Helton Campsite

View prices & book 8.3 88 reviews
Visitor image of the lovely site
Visitor image of the lovely site
Visitor image of the view across the field as the sun was setting behind them around 6:30pm
Pitches with a view
Views across the site
Views
Sunny views
Views from the pitches
Grass pitches
1/52
Visitor image of the view across the field as the sun was setting behind them around 6:30pm
Pitches with a view
Views across the site

  • Scenic Lake District site with easy access from the M6
  • A 10-minute drive to Pooley Bridge, Ullswater and Lowther Castle
  • Laidback pitches with space for kids to play; dogs welcome
You don’t have to go very far into the Lake District National Park to start appreciating the gorgeous views – and the area around Helton Campsite is a case in point. This spacious Cumbria site is only a couple of miles from the M6 at the northern end of the park so it’s a handy spot for a stopover or a quick fix of country air. That said, the scenery around here is lovely enough that you could certainly settle here for several days – pitches have gorgeous open views over the surrounding countryside, and there are lots of places to get out for a walk nearby too. Pooley Bridge is about 10 minutes’ drive away for outings on and around Ullswater, and you’ll also easily be able to get to other top spots like Aira Force waterfall and Haweswater (or Skiddaw and Helvellyn if you’d rather do some climbing). Life on site is fairly simple, with just the essentials provided to keep you going: pitches have access to a toilet and fresh mountain water for drinking, and there’s a field where families can play games. Dogs are welcome to join you here for Lake District jaunts, and there’s space to give them a run around on site plus plenty of choice for walking routes nearby. This corner of the Lake District has several choices for eating out at pubs and the like, but you’re also welcome to light barbecues or campfires on site if you’d rather settle in for an evening of outdoor cooking. There’s a convenience store just over a mile away in the village of Askham (which also has a pub and an open-air swimming pool).

Site type

Tent pitches 50
Open now
Opens 18 April
Please note
  • Under 18s must be accompanied by their parents or legal guardians.

Languages spoken

English

Open from Fri, 18 Apr to

Reviews

8.3

Overall rating based on 88 reviews View breakdown

Peaceful

Voted 61% of visitors View breakdown

84%

would recommend this site to a friend

80%

would stay here again

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    8
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    1

Only showing reviews for the last 30 months.

Great location, easy to find. Lovely walks in the area, and you…

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

Non-electric grass tent or trailer tent pitch

Liked: Great location, easy to find. Lovely walks in the area, and you can walk to Pooley Bridge across the fields. Flushable toilets with toilet roll and 1 shower. Perfect stay!

Recommend to friends Visit again

would stay again just would check who we are pitching beside next time

Overall 8/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 8
Customer service 10
Child friendliness No rating
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 4
Alisha M. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent or trailer tent pitch

Liked: views at the campsite, proper toilets instead of portaloos, someone comes round a few times a day to check everything’s okay

Disliked: stayed next to a young group of lads who were up with music till early hours of the morning

Recommend to friends Visit again

Friendly staff. Good location.

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

Non-electric grass tent or trailer tent pitch

Liked: Good location. Great hosts. Booked this for my son and his friends and they had a great weekend here.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Just dont bother

Overall 2/10
Location 4
Value for money 2
Accommodation 2
Facilities / Activities 2
Customer service 2
Child friendliness 2
Cleanliness 2
Wifi 2
Lee G. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent or trailer tent pitch

Liked: Not far from pub/restaurant ect

Disliked: Unmanned site by the looks, no rules or regs ect. Just an open gate into a field, other campers up till 2am blasting music, dogs off leads fighting! Someones dog actually ran into our tent at 1am ripped out the guylines, same again at 7am, dog off leads fighting, done its business outside our tent and owner left it, rubbish all over ! Literally anyone can just pull on the field and pitch by the looks as no owners in site, we paid for 2 nights and packed up and left at 8am the first morning!! Ive stayed on many rural campsites and prefer the wild camping experience with little amenities, however this was ridiculous! More like a party field with no respect for others, shouting swearing, loud music, dogs fighting, cars being driven up and down the field at 12am, 1am, 2am to the toilet as they were too lazy to walk!

Will not be back here thats for sure, shame as its the people being let on the site thats the issue, cant comment on owners as never seen them once, didnt even seem to appear on site to ensure it was people who had paid, might as well just not pay, turn up, pitch your tent and have a party till 3am

Ironically, there was a large group of teenagers- early 20’s turned up, they were very respectful and quiet, it was more the 30’s - 40’s universal credit warriors that was the issue!

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Hi,

Thanks for the comments,

Camp rules are on the toilets and gates as you walk in! Camp is checked 8/11/2/10 o’clock. My dad was aware of your tent and didn’t managed to catch you while you stayed you had left in the morning by time he arrived but rest assured we were expecting your visit and your tent matched the prescription we were expecting so didn’t react or want to bother you until the morning.

2 phone numbers on the website and on the toilets you could of called at any point to let us know the issues you were having which you didn’t call.

Was the first weekend of camp being open this year I’m sorry you had a bad time. Please call me and we can have a chat about the issues. Sounds to me a simple phone call to one of the two number would have solved your problem in seconds. So thanks.

Ease of access and laid back…

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

Non-electric grass tent or trailer tent pitch

Liked: Ease of access and laid back

Recommend to friends Visit again

nice views, local to shops and food. owner came round with fire…

Overall 8/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 8
Facilities / Activities 2
Customer service 8
Child friendliness 8
Cleanliness 8
Wifi 2
Mitchel K. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent or trailer tent pitch

Liked: nice views, local to shops and food. owner came round with fire wood, toilets and showers. quiet by 11. would recommend

Recommend to friends Visit again

Pleasant, nice views and worth the price

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

Non-electric grass tent or trailer tent pitch

Liked: Great views over the camp site.
Very friendly owner who helped me with a last minute decision on a fire pit.
Toilets were clean! Until the morning, which is expected on a basic camp site at the time I woke up (8am).
Would stay again!

Disliked: Just the toilets in the morning were blocked so had to wait until I found a service station.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Worth it, would recommend

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

Non-electric grass tent or trailer tent pitch

Liked: Fantastic view, cleanliness, grass mowed, friendly host at arrival

Disliked: Some loud campers up until after midnight

Recommend to friends Visit again

Easy booking, easy access. Its just a huge grass field. If you…

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 8
Facilities / Activities 6
Customer service 6
Child friendliness 8
Cleanliness 8
Wifi 2
Nina M. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent or trailer tent pitch

Liked: Easy booking, easy access. Its just a huge grass field. If you don' need amenities this spot ist perfect. Toiletts and cold water are provided.

Disliked: Nothing

Recommend to friends Visit again

Easy and laidback campsite

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

Non-electric grass tent or trailer tent pitch

Liked: Super easy campsite, we turned up really late (midnight) as was using as a stopover. No problems at all, got on to site and pitched up straight away. Easy to access loo’s and taps for water.

Disliked: It was a busy weekend so the loos were a bit blocked

Recommend to friends Visit again

Features

Pop-up campsite

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 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

Budget/backpacker Peaceful Spectacular scenery Walkers' paradise

Utilities

Charging facilities Chemical disposal Electric car charging point(s) Gas cylinders available No hot water Recycling available Renewable energy

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby Dog walk nearby Nearby farmers' market Public transport nearby Shop nearby

Type

Farm Medium (26-50 pitches) Pop-up campsite

Nearby leisure

Climbing nearby Cycle hire nearby Cycling nearby Fishing nearby Horse riding nearby Mountain biking nearby Outdoor pool nearby Restaurant nearby Sailing nearby Watersports nearby

Location

Helton Campsite

Helton

Askham

Pooley Bridge

Cumbria

England

CA10 2QB

Directions

Timezone

Europe/London BST (GMT+01:00)

GPS

54.58753°N
-2.76028°W

Route directions

Go all the way through the village of Helton, past the triangle field on the way to Bampton. Just as you pass the triangle field, you will see the site to your right.

Nearest transport

Coach
5.2 mi Rail Station
13.6 mi Kelsick Road opposite Library
13.8 mi Lakeside House for Dove Cottage
Rail
5.1 mi Penrith North Lakes Rail Station
8.3 mi Langwathby Rail Station
11 mi Appleby Rail Station
Ferry
3.1 mi Pooley Bridge Ullswater Ferry Landing
4.3 mi Howtown Ullswater Ferry Landing
8 mi Glenridding Ullswater Ferry Landing

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

Walking trails for all abilities are plentiful in the Lake District – from Helton your options include lakeside ambling by Ullswater (10 minutes’ drive) or the short stroll to Aira Force waterfall (25 minutes) or more challenging outings like the ascent of Helvellyn (half an hour). Those aren’t the only options for exploring though – the area around Pooley Bridge (10 minutes) has boat hire, various watersports and horse riding centres. The natural views are spectacular, of course, but there are some lovely buildings to see too – nearby Lowther Castle & Gardens (10 minutes) is worth a visit for the grand building, the 130-acre gardens and the adventure playground, and the Grade I-listed Dalemain Mansion & Historic Gardens (15 minutes) is equally lovely. If the weather takes a turn, there are several things to keep you busy in Keswick (35 minutes), including the Derwent Pencil Museum, Puzzling Place and tours of the Keswick Brewing Company.

Water quality at nearby bathing waters

Name Distance Type 2020201920182017
Allonby 29.7 mi Sea N/AGoodGoodGood

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

Dalemain Historic House & Gardens 3.8 mi

The Rheged Centre 4.2 mi

Ullswater Steamers 8 mi

Rydal Mount and Gardens 13.2 mi

Castlerigg Stone Circle 13.6 mi

National Trust

Acorn Bank Garden and Watermill 7.7 mi

Townend 13.8 mi

Grasmere and Great Langdale 14.7 mi

Windermere and Troutbeck 15 mi

Beatrix Potter Gallery 17.6 mi

Cycle routes

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

Other

ASKHAM HALL 1.5 mi

LOWTHER CASTLE 1.5 mi

Pooley Bridge - Loadpot Hill - Howtown - Pooley Bridge 3 mi

Pooley Bridge and Heughscar Hill 3 mi

DALEMAIN 3.7 mi

Local events

  • Kendal Calling (Thursday 31 July 2025 – Thursday 31 July 2025)

    Penrith, Cumbria 2.1 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 The Lake District and Cumbria?

Frequently asked questions

  • Does Helton Campsite have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is Helton Campsite dog friendly? Yes View all features
  • What attractions are near Helton Campsite? Walking trails for all abilities are plentiful in the Lake District – from Helton your options include lakeside ambling by Ullswater (10 minutes’ drive) or the short stroll to Aira Force waterfall … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of Helton Campsite?
    Camping and touring
    Arrive:  Anytime –  Anytime
    Depart by:  Anytime
    Read more
  • How much does it cost to stay at Helton Campsite? From £23 (for 1 night, 2 adults) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.