Whitemead Forest Park

View prices & book 9.3 357 reviews
Aerial shot of the hardstanding and the tent pitches
Pool
Pool
Well-spaced pitches

  • Well-equipped park just outside Parkend in the Forest of Dean
  • Puzzlewood and Clearwell Caves within a 10-minute drive
  • Indoor swimming pool, spa area, restaurant and kids' activities
As you’d expect from the name, Whitemead Forest Park is surrounded by woodland. And not just any old woodland... but the age-old Forest of Dean, one-time stamping ground of the royals and their pals. It’s not hard to see why the regal types would flock to this part of Gloucestershire – the surrounds are most scenic, and packed with plenty of things to do including days of wandering among ancient trees (on foot, on bikes or on horseback), exploring spooky caves and riding rural railways. So far, so peaceful… and that vibe is stretched out to the park’s facilities too, which include a free gym, sauna, steam room and spa pools. And if you’re in charge of kids that have more active plans in mind? Such scenarios are sorted too: the indoor swimming pool has a kids’ area, and there are also several outdoor play areas scattered around the site. Through the summer holidays, the park’s all abuzz with various activities they can join in with (for an extra charge). Despite all this activity, there’s little chance of going hungry here – the restaurant serves all day from breakfast to dinner (via afternoon tea…) with a couple of bars also on hand to provide the drinks and entertainment. If you’d like to venture out, there are a couple of pubs in the nearby village of Parkend (10 minutes’ walk) and lots of restaurants and shops in Lydney (10 minutes’ drive).

Site type

Lodges, cabins, pods or huts 88
Touring caravan pitches 71
Tent pitches 30
Motorhome pitches 71
Open now
Opens 17 January

Tourist board rating

Please note
  • Under 18s must be accompanied by their parents or legal guardians.
  • The site does not accept breeds/crossbreeds listed in the Dangerous Dogs Act (i.e. Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, and Fila Brasileiro).
  • No hen/stag parties permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • Bookings must not be for more than 21 consecutive nights.
  • At least one of the party members must be aged 21 or over.

Languages spoken

English

Open from Fri, 17 Jan 2025 to

Pitch types & availability

Reviews

95%

would recommend this site to a friend

92%

would stay here again

  • 73%
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Only showing reviews for the last 30 months.

Fantastic facilities with coffee shop, bar/restaurant, 2 play areas

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 10
Kate W. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Electric gravel and hardstanding touring pitch

Liked: Shower & toilet facilities were very clean and heated.

Recommend to friends Visit again

The wonderful setting, pool and restaurant.…

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 6
Accommodation 8
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi No rating
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

The Mead electric gravel and hardstanding tent, campervan or trailer tent pitch

Liked: The wonderful setting, pool and restaurant.

Disliked: Could have been a bit cheaper.

Recommend to friends Visit again

The surrounding areas and plenty of space for kids to play. Friendly…

Overall 8/10
Location 10
Value for money 4
Accommodation 8
Facilities / Activities 6
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 6
Wifi 6
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

The Mead electric gravel and hardstanding tent, campervan or trailer tent pitch

Liked: The surrounding areas and plenty of space for kids to play. Friendly staff.

Disliked: Shower area and toilets need to be cleaned more often. Seems like they get cleaned once a day only. Toilets and showers in one room don’t make the showering experience the best.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Very good…

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 10
Andrzej K. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Electric grass tent pitch

Liked: Very good

Recommend to friends Visit again

Everything…

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 6
Peter N. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

The Mead electric gravel and hardstanding tent, campervan or trailer tent pitch

Liked: Everything

Disliked: Nothing

Recommend to friends Visit again

Amazing find which we will visit again

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 10
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

The Mead electric gravel and hardstanding tent, campervan or trailer tent pitch

Liked: Fantastic facilities, great walks with the dog - we saw 5 deer! Very clean toilets and showers

Disliked: Nothing!

Recommend to friends Visit again

Excellent Pitch Fantastic Facilities Lovely food on site…

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 8
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 8
Gavin S. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

The Mead electric gravel and hardstanding tent, campervan or trailer tent pitch

Liked: Excellent Pitch
Fantastic Facilities
Lovely food on site

Disliked: Having to come home!

Recommend to friends Visit again

Fantastic weekend away, great site very well maintained. Big hard standings and…

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 8
Accommodation No rating
Facilities / Activities 8
Customer service 10
Child friendliness No rating
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 6
Peter K. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Electric gravel and hardstanding touring pitch

Liked: Fantastic weekend away, great site very well maintained. Big hard standings and club house was great

Disliked: Nothing to dislike it was brilliant

Recommend to friends Visit again

Really good well laid out, super clean and pleasant site.

Overall 10/10
Location 8
Value for money 8
Accommodation 8
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 8
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Electric gravel and hardstanding touring pitch

Liked: Really clean well laid out site. Excellent food and prices were reasonable. Lovely forest walks on the doorstep and pool etc really nice. Excellent site for caravan.

Disliked: Only minor niggle was the amount of bollards and wooden posts hidden in all sorts of places. Made navigating the site with a twin axle slightly stressful

Recommend to friends Visit again

Clean, great facilities, lovely wooded walks…

Overall 8/10
Location 8
Value for money 8
Accommodation 8
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 8
mark w. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Electric gravel and hardstanding touring pitch

Liked: Clean, great facilities, lovely wooded walks

Disliked: Needs more toilet/shower facilities for amount of tourers

Recommend to friends Visit again


Features

Leisure on site

Bar or club house Cycle hire Evening entertainment Fishing Fitness centre Games room Hot tub Indoor swimming pool Kids' club On-site cafe On-site restaurant On-site restaurant/cafe Outdoor swimming pool Play area TV room Take away Tennis Toddler's pool 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 Off licence Parent & baby washroom Pick-up from public transport Picnic table 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

Forest Gastronomic delight Peaceful Remote location Spectacular scenery Walkers' paradise Wildlife haven

Utilities

Charging facilities Chemical disposal Communal freezer 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

Large (51-200 pitches)

Accessibility

Bathrooms: Wheelchair accessible shower Bathrooms: Wheelchair accessible toilet

Nearby leisure

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

Touring and motorhomes

Motorhome service point Water hook-up points for tourers

Location

Whitemead Forest Park

Parkend

Lydney

Gloucestershire

England

GL15 4LA

Directions

Timezone

Europe/London BST (GMT+01:00)

GPS

51.76784°N
-2.56431°W

Nearest transport

Coach
7.3 mi Bus Station
10 mi Bus Station
10.1 mi Cantilupe Road
Rail
4 mi Lydney Rail Station
9.5 mi Cam & Dursley Rail Station
10 mi Chepstow Rail Station
Ferry
4.6 mi Sharpness Old Docks
4.7 mi Lydney Harbour
19.2 mi Bristol Docks Ferry Landing
Airport
19.4 mi Gloucestershire Airport
27.1 mi Bristol 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

For those seeking a bit of peace and quiet, there are stacks of splendid trails around the Forest of Dean to ramble or ride bikes along (and a bike hire place a few minutes’ walk away in Parkend if you need it). Should the kids demand more from their woodland outings, take them along to seek out dragons and unicorns along the themed trails at Puzzlewood, or launch themselves into the air on the ziplines and high ropes courses at Go Ape; both are 10 minutes away by car. Much of the area’s attraction is linked to its natural good looks, but there’s also manmade interest in the form of the miners’ caverns at Clearwell Caves and the puffing steam trains of the Dean Forest Railway (both 10 minutes' drive). In the unlikely event that you tire of this scenery, head west to the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty for days visiting Goodrich Castle (20 minutes) and the Wye Valley Butterfly Zoo (25 minutes), or canoeing from Symonds Yat (25 minutes).

Water quality at nearby bathing waters

Name Distance Type 2020201920182017
Clevedon Beach 26.2 mi Estuary N/AGoodGoodGood

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

WWT Slimbridge Wetlands Centre 7.1 mi

Berkeley Castle 7.1 mi

Caldicot Castle & Country Park 7.2 mi

Goodrich Castle 7.5 mi

Chepstow Castle 9.8 mi

National Trust

The Kymin 6.1 mi

Westbury Court Garden 7.5 mi

Skenfrith Castle 12.4 mi

Woodchester Park 12.9 mi

Newark Park 14 mi

Cycle routes

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

Other

Parkend - Oakenhill Wood - Moseley Green - Church Hill - Parkend 0.1 mi

Parkend - Cannop Ponds - Nag's Head RSPB Reserve - Parkend 0.2 mi

Nagshead Visitor Centre - RSPB Reserve - Nagshead Visitor Centre 0.5 mi

Nagsgead RSPB Reserve - Cannop Ponds - Speech House 0.5 mi

NAGSHEAD (CURRENT BOUNDARY FROM 23/09/2003) 0.8 mi

Local events

  • Bristol International Balloon Fiesta (Friday 8 August 2025 – Friday 8 August 2025)

    Bristol, Greater Bristol 22.9 mi

  • Green Man Festival (Thursday 14 August 2025 – Thursday 14 August 2025)

    Crickhowell, Powys 27 mi

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.

Offers

Conditions apply - see pitch type section for details

Nearest sites

Unfortunately, we have no nearby bookable sites.

Want to know more about camping in Gloucestershire?

Frequently asked questions

  • Does Whitemead Forest Park have a swimming pool? Yes View all features
  • Is Whitemead Forest Park dog friendly? Yes View all features
  • What attractions are near Whitemead Forest Park? For those seeking a bit of peace and quiet, there are stacks of splendid trails around the Forest of Dean to ramble or ride bikes along (and a bike hire place a … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of Whitemead Forest Park?
    Camping and touring
    Arrive:  2 p.m. –  7 p.m.
    Depart by:  11 a.m.
    On-site accommodation
    Arrive:  3 p.m. –  7 p.m.
    Depart by:  10 a.m.
    Read more
  • How much does it cost to stay at Whitemead Forest Park? From £28 (for 1 night, 6 people) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.