Rockinghams Farm

View prices & book 9.2 71 reviews
Visitor image of the pitch
Visitor image of the pitch
Visitor image of the pitch area, with sunset view
Visitor image of the pod with fire pit
Woodland path in spring
Pod exterior
Sundown over a tent
Camping and glamping by the water
The site
1/83
Visitor image of the pitch area, with sunset view
Visitor image of the pod with fire pit
Woodland path in spring

  • Simple and secluded site on a working farm close to the A12
  • A 20-minute drive from Colchester or Mersea Island
  • Fishing lake on farm; firewood and charcoal for sale
Seeking out a very peaceful place, where tracks, footpaths and woodland trails will allow you to get out and see wildlife? Relax and track down spectacular sunsets? Then map out the way to Rockinghams Farm, a simple and secluded spot surrounded by Essex countryside. This farm site has easy access to the A12, making it quick to spend time in Colchester (20 minutes' drive) or to see its several family-friendly attractions. Bringing your own bike or hiring one locally is another excellent shout – the site may be tucked away in the countryside, but you may be surprised how much you can reach under your own steam. The camping field is vehicle-free meaning that children are free to roam and play (there is a dedicated parking area close to all of the accommodation) – but please do remember that this is a working farm, so kids need to be supervised at all times. There's also a fishing lake on site, with guest fishing available on request. Rockinghams Farm is in the hamlet of Layer Marney and five minutes' drive from Tiptree, where there are supermarkets, pubs and plenty of places to eat. Other local highlights include Mersea Island (20 minutes), where it's possible to hire watersports equipment before settling down for a meal of local oysters by the waterfront.

Campground type

Tent sites 6
Lodges, cabins, pods or huts 2
Open all year
Opens
Please note
  • Under 18s must be accompanied by their parents or legal guardians.
  • The park does not accept breeds/crossbreeds listed in the Breed-specific legislation (i.e. Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, and Fila Brasileiro).
  • No bachelor/bachelorette parties permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • The park only allows dogs up to 10kg.
  • Bookings must not be for more than 14 consecutive nights.
  • No cars/motorcycles at the site. All cars must be parked in the designated area.
  • At least one of the party members must be aged 21 or over.
  • Guests are advised to bring a good quality flashlight with them as parts of the park are unlit.
  • Please note that the toilet/shower facilities are unisex.

Languages spoken

English

Campsite types & availability

Accommodation

Tent sitesCamper sitesRV sitesLodges, cabins, pods or hutsMobile homes for rentRent a tent
Choose your dates
2 adults
0 children

Reviews

9.2

Overall rating from 71 Pitchup.com customers

  • 70%
    10
  • 0%
    9
  • 22%
    8
  • 1%
    7
  • 2%
    6
  • 1%
    5
  • 1%
    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
 5
Peaceful

94% would recommend this campground to a friend

92% would stay here again

What customers say

This peaceful, rural campsite earns praise for its beautiful woodland and meadow sites, offering a quiet escape. Guests highlight friendly, helpful owners, clean facilities including hot showers, and readily available fire pits. While generally well-received, some note the limited toilets/showers could be an issue during busy times. Recommended for tranquility seekers.

Summary AI-generated from Pitchup.com customer reviews

Reviews page 1 of 8
Arrival date (latest first)

Quiet location. Well maintained and clean. Fire pits allowed…

Overall

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

Primitive grass tent campsite

Liked Quiet location.
Well maintained and clean.
Fire pits allowed

Recommend to friends Visit again

Location, facilities…

Overall

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

Primitive grass tent campsite

Liked Location, facilities

Disliked Strumming in the morning, could have been done after all the site had woken up and set out for the day

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Hi

Thank you for your review.
I’m sorry if there was noise in the morning. I’m sure it wouldn’t be strimming as that is all done in the week and not on a Saturday. Although it is a working farm and there will be some noise from other vehicles/machinery most of the time.

Many thanks 🙏

Location was lovely and very quiet place to stay. Beautiful scenery. Owners…

Overall

8 out of 10
Location
 9
Value for money
 6
Accommodation
 No rating
Facilities / Activities
 7
Customer service
 8
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 5
Wifi
 1
Anonymous

Primitive forest floor tent campsite (wild)

Liked Location was lovely and very quiet place to stay. Beautiful scenery. Owners were friendly and helpful

Disliked A bit pricey for me personally as a solo traveler but can see value for two or more people.

Recommend to friends Visit again

One of the best campsites I've ever been to. The woodland pitch…

Overall

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

Primitive forest floor tent campsite (wild)

Liked One of the best campsites I've ever been to. The woodland pitch was gorgeous, with a large clearing and a firepit. Plenty of trees to string a tarp up, and very friendly and helpful service. I will definitely be coming back!

Recommend to friends Visit again

A good site when limited visitors but one to avoid if highly booked.

Overall

5 out of 10
Location
 8
Value for money
 5
Accommodation
 5
Facilities / Activities
 6
Customer service
 8
Child friendliness
 4
Cleanliness
 5
Wifi
 2
Dean D.

Primitive grass tent campsite

Liked Greeting from Josephine, fantastic location for walks, wooded areas and hot water for shower. Site was relatively quiet during our visit. Grass for pitches was kept short.

Disliked Only one cubicle with combined shower and toilet. Even with 10 visitors using was not ideal any more than that would suggest be problematic. The kitchen area was in the open so less than ideal when raining and really very shabby.

Recommend to friends Visit again

The owner, was friendly but real needs to sort the site out.

Overall

4 out of 10
Location
 5
Value for money
 1
Accommodation
 3
Facilities / Activities
 1
Customer service
 1
Child friendliness
 1
Cleanliness
 1
Wifi
 1
Anonymous

Primitive grass tent campsite

Liked So Rockingham farm, is a small site, situated on a Essex farm, some miles from any town / village. It is a great place for peace and quite.

Disliked The major disadvantage of the site is the facilities There is only one shower and combined toilet cubical! Now when we stayed, there was a total of nine persons on the site and due to this the toilet roll ran out and was not restocked by the owner.
On the third evening the shower no long had hot water, so instead on staying the third night we choose to leave in the evening.
The washing up area was in an extremely poor condition. (left unclean).
This site is the closest I’ve ever come to wild camping.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Excellent place!

Overall

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

Primitive grass tent campsite

Liked Nature all around. Woods pitch option available

Recommend to friends Visit again

Stayed in a forest pitch for one night with my two boys…

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
 10
James M.

Primitive forest floor tent campsite (wild)

Liked Stayed in a forest pitch for one night with my two boys aged 13 and 10 for their first ever camp out. They absolutely loved it! Site was perfect and the owner who met us on arrival was really friendly. Thoroughly recommend 👍

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great hideaway

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
 6
Paul M.

Camping pod

Liked I stayed for 3 nights during a March cold snap, and whilst the pods are fairly basic and compact they are very warm and snug and surprisingly comfy. I will be back.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Fantastic location with great facilities and friendly people

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
 4
Andrew P.

Camping pod

Liked Myself and my daughter stayed one night in a camping on and it was brilliant. The location was lovely, on the edge of woodland but overlooking fields and farms. The facilities were just what you need, toilets, shower room, outside kitchen. Inside the pod was clean and warm with extra facilities like a mini kitchen.

We were welcomed when we arrived and shown around.

We were only there for the night as a stop over but still had a lovely time, would loved to have stayed longer

Recommend to friends Visit again

Features

Dogs allowed

Campfires allowed

Leisure on park

Bar or club house Cycle hire Evening entertainment Fishing Fitness centre Indoor swimming pool Kids' club On-site restaurant/cafe Outdoor swimming pool Playground Recreation room/arcade TV room Takeout Tennis Watersports

Amenities on park

Bath available Composting toilet Dog park Drying room Free wifi Grocery store Ice pack freezing Internet access Laundromat Parent & baby washroom Payphone Pick-up from public transport Portable toilet Pub toilets Restrooms Shower available Washing-up area Wifi

Groups welcome

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

Rules

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

Themes

Budget/backpacker Hikers’ paradise Peaceful Remote location Spectacular scenery Wildlife haven

Utilities

Charging facilities Dump station Electric car charging point(s) Propane/gas cylinders available Recycling available Renewable energy

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby Convenience store nearby Dog walk nearby

Type

Farm Tiny (1-10 sites)

Nearby leisure

Fishing nearby Restaurant nearby Watersports nearby

Location

Rockinghams Farm

Rockinghams Farm

Layer Marney

Colchester

Essex

England

CO5 9UL

Directions

Timezone

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

GPS

51.81322°N
0.78639°E

Nearest transport

Bus
6.3 mi The George
6.3 mi The George
7.1 mi Stanwell Street
Rail
4.1 mi Kelvedon Rail Station
4.7 mi Marks Tey Rail Station
6.3 mi Witham (Essex) Rail Station
Ferry
10.1 mi Point Clear Ferry Landing
10.2 mi Brightlingsea Ferry Landing
13.1 mi Burnham on Crouch Ferry Landing
Airport
17.3 mi London Southend Airport
23.1 mi London Stansted 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

Hunt down some historic sites… you could climb up England’s highest Tudor gatehouse, the Layer Marney Tower (roughly half an hour's walk), or have a bite to eat with some Tiptree preserves in the secret tea garden that belongs to the family’s old farmhouse over at Tiptree Tea Room, Museum and Jam Shop (five minutes' drive). With the historic town centre and castle in Colchester (20 minutes), there’s much for history fans to have a nose around. Families will find plenty to do there too, though, as Colchester Zoo (10 minutes) is likely to entertain any small family members… The classic seaside, too. West Mersea (20 minutes) has all the staples of that, from beach huts to a jetty that’s just the place to whip out a line and give crabbing a go. Craving some good, unfiltered nature? There’s plenty to go around while on cycles or walks around the Dedham Vale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (30 minutes), and the RSPB Old Hall Marshes (15 minutes) or Abberton Reservoir Nature Discovery Park (15 minutes) too – these are two prime spots to spy on wildlife or birdlife.

Water quality at nearby bathing waters

Name Distance Type 2020201920182017
West Mersea 6.8 mi Sea N/AGoodN/AN/A
Brightlingsea 9.6 mi Estuary N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Jaywick 14.2 mi Sea N/AGoodGoodGood
Clacton Beach Martello Tower 15.3 mi Sea N/AGoodGoodGood
Clacton 16.5 mi Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

Colchester Zoo 4 mi

Colchester Castle Museum 7.2 mi

firstsite 7.3 mi

East Anglian Railway Museum 7.8 mi

RHS Garden Hyde Hall 13.6 mi

National Trust

Coggeshall Grange Barn 5.7 mi

Paycocke's 6 mi

Bourne Mill 6.9 mi

Thorington Hall 13.1 mi

Flatford: Bridge Cottage 14.1 mi

Cycle routes

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

Other

LAYER MARNEY TOWER 0.8 mi

Layer Breton - Layer Marney - Birch - Layer Breton 1.9 mi

Tiptree - Great Braxted - Great Totham - Tiptree 2.5 mi

BRAXTED PARK 4 mi

Kelvedon - Coggeshall - River Blackwater - Kelvedon 4.1 mi

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 campgrounds

Unfortunately, we have no nearby bookable campgrounds.

Want to know more about camping in Essex?

Frequently asked questions

  • Does Rockinghams Farm have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is Rockinghams Farm dog friendly? No View all features
  • What attractions are near Rockinghams Farm? Hunt down some historic sites… you could climb up England’s highest Tudor gatehouse, the Layer Marney Tower (roughly half an hour's walk), or have a bite to eat with some Tiptree preserves … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of Rockinghams Farm?
    RV, travel trailer and tent sites
    Arrive:  3 p.m. –  6:30 p.m.
    Depart by:  11:30 a.m.
    On-park accommodation
    Arrive:  3 p.m. –  6:30 p.m.
    Depart by:  11:30 a.m.

    Please call an hour or so before arrival so someone can come out to greet you.

    Read more
  • How much does it cost to stay at Rockinghams Farm? From $38.71 (for 1 night, 2 adults) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.