Thorncombe Farm

View prices & book 9.5 88 reviews
Visitor image of the peaceful and good-sized pitch
Visitor image of the peaceful and good-sized pitch
Bell tent
Bell tents
Dining area
A lovely view across the valley.
Kitchen
Showers
Showers
1/47
Bell tent
Bell tents
Dining area

  • Small family-run farm deep in Hardy Country, two miles from Dorchester
  • Less than 10 miles from the Jurassic Coast
  • Firepits for hire, with wood supplied
If you're a Thomas Hardy fan, you'll know about Dorchester: it was where the Tess-writing dude lived and was his inspiration for the town of Casterbridge. And if you're taking the trail, settle down afterwards in a bell tent at Thorncombe Farm – it might be the perfect setting to reread Tess…? Thorncombe is a small family-run livestock farm in Dorset countryside, near the hamlet of Bockhampton where Thomas Hardy was born, and two miles from the county town of Dorchester. Weymouth, Durdle Door, Chesil Beach and the Jurassic Coast are less than 10 miles away. The five-metre bell tents here have been set up for those who want a bit less hassle on hol and who don't want to be faffed with putting up and taking down tents. Each is furnished with a separate dining area with seating and table, as well as a deluxe double and two single beds, carpeting and rugs, a storage cabinet and a mirror. There's electricity to power lighting, a small fridge and recharging points for devices. Each bell tent also has a firepit barbecue (if you'd rather eat out, try Yalbury Cottage Restaurant or Pine Lodge Farm, both in Bockhampton, the Wise Man pub in West Stafford or the Blue Vinny at Puddletown). The Thorncombe team supplies firepits, wood and charcoal – read The Mayor of Casterbridge along with marshmallows, maybe…?

Site type

Rent a tent 5
Caravan sites 25
Motorhome sites 25
Tent sites 25
Open now
Opens 1 May
Please note
  • Dogs are not allowed if you are staying in the accommodation units.
  • If making a fire, the fuel, logs and coal have to be purchased on site.

Languages spoken

English

Open from Thu, 1 May to

Pitch types & availability

Accommodation

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

Reviews

9.5

Overall rating from 88 Pitchup.com customers

  • 79%
    10
  • 2%
    9
  • 14%
    8
  • 0%
    7
  • 2%
    6
  • 0%
    5
  • 1%
    4
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    3
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    2
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    1
Location
 9
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 10
Facilities / Activities
 9
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 7
Peaceful

97% would recommend this site to a friend

93% would stay here again

Reviews page 1 of 9
Arrival date (latest first)

Excellent site

Overall 10/10

Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 10
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 3
Anonymous

Unpowered grass site

Liked Clean toilet and shower. Very quiet place and spacious. very nice and helpful hostess. Various animals add to the atmosphere of this place. I recommend

Disliked Non

Friendly quiet site, lovely owners.…

Overall 10/10

Location
 10
Value for money
 8
Accommodation
 No rating
Facilities / Activities
 No rating
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 No rating
Trudi B.

Unpowered grass site

Liked Friendly quiet site, lovely owners.

Disliked Nothing

Clean, quiet site in a peaceful location. Has a lovely relaxed feeling…

Overall 8/10

Location
 7
Value for money
 8
Accommodation
 7
Facilities / Activities
 5
Customer service
 9
Child friendliness
 8
Cleanliness
 8
Wifi
 No rating
Peter H.

Unpowered grass site

Liked Clean, quiet site in a peaceful location. Has a lovely relaxed feeling to it. The boys also loved feeding grass to the goats.

Showers and toilet facilities were clean and perfectly adequate.

Very convenient for TankFest.

Nice and relaxed where you can choose to pitch up. Showers are…

Overall 9/10

Location
 9
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 9
Facilities / Activities
 9
Customer service
 9
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 9
Wifi
 6
Anonymous

Unpowered grass site

Liked Nice and relaxed where you can choose to pitch up.

Showers are good and warm and toilets nice and clean and washing up area had washing up liquid provided which was a plus as I’d forgot to bring mine!

Owners are lovely and welcoming

Friendly goats and sheep

Several recycling bins provided so you can recycle easily.


The owner recommend a lovely walk along the river to Dorchester where we saw lots of sheep and a dear.

Fantastic setting with everything we needed to explore Dorset.

Overall 10/10

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

Unpowered grass site

Liked Lovely setting with forest walk nearby
Campsite owners were very friendly and helpful.
Our child loved the goats and sheep.

Excellent all rounder with easy access to coast and Dorchester town.

Overall 10/10

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

Bell tent (no pets)

Liked Warm welcome, friendly host, clean, efficient comfortable, enough facilities for the size of the camp and of course the goats!!

Excellent site clean facilities friendly staff grate size pitches

Overall 10/10

Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 10
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 10
Tacha H.

Unpowered grass site

Liked Warm welcome very friendly owners.. everything you need on site. Really quiet even though they have sheep and goats. Beautiful scenery will recommend to anyone

The facilities, goats and the sausages/burgers we bought for dinner. The yurt is…

Overall 10/10

Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 10
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 No rating
Mike W.

Bell tent (no pets)

Liked The facilities, goats and the sausages/burgers we bought for dinner.
The yurt is good and well stocked with kitchen things.

Beautiful place. Always clean facilities. Ness is always accomodating. And most of…

Overall 10/10

Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 10
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 2
Grace L.

Unpowered grass site

Liked Beautiful place. Always clean facilities. Ness is always accomodating. And most of all I have lovely neighbours (the sheeps and the goats).

Disliked None

Perfect

Overall 10/10

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

Unpowered grass site

Liked Peaceful, quiet, clean, warm welcome, a lovely site with lots of wildlife
Would recommend

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 site/unit Composting toilet Dog park Drying room Food shop Free wifi Ice pack freezing Internet access Laundry Local produce Parent & baby washroom Pick-up from public transport Portable toilet Pub toilets Public telephone Shower available Tents for hire Toilet block Washing-up area Wifi

Groups welcome

D. of E. 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

Luxury Peaceful Spectacular scenery Walkers' paradise 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

Medium (26-50 sites)

Nearby leisure

Cycle hire nearby Cycling nearby Fishing nearby Golf nearby Horse riding nearby Indoor pool nearby Leisure/theme park nearby Mountain biking nearby Restaurant nearby Sailing nearby Tennis nearby Watersports nearby

Location

Thorncombe Farm

Higher Bockhampton

Dorchester

Dorset

England

DT2 8QH

Directions

Timezone

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

GPS

50.72417°N
2.39377°W

Nearest transport

Coach
3.5 km South Station
13.3 km Marks and Spencer
20.5 km Post Office
Rail
3.5 km Dorchester South Rail Station
3.7 km Dorchester West Rail Station
6.2 km Moreton (Dorset) Rail Station
Ferry
13.5 km Weymouth Ferry Terminal
28.3 km Poole Ferry Terminal
28.9 km Poole Quay Ferry Landing
Airport
40.1 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

The open woods of Thorncombe and Puddleton are next to Thorncombe Farm with miles of trails for walking, cycling and horse riding. Zorbing is available for the more energetic at the neighbouring farm – ask the Thorncombe team for details – and fishing, sailing and golf are all available locally too. Dorchester is two miles away and well worth at least a day to browse its museums – the Dinosaur Museum is a definite must and also much recommended are the Dorset County Museum, the Tutankhamun Exhibition, and Thomas Hardy's townhouse Max Gate. Plenty of pubs, shops and cafés are in town as well. Weymouth and the Jurassic Coast are a short drive from the farm: go for the long sandy beach, marina and harbour at Weymouth, the castle at Portland and the famed Chesil Beach stretching for about 18 miles to the west towards Lyme Regis. Other nearby Dorset days out could be had at The Tank Museum, the Monkey World Ape Rescue Centre, Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door, Maiden Castle and Abbotsbury Gardens and its swannery.

Water quality at nearby bathing waters

Name Distance Type 2020201920182017
Bowleaze Cove 10 km Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Ringstead Bay 10.8 km Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Weymouth Lodmoor 11.4 km Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Weymouth Central 12.9 km Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Durdle Door West 14 km Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

Hardy's Birthplace 0.7 km

The Tank Museum 11.1 km

Weymouth Sea Life Park and Marine Sanctuary 11.6 km

Monkey World - Ape Rescue Centre 12.8 km

Radipole Lake Nature Reserve 13 km

National Trust

Hardy's Cottage 0.6 km

Max Gate 2.7 km

Clouds Hill 10 km

White Mill 25.1 km

Corfe Castle 25.5 km

Cycle routes

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

Other

Higher Bockhampton - Puddletown Forest 0.5 km

KINGSTON MAURWARD 0.6 km

Beacon Hill - Hardy's Cottage - Stinsford - Beacon Hill 3 km

TOWN WALKS, DORCHESTER 3 km

BOROUGH GARDENS 3.5 km

Local events

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

    Dorchester, England 2.2 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 Dorset?

Frequently asked questions

  • Does Thorncombe Farm have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is Thorncombe Farm dog friendly? Yes View all features
  • What attractions are near Thorncombe Farm? The open woods of Thorncombe and Puddleton are next to Thorncombe Farm with miles of trails for walking, cycling and horse riding. Zorbing is available for the more energetic at the neighbouring … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of Thorncombe Farm?
    Camping and caravan
    Arrive:  3 p.m. –  8 p.m.
    Depart by:  10:30 a.m.
    On-site accommodation
    Arrive:  3 p.m. –  8 p.m.
    Depart by:  10:30 a.m.
    Read more
  • How much does it cost to stay at Thorncombe Farm? From $38.48 (for 1 night, 2 adults) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.