Bolam Lake Camping Paddock

View prices & book 9.8 213 reviews
Visitor image of the peaceful paddock & lovely views
Visitor image of the beautiful rainbow over the site
Green surroundings
Aerial view over the site

  • Dog-friendly wild camping site opposite Bolam Lake Country Park
  • A 25-minute drive from Hadrian’s Wall; 40 minutes from the coast
  • Barbecues permitted; walking/cycling routes and a food shop nearby
Wake up in peaceful paddocks surrounded by the Northumberland countryside and finish off the day with a lakeside walk. Bolam Lake Camping Paddock is a dog-friendly wild camping site opposite Bolam Lake Country Park, so head out in search of birds, picnic on the shores or grab a homemade scone from the café and visitor centre as you please. These paddock pitches are enclosed in a peaceful area next to a woodland where it’s pretty sheltered, and they have rather scenic views of the surrounding farmland. Still, while it may be pretty nicely tucked away, there’s still much to do out and about. Belsay, a scenic village with a small shop and café, is 45 minutes’ walk away (or a five-minute drive) and Ponteland is another spot with a selection of local shops, pubs, cafés, restaurants and takeaways. Of course, there’s Hadrian’s Wall too (Heddon-on-the-Wall is 25 minutes’ drive away). The splendid Northumberland coast is 40 minutes’ drive away, and to the north, the Scottish border is within reach too if you’re looking to cross into different territories. As for walking, well, there's certainly no shortage of trails around, including several routes that depart from the site. When you feel like mixing things up with a cycle instead, there are routes for both beginners and pros surrounding the site too. Wherever you end up during the day, you’ll likely want to make sure you’re back in time for sunset, as there are lots of ways to unwind – perhaps with a walk around the lake or knocking back a few burgers with a barbecue.

Site type

Motorhome pitches 4
Tent pitches 8
Caravans for hire 1
Open now
Opens 18 April
Please note
  • This site has no on-site shower facilities.
  • Under 18s must be accompanied by their parents or legal guardians.
  • Group bookings of 4 or more adults are not permitted (couples and immediate family members excepted).
  • No hen/stag parties permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • At least one of the party members must be aged 18 or over.

Languages spoken

English

Open from Fri, 18 Apr to

Pitch types & availability

Reviews

  • 89%
    10
  • 1%
    9
  • 6%
    8
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    1
Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
10
Facilities / Activities
9
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
10
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
7

99% would recommend this site to a friend

98% would stay here again

What customers say

A beautiful, peaceful site offering gorgeous countryside views and proximity to Bolam Lake. Hosts David and Jill are consistently praised for their exceptional friendliness and helpfulness. Pitches are spacious and well-separated. Facilities, including portaloos, are noted as being immaculately clean and well-maintained. Horse neighbours and a calm atmosphere contribute to a highly recommended relaxing stay.

Summary AI-generated from Pitchup.com customer reviews

Reviews page 1 of 22
Arrival date (latest first)

David and Jill are the perfect hosts, fantastic clean site, beautiful views,…

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
No rating
Facilities / Activities
10
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
No rating
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
No rating
Craig R.

Non-electric grass campervan pitch

Liked David and Jill are the perfect hosts, fantastic clean site, beautiful views, clean toilets and kitchen area, bolam lake 1 minute walk away, horses in surrounding fields great to watch running around with each other. Also have a great little Caravan to rent on site
Overall brilliant small, friendly campsite

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks so much for sharing your feedback and we are so pleased that you enjoyed your stay with us.

Your comments really sum up what we offer here - so thank you.

Our caravan rental was a bit of an experiment and our aim was to offer 'the best bits of off grid camping in beautiful countryside without the hassle of setting up a tent' and it has proved to be really popular this year.

Best wishes and we hope that you visit again soon.

Dave was amazing! So helpful! We got there and discovered our…

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
No rating
Facilities / Activities
10
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
No rating
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
1
Lisa W.

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked Dave was amazing! So helpful!
We got there and discovered our tent had broke he went above and beyond to help us fix it ! We had 4 kids with us !
Honestly great site ! Every thing u need supa clean

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks so much for your feedback and we are so pleased that you enjoyed your stay.

We are sorry about your tent but we are pleased that David could help. He spent his working life building cars and repairing boats so tents are a new challenge for him:)

Thanks for sharing the beautiful photograph of Bolam Lake too.

Facilities are clean and the owners are very friendly and helpful

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
No rating
Facilities / Activities
8
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
No rating
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
No rating
Sarah T.

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked The site is lovely, not too big which we liked as this stops the place from being overcrowded and too noisy.

Disliked Nothing to dislike

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks so much for sharing your feedback as it is always so helpful to campers who may be choosing a site that best suits their needs.

We are a Wanderlust campsite so we offer simple camping in beautiful countryside. We offer very clean facilities and spacious pitches as we just want our guests to be comfortable so that they can relax and just enjoy their stay.

Thank you for choosing us and we hope that you visit the area again very soon.

Lovely peaceful camping site. Stayed for 1 night with my 2 sons.…

Overall

9 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
No rating
Facilities / Activities
9
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
10
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
No rating
Ian M.

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked Lovely peaceful camping site. Stayed for 1 night with my 2 sons. Owners were very friendly and helpful. Will definitely be staying again

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks so much for sharing your feedback - we are pleased that you enjoyed your stay with your sons.

We hope that you had a relaxing break on our little Northumbrian campsite and we hope that you visit again very soon.

Great site, very well kept and owners are really helpful and approachable…

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
10
Facilities / Activities
10
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
10
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
No rating
Nicola E.

Non-electric grass campervan pitch

Liked Great site, very well kept and owners are really helpful and approachable

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks for sharing your feedback and we are pleased that you enjoyed your stay.

Meeting the great people who stay with us is the most rewarding part of running our little campsite. It's important to us that our guests are comfortable and enjoy their stay so we are always around to help if it's needed.

Thanks for staying with us and we hope you visit the area again very soon.

Secluded location and great to be next to bolam lake woods. Clean facilities,…

Overall

9 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
10
Facilities / Activities
10
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
10
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
No rating
Sean B.

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked Secluded location and great to be next to bolam lake woods.
Clean facilities, great for a quiet pitch up

Disliked Not sure if we just got unlucky but we were inundated with wasps which were a constant hindrance.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks so much for your feedback and we are pleased that you enjoyed your stay.

Our campsite is in a great location if you just fancy simple camping, a relaxing break and great views.

Bolam Lake Country Park is just across the road from our campsite and it's great for lovely walks, paddle boarding, fishing and there is a lovely coffee shop too.

Apologies if you were pestered by wasps - we have never encountered this before but there seems to be lots around the whole area at the moment.

Clean and tidy site with very welcoming hosts and a brilliant view.

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
No rating
Facilities / Activities
10
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
No rating
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
No rating
Vanessa S.

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked Children loved watching the horses in the field next to the tent. Clean portaloos and well organised washing up area. Picnic tables and chairs around the site were a great bonus that I was not expecting. Site clean and tidy and the owners were very welcoming. My children thoroughly enjoyed learning about the horses from them. Perfectly placed for visiting a lot of the local attractions. Wish we could have stayed a little longer but had onward bookings. Thank you for a great stay

Disliked None

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thank you for staying with us and we are pleased that you enjoyed your stay with us during your adventures in Northumberland.

It was lovely to see the children playing together and just enjoying the freedom of the countryside.

We love sharing stories about the retired horses who live with us and they seem to enjoy having campers as their neighbours too :)

You are welcome anytime if you plan another trip to Northumberland in the future.

Good pitch, friendly staff

Overall

8 out of 10
Location
7
Value for money
7
Accommodation
7
Facilities / Activities
7
Customer service
7
Child friendliness
7
Cleanliness
7
Wifi
No rating
Paul F.

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked We ready enjoyed our stay. Very relaxed and family friendly. David was very helpful.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks so much for sharing your feedback and we are pleased that you enjoyed your stay.

We are a Wanderlust site so we offer simple camping in the Northumbrian countryside. It's great to see everyone just relax and enjoy time together.

David is always on hand to help with tents, barbeques, fire pits etc and offer advice about where to eat, shop and great places to visit too.

Thanks for staying with us and we hope that you visit the area again very soon.

Was lovely place…

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
10
Facilities / Activities
10
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
10
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
5
Anonymous

Non-electric grass campervan pitch

Liked Was lovely place

Disliked The wasps there's 100s use washing up liquid and water and spray gets rid of them

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks so much for sharing your feedback and we are pleased that you enjoyed your stay.

Sorry about the wasps - there seems to be lots about this year in this part of the countryside but we hope it didn't spoil your stay.

Thanks for staying with us and we hope you visit again in the future.

Fantastic friendly and very clean place.…

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
9
Accommodation
No rating
Facilities / Activities
7
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
10
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
No rating
Daniel R.

Non-electric grass campervan pitch

Liked Fantastic friendly and very clean place.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks for sharing your feedback and we are pleased that you enjoyed your stay.

We are located in beautiful countryside but shops, places to eat and great places to visit are only a short drive away.

It's great to see families enjoying time together in a safe environment - children can play freely and parents can relax.

Thanks for staying with us and we hope to see you again soon.


Features

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 Car parking by pitch/unit 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 Single-sex groups welcome Student groups welcome

Rules

Barbecue provided Barbecues allowed Campfires allowed Commercial vehicles allowed Dogs allowed Dogs allowed all year

Themes

Peaceful Wild camping

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

Small (11-25 pitches)

Nearby leisure

Climbing nearby Cycling nearby

Location

Bolam Lake Camping Paddock

Belsay

Northumberland

England

NE20 0HE

Directions

Timezone

Europe/London BST (GMT+01:00)

GPS

55.1332°N
1.8688°W

Nearest transport

Coach
2.4 mi The Arcade
2.4 mi The Arcade
3.1 mi Road end
Rail
7.6 mi Morpeth Rail Station
9.2 mi Newcastle Airport Metro
9.4 mi Pegswood Rail Station
Ferry
19.1 mi North Shields Ferry Terminal
19.3 mi Newcastle International Ferry Terminal
19.4 mi South Shields Ferry Terminal
Airport
9.2 mi Newcastle 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

Want to feel like lord or lady for an afternoon? Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens (10 minutes' drive) should soon ignite that fantasy. The medieval castle and gardens are one of a couple of historic properties around. The National Trust’s Wallington (10 minutes) has cycle hire so that visitors can take in views of the historical house the traditional way. Hikes-wise, Shaftoe Crags (10 minutes) has a circular walk with plenty of bouldering spots along the way. Hike along the historic Hadrian’s Wall to Housesteads Roman Fort (40 minutes) too. For beach time, Blyth and Cresswell are both excellent sandy options, and both about 40 minutes away – the former has beach huts while the latter has sand dunes. Those with kids are likely to be keeping their eyes peeled for easy entertainment options too. Very handily, Whitehouse Farm Centre (20 minutes) runs animal feeding sessions as well as things like tractor rides, and Go Ape Matfen (25 minutes) has a treetop assault course for the extra brave. Newcastle upon Tyne city centre (half an hour) has plenty of family-friendly attractions to add to that.

Water quality at nearby bathing waters

Name Distance Type 2020201920182017
Newbiggin South 14.3 mi Sea N/AGoodExcellentExcellent
Newbiggin North 14.6 mi Sea N/AExcellentExcellentGood
Blyth South Beach 14.8 mi Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Druridge Bay South 14.8 mi Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Seaton Sluice 15.8 mi Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens 2.2 mi

George Stephenson's Birthplace 10.9 mi

Prudhoe Castle 11.6 mi

Cragside House, Gardens and Estate 12.5 mi

Chesters Roman Fort 12.9 mi

National Trust

Wallington 3.8 mi

Cherryburn 12.1 mi

Cragside 12.8 mi

Seaton Delaval Hall 15.1 mi

Holy Jesus Hospital 15.2 mi

Cycle routes

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

Other

Bolam Lake - Shaftoe Craggs circular 0.1 mi

BELSAY HALL 2.3 mi

Hartburn Circular 2.8 mi

CAPHEATON 3.2 mi

WALLINGTON 3.7 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.

Nearest sites

Unfortunately, we have no nearby bookable sites.

Want to know more about camping in Northumberland?

Frequently asked questions

  • Does Bolam Lake Camping Paddock have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is Bolam Lake Camping Paddock dog friendly? Yes View all features
  • What attractions are near Bolam Lake Camping Paddock? Want to feel like lord or lady for an afternoon? Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens (10 minutes' drive) should soon ignite that fantasy. The medieval castle and gardens are one of a … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of Bolam Lake Camping Paddock?
    Camping and touring
    Arrive:  2 p.m. –  Anytime
    Depart by:  12 p.m.
    On-site accommodation
    Arrive:  2 p.m. –  Anytime
    Depart by:  12 p.m.
    Read more
  • How much does it cost to stay at Bolam Lake Camping Paddock? From £25 (for 1 night, 4 people) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.