Best UK campsites for a longer stay

[SkankingWombat]

Our UK camping trips are usually 2-4 nights and we go to France for a couple of weeks in the summer. This year, because of desperately dull increases in our outgoings, < gives mostly the mortgage company a hard stare > we are thinking about having a longer camping trip in the UK this summer in place of France. Any recommendations? I will continue to work on convincing DH that any travel savings will be eaten up by the increased cost of the holiday cheese and wine supplies, but he is refusing to believe it, and I need a back up plan.

We have a trailer tent with awning and a pup tent set up, and would want EHU. A grass or hard standing pitch is fine, as long as the pup tent can be on grass.
DCs and me need to put their bodies in water near-daily on holiday. Ideally a mix of pool and open water. In France we are used to onsite water parks also being close to both lakes and the sea, but would settle for an onsite basic pool and any kind of open water suitable for swimming nearby. Evening entertainment would be a bonus too.
We would need a local area worth exploring, what with the reduced onsite watery offerings and excessively taxed wine. We like a mix of sightseeing and activity+based days oit.
Anywhere except the furthest most reaches of Scotland and Cornwall would be fine - we don't mind travelling for the right site (unless that travelling involves towing along Cornish lanes or becoming a midge banquet upon arrival).
We are members of the Camping And Caravanning Club, so bonus points if the site offers a discount for that!

We love it here. Just across the road from a gorgeous beach. Loads to do in Northumberland: beaches, castles, hadrians wall, lovely walks

www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/campsites/uk/northumberland/chathill/beadnell-bay-camping-and-caravanning-club-site/?gad_source=1

Consider Dorset, near Bridport. Loads to do, beaches close.

Cotswold Water Park?

River Dart Country Park has an endless offering of activities and swimming in the river is actively encouraged!

Beadnell looks like it is well-located for trips out - is it a bit exposed that close to the sea? I don't fancy the joy of having to run around adjusting guy lines and whacking in extra pegs at 3am 😂 £54/night (for the dates I checked) isn't bad for high season.

The Dart country park looks great and has been added to the maybe list, but is a bit above what we want to spend at £100/night without a pool and entertainment - this is more than we'd pay for a French campsite with all offered here plus water park and evening entertainment on top (plus better weather and the aforementioned cheap wine) .

Does the Cotswold water park have camping? I couldn't see it on their website.

Dorset is lovely, we've camped there many times. It was a campsite recommendation we were looking for TBH, as they vary greatly both in prices and facilities. Getting a nice site that's well priced in a good location is the holy grail. We've got some favourites for shorter stays, but 10-14 days needs a bit more on site than they offer, as we won't want to be heading out every day.

Cofton Holidays in Devon might be more what you’re after. Also, I know you don’t want to go too far into Cornwall, but have a look at Trewan Hall. It’s near Newquay so not too far down. It’s got a heated pool and often has entertainment in the high season.

These both look lovely, thank you!
I'm still not sure Trewan Hall is enough to lure me back to Cornwall though 😂 I have had many holidays there (we used to go every summer as a kid but have also been twice with DH and DC1) and, whilst they were lovely in lots of ways, I would have to be paid to go back and spend my holidays winding round those country lanes and fighting through the crowds wherever you go!
Cofton Holidays is going on the shortlist 👍🏻😊

Cofton is great or Highlands end in Dorset.

I would get ferry Dover-Calais and camp within short distance of port. Think they do 5 day offer. So do rest of hols on site this side.

Guines has nice site.

https://www.eurocamp.co.uk/campsites/france/picardy/la-bien-assise-campsite?cqsrc=googleeads&cqcmp=17989244871&cqqcon=143764777190&cqterm=&cqqmed=&cqplac=&cqqnet=g&cqpos=&cqqplt=gp&gadsource=1&gclsrc=ds

For UK
Woodlands in Devon
Higher Harlyn or Trewan Hall in Cornwall

Searles resort in Hunstanton. There is a pool and a beach nearby. They have activities for the children. The pitches are a great size. The toilets/showers are a bit basic but there are plenty of them and they are regularly cleaned. Also plenty of hot water!

I'd say the same. I think the extra you'd spend on the ferry / tunnel you'd get back on the site itself being cheaper and with better better facilities.
We've been to the site linked above and it's nice. Donaine de Drancourt is a bit further but a bit more exciting. We've also stayed in Chateau de Gandspette which is closer to Dunkirk.

In the UK, we've been to Kelling Heath in North Norfolk which is a very pretty site with a small pool and lovely surrounding areas to explore.
During covid we stayed at Lady's Mile campsite in Devon. That has an indoor / outdoor pool and evening entertainment.

Nothing matches up with the French sites though I'm afraid!

These both look lovely, thank you!
I'm still not sure Trewan Hall is enough to lure me back to Cornwall though 😂 I have had

What's wrong with Trewan Hall? Have I made mistake booking this place?

www.littlekings.co.uk, Little Kings in Pembrokeshire. There's an on-site pool and Pembrokeshire is amazing for beaches and loads of to see locally. The weather might be crap obviously but you knew that 😊

Only that it is in Cornwall 🙂 It looks ideal otherwise and would be a strong contender if sited elsewhere. I appreciate I'm in a minority wanting to avoid Cornwall, given the hordes that visit each summer (part of the reason I have no interest in returning), but I've done it to death and the positives no longer outweigh the bad stuff.

I did consider the Dover crossing when we first started researching, and we had priced various combinations with sites both in France and the Netherlands. DH put in a shorter trailer length than we have accidentally, but it was still £350 return to take the car & trailer on the ferry, which wasn't offset by camping cost savings. Using our actual measurements would push it up considerably more, I suspect, as he put 2m when we need 4 🙄
We would definitely want 10 days in the same place, as it is the long break we're after. Trailer tents are similar to a caravan once pitched in terms of comfort and amenities, but are as much work time-wise as a bigger tent arrangement to pitch and fully deck out. We do a much stripped back set up for long weekends, but for a proper holiday we'd want the full shebang and I don't want to do that twice!

Agreed, UK campsites aren't a patch on French ones!

Thank you all for the other recommendations. I will take a look later this evening with the benefit of a bigger screen 😊

The Black Isle

https://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/campsites/uk/highlands/fortrose/rosemarkie-camping-and-caravanning-club-site/

Only that it is in Cornwall 🙂 It looks ideal otherwise and would be a strong contender if sited elsewhere. I appreciate I'm in a minority wanting to avoid Cornwall, given the hordes that visit each summer (part of the reason I have no interest in returning), but I've done it to death and the positives no longer outweigh the bad stuff.

Definitely not a minority. I doubt I'll go again. Last time it took me 8 hours to drive home and that was before I developed arthritis. I don't think I could handle the drive anymore.

We loved https://treloancoastalholidays.co.uk/. Most the families were properly settled in for weeks. It is an outstanding location. But we will never go back because Cornwall. We didn’t quite fit.

I was going to blame the drive (12 hours to get home) but this year we are going to Brittany so it clearly isn’t the drive. We just don’t quite fit Cornwall in a way that is less comfortable than not fitting Brittany. I don’t have this problem camping elsewhere in the UK.

If you are still looking, I recommend Castlerigg Hall above Keswick and Tantallon at North Berwick.