Best campsites for the Dorset AONB
Here is our pick of the Alan Rogers Assessors, expert-recommended campsites for the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
This AONB accounts for about 50% of Dorset and showcases one of England’s finest coastlines. Head inland slightly, and the landscape is straight from a Thomas Hardy novel, all gentle hills, isolated farms linked by narrow lanes, picturesque villages and country steeples.
The area is notable for its chalky grasslands, heathlands, ancient meadows and woodlands, and, of course, the coastal cliffs and epic scenery of the Jurassic Coast, the first British natural World Heritage Site with all its dinosaur-based associations. Other visitors' highlights include the beautiful Lulworth Cove, the stone arch of Durdle Door - the subject of countless photographs and picture postcards - the elongated pebble bank of Chesil Beach and the Fleet.
There’s a hugely varied range of habitats and supported species here, representing over 80% of all British mammal species, 48% of bird species and 70% of butterfly species. It’s no surprise that 67 Sites of Special Scientific Interest cumulatively cover 7% of the AONB.
Top Dorset AONB Camping Options
Conveniently situated close to the World-Famous Jurassic Coast, The Dorset Hideaway is an excellent site on a former working dairy farm. The emphasis is on luxury and tranquillity within a rural area. Each pitch has uninterrupted views over open unspoilt countryside, most with parking next to the pitch. The site has 118 grass or hardstanding pitches. most with electric hook-up and some seasonal. There are also domes, yurts & bell tents to hire.
Monkton Wyld combines pitches for the independent camper and for members of The Camping and Caravanning Club. The park prides itself on its conservation efforts and the space and landscaping provided. 140 out of their 150 pitches feature 16A electricity (a few suitable for large R.V’s) and all back against a hedge or flower bed, so you never feel crowded. The site provides a summer camping field with 10A electricity if required and there are surfaced pitches especially for tents. There is also a range of self-catering accommodation available, including a large farmhouse and a bungalow; a number of privately owned holiday homes have a separate area. This family run park has matured into an attractive, comfortable, garden-like park with trees and flowering shrubs and is maintained to a high standard.
Golden Cap, named after the adjacent high cliff (the highest in southern England) which overlooks Lyme Bay, is only 150 m. from a shingle beach at Seatown and is surrounded by National Trust countryside and the Heritage Coastline. The park is arranged over several fields on the valley floor, sloping gently down towards the sea. It is in two main areas, having once been two parks, each separated into fields with marvellous panoramic views and providing 108 touring pitches. All have electricity and 30 also have hardstanding with drainage and gravel awning area. An extra sloping tent area with 159 pitches is used for peak season (torch useful), although it is a five minute walk from here to the toilet blocks and shop.
Family run parks for families with direct access to their own private beach are rare in Britain and this one has the added advantage of being in beautiful coastal countryside in West Dorset. It now offers the Jurassic Fun Centre with pools, gym, bowling and a café. This building has a living, ‘green’ roof supporting native species of salt-tolerant grass and wildflowers which helps the complex merge into the landscape and includes many eco-friendly features. The park is next to the sea and a beach of fine pebbles, sheltered from the wind by pebble banks. Approached by a fairly steep access road, the park itself is on level, open ground. The 500 touring pitches, 400 with 10A electricity, are on an open, undulating grass field connected by tarmac or hardcore roads. Caravan pitches are marked and evenly spaced in lines.
A friendly, welcoming, family park, Bagwell Farm is open all year. It is situated between Weymouth and Abbotsbury, close to Chesil Beach. Set in a valley, yet with an attractive open aspect, there are 320 numbered pitches, 280 for touring units, the remainder taken up by seasonal units. All have 10A electricity connections and 34 serviced pitches with hardstanding have a 16A supply. Some of the terraced pitches have beautiful views of Chesil Bank and the sea. In addition there is a traditional camping field where a campers’ shelter is provided. An attractive bar, converted from farm buildings, serves meals.
East Fleet Farm has a marvellous situation on part level, part gently sloping meadows leading to the shores of the Fleet, with views across to the famous Chesil Bank with the sea beyond. The Whitfield family has developed this park within the confines of their 300-acre organic arable farm in keeping with its surroundings, yet with modern amenities. It is maturing well as bushes and trees grow.
Nestling under the Purbeck Hills on the edge of Swanage, in the Dorset and East Devon Coast World Heritage Site, Ulwell Cottage is a family run holiday park with an indoor pool and a wide range of facilities. A good proportion of the park is taken by caravan holiday homes (140), but an attractive, undulating area accessed by tarmac roads is given over to 79 numbered touring pitches interspersed with trees and shrubs. All have 10A electricity, 12 are fully serviced and 14 are available with hardstanding. The colourful entrance area is home to the Village Inn with a courtyard adjoining the heated, supervised indoor pool complex (both open all year and open to the public; limited pool supervision in winter months) and the modern reception.
Crossways Caravan and Motorhome Club site is an imaginatively landscaped destination set in the midst of 35 acres of lush woodland - ideal when touring in Dorset. Pitching is available in open groves, all of which are linked by a scenic snaking road. This makes for easy access around the site, from the charmingly named Iron Horse Meadows to Poachers Paradise. The railway is a five-minute walk away. The site has 98 mainly grass pitches, some are seasonal. All have electricity 16amp.