Heygates

View prices & book 9 20 reviews
Fishing pegs on the Grand Union Canal
View of the canal towpath from elkington bridge
View of the site
View of the canal towpath from elkington bridge

  • Peaceful, adults-only site 20 minutes’ drive from Rugby
  • Coton Manor Garden 15 minutes’ drive; Leicester 40 minutes
  • Fishing pegs on the Grand Union Canal; excellent road connections
An adults-only fishing holiday in a remote corner of Northamptonshire: if there’s nothing about that statement that you take exception to, consider booking a place at Heygates, on the banks of the Grand Union Canal. This rural site sits just outside the tiny hamlet of Elkington (which is proud of a history that dates back to the Domesday Book) – this all translates into a blissfully quiet experience. However, it’s also close to major roads such as the M1 and the A14, which means that reaching cities like Rugby (20 minutes) and Northampton (35 minutes) is a (relatively) stress-free exercise. There’s not much on site besides a number of well-maintained hardstanding touring pitches and water hook-up points (you’ll have to have your own toilet and washing facilities). Having said that, if you don’t mind a degree of wild camping, this is a pretty good spot for de-stressing, which you can do on one of the site’s fishing pegs (available by arrangement; license required), fishing rod in hand and your faithful canine companion (a welcome guest here) by your side. No need to fret if fish don’t bite: you can source what you need for your barbecue from the local supermarkets, either in Welford (five minutes) or West Haddon (10 minutes). Or maybe you prefer to make your way to a country pub – the nearest is in Yelvertoft (40 minutes away on foot). Fancy a more challenging walk? The long-distance Jurassic Way (stretching between Oxfordshire and Lincolnshire) is a 10-minute drive away, and you can follow it for about 12 miles all the way to Market Harborough (should take about four hours on foot).

Campground type

RV & Motorhome sites 1
Open all year
Opens
Please note
  • This campground/park has no on-site toilet and shower facilities.
  • Guests under the age of 17 are not allowed on site.
  • Guests are advised to bring a good quality torch with them as parts of the campground/park are unlit.
  • There are no garbage cans onsite: all garbage will need to be taken home with you.

Languages spoken

English

French

Reviews

  • 75%
    10
  • 0%
    9
  • 15%
    8
  • 0%
    7
  • 0%
    6
  • 0%
    5
  • 5%
    4
  • 0%
    3
  • 5%
    2
  • 0%
    1
Location
10
Value for money
9
Accommodation
9
Facilities / Activities
7
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
9
Cleanliness
9
Wifi
6

95% would recommend this campground to a friend

95% would stay here again

Reviews page 1 of 2
Arrival date (latest first)

Really nice place no faults other than the fishing wasn’t accessible

Overall 8/10

Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
10
Facilities / Activities
5
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
No rating
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
No rating
Kelly S.

Unpowered gravel caravan site

Liked Very peaceful nice walks lovely owner very friendly

Disliked Couldn’t fish as was over grown

From the manager: Thanks for the review Kelly, it was a pleasure to meet you and your lovely dog.

Sorry about the fishing - you should have dropped me a text, and I'd have brought the strimmer down! Drop me a text if you choose to visit again and I'll make sure it's all good to go.

Have a lovely summer

Quiet and peaceful…

Overall 10/10

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

Unpowered gravel caravan site

Liked Quiet and peaceful

From the manager: It was a pleasure to meet you both - hope to see you again in future :-)

Great weekend stay

Overall 10/10

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

Unpowered gravel caravan site

Liked Great location, very peaceful and a lovely gravel pitch.
Right next to the Grand Union Canal for a walk and to watch the boats.
The Owners were very friendly and helpful through email and phone.
Will definitely be returning in the near future if available

From the manager: Thanks for taking the time to leave a review. It was a pleasure to meet you both, hope to see you again some time 😊

Private quiet area, running cold tap and the very friendly hosts. …

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
Kimberley C.

Unpowered gravel caravan site

Liked Private quiet area, running cold tap and the very friendly hosts. The host allowed us to stay longer as we had car issues and even let us borrow some tools

Disliked Nothing, it was perfect

From the manager: Thanks for the review Kimberley, glad you got your maintenance issue sorted. Hope to see you again in future 😊

Beautiful private 1 pitch site. Nice helpful owner. We only had…

Overall 8/10

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

Unpowered gravel caravan site

Liked Beautiful private 1 pitch site. Nice helpful owner. We only had 1 night and would have liked to stay longer.
Not advised if you don't have a caravan motor mover. Beautiful canal walk. As you go through the gate park your car in the middle.

Excellent rustic spot for getting away and doing some canal fishing

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
James F.

Unpowered gravel caravan site

Liked Fishing on the canal right next to the pitch. Water tap on the pitch

Disliked The lack of elsan point, but they make you aware of this on the listing

From the manager: Thanks for the review James, hope you got a few bites :-)

Area was nice…

Overall 2/10

Location
10
Value for money
6
Accommodation
4
Facilities / Activities
2
Customer service
4
Child friendliness
No rating
Cleanliness
2
Wifi
2
Trevor D.

Unpowered gravel caravan site

Liked Area was nice

Disliked Got to the campsite but was a corn field so the farmer guy had to cut the grass for us to pitch

From the manager: You booked for 4 people, but turned up with 5.

Your party was rude, noisy, and left 3 large bags of rubbish behind, despite clear instructions to take everything away with you.

You turned up without any toilet facilities, despite the ilsting making clear that we did not offer any.

You drove your camper van down a pathway, then despite asking you to stay away from the Lodge areas, the 5 of you wandered through our garden area later the same day, making lots of noise.

The listing makes perfectly clear that this is hard-standing pitch, but despite that, one of your group expected me to know that you were bringing tents. I offered you a full refund at that point, which you refused.

I see that you've rated cleanliness as 1 - I'm curious how you think I can make a 3 acre wildflower meadow cleaner.

I am glad you have stated that you wouldn't stay here again - please don't ever come back.

Nice place small and rural

Overall 10/10

Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
10
Facilities / Activities
6
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
10
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
2
Anonymous

Unpowered gravel caravan site

Liked Nice quiet spot and owner was very nice

Disliked Nothing

Very welcoming solo pitch backed onto a river

Overall 10/10

Location
10
Value for money
8
Accommodation
10
Facilities / Activities
6
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
No rating
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
No rating
Seweryn T.

Unpowered gravel caravan site

Liked Large solo pitch, the owner has made me feel very welcome.
Secure gate with pin padlock.
River behind the pitch, nice walk along side
Fair 4G signal on mobile data

Disliked Not much to dislike

Peaceful

Overall 10/10

Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
6
Facilities / Activities
No rating
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
No rating
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
10
rebecca s.

Unpowered gravel caravan site

Liked The owner gave full instructions before I arrived and was very helpful. The Instructions were spot on. Very peaceful and right by the canal. Thoroughly enjoyed the peace being the only one there

Disliked Was a bit awkward reversing in without getting stuck in the stones. But no issues exiting the site.


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 site/unit Composting toilet Dog park Drying room Food shop Free wifi Ice pack freezing Internet access Laundry 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

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

Themes

Peaceful Remote location Walkers' paradise Wildlife haven

Utilities

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

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby Dog walk nearby

Type

Tiny (1-10 sites)

Nearby leisure

Cycling nearby Fishing nearby Golf nearby Horse riding nearby Mountain biking nearby Sailing nearby

Touring and motorhomes

Caravan storage facilities Water hook-up points for caravans

Location

Heygates

Elkington

Yelvertoft

Northamptonshire

England

NN6 6NH

Directions

Timezone

Europe/London +0100 (GMT+01:00)

GPS

52.38439°N
1.08659°W

Route directions

Use postcode NN6 6NH for your satnav. If you use the WhatThreeWords app, the entry required for the car park entrance is "spouse.asking.wicket"

Nearest transport

Coach
11.6 km Clifton Road
11.6 km Clifton Road
11.7 km Hall Lodge
Rail
10 km Long Buckby Rail Station
11.2 km Rugby Rail Station
16.1 km Market Harborough Rail Station
Airport
26.5 km Coventry Airport
44.5 km Birmingham International Airport Terminal 1
44.5 km Birmingham 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

Whatever the season, there’s always something to look at Coton Manor Garden (15 minutes’ drive), which spreads around a 17th-century manor house. First laid out in the 1920s, the gardens are home to woodland bluebell meadows, fragrant rose bushes and colourful foxgloves. For more landscaped gardens, head to Lamport Hall (20 minutes). A vibrant university city, Leicester (40 minutes) is where the remains of Richard III were discovered in 2012. The King Richard III Visitor Centre has interactive displays on the monarch and the War of the Roses, while the Leicester Museum and Art Gallery has a large collection of German Expressionist art. Coventry (40 minutes) is home to a remarkable modern cathedral, built next door to the ruins of its 14th-century predecessor, destroyed during World War II. An exhibition at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum explores the history of Lady Godiva, who was said to have ridden a horse through the streets of the city in the nude.

Must see

Althorp 13 km

Foxton Locks 14.7 km

78 Derngate 21.2 km

Rockingham Castle 28.4 km

Herbert Art Gallery & Museum 28.7 km

National Trust

Canons Ashby 26.4 km

Farnborough Hall 33.3 km

Lyveden New Bield 37 km

Stowe Landscape Gardens 39.3 km

Charlecote Park 41.3 km

Cycle routes

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

Other

STANFORD HALL 4.8 km

Welford - Sibbertoft - Welford 4.8 km

Battle of Naseby, 1645 6.8 km

COTTESBROOKE HALL 9.1 km

ASHBY ST LEDGERS 9.6 km

Local events

  • Fairport's Cropredy Convention (Thursday 7 August 2025 – Thursday 7 August 2025)

    Chipping Norton, England 33.8 km

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 campgrounds

Unfortunately, we have no nearby bookable campgrounds.

Want to know more about camping in Northamptonshire?

Frequently asked questions

  • Does Heygates have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is Heygates dog friendly? Yes View all features
  • What attractions are near Heygates? Whatever the season, there’s always something to look at Coton Manor Garden (15 minutes’ drive), which spreads around a 17th-century manor house. First laid out in the 1920s, the gardens are home … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of Heygates?
    Camping and caravan
    Arrive:  Anytime –  Anytime
    Depart by:  Anytime
    Read more
  • How much does it cost to stay at Heygates? From $41.69 (for 1 night, 4 people) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.