As we emerge from a seemingly endless winter, we are busy planning and looking forward to the warmer months. We have a camping trip on the agenda, but we want to plan a few more this year.
We’ve looked at some of our best family campsites, looking for inspiration and hoping to refine our ideas!
If you are also looking for great family campsites, I hope this helps you too.
Greater Langdale
Great Langdale and Hickling Campsite are our two favorite campsites and are ones we have visited several times. There’s a very simple reason why Great Langdale is a top family campsite: it’s in a stunning part of the country, it’s managed by the National Trust and has excellent facilities.
Great Langdale is not far from Ambleside and provides a spectacular backdrop to a camping trip as the Langdale Pikes dominate the campsite. It provides access to some of the most challenging routes in the area, but there are also plenty of family walks direct from the campsite.
As far as facilities are concerned, it has a store, play area, toilets and showers, laundry and drying facilities and electrical hook-up. It’s clean and well-run, and we love staying here.
Camping Hickling
Hickling Campground is another place we have returned to and are considering another trip this year. It is a very well managed, small and friendly campsite. Over the years it has been improved and offers everything a family could need.
There are clean toilets and showers, a small store and fire pits available for the complete camping experience! It is also ideally located and close to fabulous Norfolk beaches. There is no electrical hookup at this site, but there is a ‘charging cabinet’ for charging phones etc. and freezers are available to store your ice blocks.
It’s pretty small, but I can forgive that because everything else is pretty much perfect!
Farm on the Hill
Farm on the Hill is a different type of camping than you might be used to. It’s a peaceful, eco-friendly place that gets back to basics. It had a relaxed atmosphere and we really enjoyed our short stay here a few years ago.
I’m not sure this photo does our argument justice!
There are few amenities other than a tap, toilet and shower (very quaint), but our pitch was huge, we had a whole space to ourselves and the kids loved it. It’s definitely a fun place to create your own, but that makes it all the better in our eyes!
Cotswold Agricultural Park
Everyone has probably heard of Cotswold Farm Park, home to TV farmer Adam Henson, and it’s a very popular destination for a family camping trip. We went in 2020, which was a strange year, so things may have changed.
It has excellent facilities including clean toilets and showers and a shared kitchen. There is also a farm shop and restaurant on site. The grounds are a bit small, but there is a recreational area for running and playing.
There is a lovely nature walk from the campsite, as well as access to other walks in the area. Plus, a huge bonus is that you get entry to the farm park included in your stay for the duration of your trip. We certainly took advantage of it during our stay.
Caolasnacon caravan park and campsites
I had to include Caolasnacon because it is quite simply the most beautiful place we have ever stayed. Now, we stayed there in 2014, so that may have changed – although the view certainly hasn’t! You may have noticed that I’ve made good use of the photos we’ve taken there over the past 10 years.
Caolasnacon is an ideal base for exploring the area, being close to Glen Coe and Fort William if you are looking for more adventurous hikes like Ben Nevis.
On the land there is a toilet block, a laundry room and a dishwasher room with freezer. Some electrical hookups are also available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Whitehill National Park
We don’t usually opt for larger sites, but with the boys getting older we started looking for family campsites with more amenities to keep them busy. I chose Whitehill Country Park as it had an outdoor pool, it turned out to be a little too cold to enjoy it for long but we used the other facilities and had a great holiday here.
Our location at Whitehill Country Park
The boys loved the play areas and took advantage of the large open space to run around. There was also a video games room, a bar and a restaurant for the evening. There is an indoor pool on site, although we didn’t use it.
Situated close to Paignton, it is an ideal location to enjoy the seaside and all that the area has to offer.
This was a guided tour of some of our favorite family campsites. Hopefully we will have many opportunities in the years to come to discover new hidden gems.
Do you have a favorite family campsite? Let me know in the comments.
If you enjoyed this article, find more camping content here:
The Beginner’s Guide to Camping Etiquette
Top 10 Camping Tips for Beginners
Why we love camping
The UK’s best campsites as chosen by outdoor bloggers