Campsite with woods and stream to play in? Must take caravans...

[MelonCauli]

Does anyone know of a campsite that has woods for the kids to play in, maybe a stream as well? I am going with a family who has a tent and I have a caravan.

We live in Northants so anywhere up to 2 hours away is fine, but preferably no further.

I have searched and come up with Doward Park in the Forest of Dean but it does not take caravans.

Many thanks in advance.

I have a very vague recollection of camping here as a kid. We walked through woods - which were heavily scented with wild garlic. Don't think there's a stream.

No stream - just the river Wye LOL!

Bracelands is much nicer site than the Christchurch one in the Forest of Dean. Neither of them are too far from the river and are surrounded by the forest.

There used to be a site we stayed on every year in Hay-on-Wye that had a stream running through it. I think it has since been turned into a larger site so would think they accept caravans...unfortunately, I don't know what it is called.....useful

Washersaurus why is Bracelands nicer? I thought Christchurch was lovely last year and is a lot smaller than Bracelands. Am interested as I'm thinking of going back to Christchurch this year .

I had always stayed at Bracelands until the MN meetup last year. It was a terrible weekend.

The facilities at Christchurch aren't very nice and there was never any hot water to wash up with. There was extremely loud music from somewhere on the Saturday night that went on until the early hours of the morning. It always feels more crowded on that site too.

In contrast Bracelands is spacious with new facilities block and is lovely and quiet. The only downside is the walk up the hill to the shop

(Lots of people on here like Christchurch though I think)

*obviously the MNers we met were lovely

Oh fab, a load of campers online just when I need them.
Thanks for all the replies. I will take a look.

The quieter the better by the way. I think Christchurch and Bracelands may be a bit too noisy.

I've never known Bracelands get noisy - I even saw a herd of deer in the middle of the site whilst we were there last year.

Were you looking for somewhere smaller?

I don't think it's the number of tents/caravans that worries me, as much as the thought of being next to a group of 20 sitting outside their enclave talking into the early hours. We are not the quietest but some of the reviews of those campsites have put me off a bit.

What I really want is Doward Park to take caravans! Perhaps I'd better buy a cheap tent and go there

Hmm I think that is the peril of the caravan tbh. From my experience caravanners tend to group together behind wind breaks like you say

There is a campsite near my mum's house just outside Hereford that is by the woods and a stream - I will try to find out what it is called and whether they take caravans.

Ooh there is a Caravan Club site here

Or I think Eastnor Castle accept caravans - that would be quiet as they have no facilities

i am poo at geography but we stayed in one called St. Neots in Oxfordshire which is LOVELY its a CCC site and takes both carvans and tents. i will try and find a link to it for you. is Oxfordshire too far for you??

Eastnor Castle www.eastnorcastle.com/caravanning.aspxhere. They have no toilets or showers or electric hook-up but looks beautiful.

its cambridgeshire here

I'll have a look at Bracelands. I thought the toilet blocks at Christchurch were a bit ropey but we never ran out of hot water. Didn't notice the noise either (probably making enough of our own!). I liked the fact that it was pretty secure and I was happy for ds to go off to the playground to play without me going with him.

Actually Mollie, I suppose it really depends on how old your DC's are as there is no playground on Bracelands; it didn't cross my mind before. My boys are still young enough to entertain themselves.

Ds is 6 this summer. He liked playing in the woods but also enjoyed the playground. Think he will probably be big enough to give the playground a miss this year so Bracelands might be a good option. The main thing will be if there are other children around to play with. We went to Hollands Wood last September after most of the schools had gone back and there was no one else of ds's age on the campsite. Not too much of a problem as there was lots to do off site but made me realise it is nicer for ds to have other children to play with rather than being stuck with me.

Thanks for the suggestions.

The St Neots one looks nice but a bit too "organised" for us. The river would be a bit big to let the kids play in! I have book marked it for a future visit without our friends though.

Eastnor looks really good and we would be fine in the caravan, but our friends really need a toilet & shower. If it weren't for that I would book it. I've also saved this one for just us!

MollieO which do you think is the nicer, Christchurch or Bracelands?

Washersaurus my dc will be 9 & 7, the others will be 9, 12, and 16. Proximity to a town for the 16 year old is a nice to have but not essential. She is rather addicted to shopping

Haven't been to Bracelands. I did the MN camp at Christchurch last year and loved it. We didn't leave the campsite the entire time .

How about breck farm in norfolk. No stream, but plenty of woods to play in. Pitch where you like (unless you want a hook-up) and they allow real campfires. Very laid back - no clubhouse or shop, but they do sell eggs, potatoes etc at the farm house. It has a new shower and toilet block and washing up facilities. quite close to the steam railway (about a mile walk) and not far from the sea. We go several times a year as we live nearby and always have a very relaxing time.

Thanks alot Surprise, that looks like an interesting one. I like the camp fires bit.

Melon - there's also the town of Holt near by which does great fish and chips and has lots of art galleries, antique shops etc. Teenagers would probably prefer Sheringham, which on the coast with amusement arcades etc (although still quite genteel). let me know if you book as we may be there at the same time!