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View Full Version : What place would you recommend for camping in england?



jonathan200
11-15-2012, 18:51
Hi, I want to know which is the best place to camp with my family in England.

Wanderlost
11-18-2012, 13:17
France.....

Feral Bill
11-18-2012, 13:55
Amazon.com has a bunch of books to help you. All styles of camping .

Old Hiker
11-18-2012, 14:13
If you are a member of the Boy or Girl Scout organization here in the States, go online to the World Assoc of Scouting. They have/had a book of EVERY Scout camp, hostel, etc. throughout Europe and the world. We stayed at the Baden-Powell House in downtown London for $65/night, Bonali Campgrounds just outside Edinborough, Scotland for $5/night or so. It was great! Camping out in Germany, Belgium, France - all for pennies, compared to comparable hotel/hostels. All we had to do was show our BSA card to get the entry and fees.

Happy camping !!

Mrs Baggins
11-18-2012, 18:50
Are you tent camping or RV camping? We rented a small motorhome in 2004 from a dealer at Leigh On Sea and drove it down the coast, all the way around, up into Wales, across to Sandringham, and back down to Leigh On Sea. Massive mistake. It sucked down $100/day in diesel, campgrounds were averaging 40 GBP/night (at the exchange rate at the time that was about $65/night and that was with their caravaning membership card thing), no car parks near cities will accept caravans/motor homes, and the camp sites or "pitches" were little better than an old drive-in movie theater spot - a gravel (or grass) space with a stanchion for hookups and that was it. There are no picnic tables, no fire rings, nothing. Camping in the UK is NOT camping here. They take their caravan/tent to a campground and there they stay for 1, 2, 3 weeks or however long their "holiday" lasts. They don't go from camp site to camp site the way we would do here while on a long vacation. And they don't DO anything at the campground but sit in the caravan to knit, read, watch TV. It's not a chance to hike, explore, sightsee, have a nice fire, grill anything. Completely out of their concept. It's just a few weeks away from the house. The ONLY time we saw picnic tables was at Sandringham and they were scattered, not at each camp site. "Ablution blocks" are the bathrooms/showers and expect to pay for the water, the outlets to plug in a hair dryer, etc. I figured out how to keep one shoulder against the water tap in the shower at all times to keep the hot water flowing....or it shuts off. I am not tall so I was able to use the hand dryers to dry my hair - just stoop under it and keep hitting the button to keep it running. Tents are massive, with dozens of lines tying them down. They look like above ground Hobbit houses with wings here and there. The next time we went to the UK we rented a small car and stayed in B&Bs and had a FAR better time of it.

SassyWindsor
11-18-2012, 21:57
http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/

chiefiepoo
11-18-2012, 23:21
I've some experience camping and hiking in the UK along the Hadrians Wall country. As explained above, camping is different in the UK. Our style of backpacking or primitive camping is called wild camping there and it is not encouraged. That being said, UK is a busy walking or trekking destination with many defined national trails. I walked Hadrians Wall , coast to coast, and stayed at a variety lodgings. Camping barns are popular on many rural farms. The Hadrians Wall country has many ancient sites to visit and the area around Haltwhistle is a good destination if you want some good, long day hikes. Send me a private emssage if you're interested in knowing more.

Mrs Baggins
11-19-2012, 08:00
Sorry about the response I gave - - but it's the honest truth about camping there and I wish someone had given us a heads up. I was so looking forward to that trip (2 weeks) and had envisioned lots of pulling over on the roadsides to tramp out on the trails. And that never happened. There were no pull off areas for even a small RV. We did park in campgrounds and then walk for miles to see things but from what we could see we were the only ones doing that. I remember leaving the RV in the campground in Salisbury to walk into the city, and seeing the couple next to us in theirs - she was knitting, he was reading. We returned hours later and there they were - she was knitting and he was reading. We did find a space on the roadside just big enough to park so that we could hike up to the huge Walking Man on the hillside. We weren't allowed in the nearby restaurant parking. Had to bypass seeing Canterbury Cathedral because not a single public car park would allow RVs and the grocery stores/office building lots had cameras and signs warning that vehicles parked for sightseeing would be towed. We did see lots of sights......the UK is gorgeous and we love it. But as I said, going back (to Scotland the next time) and renting a small car was by far the better, and cheaper, way to see it. The costs of the car, fuel, B&Bs, and meals (we eat cheap) was nearly half the cost of renting that RV and camping. We were able to pull over every single day and do some fabulous hiking out thru the fields and mountains. When we go back, and we will, we'll book "walking holidays" with a company like Mac's Adventures. No car to rent, lots of hiking, and B&Bs and a good pints waiting at the end of each day.

HermesUL
11-19-2012, 10:23
What sort of camping? Car camping? Backpacking? Sleeping in campsites or stealth camping?

This site has tons of information about where its legal to camp as well as backpacking in general:
http://v-g.me.uk/index.htm

That should provide all of the information you need if you're interested in backpacking or wild camping. I'd check out the Lakes District if I were you...they're fabulous.

Two Speed
11-19-2012, 11:48
Are you tent camping or RV camping? . . . The next time we went to the UK we rented a small car and stayed in B&Bs and had a FAR better time of it.
Sorry about the response I gave . . . good pints waiting at the end of each day.Gosh, you mean they do things differently outside the U.S.? Bloody foreigners!!!

Entropy2012
11-21-2012, 19:21
Backpacking really isn't very common over here. As such, most "camping" consists of concrete caravan parks... Up in Scotland, the laws are a lot more lenient, and you can wild camp on most non privately owned land. Plus, the scenery is better... ;)

Two Speed
11-26-2012, 10:30
Ran across this, might be helpful:

http://www.visitengland.com/ee/Go-Camping/

Wise Old Owl
11-26-2012, 10:55
FYI to all jonathan200 has not returned since opening the account... but I will add on my trips we did a few bed and breakfasts and hostels while wild camping.

MerylCat
11-26-2012, 22:42
For anyone else that might be interested, check out the Lake District. It's incredibly beautiful and there are so many places to hike and camp. Be careful that you're camping in a designated area though.
Also, the Highlands of Scotland as was mentioned earlier and Llanberis, Wales are some of my favorite places in the world. Llanberis is an outdoorsy community full of climbers and hikers. Awesome place!