Best fire pits UK 2022: from charcoal and wood-fuelled to cast iron models, safe, long-lasting fire pit
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It won’t have escaped anyone’s attention how summery it’s felt of late – hot weather, sunshine and balmy evenings means more time outdoors, mean outdoor fire pits have soared in popularity. They’re ideal for congregating outdoors with family and friends, enjoying the warm glow of a flickering fire.
A garden fire pit is the ideal means of bringing the cosy glamour of camping to your back yard, without having to leave the comforts of home.
There are a number of different styles and shapes to suit budgets and sizes of gardens and outdoor spaces– we’ll take a look at a few options here.
What to look for in a firepit
There are stainless steel, clay, or cast iron fire pit models, fuelled by either charcoal or wood. Wood offers the gorgeous smoky ‘campfire’ smell, and emit a warm, gorgeous light. Charcoal, however, are easier to light in our experience (an organic firelighter and you’re good to go).
It’s worth considering size as a defining factor, and where available we’ve put the dimensions below. How many people do you hope to warm using your fire pit – and what’s the size of the space you’re intending to put it?
If there’s just two of you, a smaller option may suffice, but if you’ve got a larger outside space or hosting a bigger gathering, you may want to spend a bit more and invest in a more sizeable feature.
Material also plays a key role in determining the quality of the firepit. There are some budget options on this list that use conventional steel coated in a fire and weather resistant black paint. This is fine for occasional use, but you’ll find that it doesn’t weather as well over time.
We’d recommend looking to spend a bit more on a cast-iron firepit, that will naturally rust and change over time as it settles in – adding to the attractiveness of the piece and limiting how much maintenance you’ll need to do.
Buy an additional cooking grill and you can roast marshmallows or cook your meats atop.
If you thought fire was so primal an element it couldn’t have a technological edge, you’re mistaken.
This ‘smart’ - and smokeless - fire pit allows you to control the height of your flames via a Bluetooth app. It’s still wood-burning, it’s just that, should you choose to amp things up, air jets are deployed to fan your flames with oxygen.
Great for holidays camping, or a beach house, you’ll be seriously impressed with the efficient, smokeless flames and instant heat. Well worth the price tag.
Nkuku pride themselves on reclaiming natural materials, and this stunning fire bowl is a great example of how they take something care-worn and turn it into something beautiful.
‘Kadai’ fire bowls are traditionally used as cooking bowls in India, which this lovely, cast-iron fire pit can also be used for - perfect for BBQs.
Our only issue is that it comes with no cover, so you’ll need to store it inside or in a garden shed when it rains if you want to avoid the bowl/ash overflowing.
An affordable attractive option, we thought the Terra Fire Bowl represented excellent value for money.
It’s painted in black fire-resistant paint – and although it is compact and diminutive in size, we thought it’d be a great addition for a small balcony, veranda or patio setting. Perhaps won’t be as long lasting as some on this list, but a very good budget option.
Dimensions: 47cm wide by 21cm high.
This option allows you to really make a feature out of your firepit and is the largest we’ve looked at in this list, at 120cm across.
The Corten Steel provides a self-protecting layer that requires very little maintenance – this is a long-lasting and attractive fire bowl that also can be used as a water-feature – leaving sitting water in it won’t damage the steel.
The bowl itself is welded to a sturdy base and feels robust and structurally well-built.
This stylish firepit is from Danish brand Morsø Ignis, who have produced cast-iron goods since 1853, and perfected the art of working with the sturdy material.
Naturally, this firepit & grate is fashioned entirely from cast iron, portable, and gorgeous.
With a deep bowl and high sides, your fire is well shielded from the elements. A good ventilation system also helps keep your fire burning.
As you’d expect, the cast iron helps create and radiate ambient heat. The grate is great (forgive me) for cooking on, as well.
An expensive option and perhaps outside the budget of most, but we were really impressed with this firepit for its ingenious swing arms that can be used for cooking.
Definitely focussed on catering for the chefs amongst us, its design allows for a generous cooking area that can be folded away whilst not in use, retaining the firepit for use as a more conventional device for the rest of the evening.
Another attractive option nicely recycled from old oil drums.
Although these options are amongst the most expensive on this list, they’d work well as a standout centre-piece or feature, and we think could equally double as an excellent BBQ if you wanted. There are three sizes available – ranging from 600x600x640 to 1200x1200x720 (measurements in mm).
A popular firepit and one that sits in the mid-range in terms of budget and size.
Available in three sizes (55cm, 75cm and 100cm), we liked how sturdy it feels and the fact that they’ve pre-drilled an air hole to allow for good ventilation for your fire.
The cast iron qualities age nicely over time too – so you can leave it in your garden and the surface will rust to a nice finish without compromising the use of the pit.