Hardyes Countryside Camping

View prices & book 9.5 89 reviews
Maintaining the campsite field
Grass pitching area
Cloudy skies
Country views

  • Rural Dorset site by an old Roman road with open countryside views
  • A 15-minute drive to the Jurassic Coast, Dorchester or Maiden Castle
  • Barbecues and dogs welcome; wheelchair-accessible facilities
Whether it’s the history or the lovely scenery that’s drawn you to Dorset for a break, you’ll be in an excellent spot to take it all in at Hardyes Countryside Camping. This pop-up site has fabulous views over open countryside all the way to the Hardy Monument and it’s in a handy location just off the old Roman road that runs between Maiden Castle and Eggardon Hill. Getting out to explore should be nice and straightforward from here – there’s great access to cross-country walking trails through the Dorset National Landscape, and the road network makes it easy to get to places like the ancient hillfort at Maiden Castle or the craggy cliffs and beaches of the Jurassic Coast (both about 15 minutes’ drive). Dorchester is also about 15 minutes away, with a good collection of interesting museums as well as practical facilities like supermarkets, restaurants and a railway station. Beyond all that, you’ll also be able to hit the sands of Weymouth, tour the subtropical gardens in Abbotsbury, go fishing from Lyme Regis, play golf, visit outdoor sculptures and huge historic carvings… safe to say there should be plenty of options for all tastes. After your outings, you’ll be staying at a small-scale site with a decent list of facilities including purpose-built toilets and showers, a washing-up area, a gas barbecue and microwave for cooking; all facilities are accessible for less mobile guests as well. There’s plenty of space to pitch up in comfort and you’re welcome to bring a barbecue as long as you use it safely and sensibly.

Site type

Tent sites 27
Travel trailer sites 3
RV sites 27
Open now
Opens April 3
Please note

Admission

  • At least one of the party members must be aged 21 or over.
  • Under 18s must be accompanied by their parents or legal guardians.

Occupancy

  • Group bookings of 3 or more units travelling together are not permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • Group bookings of 4 or more adults are not permitted (couples and immediate family members excepted).
  • No bachelor/bachelorette parties permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • Single-sex bookings of 4 or more people (couples and immediate family members excepted) are not permitted via Pitchup.com.

General

  • Please note that the toilet/shower facilities are unisex.

Reception

  • Reception is unmanned after 6 p.m.. Please inform the park while on your way there should you expect to arrive after this time, so that the team can provide information about your unit/pitch.

Dogs

  • The park does not accept breeds/crossbreeds listed in the Breed-specific legislation (i.e. Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, and Fila Brasileiro).

Languages spoken

English

French

Open from Fri, Apr 3 to

No availability here for your search criteria

Pitch types & availability

Reviews

  • 74%
    10
  • 12%
    9
  • 11%
    8
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    7
  • 1%
    6
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    5
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    1
Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
9
Facilities / Activities
9
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
9
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
7

98% would recommend this site to a friend

97% would stay here again

What customers say

This tranquil spot boasts stunning country views and a warm welcome from friendly, helpful owner Chris. Clean washrooms and showers are a hit. It's a great base for exploring. Despite minor mentions of water temp/availability and stony ground, it's mostly glowing feedback, with many keen to revisit.

Summary AI-generated from Pitchup.com customer reviews. Last updated 2026-08-18

Filter by topic

Reviews page 1 of 9
Arrival date (latest first)

great spot.…

Overall

9 out of 10
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Primitive grass tent or RV campsite

Liked great spot.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Thoroughly enjoyed the campsite. Friendly hosts.…

Overall

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

Primitive grass tent or RV campsite

Liked Thoroughly enjoyed the campsite. Friendly hosts.

Disliked I couldn't stay longer.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Remote location with stunning open views.…

Overall

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

Powered grass tent or RV campsite

Liked Remote location with stunning open views.
Very welcoming and helpful owner who was knowledgeable about the local area.
Small shop area but great preorder system for sour dough loaves and croissants.

Disliked Limited unisex toilets and showers so often had to queue.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Had a lovely weekend camping at…

Overall

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

Powered grass tent or RV campsite

Liked Had a lovely weekend camping at Hardeyes. The site is lovely and quiet with great size pitches.
The owner is fab, nothing is too much trouble they all work so hard.
We even saw them take a bottle of fizz to fellow campers for their birthday such a lovely personal touch 😊 we will most definitely be back!!

Disliked Nothing

Recommend to friends Visit again

Nice site which is excellent value…

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
9
Value for money
10
Facilities / Activities
9
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
No rating
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
No rating
Neil W. 1 review

Powered grass tent or RV campsite

Liked Nice site which is excellent value for money.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Cute small campsite, the guy looking…

Overall

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

Powered grass tent or RV campsite

Liked Cute small campsite, the guy looking after it was lovely checked us in late at night and was still happy to help when we was struggling with the electric hookup.
It had very friendly vibes a lovely place to spend the weekend

Disliked Sometimes had to wait a while for toilets or showers as it was only 1 small block, but this was okay

Recommend to friends Visit again

Beautiful, gem of a campsite with wonderful views!

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
9
Value for money
10
Facilities / Activities
10
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
10
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
10
Katie S. 1 review

Powered grass tent or RV campsite

Liked Hardyes campsite is a little gem of a place. We stayed for 2 weeks in our motorhome and loved every minute of our holiday. The views of the sunsets and sunrises were absolutely beautiful. We had an excellend pitch with plenty of space. The showers and toilets are lovely and clean and never too busy. There is a little shop on site, which is super handy for hot & cold drinks/snacks/coal and logs to purchase.

We also want to say a huge thank you to Chris and his wife who were so lovely, kind, knowledgeable and nothing was too much trouble for them. Delicious baked sour dough bread and croissants made to order daily if you wish. Chris was kind enough to suprise my husband with Champagne and a sourdough birthday cake with a candle, which was so thoughtful and such a lovely surprise! Chris is an absolute legend and we will definitely be coming back again soon!

Thanks again for making our holiday so special💕

Disliked Nothing

Recommend to friends Visit again

Nice place to visit, very peaceful,…

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
10
Facilities / Activities
10
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
10
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
1

Powered grass tent or RV campsite

Liked Nice place to visit, very peaceful, great host (Chris)

Disliked Nothing

Recommend to friends Visit again

Exceptional we will be back in September!

Overall

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

Powered grass tent or RV campsite

Liked Chris is one in a million! Welcoming so helpful, gave us many camping tips as where beginners. Helped my sister in law and borrowed her pegs for her Tent as we had the wrong ones. I tripped the electric ⚡️ lesson learned use camping kettle not home one, Called Chris and he was on site within 5 minutes and it was gone 8pm at night! He goes above and beyond!

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great site in a great location

Overall

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

Primitive grass tent or RV campsite

Liked Such a nice site with the best site management (Chris) loves his job and is always on hand to help.
facilities were very good and we enjoyed our one nights stay.
Enough space to spread out.
we will be back.

Disliked Nothing to dislike here!

Recommend to friends Visit again


Features

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 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 Picnic table Portable toilet Pub toilets Restrooms Shower available Washing-up area Wifi

Groups welcome

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

Rules

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

Themes

Hikers’ paradise Peaceful Remote location Spectacular scenery Wild camping Wildlife haven

Utilities

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

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby Dog walk nearby

Type

Farm Medium (26-50 sites) Pop-up campground

Accessibility

Bathrooms: Large spacious toilet Bathrooms: Step-free access Bathrooms: Wheelchair accessible toilet Bathrooms: Wide doorways (over 32 inches)

Nearby leisure

Fishing nearby Golf nearby Horseback riding nearby Indoor pool nearby Leisure/theme park nearby Restaurant nearby Sailing nearby Tennis nearby

Location

Hardyes Countryside Camping

Higher Hogleaze Farm

Town Hill

Dorchester

Dorset

England

DT2 9ET

Directions

Timezone

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

GPS

50.72596°N
2.5547°W

Nearest transport

Coach
8.5 km South Station
14.7 km Marks and Spencer
14.7 km Coach Station
Rail
6.1 km Maiden Newton Rail Station
8.1 km Dorchester West Rail Station
8.5 km Dorchester South Rail Station
Ferry
15.1 km Weymouth Ferry Terminal
39.7 km Poole Ferry Terminal
40.2 km Poole Quay Ferry Landing

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

You’ll probably stop off in Dorchester (15 minutes’ drive) at some point for some shopping, but while you're there it’s worth looking out places like The Keep Military Museum, The Tutankhamun Exhibition and Dorset Museum & Art Gallery. On the outer edges of the town are the ancient hillfort Maiden Castle and National Trust - Hardy's House Max Gate, the author’s former home. For a bit of ancient art, visit the National Trust - Cerne Giant (20 minutes) and Osmington White Horse (half an hour); more contemporary art is on display at Sculpture by the Lakes (25 minutes). Heading down to the coast, you may like to see the subtropical gardens and swannery at Abbotsbury (15 minutes), play on the long sandy beach in Weymouth (25 minutes) or go mackerel fishing from Lyme Regis (40 minutes). Lulworth Cove (35 minutes) in the east and the Seaton Tramway (45 minutes) to the west are also both good places to check out.

Water quality at nearby bathing waters

Name Distance Type 2020201920182017
Hive 12.3 km Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Weymouth Lodmoor 13.7 km Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Bowleaze Cove 13.7 km Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Weymouth Central 14.3 km Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
West Bay (West) 15 km Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

Abbotsbury Swannery 8.1 km

Hardy's Birthplace 11.6 km

Mapperton House & Gardens 13.1 km

Weymouth Sea Life Park and Marine Sanctuary 13.5 km

Radipole Lake Nature Reserve 14 km

National Trust

Max Gate 9.4 km

Hardy's Cottage 11.5 km

Clouds Hill 21.3 km

Montacute House 27.4 km

Tintinhull Garden 29.8 km

Cycle routes

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

Other

BRIDEHEAD 3.1 km

South from Little Bredy 3.6 km

Hardy Monument Circular 4.4 km

A Chess Piece Visit 4.8 km

Eggardon Hill and Powerstock 6.8 km

Local events

  • Dorset County Show (Saturday, September 5, 2026 – Saturday, September 5, 2026)

    Dorchester, England 9.1 km

  • Glastonbury Festival (Wednesday, June 23, 2027 – Wednesday, June 23, 2027)

    Glastonbury, England 48.3 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 Dorset?

Frequently asked questions

  • Does Hardyes Countryside Camping have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is Hardyes Countryside Camping dog friendly? Yes View all features
  • What attractions are near Hardyes Countryside Camping? You’ll probably stop off in Dorchester (15 minutes’ drive) at some point for some shopping, but while you're there it’s worth looking out places like The Keep Military Museum, The Tutankhamun Exhibition … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of Hardyes Countryside Camping?
    RV, travel trailer and tent sites
    Arrive:  8:30 a.m. –  10 p.m.
    Depart by:  11 a.m.
    Read more
  • How much does it cost to stay at Hardyes Countryside Camping? From $46.96 (for 1 night, 5 people) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.