Revealed: The UK's top 10 trending wildlife and the best campsites to spot them
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Read Time: 5 mins
- Common toads and badgers top Pitchup.com's ranking of the UK's top 10 most searched-for wildlife, based on Google and TikTok data
- Google searches for 'nature breaks' are up 240% year on year, while use of Pitchup.com's birdwatching filter has risen 65%
- The outdoor accommodation site reveals the top 10 campsites to see wildlife based on 200,000 customer reviews, with Norfolk's The Wildings Elms Meadow taking first place
Google searches for 'nature breaks' have risen 240% year on year as interest in wildlife holidays grows*, according to new data from Pitchup.com. The leading outdoor accommodation site has also seen use of its birdwatching filter rise 65% so far this year compared to last year.
The findings come as research shows how many children are missing out on the great outdoors. More than half of children in England (55%) have never climbed a tree and 61% have never collected conkers or camped in a tent.**
To help families get closer to nature this autumn, Pitchup.com has ranked the UK's top 10 trending wildlife species, with common toads and badgers topping the list, along with the top 10 campsites for wildlife as chosen by nearly 200,000 customer reviews.
Top 10 trending wildlife in the UK
Pitchup.com has revealed the most popular animals according to Google search data and TikTok views - with Common Toads and Badgers topping the list.
Rank
Animal
Google Search Increase
(% uplift, past 12 months vs previous 12 months)
Tiktok hashtag views
1
Common Toad
5000
3.1 Billion
2
Badgers
5000
243.8 Million
3
Deer
10
14.1 Billion
4
Otter
2
4.4 Billion
5
Hedgehog
8
3.5 Billion
6
Woodpecker
400
369.9 Million
7
Grey Seal
300
57.3 Million
8
Puffin
70
84.5 Million
9
Barn Owl
20
244.2 Million
10
Bats
5
1.6 Million
Winged species are among the most popular
Woodpeckers, puffins, barn owls and bats all feature among the fastest growing searches, suggesting a broader fascination with airborne wildlife rather than any single species. The spread across four very different flyers, a woodland bird, a coastal bird, a nocturnal hunter and a mammal, points to birdwatching and wildlife spotting more generally gaining ground as a camping activity, rather than one viral moment driving the numbers.
Deer dominate TikTok despite a modest rise in searches
Deer have picked up 14.1 billion TikTok hashtag views, more than any other animal on the list, despite search interest rising just 10%, it's little surprise given how photogenic a sighting can be, from a stag silhouetted at dawn to a herd grazing in open parkland. Britain's deer are most visible at dawn when they move out of woodland cover to graze in open fields, and during the autumn rut, when stags can be heard bellowing to warn off rivals from over a mile away.
Top 10 UK campsites for wildlife watchers
To give you the best chance of witnessing the popular wildlife, Pitchup.com has revealed the best campsites considered to be a ‘wildlife haven’, as chosen by nearly 200,000 customer reviews.
- The Wildings Elms Meadow, Norfolk
- Langley Wilding Campsite, Derbyshire
- Waveney Wild Woods and Camp, Suffolk
- Everwild Camping, Lincolnshire
- Broadway Farm Camping, Gloucestershire
- Wild Meadow Camping, Ceredigion
- Kingsettle Camping Retreat, Somerset
- Aeron View Camping, Ceredigion
- Hincknowle Cider Apple Farm Camping, Dorset
- Nyth Robin, Gwynedd
Norfolk's The Wildings Elms Meadow takes the top spot, a small, rewilded site near The Broads where dragonflies gather over the wildlife pond, deer and hares roam the surrounding fields and the dawn chorus starts the day.
Derbyshire's Langley Wilding Campsite comes second, set in a wildflower meadow on a family-run estate managed for biodiversity. Its woodland, ponds, streams and hedgerows mean campers wake to birdsong, just 15 minutes from the Peak District.
Dan Yates, founder of Pitchup.com, said: "Some of the best wildlife encounters in the UK happen not in a nature documentary, but on a Wednesday evening from a tent doorway. These campsites prove that guests don't need to travel far to see something remarkable, a heron on the water, a red kite overhead, or a family of deer at dusk. With so many children growing up without these everyday moments in nature, we think there's never been a better reason to pitch up somewhere wild."
Top tips from Dan Yates, founder of Pitchup.com, for spotting wildlife on your next camping trip:
- Go at dawn or dusk
"Mammals and many birds are known to be really active in the early morning and early evening, when campsites are quiet and the light is soft. That stillness works in your favour, you're far more likely to catch something moving."
- Stay still and stay quiet
"Sudden noise and movement are what send wildlife running, so find a spot near water or the edge of a woodland and wait. Patience does more than persistence."
- Bring binoculars, not a zoom lens
"A pair of binoculars gives you a far closer, clearer look than a camera zoom, especially for birdwatching. You'll pick out details you'd otherwise miss, and you're not fumbling with settings while the moment passes."
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Methodology:
Ranking: Pitchup.com analysed Google search increases and number of TikTok hashtags to identify the UK's top trending wildlife species. They created a data ranking, weighting Google searches by 60% and TikTok hashtag views by 40%.
Wildlife
Google Search Increase (%)
Tiktok Hashtag Views
Google Searches (%) Score
Tiktok Hashtag Views Score
TOTAL RANK
Common Toad
5000
3,100,000,000
60.0
8.8
68.8
Badgers
5000
243,800,000
60.0
0.7
60.7
Deer
10
14,100,000,000
0.1
40.0
40.1
Otter
2
4,400,000,000
0.0
12.5
12.5
Hedgehog
8
3,500,000,000
0.1
9.9
10.0
Woodpecker
400
369,900,000
4.8
1.0
5.8
Grey Seal
300
57,300,000
3.6
0.2
3.8
Puffin
70
84,500,000
0.8
0.2
1.1
Barn Owl
20
244,200,000
0.2
0.7
0.9
Bats
5
1,600,000
0.1
0.0
0.1
*Google Trends data was collected looking at UK Google searches for “nature breaks”(+240%). Data was looked at for searches over the past year compared to the year before. Data is correct as of 9/09/2026
** The Lost Gardens of Heligan - Response to the GCSE natural history proposed subject content consultation
***Google Trends data was collected looking at UK Google searches for “European Badgers”(+5,000%), “Common Toads”(+5,000%), “Woodpecker”(+400%),“Grey Seal”(+300%), “Puffin”(+70%), “Barn Owl”(+20%), “Deer”(+10%), “Hedgehog”(+8%), “Bats”(+5%), “Otter”(+2%). Data was looked at for searches over the past year compared to the year before. Data is correct as of 15/09/2026
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Editors notes
Founded in 2009 by former lastminute.com man, Dan Yates, multi-award-winning Pitchup.com lists 6,000 outdoor accommodation locations in 67 countries in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, including an average of 3,649 live UK sites, providing users with a simple platform where they can search for and book a holiday with ease. Since creation, the platform has handled £580 million worth of bookings and booked over 50 million bednights, with over 5 million nights taken in the last year alone and 63 million annual website visits.
Pitchup.com enables users to search for all types of parks and sites from more than 100 chains right through to one-off campsites and unique outdoor accommodation options, which may have previously lacked a web presence.
Awards include 2021 Winner, Trade Heroes - Pandemic Heroes Awards (National Farm Attractions Network), 2020, 2019 and 2018 inclusions in the FT1000 (Financial Times' 1000 fastest growing companies in Europe), and in 2025, 'Europe's Long-Term Growth Champion' (FT) for sustained revenue growth since 2014. This year, Pitchup was also awarded a Feefo Platinum Trusted Service Award for the sixth year in a row. Pitchup was also ranked among the top 50 largest global Online Travel Agents.
