Our top woodland campsites for caravans

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Image copyright VisitBritain/Daniel Bosworth

For your next touring caravan holiday why not pitch up at a wooded wonderland? We've found the best campsites where trees, wildlife and peace and quiet are in abundance

Kielder Caravan Park, Northumberland

Leaplish Waterside Park, Kielder Water & Forest Park, Northumberland NE48 1BT
T: 01434 251000 W: nwl.co.uk
Open: 25 March - 3 November Price: From £25.00 (2 adults, pitch, electric)

If you want woodland, and lots of it, you can’t do much better than England’s largest forest – Kielder. Along with the endless pine woods you’ve got northern Europe’s largest man-made lake, and some of the darkest skies in England which make stargazing a memorable experience. Altogether, this is the perfect recipe for an active and adventurous holiday. There are three visitor centres to help you get your bearings, walks galore, plus sculptures in the woods and along the shoreline. Go Active breaks can be arranged where guests have access to activities such as archery, fencing and snorkelling. A short walk from the caravan park is Leaplish Waterside Park, with an indoor pool and sauna, restaurant and bar, fishing, lake ferry cruises, bird of prey centre, shop, boat hire, mini golf and play area. The campsite has 99 hardstanding pitches, some with views over Kielder Water and others nestling under the trees. Site facilities include electric, toilets and showers.

Whitefield Forest, Isle of Wight

Brading Road, Ryde, Isle of Wight PO33 1QL
T: 01983 617069 W: whitefieldforest.co.uk
Open: 22 March - 30 September Price: From £16.00 (2 adults, pitch, electric)

Whitefield Forest Touring Park occupies a prime setting with terraced pitches among the trees. You really feel away from it all here, yet the sandy beaches of Ryde and Sandown are only a 15-minute drive away and a bus stop at the site entrance puts both towns within easy reach. The surrounding woodland is home to a variety of wildlife with the island’s most iconic inhabitant, the red squirrel, being a favourite sight. The local area features many footpaths and cycle routes to and through the stunning countryside and coastline. The touring park’s pitches are a mixture of grass and all-weather hardstandings with electric. Along with the forest location, the star of this site has to be the facilities block. Designed to complement the forest environment, this modern building includes privacy cubicles, spacious showers and family washrooms. There’s also a small shop on site selling essentials, and the wood-constructed play area nestles perfectly under a canopy of trees.

Clumber Park Caravan Club Site, Nottinghamshire

Lime Tree Avenue, Clumber Park, Worksop, Nottinghamshire S80 3AE
T: 01909 484758 W: caravanclub.co.uk
Open: All year Price: From £17.30 (2 adults, pitch, electric)

With 4,000 acres of parkland where you can explore, walk and cycle, the Clumber Park site is all about space. This is the centre of the legendary and enigmatic Sherwood Forest, and children will love Clumber Park’s connections to local hero Robin Hood. The National Trust-owned parkland offers gardens, woodlands and a lake, along with adventure playground, café and cycle hire. The official Sherwood Forest Visitor Centre is only ten miles away, offering many family attractions along with the famous Major Oak where it is said Robin Hood hid with his band of merry men. The Caravan Club site’s pitches are part hardstandings, and on-site facilities include toilets and showers, a laundry and play area. The nearest town is Worksop (five miles away) and for those who are a fan of hitting a little white ball with a club, then there are several golf courses nearby.

Thorpe Camping in the Forest Campsite, Norfolk

Thetford, Norfolk IP24 2RX
T: 01842 751042 W: campingintheforest.co.uk
Open: All year Price: From £17.50 (2 adults, pitch, electric)

Thetford Forest is a mixture of pine woodland and heathlands and home to a variety of animal and plant life. Thorpe campsite is an open site fringed with trees, which sits on the edge of Thetford Forest Park and on the banks of the River Thet, with many woodland trails accessible from the site. Popular High Lodge, with its bike trails, treetop adventure, play areas and café, is 10 miles away, but there are also less densely populated forest attractions such as Great Hockham’s picnic area and Lyndford Arboretum (forestry.gov.uk/thetfordforestpark). The closest village with a choice of places to eat is 2.5 miles away, with the market town of Thetford being seven miles away. There is a small shop on site in reception selling daily essentials. While there are electric pitches at Thorpe, be advised that your own sanitation is needed.

Graffham Camping & Caravanning Club Site, West Sussex

Great Bury, Graffham, Petworth, West Sussex GU28 0QF
T: 01798 867476 W: campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk
Open: 21 March - 4 November Price: From £15.95 (2 adults, pitch, electric)

At Graffham you’ll find your own tranquil spot, pitched in secluded glades surrounded by trees and rhododendron bushes. The campsite is located in the South Downs National Park, close to Petworth and its magnificent 17th century mansion, now National Trust, and Capability Brown gardens and deer park (01798 342207, nationaltrust.org.uk). On-site at Graffham you’ll find lots of tracks leading onto the surrounding heaths, all of which will keep walkers, dogs and children happy. The campsite’s facilities include toilets and showers, electric hook-ups and wi-fi. A short walk away, the village has several good pubs. For a bit of a tipple taste session head to Lurgashall Winery where wines, meads and various liqueurs are made. As well as a shop there is a tea room here, and free wine tasting sessions are currently offered to groups of six or less. If history is more your thing, Arundel town has a castle, museum and heritage centre.

Brokerswood Country Park, Wiltshire

Westbury, Wiltshire BA13 4EH
T: 01373 822238 W: brokerswood.net
Open: 22 March - 4 November Price: From £18.00 (2 adults, pitch, electric)

Set in five acres of sheltered grassland which adjoins an 80-acre woodland country park, Brokerswood offers relaxed camping in the best possible setting. With a multitude of woodland trails you could quite easily never retrace your steps while exploring here. Children will love the two adventure playgrounds, one of which nestles in the trees and looks fun even for ‘bigger’ kids, and the covered toddler’s play area and narrow gauge woodland railway. Adults will enjoy this rural retreat, with its fishing lake and the scenic picnic and barbecue areas dotted about. For the active family, adventure holidays offering pursuits like archery, tree climbing and canoeing can be arranged. Facilities for touring guests include a shop and breakfast bar, a laundry, toilets and showers, along with private bathrooms which are available to hire. Pitches are located on grass or hardstanding with 10A electric hook-ups. Brokerswood is brilliantly located close to the tourist hotspots of Longleat Safari Park and Stonehenge.

Check out our other features of top campsites: Family friendly | Adult only | Coastal sites | Campsite with pools |

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