Brightlingsea Touring Park

View prices & book 8.8 663 reviews
Visitor image of the campers and sunset
Visitor image of the campers and sunset
Aerial view of site
Visitor image of the view to the boating lake
Around the site
Clean tidy boating lake
Great walks.
Canine guests welcome
Kids playing on a trampoline
1/455
Aerial view of site
Visitor image of the view to the boating lake
Around the site

  • Well-maintained site in Brightlingsea, on the Essex Sunshine Coast
  • Howlands Marsh 25 minutes’ drive; Colchester Castle half an hour
  • Electric and water hookups and launderette; well-behaved dogs welcome
The family-oriented attractions of the Essex Sunshine Coast are easily within your grasp at Brightlingsea Touring Park, a well-maintained lakeside site on the outskirts of the town of the same name. At this dog-friendly site, spacious hardstanding pitches come with electric and water hookups, and guests also benefit from a toilet/shower block and a launderette. Brightlingsea’s high street, with its traditional pubs and global restaurants, is a five-minute walk from the site, as are the colourful huts of sandy Brightlingsea beach, overlooked by the late 19th-century Batemans Tower. Here you can have a swim and try out all sorts of watersports, from canoeing to jet-skiing. If you’d rather stay dry, you might want to take a leisurely stroll along the promenade and join the nature trail that follows the River Colne all the way to Alresford Creek. A 10-minute walk in the opposite direction leads to Brightlingsea Harbour, where you can board a barge for a sailing tour among the moored pleasure boats and around Cindery Island. Don’t forget your binoculars: this area is a birdwatcher’s paradise. Those who want to explore more of the local landscape (and delve deeper into the local birdlife) can head to Howlands Marsh (25 minutes’ drive), an area of wetlands inhabited by geese, skylarks and curlews – not to mention the occasional raptor. Faced with a day of inclement weather and the kids getting restless? No problem: the Brightlingsea Museum, in town, has lots of interactive exhibits and kids' activities.

Site type

Lodges, cabins, pods or huts 20
Travel trailer sites 49
RV sites 49
Tent sites 49
Open now
Opens March 1
Please note
  • Group bookings of 5 or more units (e.g. tent, caravan, RV or accommodation hire) traveling together are not permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • No bachelor/bachelorette parties permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • The park caters for families (immediate members) and couples only - bookings from all other forms of groups are not accepted.
  • At least one of the party members must be aged 21 or over.

Languages spoken

English

Open from Sat, Mar 1 to

This site is a member of Countrywide Park Homes group.

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Pitch types & availability

Accommodation

Tent sitesTravel trailer sitesRV sitesLodges, cabins, pods or hutsMobile homes for rentRent a tent
Choose your dates
2 adults
0 children

Reviews

8.8

Overall rating from 663 Pitchup.com customers

  • 60%
    10
  • 2%
    9
  • 23%
    8
  • 1%
    7
  • 6%
    6
  • 0%
    5
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    4
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    3
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    1
Location
 9
Value for money
 9
Accommodation
 9
Facilities / Activities
 8
Customer service
 9
Child friendliness
 8
Cleanliness
 9
Wifi
 7
Peaceful

89% would recommend this site to a friend

88% would stay here again

What customers say

Great location near the beach, town & lake views. Pitches spacious, well-kept, often with power/water. Friendly staff, clean (though dated) facilities. Mostly peaceful, but some road/event noise. Security noted as an open-access concern.

Summary AI-generated from Pitchup.com customer reviews

Reviews page 1 of 67
Arrival date (latest first)

Family short break PERFECT

Overall

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

Powered cement/asphalt and grass campsite

Liked Big level pitches, tidy grass, excellent location, clean wash room, laundry & dish room close by, lovely view, fair price. Booking & confirmation phone call day before arrival all easy &reassuring.

Disliked Slight shortage of warm shower water, it ran out on hot setting but fine on mid setting. Not much to dislike to be honest !
Did not see the warden for a hello but not a biggy to worry about.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Overall very pleased.

Overall

9 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 9
Accommodation
 No rating
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 5
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 No rating
Jessica C.

Powered cement/asphalt and grass campsite

Liked Well kept site with clean toilet and shower facilities. Price was responsible as well. Nice view and close to local amenities.

Disliked No one to greet you on arrival. Phone number provided was not answered. Looked like someone was set up on our allocated pitch so we had to pick another and got lucky that wasn't allocated to anyone else. Thankfully we had not issues but was concerning for 1st time campers.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Very clean facilities. We give it the thumbs up 👍🏻

Overall

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

Powered cement/asphalt and grass campsite (lake view)

Liked Was amazing, loved our pitch by the lake loved the walks and scenery will definitely be going back, just gutted i didn't use the lido..

Recommend to friends Visit again

Fabulous site , very clean . Great location to the town . Loved it .

Overall

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

Powered cement/asphalt and grass campsite (lake view)

Liked Fabulous pitch overlooking the water . Staff were on hand to ask if all was okay and we needed a hand to set up and if we needed anything.
Bet clean toilets and showers and the added bonus of a laundry room .

Disliked Nothing to dislike .

Recommend to friends Visit again

Pretty poor standard all round.

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 8
Value for money
 4
Accommodation
 No rating
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 7
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 3
Wifi
 6
Brian K.

Powered cement/asphalt and grass campsite

Liked Near proximity to shops, etc sea and walks for us and our dogs. Liked the washing machines free of charge. And washing up facilities..clean and tidy. We left the site day 4 of our booking...would not revisit or recommend...

Disliked The whole area is run down and scruffy, fencing around everything and it looks a mess, the showers especially the disabled needs a complete refurbish..it's disgusting rusty pipes, dirty walls, really needs very deep clean, disgustingly dirty shower curtain, water all over the floor, shower tray slippery, nowhere to hang clothes..All in all pretty poor standard. Little food van past lido scruffy, food was vile, the area looked like a building site...really unpleasant.

Recommend to friends Visit again

All of it…

Overall

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

Powered cement/asphalt and grass campsite

Liked All of it

Disliked Nothing

Recommend to friends Visit again

Don’t go there unless you have to. Not good value for the price paid

Overall

3 out of 10
Location
 5
Value for money
 2
Accommodation
 No rating
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 No rating
Anonymous

Powered cement/asphalt and grass campsite

Liked Weather was good

Disliked The site was too crowded and facilities are dreadful. No water coming out of the showers and the place needs a facelift.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Quiet…

Overall

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

Powered cement/asphalt and grass campsite

Liked Quiet

Recommend to friends Visit again

Despite the dislikes, I would use the site again.

Overall

7 out of 10
Location
 9
Value for money
 5
Accommodation
 No rating
Facilities / Activities
 4
Customer service
 9
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 5
Wifi
 9
Marcia P.

Powered cement/asphalt and grass campsite (lake view)

Liked Lovely site. Great location. Bit expensive for fairly basic site!

Disliked Pitch 27 covered in rubble, broken glass & tiles, metal tubing. Moves most to side of pitch to protect dogs feet and tyres!
Some form of security barrier would be good. Any car can drive in and people using it as a through path to sailing club!
Toilet block could do with updating!

Recommend to friends Visit again

We would return as the location is top.

Overall

6 out of 10
Location
 9
Value for money
 4
Accommodation
 No rating
Facilities / Activities
 4
Customer service
 9
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 7
Wifi
 No rating
Julie R.

Powered cement/asphalt and grass campsite (lake view)

Liked Great view and location. Very friendly and helpful manager.

Disliked Security, as vans parked on the street drove in emptying their waste and using toilet block.
The fence around had holes large enough for people to get through.
The open access meant people used the site as a cut through.
I hope some improvements are made.
Price quite high.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Features

Dogs allowed

Leisure on park

Bar or club house Cycle hire Evening entertainment Fishing Fitness centre Indoor swimming pool Kids' club On-site restaurant/cafe Outdoor swimming pool Playground Recreation room/arcade TV room Takeout Tennis Watersports

Amenities on park

Bath available Car parking by site/unit Composting toilet Dog park Drying room Free wifi Grocery store Ice pack freezing Internet access Laundromat Parent & baby washroom Payphone Pick-up from public transport Portable toilet Pub toilets Restrooms Shower available Washing-up area Wifi

Groups welcome

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

Rules

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

Utilities

Charging facilities Dump station Electric car charging point(s) Propane/gas cylinders available Recycling available Renewable energy

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby Convenience store nearby Dog walk nearby Public transportation nearby

Type

Large (51-200 sites)

Nearby leisure

Cycling nearby Mountain biking nearby Restaurant nearby Sailing nearby Watersports nearby

Touring and motorhomes

Water hook-up points for caravans

Location

Brightlingsea Touring Park

Promenade Way

Brightlingsea

Colchester

Essex

England

CO7 0LW

Directions

Timezone

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

GPS

51.80848°N
1.01934°E

Nearest transport

Coach
3.8 km Brightlingsea Road
3.8 km Brightlingsea Road
3.9 km Oaklands
Rail
5.3 km Alresford (Essex) Rail Station
5.8 km Great Bentley Rail Station
6.9 km Wivenhoe Rail Station
Ferry
0.5 km Brightlingsea Ferry Landing
0.7 km Point Clear Ferry Landing
22.4 km Harwich International Ferry Terminal
Airport
34.5 km London Southend 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

Created in the 1960s, Beth Chatto's Plants & Gardens (15 minutes’ drive) is based on a simple but oft-ignored principle: right plant, right place. One of the highlights here is the Gravel Garden, famously never watered and home to drought-tolerant plants and shrubs. In contrast, the Water Garden spreads around a series of ponds and is dotted with colourful flowers. Reward your offspring for following you patiently around the gardens with a trip to Hasty’s Adventure Farm (20 minutes). In addition to a giant sandpit for younger children, there are oversized Lego constructions, an adventure course and grass slides. Not forgetting resident animals like Pipsqueak the pygmy goat and Mac the alpaca… Built in the 11th century over the ruins of an ancient Roman temple, the Norman Colchester Castle (half an hour) now houses a modern museum displaying items unearthed locally, such as the Fenwick Hoard, a collection of delicate jewellery and coins, and a vase decorated with images of fighting gladiators.

Water quality at nearby bathing waters

Name Distance Type 2020201920182017
Brightlingsea 0.7 km Estuary N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
West Mersea 7.5 km Sea N/AGoodN/AN/A
Jaywick 7.6 km Sea N/AGoodGoodGood
Clacton Beach Martello Tower 8.9 km Sea N/AGoodGoodGood
Clacton 10.6 km Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

firstsite 12 km

Colchester Castle Museum 12.2 km

Colchester Zoo 14.1 km

East Anglian Railway Museum 22.2 km

Christchurch Mansion 29.5 km

National Trust

Bourne Mill 10.6 km

Flatford: Bridge Cottage 16.7 km

Thorington Hall 20.1 km

Coggeshall Grange Barn 23.9 km

Paycocke's 24.3 km

Cycle routes

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

Other

Brightlingsea 0.2 km

Cudmore Country Park - East and West Mersea - Cudmore 1.9 km

Brightlingsea - Colne Estuary - Crab and Winkle Path 2.2 km

ST OSYTH'S PRIORY 3.7 km

Hollybush Hill - Brightlingsea - River Colne - Hollybush 3.8 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.

Want to know more about camping in Essex?

Frequently asked questions

  • Does Brightlingsea Touring Park have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is Brightlingsea Touring Park dog friendly? Yes View all features
  • What attractions are near Brightlingsea Touring Park? Created in the 1960s, Beth Chatto's Plants & Gardens (15 minutes’ drive) is based on a simple but oft-ignored principle: right plant, right place. One of the highlights here is the Gravel … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of Brightlingsea Touring Park?
    RV, travel trailer and tent sites
    Arrive:  1 p.m. –  8 p.m.
    Depart by:  11 a.m.
    Read more
  • How much does it cost to stay at Brightlingsea Touring Park? From $46.35 (for 1 night, 2 adults) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.