revolutionise the industry. Later, the UK’s 1st wheelchair-accessible ‘pod’ was realised in the development of the Wigwam Lodge Accessible, the UK’s only Category 3 disability-friendly glamping cabin. In a highly competitive market, it is this striving for excellence and innovation that recently led one of our Franchise owners to state that, ‘Wigwam Holidays are a beacon of light in a sea of choice’.
Wigwam® Holidays was launched in 2000 to create a business network and community for like-minded land owners that want to develop their own Wigwam Holidays glamping location. Since then, Wigwam Holidays has gone from strength to strength. Today we have over 80 stunning rural locations around the UK - all dedicated to delivering ‘Great Holidays in the Great Outdoors’. We offer a financially proven franchise model - another 1st for the glamping industry - that offers exceptional support and return on investment for our chosen partners. Today, Wigwam Holidays isn’t just the ‘Original Glamping Brand’, it’s the ‘Number 1 Glamping Brand’!
