This week’s dream: luxury camping in Canada

Clayoquot Sound is "the great outdoors at its greatest", says Lucinda Baring in the Sunday Telegraph. It lies on the wild west coast of Vancouver Island, whose long, narrow form flanks the Pacific seaboard of Canada for almost 300 miles north of the US border.

The "rugged" shoreline of the Sound is broken up into countless smaller bays and fjords, penetrating deep into the island's mountainous interior. It is a "spectacular" wilderness of virginal forests, lakes and rivers – and yet you can now stay in the heart of it without leaving the comforts of civilisation behind.

The Outpost at Bedwell River is reminiscent of the rustic yet luxurious "Great Camps" which American tycoons established for their family holidays in the late 19th century. Guests sleep in huge tents, with wooden floors, double beds and old-fashioned dressing tables; and superb meals are served in the "cookhouse", a large central cabin with an enormous fireplace. But nature presses in all around: lanterns and candles are the only sources of light, and at night you might sometimes be woken by the owners' 11 dogs barking as they chase away inquisitive bears.

Each tent opens on to a wooden deck jutting out over the river, and it is tempting to laze away days on yours, soaking up the delectable views. The more adventurous might hike up to the lake at Penny Falls and swim in its "clear green waters", admiring the "incredible" view through the trees to the ocean. Or you can crash out into the Sound in an inflatable boat, passing porpoises and seals, or grey whales and sea lions further out in the ocean. Landing on a "deserted, sandy beach", guides will help you track wolves and bears through the forest, "while eagles soar above". And in the evenings you can recover in the hot tub, "deeply content", watching sea otters chasing salmon nearby.

Audley Travel (01993 838 700) offers a seven-night trip to Canada with three nights at the Outpost at Bedwell River from £4,905pp. ·