The Railway Campsite

View prices & book 9.4 313 reviews
Train going past the site
Train going past the site
The steam train running past
View of the site on a cloudy morning
View of the site
View of the field
Party in the woods
Pitches
View of the site
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The steam train running past
View of the site on a cloudy morning
View of the site

  • Eight-acre field with Swanage Railway steam trains passing by
  • A 10-minute drive to Swanage Beach; 35 minutes to Durdle Door
  • Off-ground barbecues and firepits allowed; dogs welcome
If you’ve got little train enthusiasts in your family (or large ones, for that matter…), this is a site that’s likely to please them very much indeed. As the name suggests, The Railway Campsite is located next to the railway – and none other than the famed Swanage Railway. Waving at the steam trains as they puff past is a popular pastime around this dog-friendly site – although there are also some great Dorset countryside views for when there’s no railway action, plus lots of space around the eight-acre open field for whatever you choose to focus your attention on. And presumably you’ll want to take a ride on one of those trains too? That’s easily done, since Harmans Cross station is just next door to the site. All you have to do is choose whether to journey up to Corfe Castle or over to Swanage for a day at the beach (both about 15 minutes by train). When you’re not riding the rails, you can get out to some great coastal corners, including Studland Beach, Kimmeridge Bay or Dancing Ledge – all are within a 20-minute drive. This is a back-to-basics site, but it does have wooden composting toilets, a shower hut and chemical disposal facilities. The on-site snack shack opens its doors on weekends for breakfast, drinks and light evening meals. It's also open on Thursday evenings for Jamaican food. Off-ground barbecues and firepits are allowed in the designated areas (the site has firepits for hire and wood for sale if you need it), so you’re welcome to have a go at making your own dinner. You can source provisions at the small supermarket in the village of Harman’s Cross (five minutes’ walk).

Site type

Tent pitches 30
Motorhome pitches 20
Open now
Opens 3 July
Please note

Admission

  • At least one of the party members must be aged 16 or over.

Safety

  • Fires, barbecues and/or firepits will not be permitted in dry, windy and/or hot weather conditions.

Occupancy

  • Group bookings of 6 or more adults are not permitted (couples and immediate family members excepted).
  • No hen/stag parties permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • Single-sex bookings of 6 or more people (excluding couples) are not permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • The site caters for families (immediate members) and couples only - bookings from all other forms of groups are not accepted.

General

  • Please note that the toilet/shower facilities are unisex.
  • This is a quiet site: no music is allowed.
  • Raised fire pits are allowed in designated areas only.

Languages spoken

English

Open from Fri, 03 Jul to

No availability here for your search criteria

Reviews

9.4

Overall rating from 313 Pitchup.com customers

  • 67%
    10
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    9
  • 15%
    8
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    7
  • 1%
    6
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    5
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Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 9
Facilities / Activities
 9
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 9
Wifi
 6
Peaceful

98% would recommend this site to a friend

96% would stay here again

What customers say

Well-liked, no-frills campsite with great value. Guests love the superb location, near the Swanage Steam Railway, and the friendly owners. Spacious pitches and a popular food shack are highlights. Toilets and hot showers are clean, though basic. Hilly terrain noted; arrive early for flat spots. Many want to return.

Summary AI-generated from Pitchup.com customer reviews. Last updated 2026/08/25

Filter by topic

Reviews page 1 of 32
Arrival date (latest first)

Keep coming back because it's the…

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
N G. 8 reviews

Non-electric grass tent or trailer tent pitch

Liked Keep coming back because it's the best around.

Disliked Nothing

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great location for access to Studland…

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Facilities / Activities
 9
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 No rating
Oliver D. 1 review

Non-electric grass tent or trailer tent pitch

Liked Great location for access to Studland and Swanage. Loads of space. Peaceful. Brilliant little Snack Shack for food and drink.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Brilliant site for train lovers

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Facilities / Activities
 1
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 1
 Joshua L. 4 reviews

Non-electric grass tent or trailer tent pitch

Liked Just such a simple and basic campsite, that is all we wanted for the night.

We arrived around 10am with my 4yr old son, checked in and left our car in the field where we wanted to pitch and headed straight for the steam train into swanage.
Go back and pitched our tent, little bit windy but placed the car in the right angle and it blocked it.

Check in was simple and easy.
Onsite they sell hot food, snack and drinks onsite.

Woke up, packed away the tent and left.

Disliked Couldn’t fault anything

Recommend to friends Visit again

Really friendly, quiet of road noise,…

Overall

8 out of 10
Location
 9
Value for money
 9
Facilities / Activities
 7
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 9
Wifi
 4
 Nicola W. 1 review

Non-electric grass motorhome pitch

Liked Really friendly, quiet of road noise, great dark skies and a fantastic cafe. Fantastic walk to Corfe Castle from the campsite (look for routes that avoid the main road though). Compostable toilets are very clean with plenty of toilet paper and hand sanitizer/hand soap.

Disliked Showers are on the cool side and wash up areas are cold water only.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Plenty of space for kids to be wild

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
AlfJob H. 2 reviews

Non-electric grass motorhome pitch

Liked Just the type of campsite we love, nice big field with good access to local area. Check in and out times are perfect.

Thank you for a lively short stay

Recommend to friends Visit again

Lovely family friendly site.

Overall

8 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Facilities / Activities
 8
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 1
Anonymous

Non-electric grass tent or trailer tent pitch

Liked Beautiful site, well maintained, plenty of space. It is an undulating site so do arrive early if you want a flat pitch. Really welcoming arrival, excellent value for money. Very exciting to see the trains pass by so close. Clean and well maintained facilities, lovely warm showers! The snack shack was an added bonus.

Disliked We have to say the compost loos were not for us, they were clean and well maintained but there's no stopping the smell!

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great spot, friendly owner.…

Overall

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

Non-electric grass motorhome pitch

Liked Great spot, friendly owner.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great pop up site

Overall

8 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Facilities / Activities
 8
Customer service
 No rating
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 No rating
Wifi
 No rating
Carol C. 7 reviews

Non-electric grass motorhome pitch

Liked The trains
The food shack - the Caribbean food on Thursday was great.
Quiet, friendly site.
Plenty of level pitch options.
Great showers.

Disliked The dogs on leads policy was not upheld while we were there, so there was some dog dirt around the site.
Not so keen on the composting toilets but understand the need

Recommend to friends Visit again

Everything…

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
 Philip S. 3 reviews

Non-electric grass tent or trailer tent pitch

Liked Everything

Disliked Nothing

Recommend to friends Visit again

Brilliant site near Swanage. Will be back!

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Facilities / Activities
 8
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 7
 Nick T. 1 review

Non-electric grass motorhome pitch

Liked The site was a large area on a hill right next to Swanage Steam railway line. Trains run during the day. There is no regimentation and you can select your own pitch. The Kitchen Shack served up a delicious Caribbean meal on Thursday.

Disliked Not a dislike but there aren't many level pitches.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Features

Pop-up campground

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

D. of E. 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

Themes

Budget/backpacker Leave the car at home Peaceful Remote location Spectacular scenery 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 Public transport nearby Shop nearby

Type

Farm Large (51-200 pitches) Pop-up campground

Accessibility

Accessible parking at pitch Bathrooms: Large spacious shower Uneven terrain; gravel or loose mud

Nearby leisure

Canoeing/kayaking nearby Climbing nearby Cycle hire nearby Cycling nearby Fishing nearby Golf nearby Horse riding nearby Indoor pool nearby Mountain biking nearby Restaurant nearby Sailing nearby Tennis nearby Watersports nearby

Location

The Railway Campsite

Sunny Glade

Haycrafts Lane

Harmans Cross

Swanage

Dorset

England

BH19 3EB

Directions

Timezone

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

GPS

50,61958°N
2,0239°W

Nearest transport

Coach
3 km East Street
3 km East Street
4,6 km Bus Station
Rail
10,4 km Wareham Rail Station
10,9 km Holton Heath Rail Station
11,5 km Poole Rail Station
Ferry
8,5 km Shell Bay Ferry Terminal
8,9 km Sandbanks Ferry Terminal
9 km Brownsea Island Ferry Landing
Airport
22,2 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

Famed for its ever-changing shades of blue and green, the Blue Pool (15 minutes’ drive) is surrounded by acres of heath- and woodland laced with trails. Take the easy path skirting the lake (where kids can also hunt for magic fairy doors), or steel yourself for a more challenging uphill route leading to views of the Purbeck Hills. Overlooked by the Georgian Clavell Tower, Kimmeridge Bay (20 minutes) is part of the Jurassic Coast. Rockpooling here may well yield some fossils; if not, you can head to the Etches Collection Museum, which displays fossilised marine creatures dating back millennia. The bay has clear waters for swimming and a summer snorkelling trail. Stay on the Jurassic Coast and move westwards to Durdle Door (35 minutes from the site), an iconic limestone arch stretching out into the sea. You can admire this imposing natural landmark from the dog-friendly beach or from the lookout point up on the cliff (easily reached via the South West Coast Path).

Food and drink

  • Golden Bengal 3,5 km
  • Isle of Purbeck Golf Club 3,5 km
  • Coastal Crust Pizza 3,6 km
  • The Corner 4,7 km
  • Sea Breeze 4,8 km
  • The Narrows 4,8 km
  • The Parade Fish and Chips 5 km
  • La Trattoria 5 km
  • The Purbeck Plaza 5 km
  • Dragon Inn 5 km

Groceries

  • The Dorset Cider Farm Off-licence 3,6 km
  • Courthill Stores Off-licence 4,2 km
  • Co-op Food Supermarket 4,6 km
  • Budgens Supermarket 4,7 km
  • Sainsbury's Supermarket 9,5 km
  • The Co-operative Food Supermarket 9,7 km

Parks and play

  • West Burton Field Playground 2,9 km
  • King George's Play Area Playground 4,2 km
  • Days Park 4,4 km
  • The Chadwick Playground 4,8 km
  • Blue Pool Play Area Playground 5,8 km
  • The Hayricks park 8,4 km
  • Natural Play Area Playground 8,7 km
  • John Procter Memorial Ground park 9,3 km
  • Bestwall Park 9,4 km

Family days out

  • Burngate Purbeck Stone Centre Visitor attraction 1,3 km
  • Norman's Quarry Visitor attraction 1,3 km
  • Putlake Adventure Farm Visitor attraction 2,1 km
  • Spyway Barn Visitor attraction 2,7 km
  • Corfe Castle Model Village Visitor attraction 3,2 km
  • Corfe Castle 3,4 km
  • Dancing Ledge Visitor attraction 3,4 km
  • Corfe Castle Visitor attraction 3,4 km
  • Swanage Lockup Visitor attraction 4,7 km
  • Punch and Judy Visitor attraction 4,8 km

Public transport

  • Haycrafts Lane 1,1 km
  • Acton Lane 1,4 km
  • Worth Lane 1,5 km
  • Langton Matravers, Capston Field 1,6 km
  • Durnford Drove 1,8 km
  • Kings Arms 1,9 km
  • Steppes Hill 2,1 km
  • Three Acre Lane Bottom 2,4 km
  • Three Acre Lane Top 2,4 km
  • Halves Cottages 2,4 km

Beaches

  • Swanage Beach 4,9 km
  • Knoll Beach 6,2 km
  • South Beach 6,2 km
  • Studland Naturist Beach 7,4 km
  • Shipstal Beach 8,3 km
  • Sandbanks Beach 9,6 km

What’s nearby

  • Isle of Purbeck Golf Course 3,7 km
  • Kirkwood Park Golf course 3,9 km
  • Swanage Golf Games Golf course 4 km
  • Shell Bay Marine Marina 8,3 km
  • Ridge Marina 8,5 km
  • Royal Motor Yacht Club Marina 9,4 km

Local services

  • Murco Fuel station 0,4 km
  • BP Fuel station 1,1 km
  • Mer Charging station 3,1 km
  • RAW Charging Charging station 3,5 km
  • Texaco Fuel station 3,7 km
  • Pod Point Charging station 4,4 km
  • Swanage Hospital 4,7 km
  • Well Pharmacy 4,7 km
  • Pod Point Charging station 4,8 km
  • Well Pharmacy 4,8 km

© OpenStreetMap contributors

Must see

Corfe Castle 3,3 km

Swanage Railway 4,6 km

Studland Beach and Nature Reserve 6,1 km

Brownsea Island 9 km

Lulworth Castle & Park 13,2 km

National Trust

Corfe Castle 3,1 km

Studland Beach and Nature Reserve 5,8 km

Brownsea Island 8,9 km

Clouds Hill 19,4 km

White Mill 20,8 km

Cycle routes

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

Other

Worth Matravers - Cliffs, Caves and Chapel 2,6 km

Worth Matravers - Winspit - Dancing Ledge 2,6 km

Corfe - Nine Barrows Down - Swanage 3,2 km

Herston - Worth Matravers - Corfe 3,2 km

The Purbecks - Castle and Coastal 3,5 km

Local events

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

    Dorchester, England 30,5 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 Railway Campsite have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is The Railway Campsite dog friendly? Yes View all features
  • What attractions are near The Railway Campsite? Famed for its ever-changing shades of blue and green, the Blue Pool (15 minutes’ drive) is surrounded by acres of heath- and woodland laced with trails. Take the easy path skirting the … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of The Railway Campsite?
    Camping and touring
    Arrive:  Anytime –  Anytime
    Depart by:  4 p.m.
    Read more
  • How much does it cost to stay at The Railway Campsite? From R434,91 (for 1 night, 2 adults) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.