Ditch the camping stove – these sites have food trucks, cafes and even bars
This article is more than 8 years oldStaying under canvas doesn’t have to mean a diet of baked beans and burnt bangers. The author of a new book, Pitch Up, Eat Local, picks the top UK campsites with food trucks, cafes and even on-site bars
Campsites with food vans
Gwithian Farm, Hayle, Cornwall
Visiting street food vans have become a regular feature at this feted seaside campsite. This year’s line-up includes Mexican street food, wood-fired-pizzas, curry, daily hot croissant delivery and “proper” fish and chips. Godrevy Beach Cafe, one of Cornwall’s best, lies on the way to the surf.
£15-£30 for two people, £5 extra adult, £2 extra child. Open April-September, 01736 753127, gwithianfarm.co.uk
Thetford Forest Camping and Caravanning Club Site, Norfolk
Local pig and sheep farmers Geoff and Kate run the excellent burger van that visits this site on the edge of Thetford’s pine forest. Their flavour combos include pork and chilli and Moroccan lamb and mint. Kate delivers fresh eggs, bacon and sausages throughout the week, but it’s Saturdays that are not to be missed. Geoff returns with a hog roast: big floury buns stuffed with pork and crackling. Dessert is sorted too: campers can help themselves from the cherry, apple and plum trees.
From £7.70 to £12.95pp, under-6s free. Open all year, 01953 498455, myccc.co.uk/thetfordforest
Wapsbourne Manor Farm, Uckfield, East Sussex
A van selling wood-fired pizza greets the frazzled Friday arrivals at this popular field and woodland site. Homemade soup with rustic bread is served free on Saturday evenings around the communal fire – and a “sing for your soup” scheme offers acoustic musicians one night’s free camping in return for an hour of music. Sunday morning is coffee and crepe time, and come the evening, the paella van arrives, and so it goes on ... Campfire cooking is easy here, too, as grills are supplied and the on-site farm shop sells local meats, cheese, veggies, ales and, crucially, gin.
From £10 adults, £5 children, £5 cars (two-night minimum stay weekends). Open all year, 01825 723414, wowo.co.uk
Campsites with a cafe
Red Bank Farm, Bolton-le-Sands, Morecambe Bay, Lancashire
With views across Morecambe Bay, Archers, the campsite’s cafe, is the perfect spot to enjoy the revered local delicacy, potted shrimps on hot buttered toast. Local saltmarsh lamb burgers are made from the farm’s own flock, and chickens strutting past the tents provide eggs for big slabs of homemade cake.
£7 adults, £3 children. Open Easter to October. Archers Cafe open 9.30am-3pm, closed Mondays. 01524 823196, redbankfarm.co.uk
Sands Caravan and Camping Park, Gairloch, Wester Ross
Guests pitch where they like among the grass-covered dunes then run down on to the white sand beach to swim in turquoise waters, with views of the Isle of Skye. This is wild camping, but with amenities, thanks to the grass-roofed Barn Cafe, which has haddock and chips and vegetable teriyaki on its dinner menu (mains £8.95-£18.95).
Pitches for two plus car or caravan £15.50-£18, wigwams from £34. Open April to end of October,
01445 712152, sandsholidaycentre.co.uk
Elm Farm, near Portreath, Cornwall
A glorious campfire, tent, shepherd hut, bats and badgers kind of place, a short cycle ride away from two of the best surfing beaches in Cornwall. The beach hut-style cafe is a social hub on sunny days, offering bacon butties, pasties and cream teas. As on all good camping trips, wine o’clock comes early here. The cafe is licensed – hurrah! – and there’s often a jug of owner Leah’s latest cocktail in the fridge. Homemade fruit ice-lollies too.
From £10-£15 for two adults, £5 children, under-5s free, £25 families. Open March to November, 01209 891498, elmfarm.biz
The Sustainability Centre, East Meon, Hampshire
The woodland Beech Cafe has a menu that reflects the campsite’s environmentally-friendly ethos: Fairtrade, local, sustainable, seasonal and vegetarian. Its generously portioned curries, soups and ploughmans taste fantastic too. Campers can hire a tipi or tuck their tent away in a secluded glade. Communal fire pits, solar showers and compost loos complete the at-one-with-nature vibe.
£12 adults, £7 children, under-2s free, tipis £22pp. Cafe open every day 10am-4pm. 01730 823166, sustainability-centre.org
Campsites with a bakery
Lleithyr Farm, Whitesands Bay, St Davids, Pembrokeshire
The smell of freshly baked bread, croissants and buns wafting from the on-site bakery wakes campers at Llethyr, on the wildly beautiful Pembrokeshire coast. Children will love the farm’s miniature cows and kune kune pigs, while grown-ups will like the licensed shop selling local produce. There is a rota of fabulous food vans visiting in the evenings, or watch the sunset with a beer and one of the bakery’s wood-fired pizzas.
£5-£9 Adults, £2.50-£3.50 children. Open March to October, 01437 720245 lleithyrfarm.co.uk
Campsites that do deliveries
Herding Hill, Haltwhistle, Northumberland
With Hadrian’s Wall and a great stargazing area with International Dark Sky Park status on the doorstep, this site is tops. It has also won pretty much every accolade possible in the camping world, including best loos. One should recognise its Pizza to your Pitch service. Owner Steve Dunwell says: “We understand the stress of arriving at a site after a long journey, children ragged with hunger and you still have to get your tent up. So now, when folk arrive, they order a pizza and we bring it to their pitch.” Happy campers all round.
£12-£34 per pitch, wigwams £45-£88, tipis £55-£75. Open all year except two weeks in early January, 01434 320175, herdinghillfarm.co.uk
Jollydays Glamping, Buttercrambe Moor Wood, York
Jollydays is about as far from a survival experience as you could get: luxury lodge tents with king-size beds, roll-top baths – and prices to match. Top notch food offerings include a supper pot of ham cooked in cider or potted pheasant that can be delivered to pitches on arrival. And baskets of raw ingredients can be provided for those who want to cook their own dinner over the communal fire.
Woodcutter Hut (cheapest option) from £575 a week or £350 for a three-night weekend for two, breakfast baskets start at £11.50 for two, ham and cider pot for two £22. Open March to mid-15 November, 01439 748457, jollydaysglamping.co.uk
Campsites with a bar
Apple Orchard Camping, Westbury-on-Severn, Gloucestershire
Surrounded by spirit-lifting views of the Severn Dale and Forest of Dean, this labour-of-love, family-run place does what it says on the tin. The converted cowshed bar provides homemade apple and pear ciders, plus local ales. And decent coffee and big breakfasts from the cafe will clear sore heads next morning.
£18-£20 per pitch, children free, glamping pods from £30. Open February to November, 01452 760618, appleorchardcampsite.co.uk
Sykeside Camping Park, Hartsop, Cumbria
Supping local brews with views at the Barn End Bar is what draws folk to Sykeside campsite in Dovedale Valley. The fact the bar is only open on Friday and Saturday evenings in summer adds a bit of a social fever. Brotherswater Pub, also on site, is open all week.
Pitches £13.50-£25 for two adults, £2 children. Open all year, 01768 482239, sykeside.co.uk
Wing Hall Camping, Rutland
With its bunting and bell jars, the Veranda Bar and Cafe is a grand spot for local craft beers and chilled wine, and in summer it’s open for meals too. Despite being in the grounds of a grandiose country house, the campsite keeps things basic and child-friendly, with rope swings and tons of space.
From £8.50 adults, £4 children, motorhomes and campervans £10-£20. Open mid-March to end of September, 01572 737090, winghall.co.uk
Pitch Up, Eat Local by Ali Ray is out now (AA Publishing with the Camping and Caravanning Club, £16.99). To buy a copy for £13.59 including UK p&p, visit bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846
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