The Gaggle of Geese

View prices & book 9.3 57 reviews
Hut and pitches
Hut and pitches
Pitches
Grass pitches
Plenty of space to relax
Garden and barbecue shack
Exterior view
Gardens running up to the orchard
A place to unwind
1/51
Pitches
Grass pitches
Plenty of space to relax

  • Pub site over five acres in the village of Buckland Newton
  • Half an hour's drive from beaches and the Jurassic Coast
  • Homemade meals and local beers, plus barbecue and pizza oven in summer
Walkers, riders, fishing folk, dog owners, family groups… all will want to take a gander at The Gaggle of Geese, a friendly country pub in the little village of Buckland Newton. This is a place that’s mighty well located for all sorts of Dorset days out – it’s in the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty for all your country pursuits, 20 minutes’ drive from the historic market town of Dorchester and half an hour from the county’s stunning coastline. On top of that, those on family hols may like to note that a drive of less that 45 minutes offers up all sorts of ways to entertain/wear out the small sorts – animal parks, fossil hunting, watersports… It’s not all about location though – the pub’s a rather fine destination in its own right. Five fab acres of peaceful fields, an orchard and a pleasingly sizeable beer garden with a soft play double decker bus, ping pong shack, miniature golf, pygmy goats and a space for football make up the outside space. The inside’s all comfy corners and a warm welcome for all (nippers and dogs included) too. Up for a bit more activity? Skip over to the skittle alley or check the events list to see if there are any quiz nights, wine tastings or live music afternoons scheduled. And you’ll be needing eats and drinks of course... homemade pub classics can be washed down with local beers and ciders; summer nights often see action out at the barbecue shack and wood-fired pizza oven too. Barbecues and campfires are welcome if you’d rather go the DIY route.

Site type

Tent pitches 15
Motorhome pitches 7
Lodges, cabins, pods or huts 1
Open all year
Opens
Please note

Admission

  • At least one of the party members must be aged 18 or over.
  • Under 18s must be accompanied by their parents or legal guardians.

Vehicles

  • Commercial vehicles (vehicles used for work-related purposes, carrying goods or fare-paying passengers) and sign-written vehicles are not permitted on site.

General

  • Discount cards and gift vouchers cannot be applied to bookings made via Pitchup.com.

Occupancy

  • No hen/stag parties permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • Single-sex bookings of 10 or more people (excluding couples) are not permitted via Pitchup.com.

Dogs

  • The site does not accept breeds/crossbreeds listed in the Dangerous Dogs Act (i.e. XL Bully, Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, and Fila Brasileiro).
  • Please note that the pub is closed on Mondays.

Languages spoken

English

No availability here for your search criteria

Pitch types & availability

Accommodation

Tent pitchesTouring caravan pitchesMotorhome pitchesLodges, cabins, pods or hutsCaravans for hireRent a tent
Choose your dates
2 adults
0 children
0 dogs

Reviews

9.3

Overall rating from 57 Pitchup.com customers

  • 66%
    10
  • 14%
    9
  • 12%
    8
  • 1%
    7
  • 3%
    6
  • 1%
    5
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    3
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    1
Location
 9
Value for money
 9
Accommodation
 10
Facilities / Activities
 9
Customer service
 9
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 9
Wifi
 6
Peaceful

96% would recommend this site to a friend

96% would stay here again

What customers say

Great independent campsite with a pub. Clean facilities, friendly staff, lovely rural setting. Kids love the activities like soft play, mini-golf & goats. Pub serves good food, often with live music. Watch out for boggy pitches, variable pub/WiFi hours, and occasional noise. Decking can be slippery when wet.

Summary AI-generated from Pitchup.com customer reviews. Last updated 2026/08/18

Filter by topic

Reviews page 1 of 6
Arrival date (latest first)

Excellent site will definitely go back

Overall

9 out of 10
Location
 8
Value for money
 8
Facilities / Activities
 9
Customer service
 9
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 9
Wifi
 5
 Mark S. 2 reviews

Non-electric grass tent or motorhome pitch

Liked Quite site, with pub on ground
Good facilities

Disliked none

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great location and hosts . Good…

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 9
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 No rating
stan s. 2 reviews

Non-electric grass tent or motorhome pitch

Liked Great location and hosts . Good food . Clean facilities

Disliked Nothing

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great facilities. Lots to do. We…

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 10
 Yasmin C. 1 review

Non-electric grass tent or motorhome pitch

Liked Great facilities. Lots to do. We didn’t take the kids and soon regretted it coming here because we know they would have loved it! Clean showers. Lovely pub. Great vibes.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Good camp site very friendly staff…

Overall

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

Non-electric grass tent or motorhome pitch

Liked Good camp site very friendly staff

Recommend to friends Visit again

Fantastic location with great facilities and…

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 No rating
Barbara J. 4 reviews

Non-electric grass tent or motorhome pitch

Liked Fantastic location with great facilities and helpful, friendly staff.
Great location for star gazing!

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great pub, lovely campsite. Good facilities.…

Overall

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

Non-electric grass tent or motorhome pitch

Liked Great pub, lovely campsite. Good facilities. Had a lovely vibe

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great place to stay

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 10
 RainbowBee 1 review

Non-electric grass tent or motorhome pitch

Liked Food was decent, staff were amazing even whilst busy with a wedding function, facilities were clean, plenty for children to entertain themselves with.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great campsite, loads on site for…

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 No rating
Mark C. 2 reviews

Non-electric grass tent or motorhome pitch

Liked Great campsite, loads on site for the kids to do

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great site Friendly staff Great pub…

Overall

8 out of 10
Location
 9
Value for money
 9
Facilities / Activities
 9
Customer service
 9
Child friendliness
 9
Cleanliness
 8
Wifi
 1
 Rebecca B. 2 reviews

Non-electric grass tent or motorhome pitch

Liked Great site
Friendly staff
Great pub
Beautiful location

Disliked No designated drinking taps
No WiFi

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thankyou for the nice review. Fab that you could visit and stay again

Just for the benefit of future readers - drinking water is freely available in the wash-up shack. And wifi is available in the pub.

Lush pub and garden. Really great…

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 5
 Clare S. 1 review

Non-electric grass tent or motorhome pitch

Liked Lush pub and garden. Really great facilities. The perfect stop on our way home.

Recommend to friends Visit again

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 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 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 Peaceful Remote location Walkers' paradise

Utilities

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

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby Dog walk nearby Shop nearby

Type

Pub campsite Small (11-25 pitches)

Nearby leisure

Fishing nearby Golf nearby Horse riding nearby Indoor pool nearby Mountain biking nearby Restaurant nearby

Location

The Gaggle of Geese

Buckland Newton

Dorchester

Dorset

England

DT2 7BS

Directions

Timezone

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

GPS

50,8438°N
2,44397°W

Nearest transport

Coach
13 km Greenhill
13 km Coldharbour
13,7 km Queens Head
Rail
9,4 km Chetnole Rail Station
10,8 km Yetminster Rail Station
11,3 km Maiden Newton Rail Station
Ferry
26,2 km Weymouth Ferry Terminal
35,2 km Poole Ferry Terminal
35,5 km Poole Quay Ferry Landing
Airport
43,7 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

Country wanderings aplenty await around here – there are heaps of places for walks both short and lengthy in the surrounding Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. A popular ramble from the pub is the four-mile route to the Cerne Abbas Giant (indeed a sizeable chap at 55 metres long – potential pub quiz answer...?) Horseback hacks can be had from several stables within half an hour, and there’s a fab coarse fishery with 10 lakes (10!) five minutes’ drive away. Want a bit more oomph in your outings? Head to Henley Hillbillies (five minutes’ drive) for days zooming about on quad bikes or in hovercrafts or souped-up Minis. Need nipper-pleasing days out? Take your (or more likely their) pick from The Dinosaur Museum (20 minutes), Monkey World (half an hour), the Tank Museum (half an hour), the Sea Life adventure park (40 minutes), Farmer Palmer’s Farm Park (40 minutes)… or head to the coast for beach days in Weymouth (40 minutes), watersports at Lulworth Cove (45 minutes) or fossil hunts in Kimmeridge (50 minutes).

Water quality at nearby bathing waters

Name Distance Type 2020201920182017
Bowleaze Cove 23,1 km Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Weymouth Lodmoor 24,2 km Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Ringstead Bay 24,5 km Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Weymouth Central 25,5 km Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Hive 25,6 km Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

Hardy's Birthplace 13,2 km

Mapperton House & Gardens 19,3 km

The Tank Museum 21,7 km

Montacute House 22,4 km

Monkey World - Ape Rescue Centre 22,8 km

National Trust

Hardy's Cottage 13,2 km

Max Gate 15,1 km

Clouds Hill 19,5 km

Montacute House 22,4 km

Tintinhull Garden 23,8 km

Cycle routes

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

Other

MINTERNE 2,7 km

Beneath The Feet Of Cerne's Giant 4,5 km

Piddlehinton - Buck Hill - Piddletrenthide - Piddlehinton 7,9 km

BINGHAM'S MELCOMBE 8,9 km

CHANTMARLE 10,3 km

Local events

  • Dorset County Show (Saturday, 5 September 2026 – Saturday, 5 September 2026)

    Dorchester, England 13,6 km

  • Glastonbury Festival (Wednesday, 23 June 2027 – Wednesday, 23 June 2027)

    Glastonbury, England 36,5 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 The Gaggle of Geese have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is The Gaggle of Geese dog friendly? Yes View all features
  • What attractions are near The Gaggle of Geese? Country wanderings aplenty await around here – there are heaps of places for walks both short and lengthy in the surrounding Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. A popular ramble from the … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of The Gaggle of Geese?
    Camping and touring
    Arrive:  noon –  11 p.m.
    Depart by:  11 a.m.
    On-site accommodation
    Arrive:  5 p.m. –  11 p.m.
    Depart by:  11 a.m.
    Read more
  • How much does it cost to stay at The Gaggle of Geese? From R657,49 (for 1 night, 2 adults) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.