Walesby Forest

View prices & book 8.2 321 reviews
Kayak at the site
Kayak at the site
Swimming pool
The lake
Visitor image of their pitch
Visitor image of the large pitches
Visitor image of their set up
Tent, picnic bench, altar fire/barbecue
Bell tent in amongst the trees
1/265
Swimming pool
The lake
Visitor image of their pitch

  • Adventurous site set in 250 acres of woodland and other rural scenery
  • A mile from Walesby village and 35 minutes' drive from Lincoln
  • On-site bar and shop; over 40 leisure activities on land and water
If you're looking to alternate between relaxing in 250 acres of Robin Hood country and a whole host of adventurous activities for guests over the age of four, seek out a spot at Walesby Forest in leafy Nottinghamshire. The vast range of leisure activities here should help even those averse to alfresco exercise get moving, with popular options including watersports, climbing, archery and rifle shooting. A friendly team of dedicated instructors is on hand to make sure all that outdoor action takes place in a safe, low-pressure environment. The programme is updated daily, with a flexible play and pay policy to keep it all affordable. Time to swap sporty sessions for a bit of downtime? Take your pick from drinks or snacks at the bar, a poolside snooze or rambles through the site's wild woodland areas, where all sorts of animals can be spotted. Angling fans may find it similarly peaceful to take advantage of the free river Maun fishing opportunities available on site. When it comes to food, there's a handy catering barn (which, with advance notice, can sort meals for guests with special dietary requirements), plus a small shop that stocks plenty of sweet treats and souvenirs. If you'd rather step out for dinner, make your way into Walesby (a mile away), where two popular establishments are all set to serve up pub-cooked food. While there may not be a playground on site, there are 250 acres of space for ball games and adventures.

Site type

Tent sites 218
Caravan sites 64
Motorhome sites 4
Lodges, cabins, pods or huts 4
Open now
Opens 27 March
Please note
  • Under 18s must be accompanied by their parents or legal guardians.
  • Your dog must be tattooed or microchipped.
  • Facilities/activities including adventure activities are subject to extra charges payable on arrival.
  • The bar is open between 27/03 and 01/11.
  • Entertainment and activities are available between 28/03 and 01/11.
  • The restaurant is open between 28/03 and 01/11.
  • Discount cards and gift vouchers cannot be applied to bookings made via Pitchup.com.
  • The campground/park caters for families (immediate members) and couples only - bookings from all other forms of groups are not accepted.
  • No hen/stag parties permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • A cable measuring at least 20 metres is needed for the electric hook-ups.
  • The outdoor swimming pool is open between 02/05 and 31/08 (subject to weather conditions).
  • Reception is unmanned after 5:30 p.m.. Please inform the campground while on your way there should you expect to arrive after this time so that the team can provide information about your unit/site.
  • The campground/park does not accept breeds/crossbreeds listed in the Dangerous Dog Act (i.e. Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, and Fila Brasileiro).
  • The games room is open between 27/03 and 01/11.
  • Swimming in the lake is not allowed.

Languages spoken

English

Open from Fri, 27 Mar to

No availability here for your search criteria

Pitch types & availability

Accommodation

Tent sitesCaravan sitesMotorhome sitesLodges, cabins, pods or hutsCaravans for hireRent a tent
Choose your dates
2 adults
0 children
0 dogs
Campervan
Other options

Reviews

8.2

Overall rating from 321 Pitchup.com customers

  • 38%
    10
  • 9%
    9
  • 25%
    8
  • 7%
    7
  • 9%
    6
  • 2%
    5
  • 3%
    4
  • 0%
    3
  • 1%
    2
  • 1%
    1
Location
 9
Value for money
 8
Accommodation
 8
Facilities / Activities
 8
Customer service
 9
Child friendliness
 9
Cleanliness
 7
Wifi
 6
Bush

87% would recommend this site to a friend

82% would stay here again

What customers say

A spacious, tidy woodland site with loads to do, great for families and groups. Friendly staff and good value, though loos and showers could be cleaner and closer. A bit noisy at times, with fewer options for toddlers.

Summary AI-generated from Pitchup.com customer reviews

Reviews page 1 of 33
Arrival date (latest first)

Beautiful secluded wild camping.

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 6
Facilities / Activities
 6
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 7
Wifi
 No rating
denise k. 6 reviews

Unpowered grass site (no pets, wild)

Liked We wild camped which meant no electric but also no neighbours! We camped right next to the trees and the toilet block. Pitch was massive and we're able to put five tents on it. The teenagers took advantage of the free pool and woodland walks. Fire pit was free and facilities in the main camping section good.

Disliked The toilet block in the wild section isn't great. No electric,.no showers, no hot water. Apparently the men's was a bit smelly.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Would recommend

Overall

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

Power optional grass site (no pets)

Liked Excellent location

Disliked Nothing

Recommend to friends Visit again

Beautiful scenery, easy check in with…

Overall

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

Unpowered grass site

Liked Beautiful scenery, easy check in with friendly staff. Lovely big pitches with loads of room.

Disliked There was noise from other people until late at night. Attitude from lifeguards was really poor when addressing people (not in pool area, so wasn’t a safety thing). Didn’t get chance to use pool as it was too busy.

Recommend to friends Visit again

huge site with loads of space

Overall

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

Power optional grass site (no pets)

Liked large pitches, huge site with lots of space

Recommend to friends Visit again

We will return, but hope yhe shower blocks are upgraded by next year.

Overall

8 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 9
Facilities / Activities
 7
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 9
Cleanliness
 5
Wifi
 No rating
Stuart B. 3 reviews

Power optional grass site

Liked The open space and freedom. The activities on offer.

Disliked The shower blocks need to be brought up to standard. One has been done and is great. The others need doing too. A big job but the hook ups could be upgraded to a larger breaker. 6 amp on modern caravan isn't alot.
On hot days there should really be 2 lifeguards on the pool to allow more than 20 in at a time.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Absolutely brilliant place with loads to do. Will be back - AGAIN!!

Overall

9 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 8
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 9
Wifi
 7
 Gemma P. 2 reviews

Power optional grass site (no pets)

Liked All the activities are amazing. So much choice each day although due to heat the poor staff were dropping like flies meaning a few activities couldn’t happen each day.

Great pitch sizes - so much space, loads of room for kids to play. Space to park car next to pitch which made life easier with a small child.

The staff are so lovely - Tom in particular was lovely with my son! But Archie and Izzy also his favs!

Staff were so responsive to any issues - we had a few incidents with the toilet area and genuinely could not fault the staff for responding when tasked.

Showers hot….(bit too hot especially in the hot weather)!

Shop staff were great with my little boy. Nice selection of stuff for sale. Tesco and Asda only 5mins away for bigger shops.

Disliked The pool queuing system needs some thinking about. Especially when hot and at busier times. A token system or similar for each session from the pool would be better than queuing for an hour in the heat.

Getting caught in the midst of a cross country race that literally started and finished outside of our tents! Just some warning would have been nice as we’d have gone out for a bit rather than getting mobbed by nearly 400 people!

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great programme of activities acres of…

Overall

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

Unpowered grass site (no pets)

Liked Great programme of activities acres of space (and fun).
The pool was a welcome relief from the heat!

Recommend to friends Visit again

The space for pitch was amazing…

Overall

8 out of 10
Location
 9
Value for money
 9
Facilities / Activities
 8
Customer service
 7
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 6
Wifi
 No rating
Christian W. 3 reviews

Unpowered grass site (no pets, wild)

Liked The space for pitch was amazing especially for the price

Disliked Nearest toilet block didn't have a light

Recommend to friends Visit again

Amazing!

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 8
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 9
Wifi
 5
 Lisa H. 1 review

Unpowered grass site (no pets)

Liked The pitch was massive. Everyone was well spread out and there was minimal noise through the night. The activities on site were exceptional and kept the kids totally occupied. In the heat the outdoor pool was especially welcome.

Disliked Not very much…if i had to be picky, the toilet block by our pitch was very dated, especially when we found a super nice and modern one elsewhere.

Recommend to friends Visit again

The weather Large pitch Pool tables…

Overall

5 out of 10
Location
 7
Value for money
 5
Facilities / Activities
 3
Customer service
 2
Child friendliness
 5
Cleanliness
 2
Wifi
 1
 Kerrie S. 1 review

Unpowered grass site (large, no pets)

Liked The weather
Large pitch
Pool tables

Disliked How hard to find pitch with tiny markers
Bathroom distance
Filthy toilets and showers
30 mins pool slots that you couldn't book for, you just had to queue up.
Place was tired
Activities closed or unavailable
Rude staff

Recommend to friends Visit again

Features

Dogs allowed

Campfires allowed

Leisure on site

Bar or club house Covered terrace area Cycle hire Evening entertainment Fishing Fitness centre Games room Indoor swimming pool Kids' club On-site cafe On-site restaurant On-site restaurant/cafe Outdoor swimming pool Play area TV room Take away Tennis Watersports

Amenities on site

Baby-changing facilities Bath available Composting toilet Dog park Drying room Food shop Free wifi Ice pack freezing Internet access Laundry 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

Camping 2.0

Jumbo tent sites

Themes

Bush Peaceful Spectacular scenery Walkers' paradise Wild camping Wildlife haven

Utilities

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

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby Convenience store nearby Dog walk nearby Nearby farmers' market Public transport nearby

Type

Very large (over 200 sites)

Accessibility

Accessible parking at site Bathrooms: Large spacious shower Bathrooms: Large spacious toilet Bathrooms: Step-free access Bathrooms: Wheelchair accessible shower Bathrooms: Wheelchair accessible toilet Bathrooms: Wide doorways (over 85 cm) Level campground, no steep slopes Smooth, hard roads e.g. tarmac Step-free or level access

Nearby leisure

Canoeing/kayaking nearby Climbing nearby Cycle hire nearby Cycling nearby Golf nearby Indoor pool nearby Leisure/theme park nearby Mountain biking nearby Outdoor pool nearby Restaurant nearby Watersports nearby

Location

Walesby Forest

Brake Road

Newark

Nottinghamshire

England

NG22 9NG

Directions

Timezone

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

GPS

53.22455°N
0.99979°W

Nearest transport

Coach
10.3 km Hetts Lane
10.4 km Bingo Hall
11.5 km Bus Station
Rail
10.6 km Retford Low Level Rail Station
10.7 km Retford Rail Station
12.7 km Worksop Rail Station
Airport
28.5 km Robin Hood Doncaster Sheffield Airport
29.1 km Robin Hood Doncaster Sheffield Airport
31.8 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

With its tales of Robin Hood, ancient oaks, country houses and lush leafy landscape, Sherwood Forest has something to keep most sorts content. Clumber Park (15 minutes' drive) has long avenues of limes and open heath to stroll through, while over by the Major Oak (10 minutes) you can get acquainted with one of the area's stand-out trees before setting out on several waymarked hiking routes (maps available at the visitor centre next door). Similarly close to base is Go Ape Sherwood (10 minutes), where a medley of segways and zipwires nicely complement any on-site activities you've got up to during your stay. Kids not quite old enough for that kind of activity? Fear not, as families with younger members will find plenty of age-appropriate entertainment at Wheelgate Waterpark (15 minutes) or Sundown Adventureland (20 minutes). Spending time in town is also doable here, as Walesby Forest is just over half an hour from Lincoln's castle, cathedral and urban arboretum. Meanwhile, over in Newark (30 minutes), there's Civil War heritage, antiques shops and weekly markets in a handsome Georgian square, plus hovercraft tours if you fancy something a little different.

Must see

Sherwood Forest Country Park 4.9 km

Mansfield Museum 16.1 km

Bolsover Castle 19.6 km

Hardwick Hall 20.8 km

Hardwick Old Hall 21.5 km

National Trust

Clumber Park 6.5 km

Mr Straw's House 12.6 km

The Workhouse, Southwell 16.5 km

Hardwick Hall 21.5 km

Hardwick Estate: Stainsby Mill 21.5 km

Cycle routes

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

Other

Bothamsall - Robin Hood's Cave - Walesby - Bothamsall 3.1 km

THORESBY PARK 3.1 km

The Major Oak and Sherwood Forest 4.9 km

The Major Oak - Sherwood Forest - Edwinstowe 4.9 km

Clumber and Surrounding Forests - Robin Hood Way 6.2 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.

Want to know more about camping in Nottinghamshire?

Frequently asked questions

  • Does Walesby Forest have a swimming pool? Yes View all features
  • Is Walesby Forest dog friendly? Yes View all features
  • What attractions are near Walesby Forest? With its tales of Robin Hood, ancient oaks, country houses and lush leafy landscape, Sherwood Forest has something to keep most sorts content. Clumber Park (15 minutes' drive) has long avenues of … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of Walesby Forest?
    Camping and caravan
    Arrive:  2 p.m. –  10 p.m.
    Depart by:  11 a.m.
    On-site accommodation
    Arrive:  2 p.m. –  10 p.m.
    Depart by:  11 a.m.

    Please call the duty manager on the number provided if you are running late.

    Read more
  • How much does it cost to stay at Walesby Forest? From $44.94 (for 1 night, 2 adults) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.