The Racecourse Retreat

View prices & book 9.5 207 reviews
Pitches
Pitches
Views over derbyshire
Tent pitch
Top of the pitches
The meadow pitches
Views
Meadow area
Meadows on site
1/277
Views over derbyshire
Tent pitch
Top of the pitches

  • Spacious family-friendly pop-up site in the Derbyshire countryside
  • Four miles from the Peak District; a 15-minute drive from Matlock
  • Back to basics pitches with firepits; close to walks and bike routes
Planning on moseying on down to the Peak District for trails, historic estates and rural landscapes? From the Racecourse Retreat four miles from the edge of the national park, you’ll be in for a restful retreat with delicious views and green surroundings. This quiet, rural and family-friendly smallholding is just 15 minutes’ drive away from buzzy towns such as Matlock and 35 minutes from royal sites like Chatsworth House. It is a fairly simple setup here, with spacious pitches that have access to showers and toilets, plus firepit areas for a feelgood gathering, waste and recycling points, a dishwashing station and drinking water. This area is walking and biking trails galore, beginning with the High Peak Trail around five minutes’ drive away. At the same time, tourist hotspots such as Carsington Water, Cromford Mills and Matlock Bath are within 15 minutes’ drive of the site. Just above the town of Wirksworth and the small village of Cromford, there are shops, pubs, restaurants, cafes and takeaways a short walk away so that guests can grab all the goods they desire for an easy off-grid stay. And in the opposite direction, Belper (15 minutes’ drive) and then Ashbourne (20 minutes’ drive) are some more lively calls with eateries and the likes – or there's a bigger city break to Derby 35 minutes’ drive away in case that’s your next plan of action.

Site type

Rent a tent 1
Tent pitches 50
Open now
Opens 11 July
Please note
  • Under 18s must be accompanied by their parents or legal guardians.
  • The site does not accept breeds/crossbreeds listed in the Dangerous Dogs Act (i.e. XL Bully, Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, and Fila Brasileiro).
  • Discount cards and gift vouchers cannot be applied to bookings made via Pitchup.com.
  • Guests are advised to bring a good quality torch with them as parts of the site are unlit.
  • Please note that the toilet/shower facilities are unisex.
  • Fires, barbecues and/or firepits will not be permitted in dry, windy and/or hot weather conditions.

Languages spoken

English

Open from Fri, 11 Jul to

Pitch types & availability

Accommodation

Tent pitchesTouring caravan pitchesMotorhome pitchesLodges, cabins, pods or hutsCaravans for hireRent a tent
Choose your dates
2 adults
0 children
Other options

Reviews

9.5

Overall rating from 207 Pitchup.com customers

  • 78%
    10
  • 2%
    9
  • 14%
    8
  • 0%
    7
  • 3%
    6
  • 0%
    5
  • 0%
    4
  • 0%
    3
  • 0%
    2
  • 0%
    1
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 9
Facilities / Activities
 9
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 6
Spectacular scenery

93% would recommend this site to a friend

93% would stay here again

What customers say

Lovely site with great views, pitches, and staff. Clean facilities, popular bar/food. Very family-friendly. Some suggest more toilets/showers during busy times and wish for better shower pressure, but many want to return.

Summary AI-generated from Pitchup.com customer reviews

Reviews page 1 of 21
Arrival date (latest first)

Views to die for, friendly staff who were always cleaning

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
John D.

Electric grass tent or motorhome pitch

Liked Pop-up bar
Amazing views
Friendly staff
Clean toilets/showers
Peaceful
Shop on site
Dog run

Recommend to friends Visit again

Absolutely everything about the place, so peaceful and relaxing just what we…

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
Richard W.

Electric grass tent or motorhome pitch

Liked Absolutely everything about the place, so peaceful and relaxing just what we needed, toilets and shower was very clean, staff was brilliant will definitely be booking again before they close

Recommend to friends Visit again

Lovely site with friendly staff. Facilities very good and clean.

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
petra s.

Non-electric grass tent or motorhome pitch

Liked Such a welcome on arrival. A lovely clean site. The first time camping with a tent, owners couldn’t do enough with any issues we experienced. Wonderful weekend break. We will be returning to this site.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Nice campsite, but not enough showers or toilets, and shower Issue

Overall

5 out of 10
Location
 7
Value for money
 8
Accommodation
 5
Facilities / Activities
 1
Customer service
 5
Child friendliness
 5
Cleanliness
 8
Wifi
 1
Sharon L.

Electric grass tent or motorhome pitch

Liked The campsite itself was fine, with a decent layout and a pleasant natural environment.

Disliked The biggest issue was the facilities. For such a large area, there were only three toilets and three showers, which were clearly not enough to meet demand. Even worse, the water would suddenly stop while showering. This seemed to happen when multiple people were showering at the same time, likely due to poor water pressure. It made the whole experience really uncomfortable — we didn’t even want to shower because of the stress it caused. We will not be coming back.

Recommend to friends Visit again

100% rebooking next time we camp

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

Non-electric grass tent or motorhome pitch

Liked Flat pitches
Large field
Well maintained
Food on-site
Bar on site
Ablutions
Views
Child-friendly atmosphere/activities

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great site for views and price, facilities need improvement

Overall

8 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 10
Facilities / Activities
 2
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 1
Kyle M.

Electric grass tent or motorhome pitch

Liked Great location with scenic views, nice staff, great price and on site pub with food options

Disliked Facilities don't meet the needs for the amount of visitors, 3 W/C's for the entire campsite always resulted in queues no matter the time.

Showers were clean but are on a timer for around 10 seconds, the water temperature and pressure were inconsistent when others are in use and results in a frustrating experience. They also had the same problems as the toilets with the limited quantities and would result in queues in the mornings

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thank you for your 8/10 review
Sorry you found the facilities a problem, our showers are not fitted with timers & we do have 7 toilets & 4 urial's
Keep a look out on our socials for brand new facilities for our 2026 season🏕️

We had a great 3 night stay. Very chilled, clean and spacious. Perfect…

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

Non-electric grass tent or motorhome pitch

Liked We had a great 3 night stay. Very chilled, clean and spacious.
Perfect for a short break.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Fabulous views from the site, near to a decent pub. Weekends…

Overall

8 out of 10
Location
 9
Value for money
 8
Accommodation
 9
Facilities / Activities
 8
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 9
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 No rating
Anonymous

Electric grass tent or motorhome pitch

Liked Fabulous views from the site, near to a decent pub. Weekends onsite bar and food. Staff lovely and couldn't have been more helpful.

Disliked Showers a bit in short supply.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Excellent site nice family vibe

Overall

9 out of 10
Location
 9
Value for money
 9
Accommodation
 No rating
Facilities / Activities
 7
Customer service
 9
Child friendliness
 8
Cleanliness
 7
Wifi
 9
Anonymous

Electric grass tent or motorhome pitch

Liked Large pitches
Very well maintained
Friendly owners
Sand pit for kids
Free fire pits if needed

Recommend to friends Visit again

Fantastic site, would return.

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 5
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 10
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 1
Michael P.

Non-electric grass tent or motorhome pitch

Liked Everything! Ablutions, space.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Features

Pop-up campsite

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 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

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 Peaceful Remote location Spectacular scenery Walkers' paradise

Utilities

Charging facilities Chemical disposal Communal fridge 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

Large (51-200 pitches) Pop-up campsite

Nearby leisure

Canoeing/kayaking nearby Climbing nearby Cycle hire nearby Cycling nearby Fishing nearby Horse riding nearby Indoor pool nearby Mountain biking nearby Restaurant nearby Sailing nearby Watersports nearby

Location

The Racecourse Retreat

Hay Lane

Wirksworth

Derbyshire

England

DE4 4AF

Directions

Timezone

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

GPS

53.07337°N
1.55707°W

Nearest transport

Coach
5.1 km Fishpond Hotel
5.1 km Fishpond Hotel
7.2 km Railway Station
Rail
3.7 km Whatstandwell Rail Station
4.4 km Cromford Rail Station
5.3 km Ambergate Rail Station
Airport
31.4 km East Midlands Airport
37.7 km Sheffield City 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

Where to wander first? A climb to the Black Rocks (five minutes’ drive) for views over the countryside? A little stroll around Bakewell (half an hour), over its medieval bridge, perhaps to pick up a Bakewell pudding for the riverbank? The mills and canal at Cromford Mills (10 minutes)? Or onto the Tissington Trail (20 minutes) for the Derbyshire Dales, a limestone ravine and stepping stones? In Matlock (10 minutes), you’ll have the choice of spas and shopping and further out, the Matlock Farm Park (25 minutes) for an afternoon of full-on animal activities such as horse riding. There’s a farmyard with animals at Chatsworth House (35 minutes) too, but this grand place is packed full with much more to do, from playgrounds to house tours and pretty picnics in the gardens. The same kind of vibe goes at Haddon Hall (35 minutes), a medieval hall and park with tours. After some water-based action too? Carsington Water (15 minutes) is your guy, thanks to its watersports centre running rowing, canoeing, windsurfing and kayaking. And on dry land, there's cycling, walking and fishing to get your senses tingling.

Must see

Arkwright's Cromford Mills 4.1 km

Sir Richard Arkwright's Masson Mills 4.4 km

Kedleston Hall 11.8 km

Haddon Hall 15.3 km

Chatsworth 16.7 km

National Trust

Winster Market House 9.4 km

Kedleston Hall 12.9 km

Hardwick Hall 19.6 km

Hardwick Estate: Stainsby Mill 19.6 km

The Old Manor 20.5 km

Cycle routes

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

Other

Alport Heights - Kirk Ireton Circular 1.4 km

Wirksworth - Bolehill - Middleton Top - Wirksworth 1.5 km

Cromford (Black Rocks) - Middleton Top - Kirk Ireton - Black Rocks 2.8 km

Lea Bridge - Whatstandwell - Alderwasley - Lea Bridge 3.6 km

Derwent Valley Mills Buffer Zone 4.2 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 sites

Unfortunately, we have no nearby bookable sites.

Want to know more about camping in Derbyshire?

Frequently asked questions

  • Does The Racecourse Retreat have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is The Racecourse Retreat dog friendly? Yes View all features
  • What attractions are near The Racecourse Retreat? Where to wander first? A climb to the Black Rocks (five minutes’ drive) for views over the countryside? A little stroll around Bakewell (half an hour), over its medieval bridge, perhaps to … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of The Racecourse Retreat?
    Camping and touring
    Arrive:  1 p.m. –  7 p.m.
    Depart by:  11 a.m.
    On-site accommodation
    Arrive:  1 p.m. –  7 p.m.
    Depart by:  11 a.m.
    Read more
  • How much does it cost to stay at The Racecourse Retreat? From €22.91 (for 1 night, 4 people) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.