Johnny Vegas 'properly settled' at glamping site

Johnny Vegas opened his glamping site at Melbourne Hall in April 2023

Comedian and actor Johnny Vegas said he is not planning to move from his "settled" glamping site at a stately home in Derbyshire.

Vegas brought an array of restored vintage vehicles for people to stay in at Melbourne Hall last year, and told BBC Radio Derby he had felt at home ever since.

Despite the first year of opening being a "long slog", Vegas said he has had great feedback and support from the village he set up his site in.

When asked if he would be moving his site away from Derbyshire in the future, Vegas said: "What has been lovely this year is that we feel settled. We are properly settled in; we are home."

Guests can stay in a former military helicopter

Vegas said a "drunken purchase of a bus" had kicked off his first steps into opening a glamping site.

"Considering where we are, we can offer the best of both worlds," said the Benidorm and Still Open All Hours star.

"If you want pure camping by cooking out of one of the buses, you can do, or you can go into the village and make the most of it.

"We want to be a part of it [the village] because we are not a business in that sense; it's an idea that got out of hand with a drunken purchase of a bus.

"People who are coming to the site are loving it, and we are getting lovely feedback from the shops and businesses in the village."

Discovering more of Derby

The comedian said he had been able to put his feet up a bit more at his "Field of Dreams" site compared to last year.

"There haven't been any massive jobs to do this year, so we have been able to sit back and enjoy it," he added.

"We are now off grid, so electricity-wise, we are 100% solar, which is lovely, and I don't know how many sites can say that."

The 53-year-old said he had also been making trips into Derby since his involvement at his glamping site.

"Travelling around doing comedy, I thought I knew Derby, but it turns out I know nothing. I started discovering more parts of it as I am out and about," said Vegas.

"What would be lovely is to get into Derby when we're not running the site because every time I'm there, it's because I'm running errands.

"What I would love to do is spend more time there and get out at my own leisure."

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