Wildscapes Retreat and Campsite

View prices & book 9.4 38 reviews
Green Bell in the distance
Pitch with spectacular views
Grass pitches with fell views
Peaceful tent pitch

  • No-frills family campsite with spectacular Howgills views in Cumbria
  • Bowness-on-Windermere 45 minutes’ drive; Ribblehead Viaduct 50 minutes
  • Within half an hour's drive of Wain Wath Force, a wild swimming spot
Wildscapes Retreat and Campsite sits at the foot of the majestic Howgills in Cumbria. Located on a working sheep farm halfway between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales national parks, the peaceful (and off-grid) camping field (with no electricity or showers) has spectacular views of the summit of Green Bell. This is a stunning and out-of-the-way spot for a relaxing family break surrounded by untamed fells. It's within half an hour's drive of Wain Wath Force, a popular wild swimming spot. Just a 15-minute stroll down the lane from the site is the pretty village of Ravenstonedale, where you’ll come upon two welcoming pubs serving excellent food and real ales. If you venture a little further out of the village, there’s yet another establishment renowned for its delicious fare. The market town of Kirkby Stephen (10 minutes’ drive) has a plethora of independent shops where you can stock up on goodies for the barbecue or fill up in the cafés and pubs. It’s also the gateway to Cumbrian walks and cycle rides taking you to dramatic waterfalls and prehistoric stone circles, and you can study all your activity options at the visitor centre.

Campground type

Tent sites 15
RV & Motorhome sites 6
Rent a tent 4
Open now
Opens 4 April
Please note
  • This campground/park has no on-site shower facilities.
  • Under 18s must be accompanied by their parents or legal guardians.
  • The campground/park does not accept breeds/crossbreeds listed in the Dangerous Dog Act (i.e. Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, and Fila Brasileiro).
  • Bookings must not be for more than 14 consecutive nights.
  • Guests are advised to bring a good quality torch with them as parts of the campground/park are unlit.
  • Please note that the toilet facilities are unisex.
  • If reception is closed on arrival: please contact the number provided on your booking confirmation.

Languages spoken

English

Open from Fri, 4 Apr to

Site types & availability

Other site types

Reviews

  • 78%
    10
  • 2%
    9
  • 13%
    8
  • 2%
    7
  • 0%
    6
  • 0%
    5
  • 0%
    4
  • 0%
    3
  • 2%
    2
  • 0%
    1
Location
10
Value for money
9
Accommodation
9
Facilities / Activities
8
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
9
Cleanliness
9
Wifi
7

95% would recommend this campground to a friend

95% would stay here again

What customers say

This campsite's a peaceful, natural escape with ace views & a chill vibe. Folks rave about the friendly owners, tidy facilities (composting toilets too!), & fire pits. Great for walks & near pubs. While a few blokes noted no showers or minor stuff like long grass, it's mostly tops, scoring well for value & serenity.

Summary AI-generated from Pitchup.com customer reviews

Reviews page 1 of 4
Arrival date (latest first)

So peaceful and relaxing, lovely owners would make sure you had a…

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
7
Value for money
7
Accommodation
9
Facilities / Activities
No rating
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
No rating
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
No rating
Donovan H.

Unpowered concrete and grass tent or trailer tent site

Liked So peaceful and relaxing, lovely owners would make sure you had a great day
Perfect for all, dog loved it too
Down at a bottom of a hill, next to a river

I had a broken foot when I was there and still managed to do everything, would of loved if I didn’t because I bet the is some beautiful walks around
The weather to hot to go on long walks with the dog anyway
Short walk to the local pub

The closest village “ravenstonedale” had two pub but no shop
But that’s not a problem if you needed anything
The is a big village “kirky stephen”that had plenty there too, that had a shop that we had to pop to
But the was some lovely cafes

Most of the time we just stayed a there lovely campsite
Will definitely recommend to go, would 100% go back too

Disliked Nothing

Recommend to friends Visit again

Idyllic scenery, clean and eco friendly. Perfect for a peaceful trip.

Overall

9 out of 10
Location
9
Value for money
10
Accommodation
8
Facilities / Activities
8
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
9
Cleanliness
9
Wifi
5
Liz F.

Unpowered concrete and grass tent or trailer tent site

Liked Quiet site, pick your own pitch, Suzie was very welcoming and accommodating, fire pits available, lovely stream running through the site for a paddle, 10 minute drive to local shops, lovely 'wild camping' style, clean toilets

Disliked The grass on our pitch was a little long, knee-high on the kids. Not a major problem but a little inconvenient. We noticed several dogs off leads, again not a big issue, but if your dog or children are anxious of off-lead dogs it's worth knowing this rule isn't enforced.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Excellent wildcamp

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
10
Facilities / Activities
10
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
10
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
10
Angela W.

Unpowered concrete and grass tent or trailer tent site

Liked Remote feel of wild camping with clean toilet and washing up facility.

Walking distance from 2 pubs.
Walks on the doorstep.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks for your review, Angela.
We hope to see you again sometime.

Cracking site, cracking people

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
10
Facilities / Activities
10
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
10
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
10
Robert G.

Unpowered concrete and grass tent or trailer tent site

Liked Everything

Disliked Nothing

Recommend to friends Visit again

Absolutely beautiful spot, I loved my stay here! The owners were so…

Overall

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

Unpowered concrete and grass tent or trailer tent site

Liked Absolutely beautiful spot, I loved my stay here! The owners were so helpful, welcoming and friendly and I felt at ease straight away!
The beautiful peaceful trip I needed!

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Excellent! Thank you for your review. We are grateful that you, as a Solo traveller, enjoyed the campsite and had a relaxing time. We hope to see you again soon.

Would definitely recommend this place to anyone, had a brilliant night stay…

Overall

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

Unpowered grass motorhome site

Liked Would definitely recommend this place to anyone, had a brilliant night stay here, the owners suzie & sam we’re incredibly helpful.. and it’s in the perfect location with beautiful scenery, there’s loads of fire pits dotted about so just grab one, and buy a bag of logs witch is only £10 now that’s a bonus…. Couldn’t fault this place one little bit

Great site
Great management
Great location

Davey & Sonia (sunderland)

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Davey & Sonia,
Thanks for your lovely words, we enjoyed meeting you and we are glad you had a great time at the site and we hope to see you again.

Excellent site. As close to wild camping as it gets. 100% recommend!

Overall

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

Unpowered grass motorhome site

Liked incredible location and the friendliest most helpful owners.

Disliked Absolutely nothing. Suzie and Sam constantly making changes to the site to improve customer experience. There are currently two compost in toilets on site and waist bins however they are in the process of creating a shower block which will benefit those who don’t have on board facilities or people who are camping in in tents.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thank you for your wonderful words. We are glad you enjoyed your camping experience with us. We try to keep the site wild and basic but also have been adding some little extra touches in the compost toilets, We finally got our lights working and added some nice little hand wash dispensers. Next - to install some hot water for the wash facilities.
It was great to meet you both and thank you for leaving us the coloured earth stone :-)

Lovely quiet location

Overall

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

Unpowered concrete and grass tent or trailer tent site

Liked Beautiful location, peaceful, undisturbed., cheap to stay. Friendly laid back owners, wildlife. Dark skies. Recycling bins. Free fire pit to use. A back to nature, basic site, just what i like! Dog friendly.

Disliked Weather! No hot water. Toilet lights have a mind of their own. No general waste bins, but these were here the last time I stayed, so maybe just an oversight. A lot of sheep droppings on pitches this time.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Hi Helen,

Thank you for reviewing your experience with us. I am glad you enjoyed many aspects of the site again this time. I am so very sorry about the things you disliked. I wanted to try to explain and let you know what I have addressed.
Firstly there was a miscommunication with the farmer - Dad! He let the sheep in to eat the grass off the site as I told him there were no bookings... Hmm I don't think I did but that's why that had happened. I am sorry I know this is not ideal and will forever tell him there are always bookings! :-) I hope you can understand how this happened.
THE LIGHTS HAVE BEEN FIXED! This has been a real learning curve for us, solar power, sensor light, bulbs that were draining too much power etc! We hope we have nailed it now! They were fantastic this weekend so long may it last.
Also, we have lots of waste bins, the return of the general waste bin was overlooked as you said because Dad thought no one was coming and as you know we took a couple of days away for a holiday. All is back to normal again now - Our sincerest apologies,

Stunning and very relaxed site. Environmentally friendly facilities

Overall

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

Unpowered grass motorhome site

Liked Loved how relaxed the site was, no set pitches, but everyone had respect for other people's space.
The setting was incredible, owners were super friendly and helpful, checking in before we arrived to check if we needed any wood for a campfire. Great hosts!
Only 1 mile from a great dog friendly pub.
Facilities basic but love how environmentally friendly they are!

Recommend to friends Visit again

Struck lucky with the weather, enjoyed a peaceful break.

Overall

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

Unpowered concrete and grass tent or trailer tent site

Liked Views of the hills, laid back feel

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: We are glad you enjoyed the campsite. Thanks for sharing those beautiful pictures to :-)


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 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

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 Lake and/or mountain Peaceful Remote location Spectacular scenery Walkers' paradise Wild camping 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

Farm Pop-up campground Small (11-25 sites)

Accessibility

Accessible parking at site

Nearby leisure

Canoeing/kayaking nearby Fishing nearby Golf nearby Horse riding nearby Restaurant nearby Tennis nearby Watersports nearby

Location

Wildscapes Retreat and Campsite

High Greenside

Greenside Lane

Ravenstonedale

Kirkby Stephen

Cumbria

England

CA17 4LU

Directions

Timezone

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

GPS

54.42973°N
2.45045°W

Nearest transport

Coach
22.2 km Bus Station
22.2 km Bus Station
22.2 km Bus Station
Rail
6 km Kirkby Stephen Rail Station
14.5 km Garsdale Rail Station
16.9 km Appleby Rail Station
Ferry
31 km Howtown Ullswater Ferry Landing
31.6 km Pooley Bridge Ullswater Ferry Landing
31.6 km Bowness on Windermere Ferry Terminal

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

Local attractions and activities include: - Ravenstonedale (pubs): five minutes’ drive - Kirkby Stephen (market town): 10 minutes - Gamelands Stone Circle: 15 minutes - Smardale Gill Viaduct (walks): 20 minutes - Cautley Spout (waterfall): 20 minutes - Sedbergh (Dales town): 25 minutes - Bowness-on-Windermere: 45 minutes - Ribblehead Viaduct: 50 minutes.

Water quality at nearby bathing waters

Name Distance Type 2020201920182017
Morecambe North 47.4 km Estuary GoodN/AGoodGood

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

Sizergh Castle and Garden 26.5 km

Levens Hall & Gardens 28.6 km

High Force Waterfall 30 km

The World of Beatrix Potter 31.3 km

Windermere Lake Cruises, Bowness 31.5 km

National Trust

Acorn Bank Garden and Watermill 26.1 km

Sizergh Castle and Garden 26.5 km

Townend 30.1 km

Windermere and Troutbeck 30.4 km

Hill Top 34.8 km

Cycle routes

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

Other

The Howgills Traverse - Sedbergh 4.4 km

Smardale Wildlife Reserve 5.3 km

Kirkby Stephen - Nateby - Wharton Hall - Lammerside Castle 7.9 km

Great Asby Scar Circular 8 km

Kirkby Stephen - Nine Standards Rigg 8.1 km

Local events

  • Kendal Calling (Thursday 31 July 2025 – Thursday 31 July 2025)

    Penrith, England 25.9 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 The Lake District and Cumbria?

Frequently asked questions

  • Does Wildscapes Retreat and Campsite have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is Wildscapes Retreat and Campsite dog friendly? Yes View all features
  • What attractions are near Wildscapes Retreat and Campsite? Local attractions and activities include: - Ravenstonedale (pubs): five minutes’ drive - Kirkby Stephen (market town): 10 minutes - Gamelands Stone Circle: 15 minutes - Smardale Gill Viaduct (walks): 20 minutes - … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of Wildscapes Retreat and Campsite?
    Camping and caravan
    Arrive:  noon –  8 p.m.
    Depart by:  11 a.m.
    On-site accommodation
    Arrive:  2 p.m. –  8 p.m.
    Depart by:  11 a.m.
    Read more
  • How much does it cost to stay at Wildscapes Retreat and Campsite? From $41.23 (for 1 night, 2 adults) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.