Holmescales Campsite

View prices & book 9.1 212 reviews
Around the site
Around the site
Aerial view of the site
View of the site
Pitches and toilet block
Around the site
Around the site
Around the site
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Aerial view of the site
View of the site
Pitches and toilet block

  • Small site in the Cumbria countryside, 15 minutes’ drive from Kendal
  • Sizergh Castle 15 minutes’ drive; Windermere half an hour
  • Archery, quad biking and axe throwing; toilet and shower block
The gently undulating hills of the Cumbria countryside surround Holmescales Campsite, a small, friendly site a five-minute drive from the hamlet of Old Hutton, with its pretty stone cottages, and 15 minutes from the market town of Kendal. This is a handy spot for getting out into the fresh air and exploring the spectacular landscape, since the site sits between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales national parks. Not only that: being a mere three miles from the M6 and four miles from Oxenholme railway station makes Holmescales a nifty stopover point for those heading to and from Scotland. Life on site is pretty peaceful: each pitch has a view of the Lakeland fells, and you’ll often spot farm animals and wildlife in the surroundings, too. Amenities include shower and toilet blocks and a washing-up station, plus chemical disposal. Couples, families and well-behaved dogs on leads are all welcome to stay here, and barbecues and campfires are permitted to enhance those rural evenings on site – although there are several excellent pubs and restaurants within a few minutes’ drive, too. If it all sounds a tad too laidback, fear not: the folks here run a good set of on-site activities, so you can challenge yourself and have a go at archery, air rifles, crossbows and axe throwing, or spend days quad biking or clay-pigeon shooting. Please note: these activities incur an extra cost, and they’re pretty popular, so you’ll need to book ahead.

Site type

Tent pitches 18
Touring caravan pitches 18
Motorhome pitches 18
Open now
Opens 28 March
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. Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, and Fila Brasileiro).
  • Group bookings of 2 or more units (e.g. tent, touring caravan, motorhome or accommodation hire) travelling together are not permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • No hen/stag parties permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • The site caters for families (immediate members) and couples only - bookings from all other forms of groups are not accepted.
  • This is a quiet site: no music is allowed.
  • 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.

Languages spoken

English

Open from Fri, 28 Mar 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 pitch types

Reviews

9.1

Overall rating from 212 Pitchup.com customers

  • 63%
    10
  • 0%
    9
  • 28%
    8
  • 0%
    7
  • 5%
    6
  • 0%
    5
  • 0%
    4
  • 0%
    3
  • 0%
    2
  • 0%
    1
Location
 9
Value for money
 9
Accommodation
 9
Facilities / Activities
 9
Customer service
 9
Child friendliness
 9
Cleanliness
 9
Wifi
 6
Peaceful

95% would recommend this site to a friend

93% would stay here again

What customers say

Lovely rural views & peaceful vibe. Large, clean pitches, great hot showers. Handy for Lake District, near M6. Basic but well-kept & good value. Some unlevel pitches & rough track. M6 noise mentioned.

Summary AI-generated from Pitchup.com customer reviews

Reviews page 1 of 22
Arrival date (latest first)

Great stay with plenty of space for kids to play.

Overall

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

Non-electric grass pitch

Liked Size of pitches and not too busy.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great views, not too big, clean facilities…

Overall

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

Non-electric grass pitch

Liked Great views, not too big, clean facilities

Recommend to friends Visit again

Amazing views, big pitches, clean facilities. Perfect!

Overall

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

Non-electric grass pitch

Liked Amazing views, big pitches, clean facilities. Perfect!

Recommend to friends Visit again

It was a beautiful site, very peaceful and very accessible…

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 9
Accommodation
 10
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 9
Wifi
 6
Jade M.

Non-electric grass pitch

Liked It was a beautiful site, very peaceful and very accessible

Recommend to friends Visit again

Overall would go back, great stay

Overall

9 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 8
Facilities / Activities
 7
Customer service
 7
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 7
Wifi
 3
Anonymous

Non-electric grass pitch

Liked Great location, lovely views on the campsite easy to find and get set up

Disliked Facilities could have been cleaner wernt regularly cleaned or kept on top of but did the job

Recommend to friends Visit again

Excellent site with good size pitches

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
Deborah L.

Non-electric grass pitch

Liked Well looked after site with very clean showers and toilet blocks . Brilliant that you have the activity centre right next door which is ideal for the kids if wanting something different to do .

Recommend to friends Visit again

Very nice quiet spot to camp at providing that's all you want to do

Overall

7 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 4
Accommodation
 10
Facilities / Activities
 5
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 1
Al C.

Non-electric grass pitch

Liked Flat pitch, beautiful views, close to windermere, very quiet, clean toilets and washing up facilities

Disliked Cold showers 90% of the time lack of entertainment that isnt extremely expensive.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Highly recommend, with clean facilities, great views & level pitches.

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 10
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 6
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 1
Anonymous

Non-electric grass pitch

Liked A very well maintained site, nice and tidy with fantastic rural views across to the Lakeland fells. Wonderfully quiet (well, except for one couple playing music, but that's not the site's fault). Basic facilities but all clean - toilets, showers, washing up sinks, elson point etc. A nice circular walk opposite the driveway entrance.

Disliked As above - one couple seemed to think everyone else wanted to hear their awful taste in music, thankfully they left after the first day - not really the fault of the site owners, as it does specifically say 'no music'.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great views, easy to find and access. Washing up, toilet, and shower…

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
Robert B.

Non-electric grass pitch

Liked Great views, easy to find and access. Washing up, toilet, and shower facilities were clean and good quality. Would stay again.

Disliked Slight road noise from the M6 at night.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Basic quiet site with eautiful views. Could do with more toilets

Overall

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

Electric grass and gravel touring pitch

Liked Quite
Small information board.
Good views
Clean

Disliked Could do with a couple more toilets
(Never used the shower so cannot comment on those)
Some pitches are quite unlevel (make sure you have the means to level out your vehicle if needed)

Recommend to friends Visit again

Features

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

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

Rules

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

Themes

Peaceful Remote location Spectacular scenery Wild camping Wildlife haven

Utilities

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

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby Dog walk nearby Shop nearby

Type

Farm Small (11-25 pitches)

Nearby leisure

Climbing nearby Cycling nearby Horse riding nearby Mountain biking nearby Restaurant nearby

Location

Holmescales Campsite

Holmescales Farm

Old Hutton

Cumbria

England

LA8 0NB

Directions

Timezone

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

GPS

54.27493°N
2.68536°W

Nearest transport

Coach
7.2 km Bus Station
7.2 km Bus Station
7.3 km Bus Station
Rail
4.1 km Oxenholme Lake District Rail Station
7.3 km Kendal Rail Station
10.4 km Burneside (Cumbria) Rail Station
Ferry
17.4 km Fell Foot Country Park Ferry Landing
17.6 km Lakeside Windermere Ferry Landing
18.3 km Bowness Ferry Nab 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

The vast grounds at Sizergh Castle (15 minutes’ drive) include woodlands, wetlands, orchards and a rock garden with a collection of lush ferns. The 14th-century mansion at the heart of it all has displays of Elizabethan furniture, paintings and armour; it is also home to the Inlaid Chamber, with its exquisite oak panelling. Petrolheads will appreciate a day at the Lakeland Motor Museum (25 minutes), where vintage cars and motorcycles are presented within the social context of their respective eras – for example, a 1940s tractor is part of a display on the Women’s Land Army (or Land Girls). There are also exhibits on pedal cars and caravans. There are rowing, sailing and racing boats on display at the Jetty Museum in Windermere (half an hour), where you can also take long strolls on the banks of the lake of the same name. Just a little further south, in Bowness-on-Windermere, children can meet Peter Rabbit, Squirrel Nutkin and other beloved fictional characters at The World of Beatrix Potter Attraction.

Water quality at nearby bathing waters

Name Distance Type 2020201920182017
Morecambe North 24.7 km Estuary GoodN/AGoodGood
Morecambe South 25.7 km Sea N/AN/AGoodGood
Haverigg 40.4 km Sea PoorN/AN/AN/A
Walney West Shore 41.8 km Sea N/AGoodGoodN/A
Walney Sandy Gap 42.2 km Sea N/AGoodGoodN/A

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

Sizergh Castle and Garden 5.7 km

Levens Hall & Gardens 6.3 km

Blackwell, The Arts & Craft House 17.3 km

Windermere Lake Cruises, Lakeside 17.7 km

The World of Beatrix Potter 18.2 km

National Trust

Sizergh Castle and Garden 5.7 km

Fell Foot Park 17.3 km

Cartmel Priory Gatehouse 19.4 km

Windermere and Troutbeck 19.6 km

Hill Top 20.4 km

Cycle routes

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

Other

LEVENS HALL 5.5 km

SIZERGH CASTLE 5.5 km

The River Kent and Kendal 5.9 km

Levens Hall and the River Kent 6 km

Levens Hall and Sizergh Castle 6.1 km

Local events

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

    Penrith, England 36.7 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 The Lake District and Cumbria?

Frequently asked questions

  • Does Holmescales Campsite have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is Holmescales Campsite dog friendly? Yes View all features
  • What attractions are near Holmescales Campsite? The vast grounds at Sizergh Castle (15 minutes’ drive) include woodlands, wetlands, orchards and a rock garden with a collection of lush ferns. The 14th-century mansion at the heart of it all … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of Holmescales Campsite?
    Camping and touring
    Arrive:  1:30 p.m. –  5 p.m.
    Depart by:  12:30 p.m.

    Please call or text when you are close to arriving.

    Read more
  • How much does it cost to stay at Holmescales Campsite? From €29.99 (for 1 night, 4 people) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.