Southerness Holiday Park

View prices & book 7.5 287 reviews
Touring and Camping (added by manager 13 Mar 2023)
Touring and camping
Touring and camping
Swimming pool
Swimming pool
Touring and camping
Direct beach access
Touring and camping
Spacious pitches
1/142
Favourite
Touring and camping
Swimming pool
Swimming pool

  • Family-friendly park with spectacular Solway Firth views
  • Kids' and teens' clubs, soft play, amusements and outdoor playgrounds
  • Showbar, bar-restaurant, takeaway and 25-metre indoor pool with flume
Northerners, fear not: southern-ness is not a prerequisite to enjoyment of a stay at Southerness Holiday Park at the foot of the Galloway Hills; the superb sea views and great facilities on site should please all comers. The pitches at this family-friendly park look out over the windswept beauty of the Solway Firth towards the English Lake District; and the surrounding countryside is teeming with wildlife, from the tiny creatures that inhabit the rockpools on the neighbouring beach to the great stags stalking the Galloway Forest Park further inland. Amphibian admirers will be interested to know too that the site is next door to Scotland’s largest breeding colony of Natterjack toads… When it comes to your own wee beasties, Southerness serves up a generous dollop of fun for kids too: buzzing clubs catering for the very small to hulking teens; an indoor pool, a flume, fountains and toddler pool (and a Jacuzzi for the grownups); a soft play area; crazy golf; amusements; outdoor playgrounds – plus of course the lively schedule of evening entertainment for the whole family in the Sunset Showbar. There’s a good choice of menu options in the bar-restaurant, as well as fresh Costa coffee; or you can opt for a takeaway if you just want to chill out in your own space and admire the views. There’s free wifi in designated areas of the site.

Campground type

Mobile homes for rent 103
Lodges, cabins, pods or huts 3
Tent sites 50
Camper sites 50
RV sites 50
Open now
Opens March 15

Tourist board rating

Please note
  • 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).
  • Commercial vehicles (vehicles used for work-related purposes, carrying goods or fare-paying passengers) and sign-written vehicles are not permitted on site.
  • Single-sex parties of three or more people under 25 are not permitted on site. Swimming pool access is included: please show your Entertainment pass. Entertainment passes are included in the rate.

Languages spoken

English

Open from Fri, Mar 15 to

Open from Fri, Mar 14 to

Parkdean Resorts AA Holiday Centre
View all Parkdean Resorts parks.

Campsite types & availability

Accommodation

Tent sitesCamper sitesRV sitesLodges, cabins, pods or hutsCaravans for hireRent a tent
Choose your dates
2 adults
0 children

Reviews

7.5

Overall rating based on 287 reviews View breakdown

Remote location

Voted 41% of visitors View breakdown

69%

would recommend this campground to a friend

66%

would stay here again

  • 36%
    10
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  • 31%
    8
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    7
  • 13%
    6
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    5
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    4
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Only showing reviews for the last 30 months.

Everything was perfect.…

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 8
Accommodation No rating
Facilities / Activities No rating
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 6
John J. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Powered cement/asphalt travel trailer campsite

Liked: Everything was perfect.

Disliked: Nothing apart the prices for food far too expensive.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Apart from being cheaper than other sites dont go here

Overall 6/10
Location 4
Value for money 4
Accommodation 4
Facilities / Activities 2
Customer service 2
Child friendliness 2
Cleanliness 2
Wifi 2
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Powered grass travel trailer campsite

Liked: Shop Flat pitch Dog walk Beach walk

Disliked: Toilets / showers were a joke none which looked as if they had been cleaned or maintained since the last century, None of the staff gave a shit if told or asked about things Half the electric points didnt work due to been driven over

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Hi, Thanks for taking the time to submit your review. It's lovely to hear that you made use of our on-park facilities as well as exploring the surrounding area. I will share your comments regarding the facilities with our Touring Manager and ask that they investigate this further, as well as implementing additional cleaning checks. I do hope this experience won't deter you from visiting one of our 65 Holiday Parks again in future. ^AB

Good for family with kids

Overall 8/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 8
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 8
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Powered grass tent or trailer tent campsite

Liked: Valuable, price for pitch including the swimming pool , playroom and shows. Near the beach , it’s perfect for family with kids. Shower room is clean. Site is quiet in the night. Staffs are very nice.

Disliked: The swimming pool is only 45 minutes , and no time for shower. Tent pitch a bit small, very close the each other .

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Hi , thanks for taking the time to leave your review. We're pleased you enjoyed your recent stay at Southerness. I will certainly share your feedback regarding the swimming pool timings with our Activities & Leisure Manager for their consideration. We look forward to hopefully welcoming you back in future. ^AB

Enjoyed our stay at Southerness holiday park…

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 8
Beata M. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Powered cement/asphalt travel trailer campsite

Liked: Enjoyed our stay at Southerness holiday park

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Hi Beata, thanks for taking the time to leave your review. We're pleased you enjoyed your recent stay at Southerness and hope to see you again soon! ^AB

Swimming facilities where good and the activities were great my son loved…

Overall 8/10
Location 10
Value for money 8
Accommodation 8
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 8
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 8
Wifi 4
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Powered grass tent or trailer tent campsite

Liked: Swimming facilities where good and the activities were great my son loved the aqua jets. The showers were a very nice temperature and we're very clean! Nice quiet coastal retreat with a couple of pub restaurant and a great little chippy

Disliked: The camping pitch was quite muddy but we had alot of rain so this was most likely unavoidable.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Hi, thanks for taking the time to leave your review. We're pleased overall you enjoyed your recent stay at Southerness and really made the most of our facilities on-park. I'm sorry the conditions of your pitch were muddy; we appreciate this this can have an impact on our guests experience and hope you were able to raise any concerns with our dedicated team so that they could look to assist you with this. We hope to see you again soon. ^AB

Unsafe park, swimming pool not freely available.

Overall 2/10
Location 6
Value for money 2
Accommodation 4
Facilities / Activities 2
Customer service 2
Child friendliness 6
Cleanliness 8
Wifi No rating
Michiel v. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Powered cement/asphalt travel trailer campsite

Liked: The food was cheap and tasted ok, although the lasagne probably came from Aldi and was burnt on the edges. Rice dishes tasted good. Motorhome pitch had EHU and was flat.

Disliked: Park feels unsafe. Lots of cars driving quite fast. Toys and pound were stolen from the pool locker while we were transferring our clothes to the dressing room. Hundreds of stationary homes, the campsite is more an afterthought. Swimming pool was reserved for the next 3 weeks, so we needed to stand in queue for 25 minutes for the few walk-in spaces. Swimming was allowed for 45 minutes, then everybody out and the next group could go. Some strict rules: 1 person on the flume, even our three year old had to go separate from mom. We booked for 4 nights, but left after 2.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Would never return, cannot understand why anyone would holiday here.

Overall 2/10
Location 2
Value for money 2
Accommodation 2
Facilities / Activities 2
Customer service 4
Child friendliness 2
Cleanliness 8
Wifi 6
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Powered grass tent or trailer tent campsite

Liked: The showers and toilets were clean and newly renovated.

Disliked: We booked here as a last minute booking. Given wrong pitch number to start, had to go back to reception. Packed in pitches, noisy site with unsavoury guests. I’m sure there were some nice ones there but not in our vicinity. Terrible use of language and witnessed parents physically hitting their children. Dogs constantly barking. Listening to snoring from next door tent all night. Exposed windy location. Unable to use swimming pool as had to pre-book or queue for 40 minutes, which we weren’t told at check in. Safe to say won’t be returning.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Second time with out caravan. Great place…

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 8
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 6
Philip M. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Powered cement/asphalt travel trailer campsite

Liked: Second time with out caravan. Great place

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Hi Philip, Thanks for the great review. Our team works hard to ensure all guests have an enjoyable experience, so we're delighted to hear we met your expectations. We look forward to hopefully welcoming you back in future. ^AB

Pitch easy to find, flat with reasonable amount of space for tent…

Overall 4/10
Location 6
Value for money 2
Accommodation 6
Facilities / Activities 4
Customer service 4
Child friendliness No rating
Cleanliness 6
Wifi 4
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Powered grass tent or trailer tent campsite

Liked: Pitch easy to find, flat with reasonable amount of space for tent car & gazebo.

Disliked: Only stayed for 3 days of a 6 day booking, due to the location the tent & gazebo were exposed to very high winds which wrecked the gazebo. When we asked site personnel if there was any accommodation for the 3rd night due to the weather they took my mobile and said they would check and get back to me. Never heard anything and so had to sleep in the car on the 3rd night as I dropped the tent to prevent damage. A simple call to say no optional accommodation was available would have been nice. As we had the dog with us, all of the entertainment, bar restaurant were not accessible. Would have been nice to have access to a beer garden even with outdoor seating.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great base to explore the area

Overall 8/10
Location 10
Value for money 8
Accommodation 8
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 6
Amy L. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Powered cement/asphalt travel trailer campsite

Liked: Lots to do on site. Toilet block clean. Convenient onsite shop.

Disliked: Small pitch

Recommend to friends Visit again

Features

Dogs 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 Car parking by site/unit 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 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

Peaceful Spectacular scenery

Utilities

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

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby Dog walk nearby Public transportation nearby

Type

Large (51-200 sites)

Accessibility

Disabled facilities

Nearby leisure

Fishing nearby Golf nearby Horseback riding nearby

Touring and motorhomes

Caravan storage facilities Gray water hook-up for caravans Seasonal sites Water hook-up points for caravans

Location

Southerness Holiday Park

Southerness

Dumfries and Galloway

Scotland

DG2 8AZ

Directions

Timezone

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

GPS

54.8739°N
-3.5974°W

Route directions

By bus There is a bus stop within 100 yards of the park gates, with services running to Dumfries and Dalbeattie. The service is infrequent, running approximately every two hours. The approximate cost of a taxi fare to Dumfries is £12.

Nearest transport

Bus
13.5 mi Whitesands
13.5 mi Whitesands
14.1 mi Carlingwark Street
Rail
12 mi Maryport Rail Station
13.1 mi Flimby Rail Station
13.3 mi Aspatria Rail Station
Ferry
26.2 mi Nichol End (Derwentwater) Ferry Landing
26.6 mi Keswick Ferry Landing
26.8 mi Hawes End Derwentwater Ferry Landing

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

Assuming the weather is kind, the area surrounding Southerness Holiday Park is tiptop for anyone looking for an active holiday; do your own thing or shake off the cobwebs and try something new at one of the excellent activity centres in the Dumfries and Galloway region. Golfers are in for a particular treat, given the enormous choice of excellent courses nearby (the closest championship course is on the doorstep, in Southerness). If you fancy getting out and about, there’s a plethora of attractions to choose from: tickle your taste buds with a trip to the Cocoa Bean Factory or nearby ice cream factory; rattle around on the barrel train at Mabie Farm Park, a great value attraction packed with activities to keep the kids entranced all day; ramble around the romantic ruins of Sweetheart Abbey; clamber around a couple of castles, or visit the Robert Burns Centre in Dumfries. Or you could head to one of Dumfries and Galloway’s 'themed' towns: Wigtown for bookish types, Castle Douglas for foodies, or the artists’ town of Kirkcudbright.

Water quality at nearby bathing waters

Name Distance Type 2020 2019 2018 2017
Southerness 0.1 mi Sea N/A Good Good Excellent
Sandyhills 5.1 mi Sea N/A N/A Poor Poor
Rockcliffe 7.9 mi Estuary N/A Poor Poor Poor
Allonby 9.8 mi Sea N/A Good Good Good
Dhoon Bay 19.9 mi Estuary N/A Poor Poor Poor

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

John Paul Jones Cottage Museum & Visitor Centre 1.6 mi

Robert Burns Centre 13.4 mi

Mirehouse Historic House and Gardens 22.8 mi

World Famous Old Blacksmith's Shop Centre 23.1 mi

Whinlatter Forest & Visitor Centre 24.3 mi

National Trust

Wordsworth House and Garden 17.1 mi

Buttermere and Ennerdale 24.2 mi

Cycle routes

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

Other

MERSEHEAD (CURRENT BOUNDARY FROM 04/11/2003) 2.9 mi

Carsethorn - Powillimount - Arbigland 3.5 mi

Sandyhills - Rockcliffe - Kippford (and back?) 5.3 mi

Criffel 5.6 mi

Caerlaverock Castle and Nature Reserve 7.2 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 Dumfries and Galloway?

Frequently asked questions

  • Does Southerness Holiday Park have a swimming pool? Yes View all features
  • Is Southerness Holiday Park dog friendly? Yes View all features
  • What attractions are near Southerness Holiday Park? Assuming the weather is kind, the area surrounding Southerness Holiday Park is tiptop for anyone looking for an active holiday; do your own thing or shake off the cobwebs and try something … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of Southerness Holiday Park?
    RV, travel trailer and tent sites
    Arrive:  2 p.m. –  11 p.m.
    Depart by:  10 a.m.
    Read more
  • How much does it cost to stay at Southerness Holiday Park? From $9.33 (for 1 night, 4 people) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.