The 10 best UK campsites of 2025

Every year we argue about this list, and every year it gets harder. The UK has thousands of campsites, and the best of them are not just fields with facilities: they are places that make the trip. For 2025 we have picked ten, in no particular order, spread across the country and across styles, from a National Trust field under England's highest mountain to a crofting township site behind Highland white sand.

What strikes us most, putting the list together, is how varied UK camping has become. You can still find a simple tent field where the farm shop sells the farm's own cheese, but you can just as easily book a serviced hardstanding, a heated pod or a furnished bell tent, sometimes on the same site. Some of these places take no advance bookings at all; others sell out their peak weeks months ahead.

Use it as a shortlist, not a league table. The best campsite is the one that fits your trip.

How we chose

One site per area, a mix of tents-only fields and all-comers parks, and a bias towards places that are loved year after year rather than briefly fashionable. Setting counts most, then facilities, then the harder-to-measure thing: whether people come home talking about it. Everything here was checked against the site's own information and recent reviews in 2025.

1. Wasdale Head, Lake District

4.7 ★ Google rating from 650+ reviews

The National Trust campsite at Wasdale sits at the foot of Scafell Pike, near the shore of Wastwater, England's deepest lake, and it is as close as camping gets to proper mountain country. Around a hundred grass tent pitches are scattered through fields broken up by trees and hedges, campervans and motorhomes under 6.5 metres get hardstanding pitches with electric hook-up near the car park, and there are camping pods with heating, light and sockets for anyone arriving to horizontal rain. Facilities are solid for somewhere this remote: a small shop, a drying room (use it, this is one of the wettest corners of England), decent showers and even a dog wash. There is no Wi-Fi and barely any phone signal, which is rather the point. What people love, according to a long run of warm reviews, is exactly that combination: serious mountains from the tent door, cosy pods and helpful staff. Practical tip: stock up before you drive in, because the road to Wasdale is long and slow and the shop is small.

2. Caerfai Farm, Pembrokeshire

4.8 ★ Google rating from 150+ reviews

Caerfai Farm is an organic working farm on the clifftop edge of St Davids, Britain's smallest city, with the Pembrokeshire Coast Path running past the gate and the sheltered swimming cove of Caerfai Bay down below. It takes tents, small campervans and motorhomes, with electric hook-ups on some pitches and a handful of glamping units to hire, and it runs a summer season from mid-May to the end of September. The farm shop is a genuine draw in its own right, selling the farm's own organic produce alongside fresh bread and pastries, and the facilities block covers hot showers, washing-up and laundry. What people love is the balance: reviewers consistently praise the space, the reliable hot water and the fact that you can walk to the cathedral, the pubs and the beach without touching the car. Practical tip: the short season and the location mean school-holiday weeks go early, so book well ahead and aim for June or September if you want the coast path quiet.

3. Treen Farm Campsite, Cornwall

4.5 ★ Google rating from 380+ reviews

Treen Farm is a working farm in the far west of Cornwall, in the fields above Pedn Vounder, one of the most photographed beaches in the country, with Porthcurno and the Minack Theatre a short walk along the coast path. It is a proper back-to-nature site for tents and small campervans: most pitches cannot be booked in advance, you simply turn up, and the limited electric hook-ups go first come, first served. Facilities are simple but well kept, with token-operated hot showers, a campers' kitchen, a laundry and a licensed shop selling local produce and hot food. Dogs are welcome on leads. What people love, across reviews that score it near the top of any Cornish list, is the setting: sea views from the tent, dark starry skies and five sandy beaches within walking distance. Practical tip: in July and August arrive early in the day to get a pitch, and have a fallback plan, because the no-booking system rewards the organised.

4. Llyn Gwynant, Snowdonia

3.9 ★ Tripadvisor rating from 700+ reviews

Llyn Gwynant Campsite fills a run of green fields between a lake and a river in the Nant Gwynant valley, inside Eryri National Park and only a few miles from the summit of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon). It is mainly a tent site, with cars parked away from the camping fields, and campfires are allowed, which is rarer than it should be in mountain country. There is an on-site shop for essentials, showers and washing-up in a big stone building, and canoe and boat hire on the lake in season; the Watkin Path up the mountain starts nearby. Bookings are now required for everyone, including tents without electric, so the old turn-up-and-squeeze-in era is over. What people love is the swimming and the scale of the scenery: one Tripadvisor reviewer calls it a "beautiful place to camp in Snowdonia". Practical tip: in summer the midges are liveliest at dawn and dusk near the water, so pitch a little back from the shore and pack repellent.

5. Fieldhead Campsite, Peak District

4.6 ★ Google rating from 350+ reviews

Fieldhead is a small, tents-only site beside a stream in the centre of Edale, the village at the foot of Kinder Scout where the Pennine Way begins. There are no electric hook-ups and cars are parked separately from the pitches, which keeps the fields quiet and green; the showers are metered, so bring coins. The village station is a short stroll away, with direct trains from Manchester and Sheffield, making this one of the easiest genuinely car-free camping trips in England. What people love is the position and the upkeep: reviewers describe clean facilities and friendly staff, and one Tripadvisor reviewer sums the site up as a "perfect spot". Note that Fieldhead is deliberately small-scale: it does not take large groups of adults, and organised groups such as Duke of Edinburgh expeditions need to get in touch before booking. Practical tip: take the train, walk the Pennine Way's first miles up the valley, and you will have earned the pub in the village on the way back.

6. Clachtoll Beach Campsite, Scottish Highlands

4.8 ★ Google rating from 1,100+ reviews

Clachtoll Beach Campsite is a family-run site in the crofting township of Clachtoll in Assynt, about five miles north of Lochinver on the North Coast 500, directly behind a white-sand beach and water that looks borrowed from somewhere far warmer. It takes tents, campervans, motorhomes and touring caravans, with a set of serviced pitches offering water and electric hook-up and plenty of unserviced grass pitches besides; everything is booked online. The facilities punch well above the location's remoteness: free hot showers, a family bathroom with baby changing, laundry and dishwashing areas kept genuinely spotless. What people love, in review after review, is the combination of an extraordinary beach with warm, attentive owners; plenty of campers describe it as among the best sites they have ever stayed on. Practical tip: it fills up months ahead for summer, and the midges are real, so aim for May, June or September and book the moment your dates firm up.

7. Ocean Pitch, Devon

4.9 ★ Google rating from 370+ reviews

Ocean Pitch is a small, family-run campsite at Croyde in North Devon, a couple of minutes on foot from one of the best surf beaches in the country. With only around thirty pitches plus a few Seapod glamping pods, it feels personal in a way big holiday parks never do. You can book grass or hardstanding pitches for tents, campervans and small motorhomes, with electric hook-up as an option, and the pods suit couples who want the beach without the airbed. Facilities are tuned to the location: hot showers, an outdoor shower for wetsuits, surfboard and wetsuit hire, free Wi-Fi, a fridge-freezer for campers and street food from the on-site kitchen. What people love is the atmosphere as much as the surf: one Tripadvisor reviewer calls it an "amazing site with friendly vibes". Practical tip: the season runs roughly May to the end of September and summer weekends go very fast, so book early and check the surf forecast before you pack.

8. Masons Campsite, Yorkshire Dales

4.3 ★ Google rating from 500+ reviews

Masons sits on the banks of the River Wharfe at Appletreewick, a couple of miles upstream from Bolton Abbey in the Yorkshire Dales. It is an all-comers site done well: tents, caravans and campervans on the main field, where electric hook-up comes as standard, plus furnished glamping tents and yurts for anyone easing into camping gently. The heart of the site is Masons Kitchen, open daily for barista coffee, fresh pizzas and pastries, alongside a shop and modern, well-kept facilities; dogs are welcome. What people love is how effortless it makes a family weekend: reviewers praise the riverside setting, the walks straight from the gate and staff who go out of their way to help, though the same reviews note it gets busy in high season. The shallow river beach at the bottom of the site will absorb children for entire afternoons. Practical tip: bank-holiday and summer weekends book out well in advance, so if your dates are fixed, move early and pack river shoes.

9. Hollands Wood, New Forest

4.5 ★ Google rating from 1,300+ reviews

Hollands Wood is the classic New Forest experience: hundreds of unmarked grass pitches spread through ancient oak woodland on the edge of Brockenhurst, with ponies and donkeys wandering freely between the tents. Run by Camping in the New Forest, it offers grass-only pitches for tents, campervans, motorhomes and caravans, plus furnished bell tents from late May, but no electric hook-ups, so this is one for the leisure battery or the back-to-basics camper. Facilities include shower blocks, laundry, a dog wash and an EV charging point, and Brockenhurst village, with its shops, pubs and mainline station, is around twenty minutes on foot. What people love is the setting itself: waking up under enormous oaks with a pony grazing outside is the sort of thing children remember for years. Practical tip: choose your pitch with care, avoiding roots and deep shade if rain is forecast, and never feed or pet the ponies, however friendly they look.

10. Tom's Field, Dorset

4.7 ★ Google rating from 300+ reviews

Tom's Field has been welcoming campers to the Isle of Purbeck for over sixty years, and it shows in the best way. The site is four and a half acres of fields wrapped in old drystone walls at Langton Matravers, with views towards Swanage Bay and the Purbeck hills, and the Jurassic Coast a short walk away; Dancing Ledge, the famous swimming ledge cut into the cliffs, is a favourite outing straight from the gate. It is a simple, mostly tent-based site with a small number of electric hook-ups, a genuinely useful shop, good showers, covered washing-up areas and, a nice modern touch, two EV charging points. Cooked breakfasts appear at weekends in season and daily through the school summer holidays. What people love is the unfussy, well-run character of the place: reviewers keep coming back for the walking, the shop and the setting. Practical tip: the sheltered stone-walled corner pitches go first, so arrive with time to choose.

Before you book

A few things will save you grief with any site on this list. Check the booking model first: Treen Farm mostly takes no advance bookings while Clachtoll and Ocean Pitch sell out months ahead, and several sites here open only from spring to the end of September. Read the pitch descriptions properly, especially at the mountain and clifftop sites where hook-ups are scarce or absent, and confirm the dog policy rather than assuming. Pack for the setting: a drying room is a luxury, not a guarantee, and coastal pitches need proper pegs.

When you are ready, find a campsite and make it real. And if one region has caught your eye, our local guides go deeper, starting with the best campsites in Cornwall and the best campsites in the Lake District.