Donkey Down Campsite

9.6 107 reviews

Views of Weymouth Bay (added by manager 11 Jan 2022)

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Peaceful 10-acre site with views of Weymouth Bay and Portland harbour
On the South Dorset Ridgeway with access to the South West Coast Path
Campfires, barbecues and dogs allowed on base

There’s plenty of space for you to pick your own pitch at Donkey Down Campsite, a peaceful 10-acre park on an organic livestock farm in Sutton Poyntz. Just make sure to avoid the neolithic tumulus… That’s one of the many ancient burial mounds covering this part of the South Dorset Ridgeway landscape, so you’re in for a historical holiday as well as a scenic one during a stay here. And to be perfectly honest, ‘scenic’ is an understatement when describing this site – it’s got spectacular views across Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour, as well as the surrounding Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Alongside the park are seven acres of open access land – fab for flying a kite or exercising your dogs (which are welcome at Donkey Down) – and you can also link up with the South West Coast Path, which opens up 630 miles’ worth of walks. Peckish post-amble? Campfires and barbecues are permitted on site, so grab supplies in Preston, five minutes’ drive away, then bound back to base for some grilled fare. If you don’t fancy doing the cooking, the town has a couple of takeaways and a pub is closer by in Sutton Poyntz, a 10-minute walk away.

Site type

200

Languages spoken

English

Nearest sites

Unfortunately, we have no nearby bookable sites.

Features

Dogs allowed

Campfires 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

Disabled facilities

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

Peaceful

Spectacular scenery

Walkers' paradise

Utilities

Charging facilities

Chemical disposal

Electric car charging point(s)

Gas cylinders available

Recycling available

Renewable energy

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby

Dog walk nearby

Public transport nearby

Shop nearby

Type

Farm

Very large (over 200 pitches)

Nearby leisure

Canoeing/kayaking nearby

Climbing nearby

Cycling nearby

Fishing nearby

Golf nearby

Horse riding nearby

Restaurant nearby

Sailing nearby

Watersports nearby

Location

Donkey Down Campsite

Plaisters Lane

Sutton Poyntz

Preston

Dorset

England

DT3 6LQ

Directions

Timezone

Europe/London GMT (GMT+00:00)

GPS

50.65799°N
-2.42952°W

Nearest transport

Coach

3.4 mi Marks and Spencer

3.6 mi South Station

14.2 mi Red Lion

Rail

1.7 mi Upwey Rail Station

3.1 mi Weymouth Rail Station

3.6 mi Dorchester South Rail Station

Ferry

3.5 mi Weymouth Ferry Terminal

19.5 mi Poole Ferry Terminal

19.8 mi Poole Quay Ferry Landing

Airport

27.5 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

Strolls along the South Dorset Ridgeway and the South West Coast Path are to be had straight from this site, so make sure to pack the walking boots. Look out for the Osmington White Horse, a hillside figure carved into limestone, while you wander. For beach days, the dog-friendly Overcombe (a five-minute drive) and Ringstead bay (15 minutes) are some of your closest stretches of seaside, while Weymouth is also close by (10 minutes) for visits to the SEA LIFE Centre, Nothe Fort and boat trips from the harbour. Thrill-seeking sorts can also jetski here, plus there’s kayaking for a gentler time on the water. Dawdle to Dorchester (10 minutes) for historical sightseeing in an old market town that’s home to the Maiden Castle hillfort and Roman Town House remains, or amble to Abbotsbury (20 minutes) for access to an abbey, castle and some fab fossil foraging at Chesil beach. Other Jurassic Coast destinations in the area include the horseshoe-shaped Lulworth Cove and the arched rock formation of Durdle Door (both 25 minutes). If animal antics are what you’re after, you can peer at the protected primates in the Monkey World – Ape Rescue Centre (20 minutes).

Water quality at nearby bathing waters

Name	Distance	Type	2020	2019	2018	2017
Bowleaze Cove	1.5 mi	Sea	N/A	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent
Weymouth Lodmoor	2.3 mi	Sea	N/A	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent
Weymouth Central	3.2 mi	Sea	N/A	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent
Ringstead Bay	3.9 mi	Sea	N/A	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent
Portland Harbour Castle Cove	4.5 mi	Sea	N/A	Excellent	N/A	N/A

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

Weymouth Sea Life Park and Marine Sanctuary 2.4 mi

Radipole Lake Nature Reserve 3.2 mi

Hardy's Birthplace 5.3 mi

Abbotsbury Swannery 7.5 mi

Lulworth Heritage Centre 8.3 mi

National Trust

Max Gate 3.5 mi

Hardy's Cottage 5.2 mi

Clouds Hill 8.8 mi

Corfe Castle 16.3 mi

White Mill 19 mi

Cycle routes

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

Other

LODMOOR (CURRENT BOUNDARY FROM 25/11/2004) 1.9 mi

Lodmoor Nature Reserve - Littlemoor - Preston 2.2 mi

Nottington - Lorton - Radipole 2.4 mi

Nottington - Southill - Chickerell 2.4 mi

Nottington - Upwey - Broadwey 2.5 mi

Local events

Dorset County Show (Saturday 7 September 2024 – Saturday 7 September 2024)
Dorchester, Dorset 4.5 mi
Tankfest (Friday 28 June 2024 – Friday 28 June 2024)
Wareham, Dorset 8.5 mi
Tolpuddle Martyrs' Festival and Rally (Friday 19 July 2024 – Friday 19 July 2024)
Dorchester, Dorset 8.6 mi
Camp Bestival Dorset (Thursday 25 July 2024 – Thursday 25 July 2024)
Wareham, Dorset 9.8 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.

Reviews

would recommend this site to a friend

would stay here again

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Only showing reviews for the last 30 months.

Would/ will definitely go back

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

Anonymous Jul 2023

Bell tent

Liked: Lovely place, amazing view and good food

Disliked: British summer time (really very wet)

Recommend to friends Visit again

Despite the weather relaxing time amazing views and good entertainment…

Overall	10/10
Location	10
Value for money	10
Accommodation	No rating
Facilities / Activities	10
Customer service	10
Child friendliness	10
Cleanliness	10
Wifi	No rating

Anonymous Jul 2023

Non-electric grass and earth tent pitch

Liked: Despite the weather relaxing time amazing views and good entertainment

Recommend to friends Visit again

The views and the band on Saturday night.…

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

Courtney D. Jul 2023

Non-electric grass and earth tent pitch

Liked: The views and the band on Saturday night.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great site, would recommend and will be going agai

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

Anonymous Jul 2023

Non-electric grass and earth tent pitch

Liked: Great campsite close to the coast, amazing views over the sea and to Portland. Friendly staff and basic but good facilities. Live band on the sat evening was nice too

Recommend to friends Visit again

Nice, would come back again

Overall	8/10
Location	10
Value for money	10
Accommodation	8
Facilities / Activities	8
Customer service	10
Child friendliness	No rating
Cleanliness	8
Wifi	2

Anonymous Jul 2023

Non-electric grass and earth tent pitch

Liked: The view from the camp is really pretty. The person at reception welcomed us super friendly, gave us lots of information. You can have a little firepit and wood for a nice cozy night camp fire. Nice that there are showers etc. The location is close to many sought after sights like durdle door. People respected the quiet hours and it was all in all a friendly environment.

Disliked: The path into the camp was very difficult and challenging especially for a new driver. Compost toilet's were great (definitely better than normal ones) but stinky. They would benefit from saw dust or similar that people can use after they finished their business. This helps with odour.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Hi. Thanks for your feedback. We really appreciate it. So glad you enjoyed your stay. Special thanks for your compliments regarding the toilets. We are very proud of them! We do add wood shavings every time we clean, which is typically every 90 mins, or more often at busy times. Unfortunately, we cant leave sawdust in the cubicles. It is too much of a temptation for the little people! Hope to see you again. Kind regards Tim

We had a lovely 2 night stay at Donkey Down Campsite. I…

Overall	10/10
Location	10
Value for money	10
Accommodation	10
Facilities / Activities	10
Customer service	10
Child friendliness	10
Cleanliness	10
Wifi	No rating

Amy B. Jul 2023

Non-electric grass and earth tent pitch

Liked: We had a lovely 2 night stay at Donkey Down Campsite. I like the fact you could choose where to pitch up and there were great views. I also liked the option of hiring a wood burner and being able to use instant barbecues and gas burners. There was plenty of space, the facilities were clean and the staff were friendly. Would definitely recommend!

Recommend to friends Visit again

Excellent site, enjoyed the live band, food/drink cabin fantastic

Overall	10/10
Location	10
Value for money	10
Accommodation	10
Facilities / Activities	10
Customer service	10
Child friendliness	10
Cleanliness	10
Wifi	No rating

Jacqueline F. Jul 2023

Non-electric grass and earth tent pitch

Liked: Everything ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Spacious field Excellent customer service from the owner and the lady Live band.. brilliant Food/drink cabin an added bonus and highly recommend, bacon sandwich was lovely Great local advice, reassured walk down into Weymouth was safe and it truly was. Very peaceful Great views and so much more :-) Highly recommend and will visit again

Recommend to friends Visit again

Just perfect.

Overall	10/10
Location	10
Value for money	10
Accommodation	10
Facilities / Activities	10
Customer service	10
Child friendliness	10
Cleanliness	10
Wifi	10

Greg H. Jul 2023

Non-electric grass and earth tent pitch

Liked: Wonderful site! Incredible views, on a site without limits. No worries about plot size (and we have a BIG tent!), the bar was great, the live music an unexpected joy and the pizza van was inspired and delicious. A perfect stay for our family!

Recommend to friends Visit again

This site is exceptional, really great value and so much fun…

Overall	10/10
Location	10
Value for money	10
Accommodation	10
Facilities / Activities	10
Customer service	10
Child friendliness	10
Cleanliness	10
Wifi	2

Rodney T. Jul 2023

Non-electric grass and earth tent pitch

Liked: This site is exceptional, really great value and so much fun

Recommend to friends Visit again

Clean, friendly and well thought out.

Overall	10/10
Location	10
Value for money	10
Accommodation	10
Facilities / Activities	10
Customer service	10
Child friendliness	10
Cleanliness	10
Wifi	No rating

Anonymous Jul 2023

Non-electric grass and earth tent pitch

Liked: Great set up and facilities, absolutely amazing view! Lots of space with clearly marked ‘roads’ and thought given to those that would prefer a quieter night.

Disliked: Unfortunately some guests were smoking weed nearby but this can’t be helped by the owners

Recommend to friends Visit again

Does Donkey Down Campsite have a swimming pool? No View all features
Is Donkey Down Campsite dog friendly? Yes View all features
What attractions are near Donkey Down Campsite? Strolls along the South Dorset Ridgeway and the South West Coast Path are to be had straight from this site, so make sure to pack the walking boots. Look out for the … Read more