via Limehouse Hostel

The clatter of the DLR overhead and the hum of east London at your doorstep — this is urban camping with a Limehouse heartbeat, where budget travellers bed down between Canary Wharf's towers and the old dockside walks.

The hostel offers both indoor bunks and camping pods for anyone chasing cheap London digs without the tent faff — backpackers, festival-goers needing a pre-event base, solo travellers who want the city on their doorstep. You're in proper east London here, Thames Path five minutes away, markets and curry houses in every direction, Zone 2 transport links that'll get you anywhere fast. It's the rare chance to sleep outdoors in the capital without a two-hour commute.

Onsite you've got wifi to sort your plans and not much else — this is bare-bones, functional shelter in one of the world's priciest cities. Dogs need checking in advance, campfires the same. Open all year, though January in a pod by the Thames takes a certain kind of optimist. Expect a lively, transient vibe, fellow travellers from everywhere, and the strange thrill of waking to gulls and traffic in equal measure.