Herston Caravan and Camping

View prices & book 6.4 428 reviews
Well-spaced pitches
Bell tent
Spacious grass pitches
Bell tent with picnic table

  • Holiday park one mile from the beach in Swanage
  • Half an hour's drive from Monkey World and Durdle Door
  • Playground, shop and takeaway on site; dogs welcome
Three cheers for this one on Dorset's Jurassic Coast: Herston Caravan and Camping is a family-friendly site only five minutes' drive away from the town of Swanage and its sandy beach. Everyone should find a full programme of stuff to do and see in this neck of the woods: perhaps rides on the steam-powered Swanage Railway, windsurfing down at Swanage Bay or clifftop walks on the South West Coast Path. The popular attractions of Corfe Castle, Old Harry Rocks and Durdle Door are all under half an hour's drive away too. Facilities on site include a playground and a mini market that also functions as a visitor information centre. Grab food from the takeaway on site when you're hungry. The spacious and clean toilet blocks have plentiful hot showers, family bathrooms and disabled facilities, and the site also has a launderette and a washing-up area. Dogs are also welcome at the park as long as they are kept on a lead and cleaned up after.

Site type

Touring caravan pitches 164
Motorhome pitches 164
Tent pitches 46
Rent a tent 57
Open all year
Opens
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).

Languages spoken

English

No availability here for your search criteria

Pitch types & availability

Other options

Reviews

  • 25%
    10
  • 1%
    9
  • 18%
    8
  • 2%
    7
  • 19%
    6
  • 1%
    5
  • 9%
    4
  • 0%
    3
  • 18%
    2
  • 3%
    1
Location
9
Value for money
7
Accommodation
6
Facilities / Activities
6
Customer service
7
Child friendliness
7
Cleanliness
6
Wifi
5

52% would recommend this site to a friend

51% would stay here again

What customers say

Cosy campsite, handily placed for Swanage town & beach. Good value, great staff, fab WiFi & pitches. Facilities generally good but some are a bit tired. Cleanliness & noise a mixed bag.

Summary AI-generated from Pitchup.com customer reviews

Reviews page 1 of 43
Arrival date (latest first)

Would like to see a ruling applied to music/noise after 11pm

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
9
Value for money
9
Accommodation
No rating
Facilities / Activities
1
Customer service
6
Child friendliness
No rating
Cleanliness
7
Wifi
1
Donna O.

Electric grass pitch

Liked New toilet/showers but need to be cleaned more often. Great food from the wagon - good value for money. Seaview field well cared for. Great access by foot into Swanage.

Disliked Speed limit for cars etc 5mph but youngsters bombing around on their bikes in excess of this speed. Witnessed an 8year old on a battery powered motor bike doing at least 20 mph. Reported to Reception.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Level pitches but untidy. No road noise. Would not recommend

Overall

2 out of 10
Location
6
Value for money
2
Accommodation
No rating
Facilities / Activities
1
Customer service
1
Child friendliness
No rating
Cleanliness
1
Wifi
4
Anonymous

Fully-serviced hardstanding and grass touring pitch

Liked An easy walk to Swanage. Burger van did a great trade.

Disliked In a nutshell..loos and showers yuk, no loo roll, door locks and shower doors broken, bins overflowing, very untidy sad looking site, not well kept and needs some love and attention. The roads were all gravel which was thrown everywhere when people were driving fast along them and created loose stones and dust everywhere. Dogs without leads, people driving too fast, people smoking w..d so had to keep our windows and doors shut. Someone even let off a flippin big firework ! Only saw one member of staff the whole time and she was a litter picker. They are having a new pool complex built but they need to get the site up to a better standard first, it could be a great.

Recommend to friends Visit again

If we came to Swanage again would choose another site.

Overall

5 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
7
Accommodation
No rating
Facilities / Activities
1
Customer service
5
Child friendliness
No rating
Cleanliness
2
Wifi
No rating
Anonymous

Fully-serviced hardstanding and grass touring pitch

Liked Walking distance to Swanage, bottom of site shower cubicles were ok.

Disliked General look of the site was very scruffy, toilets and showers at top of site needs attention so did not take a chance on them. One option of food from a trailer, which was ok, nothing to do there. Perhaps when new club house built it may be better.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Really great site. Nice and clean, lots to look at.

Overall

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

Electric grass pitch

Liked Great facilities! Toilets & showers at every turn! Nice clean washing up area with hot running water. Showers were nice and hot & quite powerful! Food available on site that was great! Ok its not luxury food, but theres a huge selection. Shop on site was very reasonably priced, with absolutely everything you could possibly need or want in it!

Pitches were nice and flat.

Overall it was a great site! Our Son had a great time playing with all the other kids and we could relax knowing he was in a safe space.

Disliked The only issue we had was finding a water filling point. Bathroom sinks were small so couldn't get our water tank in it. To be fair, we didn't ask anyone either. Im just basing this on what was sign posted etc.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great stay, we will camp again

Overall

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

Fully-serviced hardstanding and grass touring pitch

Liked Location for Swanage & Studland

Recommend to friends Visit again

Nice site walking distance to shops…

Overall

6 out of 10
Location
6
Value for money
7
Accommodation
No rating
Facilities / Activities
7
Customer service
7
Child friendliness
No rating
Cleanliness
5
Wifi
No rating
Jorgen F.

Fully-serviced hardstanding and grass touring pitch

Liked Nice site walking distance to shops and beach, good showers and toilets shop and food on site, electricity hook up

Recommend to friends Visit again

No comment

Overall

1 out of 10
Location
8
Value for money
2
Accommodation
No rating
Facilities / Activities
1
Customer service
4
Child friendliness
No rating
Cleanliness
1
Wifi
No rating
Anonymous

Fully-serviced hardstanding and grass touring pitch

Liked The burger van and location the only plus points

Disliked Like the set up with the hard standing pitches but looks untidy with weeds coming through the stone should have had a membrane put down first to suppress the weeds.toilet and shower facilities are very poor and lack cleaning and maintenance,shame but will not be retuning to this site again

Recommend to friends Visit again

The staff very friendly and helpful…

Overall

5 out of 10
Location
9
Value for money
No rating
Accommodation
No rating
Facilities / Activities
3
Customer service
9
Child friendliness
No rating
Cleanliness
2
Wifi
No rating
Anonymous

Fully-serviced hardstanding touring pitch (large)

Liked The staff very friendly and helpful

Disliked Facilities need repair or updating

Recommend to friends Visit again

Close walk to Swanage town.…

Overall

5 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
5
Accommodation
No rating
Facilities / Activities
3
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
No rating
Cleanliness
1
Wifi
No rating
John W.

Fully-serviced hardstanding and grass touring pitch

Liked Close walk to Swanage town.

Disliked Toilets and shower blocks not very clean. No toilet roll holders,no soap to wash your hands,no hot water in one block,no paper towels to dry your hands, floors dirty. Two night stay,did not see anyone cleaning the facilities.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Location and price. 5 mins drive…

Overall

6 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
No rating
Facilities / Activities
4
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
No rating
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
No rating
Peter M.

Fully-serviced hardstanding and grass touring pitch

Liked Location and price. 5 mins drive to town, or 20 mins walk.
Good shop on site
Nice food van on site at reasonable prices.

Disliked Site quite basic, and catered for large groups of guys - which unsurprisingly meant thumping loud music until 4.00 am. (To be fair, the owner threw them out next morning, but could do with 'policing' at night if that kind of booking is allowed).
Luck of the draw whether showers were hot or cold. (Great when they worked which was 50% of the time.

Recommend to friends Visit again


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 Launderette Local produce 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 Forest Leave the car at home Luxury Peaceful Remote location Spectacular scenery Walkers' paradise 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 Public transport nearby Shop nearby

Type

Large (51-200 pitches)

Nearby leisure

Canoeing/kayaking nearby Climbing nearby Cycle hire nearby Cycling nearby Fishing nearby Golf nearby Horse riding nearby Indoor pool nearby Leisure/theme park nearby Mountain biking nearby Outdoor pool nearby Restaurant nearby Sailing nearby Surf school nearby Tennis nearby Watersports nearby

Touring and motorhomes

Drainage hook-up points for tourers Seasonal pitches Water hook-up points for tourers

Location

Herston Caravan and Camping

Washpond Lane

Swanage

Dorset

England

BH19 3DJ

Directions

Timezone

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

GPS

50.61816°N
1.97913°W

Nearest transport

Coach
1.6 km Bus Station
5.8 km East Street
5.8 km East Street
Rail
11.3 km Poole Rail Station
11.9 km Parkstone (Dorset) Rail Station
12.2 km Hamworthy Rail Station
Ferry
7.2 km Shell Bay Ferry Terminal
7.6 km Sandbanks Ferry Terminal
8 km Brownsea Island Ferry Landing
Airport
20.5 km Bournemouth International 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

A five-minute drive gets you into Swanage for sandy walks, sandcastle building, splashing about and more serious watersports. To kayak round the cliffs and coves of the Jurassic Coast, make for Knoll beach (10 minutes' drive) or Lulworth Cove (40 minutes) to hire your craft and see the place from sea level. The 630 mile-long South West Coast Path passes through town: pick it up and head eastwards to the Studland and Godlington Heath Nature Reserve to see the wild and nature-filled Wessex that inspired Thomas Hardy (or hire a steed from the trekking centre for extra historical detail). Going west, the path goes past the splendid sights of Stair Hole and Durdle Door (40 minutes), while descents of varying steepness lead down to quiet and cove-like beaches like Winspit (accessible only on foot from Worth Matravers, 10 minutes away) and Kimmeridge (half an hour). For a spot of time travel, pick up the Swanage Railway for a nine-mile steam trip to Wareham, perhaps stopping off en route for a clamber round the ruins of Corfe Castle (10 minutes). Younger visitors should have a ball among the play barns, pedal go-karts and pettable animals at the Putlake Adventure Farm, five minutes away. Further afield, there are pony rides, deer safaris, tractor trips and bouncy castles at Farmer Palmer's Farm Park (30 minutes), and at a similar distance the heavy hardware in The Tank Museum and the charming residents of Monkey World should keep everyone's monkeys out of mischief.

Water quality at nearby bathing waters

Name Distance Type 2020201920182017
Swanage Central 1.6 km Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Studland Knoll House 4.2 km Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Shell Bay North 7 km Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Poole Sandbanks Peninsular 8.4 km Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Poole Shore Road Beach 9.2 km Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

Swanage Railway 1.6 km

Studland Beach and Nature Reserve 4.8 km

Corfe Castle 6.1 km

Brownsea Island 8 km

Dorset Cruises 13.1 km

National Trust

Studland Beach and Nature Reserve 3.5 km

Corfe Castle 6 km

Brownsea Island 7.9 km

White Mill 21.5 km

Kingston Lacy 21.7 km

Cycle routes

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

Other

Herston - Worth Matravers - Corfe 0.6 km

Swanage to Corfe Circular Walk 3 km

Durlston Castle Historic Landscape 3 km

Studland - Old Harry - Ballard Down - Studland 3.6 km

Worth Matravers - Cliffs, Caves and Chapel 4.7 km

Local events

  • Dorset County Show (Saturday 6 September 2025 – Saturday 6 September 2025)

    Dorchester, England 33.5 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 Herston Caravan and Camping have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is Herston Caravan and Camping dog friendly? Yes View all features
  • What attractions are near Herston Caravan and Camping? A five-minute drive gets you into Swanage for sandy walks, sandcastle building, splashing about and more serious watersports. To kayak round the cliffs and coves of the Jurassic Coast, make for Knoll … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of Herston Caravan and Camping?
    Camping and touring
    Arrive:  noon –  10 p.m.
    Depart by:  11 a.m.
    On-site accommodation
    Arrive:  3 p.m. –  Anytime
    Depart by:  10 a.m.
    Read more
  • How much does it cost to stay at Herston Caravan and Camping? From €57.81 (for 2 nights, 6 people) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.