Attractively landscaped campsites in England? 2 August 2018 at 12:25PM in UK holidays, days out & entertainments 5 replies 980 views

littlerock

My son's Canadian relatives are visiting and have been touring around and camping out because they like camping. They have been rather taken aback however by arriving at several sites where despite the presence of a club house shop even a restaurant, the campsite itself is just a large flat green field with no attempt at landscaping. Apparently they do things differently in western Canada. Can anyone recommend some scenic campsites with attractively laid out pitches for tents in England?

WeAreGhosts

An interesting question, and yes, they do all tend to be "just a field"!

There's one in Wales that comes to mind as being quite cute -
https://www.pitchup.com/campsites/Wales/South-Wales/Pembrokeshire/Saundersfoot/wills_field/?type=4

One in Cornwall -
I highly recommend the cafe that is next to it. All family run and charmingly rustic.
https://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/sites/details.asp?revid=15634

Also North Yorkshire -
Camping right next to the river, footpath to Gordale Scar running through it, with sheep ... the surroundings are beautiful
https://coolcamping.com/campsites/uk/england/north-east-england/north-yorkshire/1099-gordale-scar-campsite
https://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/sites/details.asp?revid=15634

elsien

If you have good scenery you don't need landscaping. There's a couple of nice ones alongside Ullswater where you get out of the tent and the first thing you see is the lake.

FluffityBunny

Mother Ivey's Bay in Cornwall is beautiful, views across the bay, some camping pitches are landscaped (walls, hedges, cornish flowers)

PasturesNew

Good landscaping is subjective... there's a thing called the Bellamy Awards that include landscaping, but many people complain about that (even of the Gold Award winners) as they "don't get it" and don't know the criteria.

The camping season is so short-lived in England there's no financial incentive for them to do anything other than provide a loo and a field.

I stayed at a 5* one the other week .... pretty much just a field...

They're more focussed in England in what indoor facilities etc they can provide, rather than landscaping.

Also, space is more limited - and tents so variable, it'd be hard to get the right mix that people want in the limited space... so they tend to go with "there's the field, pick your bit" and then you pitch your 1 man tent next to somebody else's 6 man tent with awnings, that's next to a 3 man tent with 2 pup tents .... you never know what size any tent/awning/etc setup might be, so it's best just left as "a field".

littlerock

thanks everyone