Best campsites for the Wye Valley AONB
Here is our pick of the Alan Rogers Assessors, expert-recommended campsites for the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Running along the England and Wales border, this has been an AONB since 1971 and comprises 320 square kilometres of stunning scenery. Visitors can discover limestone cliffs, plunging gorges, and undulating hills carpeted with ancient woodland smothered in bluebells and dotted with crumbling monasteries, disused industrial works and remote churches. The Wye is the first river whose entire length has been assigned as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Wildlife is rich and varied and includes deer, the endangered dormouse, otters, bats, birds of prey and even beavers which have been reintroduced for the first time since becoming extinct in Britain 500 years ago.
As for attractions, there’s Chepstow Castle, majestic 12th century Tintern Abbey, Symonds Yat, historic Ross on Wye and St Briavels in the forest of Dean with amazing views over the valley. Brockhampton is a quintessentially picturesque English village (fun fact: there’s a replica of the Grade 1 listed church at the top of a hotel in Osaka where weddings are conducted).
Top Wye Valley AONB Camping Options
Bracelands Campsitesite is just waiting to welcome you. Located on the edge of the Forest of Dean, Bracelands is open all year. As soon as you enter the grounds of Bracelands site, you will be immediately impressed with its size and ability to encompass you in the wonderful landscapes of the forest. Look out across the fields in any direction and you will be rewarded with superb views of the surrounding woodlands, made up of majestic oaks, stunning copper beech, and tall pine trees, as they climb and fall in line with the land’s rolling hills. The site has 400 grass or hard standing pitches (some seasonal) most with electricity hook-up point. Glamping pods and safari tents are also available to hire.
Ross-on-Wye town centre is within easy walking distance of this modern, spacious park, complete with open views and its own fishing lake. The approach to the site is very unusual, passing through an industrial estate, but eventually you will arrive at a well laid out and pleasant site with facilities of the highest quality. There are 150 large pitches on a mixture of hardstanding and level, open grass; the site is especially good for tents. Each set of four pitches has a service post with water, drain, 16A electricity points and lighting. There may be some traffic noise from the A40 relief road. Seasonal pitches are now available.
Set in 21 acres and bounded on one side by the River Wye and over 90 acres of woodland on the other, Lucksall Caravan and Camping Site has 140 large, well spaced and level touring pitches (some seasonal), all with 16 amp electricity and 70 with hardstandings. The river is open to the site with lifebelts and safety messages in evidence. Canoes are available for hire, or bring your own (launching facilities); fishing permits may be obtained from reception. A large, fenced playground and a large grassy game area are provided. A well-stocked shop selling various goods is in reception (a mini market is within 1.5 miles), and there is a café/takeaway.
This family run park is located in a village four miles from Monmouth. The Bridge Caravan Park was established in 1979, being a working farm until a few years ago. Over half the park is taken up by seasonal long stay pitches. The touring area is to one side, edged by the river at a lower level. Neat, level grass accessed by a circular tarmac roadway provides 33 pitches for caravans and motorhomes, with 10A electricity and 16 hardstandings. A further 20 places for tents are available, all with 5A electricity. In busy periods the site may be cramped with little room between units, yet a friendly atmosphere prevails. Still in the hands of the Holmes family, it provides a rural site bordered by the River Trothy and woodland on one side, and by the farm buildings and church on the other.
This site, which was created around 1997 in a disused quarry, has matured into a very pleasant, peaceful little site, partially terraced, and in a sheltered location. The access roads and the physical proportions of the site make it suitable only for tents, trailer tents and campervans. This site is popular with couples, nature lovers, walkers and those with young families, but has nothing to offer teenagers. There is a children’s play area in Bluebell Wood (unsupervised) at the top of the site with a rope swing and a ‘Timber Trak’. Of the 27 pitches for touring (15 with 10/16A electricity), three are hardstanding for motorhomes up to 23 feet in length, the remainder are on grass. Five hardstandings are used for seasonal units.
Forest & Wye Valley site is situated on the edge of the village of St. Briavels in Gloucestershire with fabulous walks through the Forest of Dean, breath-taking views of the stunning Wye Valley, historic castles and abbey ruin to visit as well as blockbuster film locations to find. The Welsh border towns of Monmouth and Chepstow are within easy reach. Nearby you can hire bikes and cycle around the many miles of cycle track running through the forest. Sheep and deer run free through the forest with many buzzards and other fabulous birds of prey to spot there is a lot for wildlife lovers to do. The site offers fantastic purpose-built facilities, including a heated shower block, all within easy reach of the 43 large pitches. All the pitches have electric hookups as well as TV points. Wi-Fi is available, with signal covering the site.
Glen Trothy is a pretty park on the banks of the River Trothy and visitors are greeted by an array of colourful flowerbeds and tubs around the entrance and reception area. Three fields provide level touring and tent pitches. The first and largest field has a circular gravel road with seasonal pitches arranged on the outer side and touring pitches on the inner side. These have slabs for vehicle wheels and electricity hook-ups. The second field, just past the toilet block, has pitches for trailer tents and tents only (16 with electricity), whilst the camping field is for tents only (no cars are allowed on this area).