How to find a uk campsite
Skylark at Nelson’s Patch in Norfolk
Once you’ve booked Skylark or Kestrel for you adventure, the next step is choosing where to stay. If you’ve never motorhomed before that can feel more over-whelming than you would expect it to, but don’t let that put you off, we’re here to help!
In the England we have 3 types of legal motorhome accommodation: council car parks with legal overnight car parking, independent campsites and membership campsites. There are various ways of finding these sites and we look at how you search for them in this blog.
Council approved overnight parking
One of our favourite places to stay here in Kent is in the car park at Minnis Bay! Not exactly glamorous but with a great bistro, the best fish and chips in the area and miles of beach and headland to walk along or indulge in watersports from, it’s got everything. What’s more it only costs about £12 a night.
Minnis Bay carpark - a perfect base to enjoy watersports
Most councils will offer a list of the car parks where you can stay overnight in their area and what the charges will be. There are generally not any specific facilities for motorhomes, but many of the car parks have public loos which are open during the day.
Sunset at Minnis Bay
The downside is that you cannot book these spaces in advance, but if luck is on your side they’re a great place to stop and enjoy a sunset.
Online directories
These websites are really useful if you know the specific dates and area that you are going to. Using filters you can whittle the sites down so that you know you will have exactly what you’re looking for and they will be available when you need them. These sites tend to charge a percentage so you may find that you are paying more than the upfront cost of the campsite, so you may want to use them as a starting point for research.
Sites we tend to use include: pitchup.com and campsites.co.uk .
Skylark at the Folkestone Camping and Caravanning Club site
Members clubs
The biggest clubs in the UK are: The Camping and Caravanning Club and The Caravan and Motorhome Club
The Camping and Caravanning Club has a mix of sites that are open to the public and some members only sites. Members can access both types and will receive a discount in the public sites.
The Caravan and Motorhome Club has members only sites and will not allow members of the public to stay there.
Both Clubs offer annual membership for around £70 and you don’t need to own your own motorhome to join them, meaning they are great if you plan to rent a motorhome and try different areas. The also have a mix of additional member benefits and are a good source of information.
The view from our pitch at the Folkestone, Camping and Caravanning Club site
BritStops
A final option for short stays is BritStops a membership scheme where you are able to search an app or paper directory (we have the directories in Skylark and Kestrel) to find pubs that are happy for you to stay overnight in their car parks in return for you eating or drinking there.
The other option is simply to search the area your interested in and ‘Google’ for the type of pitch you’re looking for. Many businesses are registered on Google Maps and will appear when you look at an area. Organisations like The National Trust and stately homes sometimes have campsites as well or offer ‘pop up’ camping in the summer months.
Word of mouth
We love hearing where our guests have travelled in Skylark and Kestrel and what they thought of the places they stayed. Please do ask if you’re looking at a particular area and if we know of any sites, we’re always happy to recommend them if they’re good.
>> New to camping? Check out our campsite terminology guide
