UK campsites are enjoying a surge in demand, with millions of people flocking to websites to book outdoor holidays this summer. The fear factor over traveling abroad is driving up demand for camping staycations and attracting holidaymakers who wouldn't normally be tempted to stay in a tent.

When the government announced that people could stay overnight with other households as part of an easing of lockdown measures in June, bookings immediately flooded in.

"By the evening we were getting a booking every three seconds and it's continued since then," says Dan Yates, managing director of camping booking website Pitchup.com. 

"We've had a million people visit the site over the last week, who have made bookings for almost 100,000 people now.

"So, it's phenomenal and although, obviously, some of that is pent-up demand, we are continuing to see these very large increases on a day-by-day basis."

Like so many other activities, the camping experience has changed because of the coronavirus crisis. Campsites have to place pitches further apart, which has caused a reduction in capacity for some. 

Social distancing is still enforced at sites, shared kitchens are shut and time slots permitted for showers are strictly allocated. All this has changed priorities for customers considering what camping gear to buy. 

Read more: The UK's 39 steps to protect against COVID-19

"A lot of customers are taking their own toilet facilities, as well as their own toilet tents and sometimes some showers so they can have a wash, just in case the toilet blocks and shower blocks are busy. 

"[Also] a lot of people now are taking things like the windbreaks, or screens, so they can then keep themselves to themselves," says Steve Norris, managing director of S.K. Camping. "They're pretty much self-contained anyway, it's got to be the safest form of enjoyment that you can do."

That feeling of independence and freedom that camping gives people after months of lockdown, is reflected in boosted sales for camping stores, where customers have been snapping up individual shower tents and toilets in record quantities.

"There really is something for everyone and so, our hope is this year people take the opportunity to see what's available on their doorstep, to dispel the 1970s and 1980s stereotypes that some of us might have of static caravanning and camping parks and to rediscover what's here and hopefully to come back," says Yates of Pitchup.com.

But not all campsites have reopened yet and those that are operating again have fewer spaces available than before, so the advice is for travelers in England to book ahead before heading off on a break.