Bolam Lake Camping Paddock

View prices & book 9.8 166 reviews
Visitor image of the peaceful paddock & lovely views (added by manager 11 Oct 2022)
Visitor image of the beautiful rainbow over the site (added by manager 11 oct 2022)
Green surroundings (added by manager 27 jun 2021)
Aerial view over the site (added by manager 27 jun 2021)

  • Dog-friendly wild camping site opposite Bolam Lake Country Park
  • A 25-minute drive from Hadrian’s Wall; 40 minutes from the coast
  • Barbecues permitted; walking/cycling routes and a food shop nearby
Wake up in peaceful paddocks surrounded by the Northumberland countryside and finish off the day with a lakeside walk. Bolam Lake Camping Paddock is a dog-friendly wild camping site opposite Bolam Lake Country Park, so head out in search of birds, picnic on the shores or grab a homemade scone from the café and visitor centre as you please. These paddock pitches are enclosed in a peaceful area next to a woodland where it’s pretty sheltered, and they have rather scenic views of the surrounding farmland. Still, while it may be pretty nicely tucked away, there’s still much to do out and about. Belsay, a scenic village with a small shop and café, is 45 minutes’ walk away (or a five-minute drive) and Ponteland is another spot with a selection of local shops, pubs, cafés, restaurants and takeaways. Of course, there’s Hadrian’s Wall too (Heddon-on-the-Wall is 25 minutes’ drive away). The splendid Northumberland coast is 40 minutes’ drive away, and to the north, the Scottish border is within reach too if you’re looking to cross into different territories. As for walking, well, there's certainly no shortage of trails around, including several routes that depart from the site. When you feel like mixing things up with a cycle instead, there are routes for both beginners and pros surrounding the site too. Wherever you end up during the day, you’ll likely want to make sure you’re back in time for sunset, as there are lots of ways to unwind – perhaps with a walk around the lake or knocking back a few burgers with a barbecue.

Site type

Tent pitches 6
Motorhome pitches 2
Open now
Opens 29 March
Please note
  • This site has no on-site shower facilities.
  • Under 18s must be accompanied by their parents or legal guardians.
  • Group bookings of 4 or more adults are not permitted (couples and immediate family members excepted).
  • No hen/stag parties permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • At least one of the party members must be aged 18 or over.
  • Guests are advised to bring a good quality torch with them as parts of the site are unlit.

Languages spoken

English

Open from Fri, 29 Mar to

Reviews

99%

would recommend this site to a friend

99%

would stay here again

  • 92%
    10
  • 0%
    9
  • 6%
    8
  • 0%
    7
  • 1%
    6
  • 0%
    5
  • 0%
    4
  • 0%
    3
  • 0%
    2
  • 0%
    1

Only showing reviews for the last 30 months.

Clean facilities, very friendly people that couldn’t do enough

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 10
Danielle S. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: We stayed here for one night, first time campers with two children aged 2 & 6. Loved the field with the horses big hit for my little one. Great clean field. Very clean toilets and two sinks with washing liquid and bowls to wash and dry your kitchen equipment. Short walk away to see the ducks and lake.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks so much for sharing your feedback and we are so pleased that your first camping trip proved to be a positive experience. We offer simple camping but we feel that it's important that the facilities are clean and that we are on hand to help with anything our guests need. Our horses love our visitors - especially Joe and Dan who love saying hello to the children. We hope that your camping trip has inspired you to explore other campsites and hopefully visit us again too:) Thank you and best wishes.

Super friendly owners lovely people.…

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 8
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 8
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 8
Chris H. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass campervan pitch

Liked: Super friendly owners lovely people.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks so much for sharing your feedback. We are so pleased that you enjoyed your stay at our campsite and we hope that you visit again in the future. Many thanks,

Perfect & Peaceful

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 10
Danielle A. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: This was my second visit! Just like before it was perfect (despite the rain) An immaculate paddock with perfectly clean washing up area and toilets. David met us with a friendly greeting and made sure we had everything we needed and gave us a bin bag for our rubbish, which I think is thoughtful. The site is so peaceful and overlooks rolling fields and of course the horses! I will be back!

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks so much for sharing your comments as they are so helpful. We are so pleased that you enjoyed your second stay at our little campsite despite the very wet July weekend! We are pleased that you could just pitch up, relax and just enjoy some peace and the lovely Northumbrian countryside. Thanks for staying with us again and we hope to see you again in the future.

Quiet site great staff amazing value for money

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 2
Dan M. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: Absolutely amazing I can’t complain about anything very friendly helped out lots no matter what we needed David and Jill had or knew how to get it! The pitch was clean tidy the toilets and little kitchen or cleaned to a high standard. Will 100% be back!

Disliked: Nothing loved everything!

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks so much for sharing your feedback as it is so helpful to us and to other families who may be planning a camping trip in Northumberland. It was great to meet your lovely family and your beautiful dogs. We look forward to meeting you all again - fingers crossed for better weather next time! Thanks for sharing your photographs too.

Great site, highly recommend. Owners are lovely. Toilets really clean

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 10
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: Liked everything about this little site. Campfire & wood provided

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thank you for sharing your feedback and we are pleased that you enjoyed your stay with us. We offer simple camping but it's important to us that our guests have clean facilities and everything they need to just relax and enjoy the countryside. Guests also love the firepits too - especially in the evening during quiet time when they can just enjoy the peace and the dark skies. Thanks for staying with us and we hope to see you again in the future.

Credit to David and Jill for having such a wonderful site.

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness No rating
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 10
louise s. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass campervan pitch

Liked: When we arrived David was on hand to greet us, he explained everything and was very friendly. Shortly after we parked up we bumped into Jill who again was very helpful and explained all the facilities available. The site/pitch was perfect for us and our LWB Mercedes Sprinter, there was ample spaces and the grounds are very well kept. Facilities were spot on and the toilets were extremely clean. The site had a mixture of tents and vans but not to busy. Weather made our trip more pleasant and the advantage of having a cafe on the lake opposite was great, had a coffee and cake after a long walk. Overall I’d recommend this site and we will definitely re-visit should we be in the area.

Disliked: Nothing to dislike.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks so much for sharing your very informative and positive feedback - we really appreciate it. We are so pleased that you enjoyed your stay with us and that the weather was great too. Lots of our guests enjoy walking in the very beautiful Bolam Lake Country Park and it's great that there is a good cafe located there too. Thanks for staying with us and we hope to see you again in the future.

Fantastic site right opposite Bolam Lake, great for a walk with the…

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 4
Anthony W. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass campervan pitch

Liked: Fantastic site right opposite Bolam Lake, great for a walk with the dogs and kids. Daughter loved sleeping right next to the horses in the adjoining field too, who were very friendly when they came over. Owners are absolutely lovely too and very accommodating.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thank you for sharing your feedback and we are so pleased that you enjoyed your camping trip with your lovely family and dog :) The horses enjoy meeting their neighbours and often pop over to say hello. Thanks for staying with us and we hope that you stay with us again in the future.

Excellent site and friendly people with incredible service.

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 2
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: Absolutely loved the area, the paddock was well kept and David and Jill were incredible and nothing was too much trouble. It was our first camping trip and we took our weimaraner with us. Everyone was very friendly and we had lots of space too. We live quite local and will be returning regularly. Our only issue whilst there was our power bank failed so had no phones as this is a non electric camp site, however David and Jill had been kind enough to offer to charge our phones. It was the perfect first camp trip for us and we will be back again soon.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thank you for sharing your feedback about your stay with us and we are so pleased that your first camping trip was so enjoyable. Lots of our guests are relatively local - they just want to finish work, pack their camping equipment and travel for no more than an hour to then pitch up, relax and enjoy time in the countryside. We are an off grid site but we can always charge mobile phones for our guests. It was great to meet your lovely dog who was so well behaved and thanks for sharing your photos too. We hope to see you again in the future and thank you.

Lovely location. Bolam Lake Country Park opposite site. Helpful + friendly staff.…

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 8
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 2
Matthew H. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: Lovely location. Bolam Lake Country Park opposite site. Helpful + friendly staff.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks so much for sharing your feedback and we are pleased that you enjoyed your stay at our campsite. The location is great for exploring the area but there are some lovely walks in Bolam Lake Country Park and the surrounding countryside. There is a lovely cafe in the country park that serves a great range of drinks and snacks. Thank you for sharing your photographs and we hope that you visit again soon.

Fantastic site. Clean facilities, lovely staff, 100% recommend!

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 10
samantha h. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: We stayed for 2 nights and it was such a pleasure. The owners are lovely and really friendly and super helpful! The area is perfect for that escape from busy life. It's such a quiet place to be. Its safe and secure for the children to run around. We had no issues with signal for data, not that we used it much. I would 100% recommend this place. Myself and my 2 children, age 4 and 11, throughly enjoyed our time here. We will definitely be going back.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks so much for sharing your feedback as it is so helpful to other campers who may be looking to book a short break.. . We hope that the location of our campsite means that you can just pitch up, relax and enjoy the countryside. The children who stay with us love the space and freedom to play too. Thanks for sharing the photographs of the great views - it was great to meet you all and we look forward to seeing you again soon.


Features

Leisure on site

Bar or club house Cycle hire Evening entertainment Fishing Fitness centre Games room Indoor swimming pool Kids' club On-site restaurant/cafe Outdoor swimming pool Play area TV room Take away Tennis Watersports

Amenities on site

Bath available Car parking by pitch/unit Composting toilet Dog park Drying room Food shop Free wifi Ice pack freezing Internet access Launderette Parent & baby washroom Pick-up from public transport Portable toilet Pub toilets Public telephone Shower available Toilet block Washing-up area Wifi

Groups welcome

Family friendly Motorcycle friendly Single-sex groups welcome Student groups welcome

Rules

Barbecue provided Barbecues allowed Campfires allowed Commercial vehicles allowed Dogs allowed Dogs allowed all year

Themes

Wild camping

Utilities

Charging facilities Chemical disposal Electric car charging point(s) Gas cylinders available Recycling available Renewable energy

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby Dog walk nearby Shop nearby

Type

Tiny (1-10 pitches)

Accessibility

Disabled facilities

Nearby leisure

Climbing nearby Cycling nearby

Location

Bolam Lake Camping Paddock

Belsay

Northumberland

England

NE20 0HE

Directions

Timezone

Europe/London BST (GMT+01:00)

GPS

55.1332°N
-1.8688°W

Nearest transport

Coach
2.4 mi The Arcade
2.4 mi The Arcade
3.1 mi Road end
Rail
7.6 mi Morpeth Rail Station
9.2 mi Newcastle Airport Metro
9.4 mi Pegswood Rail Station
Ferry
19.1 mi North Shields Ferry Terminal
19.3 mi Newcastle International Ferry Terminal
19.4 mi South Shields Ferry Terminal
Airport
9.2 mi Newcastle International Airport

Please note: All distances on this page are calculated "as the crow flies" - please check actual distance depending on your mode of travel using the Get directions button above.

Local attractions

Want to feel like lord or lady for an afternoon? Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens (10 minutes' drive) should soon ignite that fantasy. The medieval castle and gardens are one of a couple of historic properties around. The National Trust’s Wallington (10 minutes) has cycle hire so that visitors can take in views of the historical house the traditional way. Hikes-wise, Shaftoe Crags (10 minutes) has a circular walk with plenty of bouldering spots along the way. Hike along the historic Hadrian’s Wall to Housesteads Roman Fort (40 minutes) too. For beach time, Blyth and Cresswell are both excellent sandy options, and both about 40 minutes away – the former has beach huts while the latter has sand dunes. Those with kids are likely to be keeping their eyes peeled for easy entertainment options too. Very handily, Whitehouse Farm Centre (20 minutes) runs animal feeding sessions as well as things like tractor rides, and Go Ape Matfen (25 minutes) has a treetop assault course for the extra brave. Newcastle upon Tyne city centre (half an hour) has plenty of family-friendly attractions to add to that.

Water quality at nearby bathing waters

Name Distance Type 2020 2019 2018 2017
Newbiggin South 14.3 mi Sea N/A Good Excellent Excellent
Newbiggin North 14.6 mi Sea N/A Excellent Excellent Good
Blyth South Beach 14.8 mi Sea N/A Excellent Excellent Excellent
Druridge Bay South 14.8 mi Sea N/A Excellent Excellent Excellent
Seaton Sluice 15.8 mi Sea N/A Excellent Excellent Excellent

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens 2.2 mi

George Stephenson's Birthplace 10.9 mi

Prudhoe Castle 11.6 mi

Cragside House, Gardens and Estate 12.5 mi

Chesters Roman Fort 12.9 mi

National Trust

Wallington 3.8 mi

Cherryburn 12.1 mi

Cragside 12.8 mi

Seaton Delaval Hall 15.1 mi

Holy Jesus Hospital 15.2 mi

Cycle routes

Find local routes on the National Cycle Network - over 12,000 miles of cycling routes.

Other

Bolam Lake - Shaftoe Craggs circular 0.1 mi

BELSAY HALL 2.3 mi

Hartburn Circular 2.8 mi

CAPHEATON 3.2 mi

WALLINGTON 3.7 mi

Please note: All distances on this page are calculated "as the crow flies" - please check actual distance depending on your mode of travel using the Get directions button above.

Nearest sites

Unfortunately, we have no nearby bookable sites.

Want to know more about camping in Northumberland?

  • Does Bolam Lake Camping Paddock have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is Bolam Lake Camping Paddock dog friendly? Yes View all features
  • What attractions are near Bolam Lake Camping Paddock? Want to feel like lord or lady for an afternoon? Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens (10 minutes' drive) should soon ignite that fantasy. The medieval castle and gardens are one of a … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of Bolam Lake Camping Paddock?
    Camping and touring
    Arrive:  2 p.m. –  Anytime
    Depart by:  12 p.m.
    Read more
  • How much does it cost to stay at Bolam Lake Camping Paddock? From £25 (for 1 night, 6 people) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.