Christchurch and Bracelands, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire

Have been going to both these sites for a few years now, Christchurch has a good play area, and your often able to camp quite close to it. There's also a shop that sells pretty much everything you may need and a few luxurys besides, showers and loos are fine, plenty of taps and dish washing facilities, few areas of the site are gently sloping but we've never had a problem finding a fairly flat pitch.

Bracelands, I prefer this site, it has no play area but is more spacious so lots of room to play. Facilities are fine, no complaints, I tend to shower late morning though (after I've had a lie in) as the showers are often cleaned about 11am <lazy camper> ;-). One again a slightly sloping site, but as long as your feet are down and your head is up you'll be fine!

Lots of lovely walks nearby to suit all abilities, loads to do, Symonds Yat and the Rock are places we return year after year.

Local town is Coleford 5 mins away from the site, there are plenty of supermarkets, takeaways etc (so no need to pay the extortionate prices of the site shop).

Happy camping!

Nice campsite. Loads of toilet/bathroom facilities - never had to wait and the showers were hot and pretty clean. We hired bikes (trailers and tagalongs also available) from a nearby bike shop for a ride in the forest. We also did the Symonds Yat Trail on foot, which was a reasonable length for our 3 and 4 year olds.

Bracelands is one of our favourite campsites. I love that you can choose where to pitch and the facilities are always clean (I think the Bracelands site has slightly more modern washrooms and toilets than the Christchurch site).

The view over the forest from the hillside is fantastic and the local walks are excellent and mostly buggy accessible - we managed to walk to Symonds Yat with our Phil & Teds.

Monmouth is only a very short drive away - we stocked up on camping groceries at Lidl, as much cheaper than the onsite shop

This is a Forest Holidays site that is run in three areas, Christchurch, Bracelands and a separate one not suitable for tents.

This is a truly lovely area with great sites, the primary difference between the two is that the play area and shop are on site at Christchurch, a short walk from Bracelands.

Pitches are of the find your own type, some at Christchurch slope badly. EHU is available.

We love this site: quiet with a good ambience, good clean facillities. No pub etc but the Rangers run activities from the sites which we were told were good.

Local area is stunning- do not miss Symonds Yat and Symonds Rock, the boat trip along the Yat is lovely and the Saracens Head Inn (they have a website) is excellent for famillies (no under seven year olds, sadly).

Remember tot ake a £10 deposit (returnable) for the gate key.

The shop stocks lots of local and organic produce. A gorgeous site, recommended.