Longnor Wood Touring Caravan Park campsite review

This corner of the Peak District National Park, known as the South West Peak, was one we hadn’t explored much before but, after a short visit, we reckon it deserves more attention.

Longnor Wood campsite was recommended, and we were pleased to find it was every bit as good as we’d been told.

This is an adult-only site with a few dozen touring pitches, a number of seasonal pitches, and a dozen or so lodges. It’s immediately clear that the place is maintained to a high standard, with well-trimmed lawns and hedges and well-tended plantings around the stone-built reception building. The loos and showers (free) are modern and spotless, and the small on-site shop had a decent supply of essentials.

The touring pitches are all on hardstanding with 10A hook-up and most are level – although the hilly terrain means that levelling wedges are in action here and there. There are also a couple of pitches big enough for RVs.

It was nice to see space and equipment provided for some low-impact outdoor games, with a badminton net, boules pitch and a putting green. We also appreciated the small library and a good selection of local tourist information provided in the laundry room. Other facilities include a pot wash, plus a freezer and microwave for campers’ use.

The site is bounded on all sides by trees and hedges, some of them recently planted, which sadly makes it difficult to see much of the outside world. The hedges serve two vital purposes, though: to screen the site from the road and to provide shelter. The weather remained calm during our stay, but this site is fairly high up at over 1,100ft, and the wind has been known to blow in these parts.

That outside world, though, is worth venturing out for. The village of Longnor is an easy 30-minute walk and offers two coffee shops (one in the craft centre), a fish and chip shop (closed Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays) and a couple of decent pubs. Of these we favoured the Olde Cheshire Cheese. 

There are many local walks, including the Manifold Trail and the Tissington Trail. The first is an almost-level route along the Manifold valley starting at Hulme End, about five miles from the campsite. The eight-mile route follows an abandoned railway to Waterhouses. A rather more blustery walk, and therefore with better views of the local scenery, can be found on the Tissington Trail from Parsley Hay. This is also about five miles from the site.

This may be the lesser-known corner of the Peak District National Park, but it has a great deal to offer and Longnor Wood Holiday Park makes an excellent base to explore it.



SITE INFORMATION

ADDRESS: Longnor, nr Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 0NG
TEL: 01298-83648
WEB: www.longnorwood.co.uk
OPEN: 1 March – 10 January

Charges: From £11.50 (two adults, pitch, electric).
Nearest pub/restaurant: Longnor village, one mile.
Nearest public transport: Longnor village, one mile.
Directions: Do not rely on sat-nav. From the marketplace at Longnor village (SK17 0NT), follow the brown caravan site signs west towards Leek. After about half a mile, turn left to Fawfieldhead and Newton (another brown sign) then immediately right onto a single-track road which leads to the campsite. It’s well signposted all the way.

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