Giants Head Caravan and Camping Park

View prices & book 8.4 44 reviews
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View
Grassy area for tents
Views
View from the park
The park on a peaceful afternoon
The pitches
The abbey in the village of cerne abbas
Tolpuddle martyrs museum
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Grassy area for tents
Views
View from the park

  • Rural Dorset site eight miles from Dorchester and 16 from the coast
  • Treasure trails and countryside walks just steps away
  • Just over a mile from pubs, a tearoom and a shop in Cerne Abbas
Warning! A trip to ancient Cerne Abbas may leave you with a mammoth yearning never to leave: the Dorset village has been described as the ‘Britain’s most desirable village’ to live among the UK’s scenic many. It’s eight miles from Dorchester, within day-tripping distance of the Jurassic Coast and, most famously, is where the 180ft Cerne Abbas Giant doth dwell high up on the hillside. (Yes, the naughty giant with no sense of shyness.) Around a 40-minute stroll from Cerne Abbas is the mightily convenient Giants Head Caravan & Camping Park, a family- and dog-friendly site over three and a half acres with grassy pitches, immense views over the Dorset countryside and thumping good access to the best of Dorset. Countryside walks, as well as treasure trails, literally start within steps of the pitches: Giants Head has several planned walks straight from the park, and runs Treasure Trails Dorset directly from it so intrepid guests can pick up one or two of the 50+ trail packs and take off on the hunt for hidden gems. Sounds like a towering amount of fun… As befits its location, everything at Giants Head is kept nicely natural – think mature trees, hedgerows and trim lawns; and the level or gently sloping pitches are variously secluded, shady or open (there’s also a special tail-wagging area for campers with canines). All parts of the park are well-drained and a hard road leads to pitches. Amenities include showers, hand basins, laundry and washing-up areas; the park doesn’t have a shop, but a well-stocked village store, a tearoom and three pubs are in Cerne Abbas, a mile and a quarter away.

Site type

Tent pitches 50
Touring caravan pitches 50
Motorhome pitches 50
Open now
Opens 11 April

Tourist board rating

Please note
  • Group bookings of 4 or more units (e.g. tent, touring caravan, motorhome or accommodation hire) travelling together are not permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • Group bookings of 10 or more adults are not permitted (couples and immediate family members excepted).
  • Single-sex bookings of 10 or more people (couples and immediate family members excepted) are not permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • No hen/stag parties permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • Commercial vehicles (vehicles used for work-related purposes, carrying goods or fare-paying passengers) and sign-written vehicles are not permitted on site.
  • Please note that there is a £0.20 charge for the use of a hairdryer (available in the ladies' only).

Languages spoken

English

German

Open from Fri, 11 Apr to

AA 3 pennants

Pitch types & availability

Accommodation

Tent pitchesTouring caravan pitchesMotorhome pitchesLodges, cabins, pods or hutsCaravans for hireRent a tent
Choose your dates
2 adults
0 children
Other options

Reviews

8.4

Overall rating from 44 Pitchup.com customers

  • 52%
    10
  • 2%
    9
  • 20%
    8
  • 4%
    7
  • 11%
    6
  • 4%
    5
  • 2%
    4
  • 0%
    3
  • 2%
    2
  • 0%
    1
Location
 9
Value for money
 8
Accommodation
 8
Facilities / Activities
 8
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 8
Cleanliness
 9
Wifi
 5
PeacefulWalkers' paradise

84% would recommend this site to a friend

73% would stay here again

What customers say

This campsite is praised for its friendly, helpful hosts and stunning countryside views, offering a peaceful atmosphere. It's well-located for exploring local attractions and walks, with clean showers and toilets noted, although some find the facilities dated. Pitches can be uneven and near a noisy road, but many visitors appreciate the generous space and the overall welcoming experience, with many stating they would return.

Summary AI-generated from Pitchup.com customer reviews

Reviews page 1 of 5
Arrival date (latest first)

Not a site we would rush back to unfortunately

Overall

5 out of 10
Location
 9
Value for money
 6
Accommodation
 6
Facilities / Activities
 4
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 7
Wifi
 1
Anonymous

Electric grass pitch

Liked Local walks into the village and across the hills were fantastic. Stunning scenery.
Village has 3 pubs very welcoming.
Owners have lots of maps for the local walks .

Disliked Pitches close together , felt on top of each other .
A lot of permanent pitch holders / residents.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: We are really sorry that you did not enjoy your stay with us, when you were here you gave the impression that you were enjoying your time.

I am very surprised at your other comments,
Your pitch had no one around you at all, as it was a single pitch under the trees, which we gave you so you had shelter for your dog, and was away from the children's area.

The pitches which were closer together were family groups, the rest of the site had the required spacing between pitches.

We do have a lot of returning visitors on site, who leave their caravan with us during the summer months but we do not have any residential pitches, we are a touring site only.

If you want a quiet site it may be an idea to not go to a family site during the busiest time of the year, the school summer holidays.

Would book again

Overall

7 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 8
Accommodation
 No rating
Facilities / Activities
 6
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 9
Wifi
 No rating
Martin E.

Electric grass pitch

Liked The location was great the owners very nice and helpful

Disliked Sites a bit haphazard amenities not so good but they are in the process of upgrading

Recommend to friends Visit again

Friendly welcome , well sign posted in the road.

Overall

5 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 5
Accommodation
 4
Facilities / Activities
 2
Customer service
 8
Child friendliness
 3
Cleanliness
 2
Wifi
 9
Anonymous

Electric grass pitch

Liked Owner was very friendly...
Ice cream van that visited.

Disliked Un-level pitch
un- clean and wet floored showers
wires all over the field.
Having to change £1 coins into old £1 coins from the office, get a key to use the laundry room, then having to return it once the wash was finished.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: We are very surprised to see your comments. You gave the impression that you were happy on site, you only had to speak to us if you were not.

We did give you a choice of pitches but you seemed to be happy with your pitch close to trees where you could put up your radio mast, if it wasn't suitable you only had to say.

Our showers are cleaned regularly during the day, but you cannot expect us to stand outside and dry the floor every time the shower is used. We have had several other comments this week saying how lovely our showers are.

I am sorry you had to come and change £1 coins for our £1 tokens, I think you will find most sites charge for their laundry. The reason we issue a key so you can put your washing in and no one else will remove it, we have the odd complaint that washing has been taken out in the machine by someone else.

Would I stay again? Definately!

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 8
Facilities / Activities
 7
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 7
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 No rating
Peter B.

Non-electric grass pitch

Liked Small site surrounded by beautiful countryside and walks along the Wessex Ridgeway. Great location close enough to beaches. Owners are friendly. Good showers and clean toilets. Ice cream van came a few times in the week. Kelly's soft whip (what's not to like?).

Disliked Ground is full of flint so bring strong pegs and don't forget to pack a hammer.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: We are so pleased you enjoyed your stay with us, the countryside around us is beautiful and is very peaceful with some great walks.

We try to make everyone welcome and try to make sure they have a great stay with us.

Our new toilet block will be up and running within the next two weeks, the mobile one is ok bu tour new block is lovely.

Ice cream is Jen's, she is amazing, great icecreams and very popular.

Tip for hard ground, pour a bit of water in then hit the pegs in, should go in a little easier.

Hopefully see you again soon.

Best campsite shower ever! HOT POWERFUL INSTANTANEOUS SPACIOUS CHANGING AREA GRADIENT FOR GOOD DRAINAGE…

Overall

9 out of 10
Location
 9
Value for money
 9
Accommodation
 No rating
Facilities / Activities
 9
Customer service
 9
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 9
Wifi
 No rating
Chris W.

Non-electric grass pitch

Liked Best campsite shower ever!
HOT
POWERFUL
INSTANTANEOUS
SPACIOUS CHANGING AREA
GRADIENT FOR GOOD DRAINAGE

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great site

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 10
Facilities / Activities
 8
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 No rating
Anonymous

Electric grass pitch

Liked Staff were super friendly and helpful
Generous pitch size
Large shower cubicles with constant running water which was lovely and warm.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thank you so much for your lovely review. we do try and make everyone's stay with us as enjoyable as we can.

We do not have set pitch sizes here so we can cater for the larger units as well, there is always plenty of space.

We love our showers, they are better than we have in our house !!

Look forward to seeing you again soon. :)

Lovely owner, gave lots of information. Site was well kept and clean.…

Overall

7 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 6
Accommodation
 10
Facilities / Activities
 5
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 1
Adele D.

Electric grass pitch

Liked Lovely owner, gave lots of information.
Site was well kept and clean.

Disliked Showers were cold.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thank you for your review, we are pleased you enjoyed your stay with us.

I apologise for the showers being cold, we do keep them at 43 degrees but it was a very busy Bank Holiday weekend so they could have cooled down a little. I have checked this morning and they are all hot. Thank you for letting me know.

Great base

Overall

6 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 8
Accommodation
 10
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 10
Danielle s.

Electric grass pitch

Liked Staff were very welcoming and could not do enough. Lots of information supplied. Toilets were clean and so were the showers. Bins emptied every couple of hours. Lovely views and a great place as a Base.

Disliked For us it was just to cramped and other people very close. We have used camping sites for many years and have never had limitations on what electricity we can use, although we told about this on arrival it would have benefited us to know before hand as this time of year we would have liked to use our heater.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: We are pleased you enjoyed your stay with us.

We are sorry you found your neighbours a little close to you, they were the regulated distance away but I am aware they were a little noisy.

Most touring caravan sites either have 6, 10 or 16 amp available, we have
10 amp on the majority of our pitches, you will find that most sites do not permit high power items to be used, such as domestic kettles, electric fan heaters. We do occassionally have problems on site with these items.

The perfect campsite for a quiet stay due to smaller size, and…

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 10
Facilities / Activities
 8
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 8
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 8
Anonymous

Electric grass pitch

Liked The perfect campsite for a quiet stay due to smaller size, and it’s in an amazing area with places like Weymouth and Durdle door only 30 mins down the road!!!
Would/will come again
Really good for first time camping too

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: We are really pleased you had an enjoyable stay with us, we are a small site compared to some so we can offer a more personal service and make sure everyone has a great time.
We are in a good position, in the middle of Dorset and only an hour at most to anywhere in the county.
We look forward to seeing you agin soon.

toilets very old and great need of modernisation. Road busy and noisy.

Overall

6 out of 10
Location
 6
Value for money
 6
Accommodation
 No rating
Facilities / Activities
 4
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 6
Cleanliness
 8
Wifi
 No rating
Lesley M.

Electric grass pitch

Liked Convenient to beaches and good views.

Disliked Toilets in need of modernisation and very small.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: We are really sorry you did not enjoy your stay with us. Fortunately you are in the monority.

As I stated when you arrived, our toilets are a little dated and are going to be fully refurbished when we close the site this month.

Features

Dogs allowed

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

D. of E. welcome Family friendly Motorcycle friendly Rallies welcome Single-sex groups welcome Student groups welcome

Rules

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

Themes

Budget/backpacker Peaceful Spectacular scenery Walkers' paradise Wildlife haven

Utilities

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

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby Dog walk nearby Nearby farmers' market Shop nearby

Type

Farm Medium (26-50 pitches)

Nearby leisure

Canoeing/kayaking nearby Cycle hire nearby Cycling nearby Fishing nearby Golf nearby Horse riding nearby Indoor pool nearby Mountain biking nearby Restaurant nearby Sailing nearby Tennis nearby Watersports nearby

Location

Giants Head Caravan and Camping Park

Old Sherborne Road

Cerne Abbas

Dorchester

Dorset

England

DT2 7TR

Directions

Timezone

Europe/London BST (GMT+01:00)

GPS

50.82454°N
2.46272°W

Route directions

The site is situated on the Old Sherborne Road (C12), two miles north of Cerne Abbas and eight miles from Dorchester. From Dorchester Bypass Follow the A37, fork right onto the A352 Sherborne Road, through Charminster. After 500 yds take a right-hand turn signposted Charlton Down. At the T-junction go right past Forston Clinic; at the next T-junction go left onto the Old Sherborne Road. Giants Head is 5 miles from here. From Dorchester At the Top O Town Roundabout take the Sherborne Road. After 500 yds go right at the large petrol station. The shop Lidl will be on your right. Giants Head is 8 miles from here along this road. From Sherborne Take the A352 to Dorchester. At Middlemarsh take the left fork off of the A352; the road is signposted 'Dorchester Alternative Route'. Giants Head is 3 miles from here. From Cerne Abbas Take the road through the village passing the village stores on your left towards Buckland Newton.

Nearest transport

Coach
8 mi South Station
9 mi Greenhill
9.1 mi Coldharbour
Rail
5.6 mi Maiden Newton Rail Station
5.6 mi Chetnole Rail Station
6.9 mi Yetminster Rail Station
Ferry
15 mi Weymouth Ferry Terminal
22.1 mi Poole Ferry Terminal
22.3 mi Poole Quay Ferry Landing
Airport
27.8 mi Bournemouth 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

If you have giggling kids along with you – and even if you don’t – a trip to the well-endowed and world-famed Cerne Abbas Giant is most visitors’ first stop, if only to buy a postcard (it’s been noted that postcards of the Giant are the only images of a naked man that can be sent via the Post Office). The man himself is now tended by the National Trust, which has a waymarked circular trail around the site from Cerne Abbas village. Dorchester is an excellent early stop for urbanites and heritage-heads: here you’ll find history-dedicated days out as varied as the Dinosaur Museum, Dorchester Museum, Teddy Bear Museum, Tutankhamen Exhibition and the Roman Amphitheatre; take the Durnovaria Town Walk for an outdoorsy overview of the city’s main sights. Thomas Hardy’s Cottage is at Dorchester too and the literary can book into their schedule the Thomas Hardy Trail, a six-mile circular walk within the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Elsewhere around the area, take the enormous amount of things to see and do in your stride: from castles to dinosaurs, theme parks to heritage railways and historic houses to tank museums, the coast to countryside have whopping opps for days out (and in; dash to Dorchester’s West Dorset Leisure Centre on a rainy day when the kids need to let off steam). Historic houses and gardens like Kingston Lacy, Athelhampton House and Minterne House and Gardens should suit the sedately inclined, while the less sedate (hello kids) will no doubt prefer chattering at the likes of Monkey World in Wareham, Adventure Wonderland at Christchurch or Sea Life near Weymouth. Both sorts should have a tanking good time at Bovington’s Tank Museum, the second biggest collection of armoured vehicles on the planet. Head for the coast, half an hour's drive away, to fossil hunt or take a guided fossil tour at Lyme Regis or Charmouth; soak up sun and sights at seaside towns such as Weymouth, Swanage and Christchurch; float on a boat to the Channel Islands or potter around glorious Poole Harbour and epically beaut Brownsea Island, also managed by the National Trust. The award-winning Swanage Railway is a gently relaxed way to see some of the sights of Dorset (including Famous Five inspiration Corfe Castle) and holds regular events including driving experiences and special days for children.

Water quality at nearby bathing waters

Name Distance Type 2020201920182017
Bowleaze Cove 13.1 mi Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Weymouth Lodmoor 13.8 mi Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Ringstead Bay 14.2 mi Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Hive 14.4 mi Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Weymouth Central 14.5 mi Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

Hardy's Birthplace 7.3 mi

Mapperton House & Gardens 10.9 mi

Abbotsbury Swannery 12.9 mi

The Tank Museum 13.1 mi

Weymouth Sea Life Park and Marine Sanctuary 13.8 mi

National Trust

Hardy's Cottage 7.3 mi

Max Gate 8.2 mi

Clouds Hill 11.8 mi

Montacute House 14 mi

Tintinhull Garden 15 mi

Cycle routes

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

Other

MINTERNE 1.1 mi

Beneath The Feet Of Cerne's Giant 1.2 mi

Piddlehinton - Buck Hill - Piddletrenthide - Piddlehinton 4.1 mi

CHANTMARLE 5.3 mi

BINGHAM'S MELCOMBE 6.1 mi

Local events

  • Dorset County Show (Saturday 6 September 2025 – Saturday 6 September 2025)

    Dorchester, Dorset 7.2 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 Dorset?

Frequently asked questions

  • Does Giants Head Caravan and Camping Park have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is Giants Head Caravan and Camping Park dog friendly? Yes View all features
  • What attractions are near Giants Head Caravan and Camping Park? If you have giggling kids along with you – and even if you don’t – a trip to the well-endowed and world-famed Cerne Abbas Giant is most visitors’ first stop, if only … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of Giants Head Caravan and Camping Park?
    Camping and touring
    Arrive:  12 p.m. –  8 p.m.
    Depart by:  12 p.m.
    Read more
  • How much does it cost to stay at Giants Head Caravan and Camping Park? From £46 (for 2 nights, 2 adults) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.