When can I check in and check out of The Old Gym?

Camping and touring Arrive: 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. Depart by: 4 p.m. Read more

The Old Gym

8.8 8 reviews

Small area available to pitch near main building

Peaceful three-acre Norfolk campsite surrounded by forest
Five minutes' drive from Downham Market; Wisbech 15 minutes
Swimming pool on site; close to local buses and station

Escape to the peace and quiet of a Norfolk woodland at The Old Gym, a low-key campsite five minutes' drive from the popular town of Downham Market. Set in a secluded location just a short distance from the river Great Ouse, The Old Gym covers about three acres in total, with lots of pleasant grassy areas and a number of woodland pitches for those who prefer to be in the shade. Facilities on site are simple but well maintained and include essentials like toilets and showers. Another big plus of staying here is that there's an inviting swimming pool on site – it's open to the public between 9am and 8pm daily, so you'll need to buy a ticket if you want to make use of it at these times, but after 8pm the pool is available for campers' exclusive use. After a refreshing dip in the pool, head down to the water's edge in search of wildlife at Willows Nature Reserve (five minutes' drive), or see where several watercourses converge at the Denver Sluice (10 minutes). Downham Market's facilities – including a railway station, several pubs, various cafés and a couple of well-stocked supermarkets – can all be reached within five to 10 minutes' drive.

Site type

Languages spoken

English

Nearby sites that are bookable on Pitchup.com

Unfortunately, we have no nearby bookable sites.

Features

Pop-up campground

Dogs 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 pitch/unit Composting toilet Dog park Drying room Food shop Free wifi Ice pack freezing Internet access Launderette Parent & baby washroom Pick-up from public transport Portable toilet Pub toilets Public telephone Shower available Toilet block Washing-up area Wifi

Groups 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

Utilities

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

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby Dog walk nearby

Type

Pop-up campground Small (11-25 pitches)

Accessibility

Disabled facilities

Location

The Old Gym

Downham Market

Norfolk

England

PE38 0BA

Directions

Timezone

Europe/London GMT (GMT+00:00)

GPS

52.58972°N
0.33588°W

Nearest transport

Coach

13.5 km Kismet

14 km Primary School

14.6 km Horse Fair Bus Station

Rail

2.6 km Downham Market Rail Station

9.8 km Watlington Rail Station

14.2 km Littleport Rail Station

Ferry

18.8 km King's Lynn Ferry Landing

18.9 km West Lynn Ferry Landing

Airport

43.7 km Cambridge 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

From walks along the river to exploring East Anglia's antiques shops, trips to The Old Gym put you within reach of a great range of activities, attractions and days out. A good a place to start as any is the pretty market town and inland port of Wisbech (15 minutes' drive), where you can visit the National Trust-run Peckover House and Gardens, catch up on the latest movies at the town's independent cinema or join a brewery tour at Elgood & Sons. The town is also close to rural activities like Fens Falconry (20 minutes), where you can get up close and personal with various indigenous and exotic birds of prey. For a change of scenery, head south along the A134 and within 25 minutes or so you'll be deep in Thetford Forest, where there are lots of great walks, bike trails as well as a Go Ape high-ropes course. Also to the south is Ely (30 minutes), where you can visit a truly magnificent cathedral or see the Tudor-era house where Oliver Cromwell once lived. Looking to leave the car behind for the day? At Downham Market station (five minutes) you can catch regular train services to destinations including King's Lynn, Ely and Cambridge.

Water quality at nearby bathing waters

Name	Distance	Type	2020	2019	2018	2017
Heacham	36.7 km	Sea	Poor	N/A	N/A	N/A
Hunstanton Main Beach	39.9 km	Sea	Poor	N/A	N/A	N/A
Hunstanton (Old Hunstanton)	41.9 km	Sea	N/A	Good	Good	Good

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

Ely Cathedral 21.9 km

Grimes Graves 25.6 km

Castle Acre Castle 27 km

Sandringham 28.9 km

Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve 31.2 km

National Trust

Peckover House and Garden 14.8 km

Oxburgh Hall 15.9 km

St George's Guildhall 18.8 km

Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve 31.1 km

Anglesey Abbey, Gardens and Lode Mill 39.8 km

Cycle routes

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

Other

Nordelph 2.7 km

Downham Market 3.1 km

Fordham 3.7 km

Hilgay 4.9 km

Outwell 7.4 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.

Reviews

would recommend this site to a friend

would stay here again

62%
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1

Only showing reviews for the last 30 months.

Great place to pitch a tent. Very friendly

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

Pauline H. Oct 2023

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: Lovely and peaceful, birds,including owls seen.
Great grassed area for camping, owners very welcoming . Lovely swimming pool and sauna.

Disliked: None loved it there will go back

Recommend to friends Visit again

honestly the most lovely stay we’ve ever had

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

Chloe P. Sept 2023

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: the pool and sauna was amazing! also such friendly people who owned the place

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great visit

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

anita p. Aug 2023

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: The swimming pool and sauna. The showers were clean and Amy was very friendly and welcoming. Gave us a your. Toiletries available to use. Very useful

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great stay, added pool and sauna, not expensive. Very friendly Host

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

Anonymous Aug 2023

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: We booked last minute and was surprised there were very few others here.
This was rustic camping but what do you expect for £20 a night.
Oh a pool and sauna thrown in for free! (Restrictions on times but wow) lovely and warm.
Different areas to camp granted the floor was bumpy but a good blow up works a treat.
You can’t park next to but a trolley available to help with unpacking.
Tesco 5 mins down the road.
Area was lovely.
Head to lakenheath in the week if you like fast load aircraft. USA airbase 30 mins.
Hunstanton was about an hour and lovely. Sandringham near too.
I have seen comments about plastic burning in an incinerator (bin) unfortunately this is inconsiderate campers. Also the pond area has been set on fire not by the owners.
Also comments about road noisy you could hear this but ear plugs work great when camping 👍
This was a great stay, the host (Amy) could not do enough and will help we’re ever she can.
Thank Amy we will be back 👍

Disliked: Not dislike’s, but thoughts as I know this is a work in progress.
Maybe a little freezer in the washing area for cold packs.
The ground would benefit from a big roller.
Possibly further sinks to wash up.
Possibly a bit of striming and cutting back.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Huge potential, but site needs some love before it's worth a visit

Overall	4/10
Location	8
Value for money	4
Accommodation	2
Facilities / Activities	2
Customer service	2
Child friendliness	8
Cleanliness	6
Wifi	No rating

Anonymous Aug 2023

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: This site has huge potential:
- nice grassy spots amongst woodland
- swimming pool available (6-8am and after 8pm)
- fairly clean toilets
- only light pollution was from other campers, so amazing stars when they went to sleep

but needs a bit of love (see dislikes).

Disliked: Easy fixes:
- fire and incinerator smoulding with stinky burning plastic and treated wood - owners, please dispose of your waste responibly!
- the room with sink for washing in a dirty room full of random possessions (clothes, computing equipment, swimming pool chemicals(!), post, etc.) - easy to clean up

Longer term fixes:
- ground was incredibly bumpy. Very uncomfortable (we had lightweight camping mats)
- road noise quite loud, with a flurry of traffic at 4am

Recommend to friends Visit again

All good

Overall	10/10
Location	10
Value for money	10
Accommodation	8
Facilities / Activities	10
Customer service	10
Child friendliness	6
Cleanliness	8
Wifi	2

Anonymous Aug 2023

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: Everything was really well organised, great pool and the camping area is not too big and therefore not intrusive, although you can hear heavy cars from the nearby road in the distance so it is not perfectly quiet in the night. The owner very friendly and helpful, for such a low price and access to the pool, there is nothing to complain about. The only thing I would recommend is to put a rubbish bin at a closer distance or a sign where you can find rubbish containers. And the policy is that large dogs are not allowed, but there was one large dog that got off the leash and it looked quite threatening for a while. Apart from that, everything was great and easy and I can definitely recommend this place.

Disliked: N/A

Recommend to friends Visit again

Brilliant stay. Lovely family run business.

Overall	8/10
Location	8
Value for money	10
Accommodation	10
Facilities / Activities	6
Customer service	10
Child friendliness	10
Cleanliness	10
Wifi	No rating

Louise S. Aug 2023

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: The kids absolutely adored to pool and what may be the friendliest cats ever

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great site with clean facilities.

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

Jemma B. Aug 2023

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: Lovely swimming pool, great outside space, can choose between woodland areas or grass. Owner asked if everything was okay a couple of times but left us to get one with it which was nice.

Disliked: Can't park near your tent.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Frequently asked questions

Does The Old Gym have a swimming pool? Yes View all features
Is The Old Gym dog friendly? Yes View all features
What attractions are near The Old Gym? From walks along the river to exploring East Anglia's antiques shops, trips to The Old Gym put you within reach of a great range of activities, attractions and days out. A good … Read more
When can I check in and check out of The Old Gym?

Camping and touring

Arrive: 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Depart by: 4 p.m.

Read more