Campingplatz Dümmersee

Dümmersee Nature Park is water-sports central, offering gear hire and lessons in everything from sailing and kayaking to windsurfing and paddleboarding on the lake. You can play golf, go for a swim, challenge your family to volleyball competitions and get the kids involved in mini-golf games… among many other sporting activities. Should you encounter a rare rainy day, simply divert to the indoor pool and sauna at Freizeitbad Dümmer leisure centre (five minutes’ walk). To explore deeper into the nature park, rent bikes and family buggies (10 minutes) to pedal the forest tracks, open moorland and boggy wetlands around Lake Dümmer. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to spot storks, Arctic geese and cranes as you go – take the binoculars just in case. For spectacular views across forest to the wetlands of the nature park, clamber up to the top of the Dammer Schweiz observation platform (20 minutes’ drive). If everyone’s worn out with all the physical activity, head to the pretty village of Diepholz (15 minutes) for a nose around the moated, 12th-century castle and its natural-history museum.