May is National Walking Month and organisations such as British Heart Foundation and Living Streets are promoting the benefits of walking.
For us as dog owners we walk daily around our local area, the lengths varying depending on our schedule for the day. But when we travel in Ruby the VW Campervan, and Bluebell and Daisy the Motorhome, Ruby’s predecessors, part of the appeal for us is travelling to a new area and trying out new and longer walks. I read somewhere that one of the most popular activities for campers is walking, so it’s no surprise that when it comes to booking a break away we take into account the location of the campsite and whether we can walk from the site without having to drive. We like to try to avoid moving Ruby off the site once pitched up, so campsites that have footpaths directly from the door so to speak are of huge appeal to us.
To celebrate National Walking Month, Keith and I put together our top ten Campsite with Walk combinations.
- Walk: Helvellyn and Striding Edge whilst staying at Gillside Caravan and Camping Site
Gillside Campsite could not be better located for the path up to Helvellyn and Striding edge- the path actually runs though the campsite road. It’s right at the foot of the mountain and most importantly has a pub 5 minutes walk which is perfect for post walk celebrations!
2. Walk: Scafell whilst staying at Wasdale Head Campsite
The Wasdale Head Campsite is a National Trust Campsite and is in a spectacular location. It’s not far to the main Scafell path, and also has the wonderful Wasdale Head Inn close by too. England’s deepest lake, Wastwater, is also a short walk away. This is true walkers country and you easily have a week or more here walking new paths everyday.
3. Walk: Hadrians Wall whilst staying at Herding Hill Farm
Herding Hill Farm is one of the nicest campsites we’ve stayed on (albeit one of the more expensive). Location wise is was fabulous, a short walk to one of the best sections of the impressive wall and also a lovely gorge walk down into nearby Haltwhistle too (where we had the best sausage roll ever!)
4. Walk: Norfolk’s Coast Path whilst staying at Flint House CL, Walcott
The whole of Norfolk’s Coast Path is just lovely to walk on, but if we had to narrow it down to “best walk from campervan” it would have to be the stretch from Walcott to Happisburgh, where you are greeted by a magnificent colourful lighthouse. We walked to the lighthouse along the cliff top and back to Bluebell the Motorhome on the beach, which was about a 7 mile return walk. There is also a lovely fish and chip shop and pub in Walcott.
5. Walk: Hole of Horcum whilst staying at Marfit Head Farm
We visited the Yorkshire Moors on our first trip in Bluebell back in 2012 and fell head over heels. I have a confession to make here, we cannot for the life of us remember where we stayed, it was near to Levisham and the Hole of Horcum walk. So, I’ve consulted Google and UKCampsite and listed a campsite which comes up top for that area (and walkable to The Hole of Horcum). Think we are overdue another visit. Another cool walk in this area takes in Brimham Rocks
6. Walk: Abereiddy Coast Line through the Blue Lagoon to Porthgain whilst staying at Camping and Caravanning St David’s Club site
This walk was a real highlight of our Wales trip last year. As you can see the weather helped. Don’t forget to pack your cossie if you fancy a dip in the famous Blue Lagoon and some change for Pembrokeshire Ice-cream in Porthgain.
7. Walk: Tintagel whilst staying at King Arthur’s Car Park (Motorhome Stopover)
Whilst this isn’t strictly a campsite, it is a really cool place to stay overnight (and it’s legal!) Some smart minded local has opened up the car park right by the descent to Tintagel castle and allows motorhomes to park overnight for a small reasonable fee.
8. Walk: South West Coast Path around Porthcurno Beach whilst staying at Treen Farm Campsite
Whilst you are down at Tintagel, you may as well combine it with our next favourite walk from Campsite, the South West Coast Path. We found ourselves in the Treen/Porthcurno area as we were visiting The Minack theatre to watch Keith’s brother and lots of our friends in a production there. Although we didn’t actually stay on Treen Campsite (because it was full) they were amazingly kind and let us empty and refill our waste and water tanks and then told us of an overspill field where we could stay next door. We had an absolutely CRACKING couple of days, with a walk down to Porthcurno Beach (not dog friendly in summer) and to the Minack. There are miles upon miles of coast path to walk on right from your front door and if the weather is good, like it was when we visited, there aren’t too many places I’d rather go to!
9. Walk: Sandringham and Wolfreton whilst staying at Caravan and Motorhome Sandringham Estate Club site
We’ve actually done this walk a couple of times now, and each time got bowled over by Wolfreton Station – the former Royal Station. It’s a nice walk through our lovely Norfolk Countryside and of course takes in the Queen’s Estate of Sandringham. At the time we were members of the Camping and Caravan Club so stayed on their club site, but if your members of the Caravan and Camping Club then their Club site is near enough next door. Perfect for a weekend retreat, and if you haven’t visited Sandringham House, it’s well worth a visit – you get to see much more than Balmoral!
10. Walk: Crag y Nos, Brecon Beacons whilst staying at National Showcaves Caravan site
We visited this site in 2011, in our first motorhome, Daisy! Our water pump had just blown so we needed an all singing and dancing campsite so we could carry on our holiday and just sleep and cook in Daisy. We enjoyed some lovely walks in the Brecon Beacon National Park right from our door. We also enjoyed our visit to the National Showcaves of Wales, which is also on site.
And here’s a little Brucey Bonus – one that we have yet to walk but we are booked to do later this month…….
11. Walk: High Cup Nick whilst staying at Dufton Caravan Park
Here’s a little promo video Julia Bradbury did for her TV programme, Walks with a View, which is what inspired us to add it to our walking Bucket list. Looking forward to walking it ourselves and adding the photos in early June.
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So there we our favourite Campsite walks. But as we all know the UK is a beautiful and varied land, and so we know we’ve missed ones off the list, or have perhaps not done them ourselves. So we ask you, whats your favourite walk from a campsite? Comment below – we’d love to hear from you.
Until Next Time
Lx
Useful items that we take with us:
Pleased to see I’ve walked 5 – some of all of your faves … our best days are when we are out walking or cycling.
Ooh which ones have you walked? Have you got any that aren’t on the list?
Hellvelyn , some of Hadrian’s wall, most of Norfolk coast path as used to have a holiday cottage there …. a fav was train to Sheringham and walk back (or something like that), Scafell from wasdale as J used work near there (memory lane) … love this part of the Lakes most, walks from Tintagel, as lived in Bristol, so not far …
If you’ve not been, do go to Derbyshire -lots of old railway paths and canals … we went 18 months ago for 1 week and stayed 3. High Peak trail was lovely, and Cromford. Feel we only scratched the surface.
We’ve done Derbyshire Monsal Trail a couple of times now and also another one can’t remember the name now! But need to go back and do High Peak Trail, that’s on my list. Very nice area x