Ahh, January. Warmer weather seems far away, and we’re still daydreaming of the open road. Wouldn’t it be nice to just load up the camper, and set off? You might have to hold on for a couple more weeks, but there’s surely no harm in planning ahead. Summer holiday destinations are firmly planted on our minds. Whatever kind of trip you’re daydreaming about, we’ve picked out something for everyone in the list of the best motorhome sites in the UK below. 
1. Solo travellers
Location really is key if you’re camping by yourself. Beara Farm has been named one the best campervan sites in the UK, and has been featured in the Telegraph as the site of your solo getaway dreams. It lies in an idyllic 3.5-acre level meadow astride of the River Dart. A clear little stream runs through the campsite to the river, which is perfect for a bracing dip on a hot summer’s day. Within easy reach of Dartmoor, the sea, if you’re feeling adventurous, or the Riverford Field Kitchen for foodies and farm kitchen enthusiasts.
If you’re after a cultural trip, Buckfast Abbey, and a Bronze age village at Grimspound are nearby, as well as austere castles that are worth wandering around. The charmingly quirky town of Totnes is just up the road, as are other lovely rural villages like Ashburton. The joy of travelling solo is you get to enjoy your own, uncompromised itinerary, and Beara promises to offer you whatever you need from some quality alone-time.
The site belongs to the UK Camping and Caravanning Club, which means it’s sure to have an on-site warden and clean, high-quality facilities. It’s also worth joining the Camping and Caravanning Club as a member (for an annual fee of £39) if you camp alone regularly and security is a priority for you, as you’d always have access to warden/manager-controlled sites. You can always ask to camp near the warden, too.
There are three toilets, one hot metered shower, a washing up sink and fresh spring water taps. They’ll freeze your ice-packs, too. There may not be any electric hook-ups, but this place is perfect to recharge your own batteries on a blissfully bucolic trip.
It’s £6.50 per adult and £7 per person for campervans.
Beara Farm Camping and Caravanning. Colston Road, Buckfastleigh, Devon, TQ11 0LW.
2. Families
If your whole household is feeling cooped up right now, it’s time to think about all piling into a camper and heading for this next campsite. It has made it onto Goboony before, as one of Snowdonia’s best sites, but it surely deserves to be ranked among the best family campsites for campervans in the UK. Bert’s kitchen garden sits overlooking a bay, sheltered by the Yr Eifl mountain peaks. It is the legacy of the Paice family’s life on the road (Bert was the name of their camper). They’ve set up the site with lots of little touches that speak of their well-won experience camping with three young kids. There’s a Saturday night fireside feast, perfect for sharing stories and dinner by the fire, which also takes the hassle off cooking when you pull up (just bring your own plates and cutlery).
If you need a high-chair, travel cot, baby-carrier, monitor or bikes and backpacks for kids, they’ve got spare to hire. There’s a playground and yurt playroom for wet weather (it is North Wales, after all). Bert, the disused camper, is now a café where you can buy home-baked croissants, cakes and grab free-of-charge tea, hot chocolate, coffee or fresh eggs round the clock. The campsite might be small, with just 15 pitches, but it’s set up to be sociable, with communal barbeques and campfires with logs provided.
Amongst all the excitement and history of the attractions within and around Snowdonia, nothing makes Bert’s more ideal for the adults than the hills above it, which overlook the sea and make the perfect spot for a sundowner. There’s a hardstanding pitch slightly separate from the main tent-only wildflower camping meadow, or there’s a generous pitch tucked into the old orchard, which is perfect for larger family groups. If you need some more breathing space at bedtime than your camper allows, you can also hire a pre-pitched tent and transfer any gear to it by wheelbarrow.
Bert’s has 2 showers, 5 composting toilets, a washing -up and drying area, a freezer for your ice blocks, and charging point. They offer aromatherapy massage, yoga, and Reiki onsite for parent’s who deserve some of their own downtime. A local bike rental company can deliver bikes to the site. There’s nothing the Paice’s haven’t thought of for you and your clan, which is why Bert’s is up there with the best motorhome campsites in the UK. All they ask is that you limit the amount of rubbish you bring and recycle using their on-site bins.
Contact the campsite about this year’s dates and tariffs here.
Bert’s Kitchen Garden, Trefor, Llyn Peninsula, Gwynedd LL54 5LD
3. Groups and parties
Imagine getting all your mates together and heading somewhere for a few days of the most fun you’ve had in ages. If there’s a birthday or engagement that needs to be celebrated, or you don’t need an excuse, look no further than Ye Olde Paddocks in Oxfordshire. The location makes it perfect for a quick city getaway, and the campsite itself is an island on the Thames. It’s just across a little bridge (reportedly the oldest crossing of the Thames, built in 1200) from a lively pub with great craic.
The countryside scenery goes down much more easily with prosecco from the local pub’s mobile bar, which makes regular visits across the water (and sometimes there’s pizza, too). There’s a small onsite shop, and you can hire paddleboards and kayaks from the jetty by the pub. Barbecues and campfires are allowed, but have to be off the ground. The Thames Path National Trail runs right through the site, there are plenty of cute Cotswold villages within a 10-mile radius that are worth checking out, or grand manor houses like Kelmscott Manor or Buscot Park. But, it’s the atmosphere of this site that makes it one of the best group-friendly campervan sites in the UK, and guarantees your trip will be a highlight of summer 2021.
By way of facilities, there’s a block of 6 showers, 4 toilets, and a cold-water washing-up sink. There are 25 non-electric motorhome pitches, or you can hire tipis that sleep up to 4 people.
Non-electric grass pitches from £16
Ye Olde Swan, Radcot Road, Radcot, Oxfordshire OX18 2SX
4. Pet owners
Pets have truly been so great for helping us through tough times. If leaving them behind or at a kennel for your next trip is unthinkable, fear not. The Old Oaks is an awesome campsite full stop, but it’s also one of the best motorhome sites in the UK to go with your furry friends. They have a wealth of services onsite for dog owners, like a free local guide to dog-friendly attractions and dining, a 300m secure dog walk for unhampered running and friend-making, a dog shower with hot water and free shampoo, and a dedicated washing machine and dryer for any doggy bedding and blankets that might need a freshen up after your drive. They even have a shop stocked with all sorts of pet necessities, ice cream and home-baked treats for your pooch who is sure to feel very special after this holiday! If your love for animals doesn’t stop at pets, you the coarse fishing lake is a wildlife haven, and you can hire birdfeeders or bat detectors to put near your pitch.
Pitches may be on the pricier side, but this reflects the gorgeous park surroundings and wealth of high-quality facilities, which are up there with the best for campervan sites in the UK. The on-site shop is open 7 days a week, selling tea and coffee and well-stocked with local produce, including the farm’s own prime beef, lamb, free-range eggs, home-made cakes, baked goods, and local ciders and ales. You can pre-order online from the shop, too, and they’ll fill handy breakfast boxes for you.
There are 2 shower blocks with 15 showers, and accessible showers and toilet. There are 2 laundries, 2 dishwashing areas, 2 microwaves, 2 freezers and a large fridge all free to use. There's a ½ acre coarse fishing lake, tourist information and entertainment room, free maps for walking and cycling in the idyllic and unique Glastonbury countryside, fire-pit hire, professional campervan cleaning services available on-site once a week that you can pre-book, wifi across the site, and a storage facility for guests. For foodies, there are 5 local takeaway delivery services available and a wood-fired pizza van every Tuesday and alternative Thursday.
Standard pitches are hardstanding with a grass area and electric, and cost £29.50 per night.
Wick Farm, Wick, Glastonbury, Somerset, BA6 8JS
5. Eco-conscious and wild campers
One peaceful stretch of ancient woodland remains in the otherwise bare Preseli hills in Pembrokeshire. Within it, one of the best, most sustainable campervan sites in the UK, Digs in the Wig. Aside from the obvious attractions of this magical little vale, the nearby surroundings are full of natural wonder. The Preseli Hills have Special Area of Conservation Status, and within them, there’s the Gwaun Valley and the Llys Y Fran nature park. Further afield, you have Pembrokeshire’s stunning coastline and various beaches, which range from sweeping stretches of golden sand like Broad Haven to quaint coves like Manorbier. The extensive coastal path offers a great way to explore these.
The site is part of the Greener Camping Club scheme, which means that it adheres to the highest standards of sustainability, and its facilities have minimal impact on the natural ecosystem surrounding it. Nonetheless, there’s a toilet block with three showers rooms and eco loos, a washing machine and a communal fridge that campers can use. Each pitch has its own loo and covered kitchen area with tables, chairs and a gas cooker. Bonfires are allowed and firewood is supplied. They have secluded grassy pitches suitable for campervans, just be sure to bring your own lanterns and torches. The area is purposefully unlit so as not to detract from the starry sky visible in from the woodland clearings.
Pitches are £40 a night, and there’s a minimum 2 night stay or 4 nights during school holidays.
Digs in the Wig, Parc yr Eithin, New Moat, Clarbeston Road, Pembrokeshire SA63 4RJ
6. Couples and Honeymooners
Cornish Tipi Holidays and Camping has played host to honeymooning celebs such as Alice Temperley, and it’s no surprise. It’s one of the best and most enchanting campsites for campervans in the UK, and will surely be a destination to you’ll reminisce about. The lush arrangement of pitches circles a stunning, spring-fed lake in the old Tregildrans quarry, and its North American-style tipis offer a timeless getaway for starry-eyed couples. The site now offers camping and campervan pitches within its 20-acres of meadowland and mature trees, and you can take your pick of private, secluded clearings in the trees or grassy patches with views.
The site is next to the beautiful Port Quin, which offers some of the best sea kayaking, stand up paddleboarding and adrenaline-filled coasteering in the UK. Port Isaac is also a great place for sea-kayaking and buying fresh local seafood, and it’s less than 15 minutes to Polzeath if you’re a surfy couple. Walkers can get on the Camel Trail near Wadebridge, the Cornwall Coastal Footpath, or the Saints’ Way. A 15minute drive along the coast brings you to Tintagel Castle and the ancient village of Boscastle, or the same distance inland lets you explore the rugged solitude of Bodmin Moor.
Either end of the site, you’ll find loos and hot showers, plus one larger shower block. You can re-freeze your ice blocks, and access fresh water easily throughout the site. It’s off-grid so you can make the most of your getaway. You can borrow boats and lifejackets, and fish on the lake as well as cook your catch on a campfire later on. Other romantic dinner options include the Gastropod – the online site care, which has woodfired pizza nights, Thali nights and taco nights (as well as lovely breakfasts), the St Kew Inn just 5minutes drive away, or the Port Gaverne Restaurant & Hotel in nearby Port Isaac, which offers great food and is right beside the sea.
Cornish Tipi Holidays, Tregeare, Pendoggett, St Kew, Cornwall PL30 3HZ
Wild camping in mid or peak season is £20 per adult per night in the meadow, which is where campervans can pitch up.
Looking for something a little more wild? Check out where you can enjoy free camping in the UK.
7. Thrill seekers
If you’re after adventure, head to Ace Hideaways in the stunning Findhorn valley. The highland location is undoubtedly among the best for motorhome campsites in the UK, but there’s also a mysterious polarity at play here. The serene and peaceful campsite has basic pitches nestled in their own clearings in the woods, shrouded by mature trees and miles of footpaths, rivers and empty open space to remind you how special Scotland’s landscape is. And yet, the intrepid spirit of the site, lends itself to adrenaline junkies in search of white-water to kayak, raft or plunge into, rock-faces to scale, mountain-bike trails to race along and paint-balling fun to be had.
You can also explore the walks and cycle paths nearby, get into the Cairngorms National Park or traditional fishing villages of this sheltered stretch of the North Sea coast. Otherwise, there’s plenty of shopping, local food, whisky tasting, garden-viewing and occasional courses at the Logie Steading visitor centre.
The site has off-grid compost toilets, gas-heated showers, a communal area for cooking with utensils, washing up sinks, a giant log table and stools as well as campfire pits with firewood available from reception.
£9 per adult per pitch.
Ace Hideaways, Auchnagairn, Dunphail, Forres Moray IV36 2QL
Now you’ve seen the best motorhome sites that the UK has to offer, for all sorts of travellers, you can start thinking about which ones tick your boxes and how you’ll get to them. Make a road trip out of it by taking advantage of our increased availability of affordable motorhomes for hire this summer! These campsites are the perfect stops for a road trip in England, or across the whole UK!
