Herston Caravan and Camping

View prices & book 6.5 358 reviews
Well-spaced pitches
Well-spaced pitches
Bell tent
Spacious grass pitches
Bell tent with picnic table
Gather friends and family
Electric hardstanding and grass touring pitch
Friendly site
Bell tents with great rural views
1/130
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
  • Visitor information, 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 mini market that also functions as a visitor information centre, and a takeaway for grabbing food when you're hungry. The spacious and clean toilet blocks have plentiful hot showers, family bathrooms, disabled facilities and washing-up areas. Dogs are also welcome at the park as long as they are kept on a lead and cleaned up after.

Site type

Caravan sites 164
Motorhome sites 164
Tent sites 46
Rent a tent 57
Open all year
Opens
Please note
  • 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).
  • Under 18s must be accompanied by their parents or legal guardians.

Languages spoken

English

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

Reviews

6.5

Overall rating from 358 Pitchup.com customers

  • 24%
    10
  • 2%
    9
  • 21%
    8
  • 3%
    7
  • 14%
    6
  • 3%
    5
  • 8%
    4
  • 1%
    3
  • 12%
    2
  • 6%
    1
Location
 9
Value for money
 7
Accommodation
 6
Facilities / Activities
 5
Customer service
 7
Child friendliness
 7
Cleanliness
 6
Wifi
 5
PeacefulBudget/backpacker

56% would recommend this site to a friend

57% would stay here again

What customers say

Great spot close to Swanage town and beach. Staff are super friendly and helpful, pitches are spacious and tidy. Facilities are clean, though some areas need a spruce-up. Peaceful vibe, popular food van and shop.

Summary AI-generated from Pitchup.com customer reviews

Reviews page 1 of 36
Arrival date (latest first)

Great location however site not very well maintained. Over priced

Overall

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

Fully-serviced concrete and grass caravan site

Liked Location was great that’s the only good thing about this site

Disliked No showers open, toilets appear to have not been cleaned in a long time nor maintained. Only a few toilets open which is fine as off season but all ver run down. Some with no toilet roll, one a broken lock, no hot water in any of the taps. Nothing to dry your hands with. Very over priced have stayed at sites moth much nicer facilities for half the price.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Expensive and unpleasant

Overall

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

Fully-serviced concrete and grass caravan site

Liked 25 min walk to the beach.

Disliked Every thing.
I don’t like leaving bad feedback but this was not a nice place to be. Numerous pitches with old cars in disrepair as you drive in and then you pass through the seasonal pitches which don’t look good. Hard standing pitches are narrow so your wheels are still in the mud (if on out pitches). All but two toilets were closed. The two that were open had no toilet paper, these toilets also had showers, so if someone was in the shower the toilet is out of action. Not that you would want to use the shower, it was disgusting! For the price, we expected more, if you are paying £12 a night we probably wouldn’t be complaining but over £70 for two nights! We nearly left but we stuck it out. Never again.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Lovely campsite amongst pine trees and…

Overall

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

Fully-serviced concrete and grass caravan site

Liked Lovely campsite amongst pine trees and very close to the beach. Friendly and helpful staff and hot food to purchase at the food truck.
Showers were clean and warm and plenty of them.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Brilliant place very peaceful…

Overall

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

Fully-serviced concrete and grass caravan site

Liked Brilliant place very peaceful

Recommend to friends Visit again

Good camp sites, all pitches maintained…

Overall

5 out of 10
Location
 6
Value for money
 7
Accommodation
 No rating
Facilities / Activities
 3
Customer service
 8
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 3
Wifi
 No rating
Anonymous

Fully-serviced concrete slab caravan site (large)

Liked Good camp sites, all pitches maintained well
Can see improvements being made with a new clubhouse although a building site.

Disliked Shower block was not clean and not maintained enough. The main entrance could all do with a tidy up, where the building work is to be done it is very messy.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great location great staff…

Overall

7 out of 10
Location
 8
Value for money
 6
Accommodation
 No rating
Facilities / Activities
 4
Customer service
 7
Child friendliness
 8
Cleanliness
 5
Wifi
 7
Sharon H.

Fully-serviced concrete and grass caravan site

Liked Great location great staff

Recommend to friends Visit again

Would not stay here again and certainly wouldn’t recommend.

Overall

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

Fully-serviced concrete and grass caravan site

Liked Nothing, tired run down.

Disliked Toilets dirty, haven’t been clean for some time.
Whole place looked un kept . clearly no interest in end of season visitors.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Arrived, looked around, and left!

Overall

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

Fully-serviced concrete and grass caravan site

Liked Nothing

Disliked The site was generally in a poor state. The hard standing pitches were overgrown and may have been hard in the past but not any more. Also far from level.

The toilets were disgusting and poorly maintained.

Much of the site is occupied by permanent or long standing residents creating the appearance of a traveller site.

Recommend to friends Visit again

The open space…

Overall

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

Powered grass site

Liked The open space

Disliked Dog shit everywhere
Toilets closed next to our pitch
Locals who live in site where horrible nasty people
Looks like a pikey camp site
No one at reception to collect my deposit for the campfire pit when leaving site. Lost £20
Will not be returning.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Good

Overall

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

Powered grass site

Liked Close to town ,clean toilet shower,nice sized pitch

Disliked Not a dislike but would been nice to know club/bar demolished

Recommend to friends Visit again

Features

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 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 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 Bush Leave the car at home Luxury Peaceful Remote location 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 Public transport nearby

Type

Large (51-200 sites)

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 caravans Seasonal sites Water hook-up points for caravans

Location

Herston Caravan and Camping

Washpond Lane

Swanage

Dorset

England

BH19 3DJ

Directions

Timezone

Europe/London GMT (GMT+00:00)

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

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 caravan
    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 $113.17 (for 2 nights, 6 people) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.