The number of farmers creating campsites to cash in on the staycation boom has sky-rocketed.

Of the 2,000 campsites listed on Pitchup.com, more than 700 are working farms.

Of those, 300 are temporary sites that have been set up to take advantage of the peak holiday season.

The hike comes after a change in planning policy which has increased the length of time farms can legally operate a campsite without planning permission from 28 days to 56 days.

Other factors, the outdoor accommodation provider discovered, include concerns over falling support payments and about the government’s Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme.

Dan Yates, founder of Pitchup.com, said farmers were turning to temporary campsites in droves because they are the quickest and easiest form of diversification to get off the ground.

He said: “Establishing a campsite is very easy.

"At their most basic, all you need is a patch of land and running water, which most farms have already, and some toilets, which are easy to hire.

"Crucially, you don’t need planning permission to operate one for up to 56 days per year.

“With staycations booming and that trend set to stay, people are crying out for beautiful areas of the countryside where they can enjoy a relaxing break away from the pressures of work and lockdown.

“Farmers are perfectly placed to provide that.

"The farm-based campsites we work with can decide how many guests they want to host and with demand as it is, we are extremely confident we can fill those pitches.”

Mr Yates added that as well as being quick, convenient, and unobtrusive on day-to-day farming operations, pop-up and permanent campsites can be very lucrative.

“We’ve had one farm in Cumbria take more than £7,000 in bookings in a single day last summer,” he said.

“We have seen others take as much as £13,000 across a weekend and £50,000 over a week.

“Although most campsites don’t generate quite this level of income, even small pop-up sites – which are the easiest by far to accommodate – return on average £13,000 in extra revenue per year, and many take tens of thousands of pounds more than this.

“It’s hardly surprising therefore, that they’re becoming so popular among farms and land-owning businesses.

"We expect to see many more farmers try this kind of diversification as we come out of lockdown and the summer gets closer.”