Herston Caravan and Camping

View prices & book 6.4 412 reviews
Well-spaced pitches
Well-spaced pitches
Bell tent
Spacious grass pitches
Bell tent with picnic table
Gather friends and family
Electric hardstanding and grass touring pitch
Friendly site
Bell tents with great rural views
1/128
Bell tent
Spacious grass pitches
Bell tent with picnic table

  • Holiday park one mile from the beach in Swanage
  • Half an hour's drive from Monkey World and Durdle Door
  • Playground, shop and takeaway on site; dogs welcome
Three cheers for this one on Dorset's Jurassic Coast: Herston Caravan and Camping is a family-friendly site only five minutes' drive away from the town of Swanage and its sandy beach. Everyone should find a full programme of stuff to do and see in this neck of the woods: perhaps rides on the steam-powered Swanage Railway, windsurfing down at Swanage Bay or clifftop walks on the South West Coast Path. The popular attractions of Corfe Castle, Old Harry Rocks and Durdle Door are all under half an hour's drive away too. Facilities on site include a playground and a mini market that also functions as a visitor information centre. Grab food from the takeaway on site when you're hungry. The spacious and clean toilet blocks have plentiful hot showers, family bathrooms and disabled facilities, and the site also has a launderette and a washing-up area. Dogs are also welcome at the park as long as they are kept on a lead and cleaned up after.

Campground type

Caravan sites 164
RV & Motorhome sites 164
Tent sites 46
Rent a tent 57
Open all year
Opens
Please note
  • Under 18s must be accompanied by their parents or legal guardians.
  • The campground/park does not accept breeds/crossbreeds listed in the Dangerous Dog Act (i.e. Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, and Fila Brasileiro).

Languages spoken

English

Site types & availability

Accommodation

Tent sitesCaravan sitesRV & Motorhome sitesLodges, cabins, pods or hutsCaravans for hireRent a tent
Choose your dates
2 adults
0 children

Reviews

6.4

Overall rating from 412 Pitchup.com customers

  • 25%
    10
  • 1%
    9
  • 19%
    8
  • 2%
    7
  • 19%
    6
  • 0%
    5
  • 9%
    4
  • 0%
    3
  • 18%
    2
  • 2%
    1
Location
 9
Value for money
 7
Accommodation
 6
Facilities / Activities
 6
Customer service
 7
Child friendliness
 7
Cleanliness
 6
Wifi
 5
Peaceful

53% would recommend this campground to a friend

52% would stay here again

What customers say

Great spot near Swanage town & beach, good value with a shop & food van. Friendly staff, excellent WiFi, spacious sites. Some dated facilities noted, with mixed feedback on cleanliness & noise.

Summary AI-generated from Pitchup.com customer reviews

Reviews page 1 of 42
Arrival date (latest first)

Very good, will go back next year

Overall

9 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 8
Accommodation
 No rating
Facilities / Activities
 9
Customer service
 9
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 9
Wifi
 No rating
Martin R.

Fully-serviced concrete and grass caravan site

Liked Location, footpath to the town direct from the site, good facilities including a shop and places to eat. Electric pitch was good and so was having water on the pitch

Disliked Showers didn’t work on two occasions meaning that I had a cold shower

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great spot, plenty of space. Very quiet in the evenings…

Overall

4 out of 10
Location
 No rating
Value for money
 8
Accommodation
 No rating
Facilities / Activities
 3
Customer service
 2
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 1
Wifi
 9
Melanie S.

Fully-serviced concrete and grass caravan site

Liked Great spot, plenty of space. Very quiet in the evenings

Disliked Not the best washing facilities.. dirty showers.
The campsite looked very tired, no flowers in the pots… some static caravans looked dreadful..

Recommend to friends Visit again

Nice site frendy with no noise

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
Billy M.

Fully-serviced concrete slab caravan site (large)

Liked Nice with plenty of space big pich and everything you need is there

Recommend to friends Visit again

Overall the campsite is very run down, needs a complete lift.

Overall

5 out of 10
Location
 8
Value for money
 4
Accommodation
 No rating
Facilities / Activities
 3
Customer service
 8
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 1
Wifi
 1
Poppy P.

Powered grass site

Liked Location was very accessible, friendly staff

Disliked The toileting facilities were very sparse had to queue every time. No space between tents, everyone is packed in very tightly no space in between sights to access water, you have to walk on others pitches.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Perfect

Overall

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

Powered grass site

Liked Perfect clean toilets…and location don’t have to carry food breakfast and lunches dinner and drinks can be bought in cafe…excellent food services hat off

Disliked Nothing

Recommend to friends Visit again

Stayed in sea view nice pitch 6 to 10 minutes from swanage…

Overall

7 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 8
Accommodation
 10
Facilities / Activities
 6
Customer service
 9
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 9
Wifi
 10
Stephen H.

Powered grass site

Liked Stayed in sea view nice pitch 6 to 10 minutes from swanage sea front .nice stay wendsday to Saturday started get busy the Friday but to be exspected probably need 5 more shower rooms but shower were cleaned every day

Recommend to friends Visit again

Definitely coming back again with my family we loved it

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
 10
annie m.

Powered grass site

Liked Everything !!

Location beautiful, beaches swange town local national park beaches which are beautiful and full of water activities for families to do .

Campsite — fantastic, all staff very friendly and helpful . Brilliant little food wagon was delicious! Lovely lady who stayed open later for us to order some dinner on arrival day ! Best homemade chilli too !

Beautiful views in the day and night especially with a full moon evening!

Disliked Nothing !

Recommend to friends Visit again

Would recommend this site for its position to Swanage.

Overall

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

Powered grass site

Liked The facility layout, the spacing between pitches, shower block, take away food facility, site ruling for courtesy to other guests, healthy walk to Swanage!

Disliked On the seaview pitch the one male toilet and female toilets were sometimes quite gross! Equipment was provided for cleaning and I guess some people are just gross & lazy!

Recommend to friends Visit again

Would come again

Overall

7 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 8
Accommodation
 8
Facilities / Activities
 5
Customer service
 6
Child friendliness
 6
Cleanliness
 8
Wifi
 1
Anonymous

Powered grass site

Liked Hot showers, saw them being cleaned twice a day too. Burger van, accessible to swanage and other local attractions.

Disliked Families being inconsiderate and making noise very late, and not cleaning up after themselves in the bathrooms (not the campsites fault). Some facilities wete unavailable and we were not informed prior.

Recommend to friends Visit again

The site looked like a building site - sorry but there was…

Overall

1 out of 10
Location
 1
Value for money
 2
Accommodation
 No rating
Facilities / Activities
 2
Customer service
 2
Child friendliness
 8
Cleanliness
 8
Wifi
 No rating
Bill T.

Fully-serviced concrete slab caravan site (large)

Liked The site looked like a building site - sorry but there was nothing that I can really say that I liked.

Disliked Very awkward narrow road leading to the site. The site had a row of smelly industrial bins at the entrance to greet you. The laundrette was out of action. The whole area looks untidy. The showers units were excellent but the water ran either very hot or freezing cold.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Features

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 site/unit Composting toilet Dog park Drying room Food shop Free wifi Ice pack freezing Internet access Laundry Local produce Parent & baby washroom Pick-up from public transport Portable toilet Pub toilets Public telephone Shower available Toilet block Washing-up area Wifi

Groups welcome

D. of E. 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

Budget/backpacker Bush Leave the car at home Luxury Peaceful Remote location Spectacular scenery Walkers' paradise Wildlife haven

Utilities

Charging facilities Dump point Electric car charging point(s) Gas cylinders available Recycling available Renewable energy

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby Convenience store nearby Dog walk nearby Public transport nearby

Type

Large (51-200 sites)

Nearby leisure

Canoeing/kayaking nearby Climbing nearby Cycle hire nearby Cycling nearby Fishing nearby Golf nearby Horse riding nearby Indoor pool nearby Leisure/theme park nearby Mountain biking nearby Outdoor pool nearby Restaurant nearby Sailing nearby Surf school nearby Tennis nearby Watersports nearby

Touring and motorhomes

Drainage hook-up points for caravans Seasonal sites Water hook-up points for caravans

Location

Herston Caravan and Camping

Washpond Lane

Swanage

Dorset

England

BH19 3DJ

Directions

Timezone

Europe/London +0100 (GMT+01:00)

GPS

50.61816°N
1.97913°W

Nearest transport

Coach
1.6 km Bus Station
5.8 km East Street
5.8 km East Street
Rail
11.3 km Poole Rail Station
11.9 km Parkstone (Dorset) Rail Station
12.2 km Hamworthy Rail Station
Ferry
7.2 km Shell Bay Ferry Terminal
7.6 km Sandbanks Ferry Terminal
8 km Brownsea Island Ferry Landing
Airport
20.5 km Bournemouth 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

A five-minute drive gets you into Swanage for sandy walks, sandcastle building, splashing about and more serious watersports. To kayak round the cliffs and coves of the Jurassic Coast, make for Knoll beach (10 minutes' drive) or Lulworth Cove (40 minutes) to hire your craft and see the place from sea level. The 630 mile-long South West Coast Path passes through town: pick it up and head eastwards to the Studland and Godlington Heath Nature Reserve to see the wild and nature-filled Wessex that inspired Thomas Hardy (or hire a steed from the trekking centre for extra historical detail). Going west, the path goes past the splendid sights of Stair Hole and Durdle Door (40 minutes), while descents of varying steepness lead down to quiet and cove-like beaches like Winspit (accessible only on foot from Worth Matravers, 10 minutes away) and Kimmeridge (half an hour). For a spot of time travel, pick up the Swanage Railway for a nine-mile steam trip to Wareham, perhaps stopping off en route for a clamber round the ruins of Corfe Castle (10 minutes). Younger visitors should have a ball among the play barns, pedal go-karts and pettable animals at the Putlake Adventure Farm, five minutes away. Further afield, there are pony rides, deer safaris, tractor trips and bouncy castles at Farmer Palmer's Farm Park (30 minutes), and at a similar distance the heavy hardware in The Tank Museum and the charming residents of Monkey World should keep everyone's monkeys out of mischief.

Water quality at nearby bathing waters

Name Distance Type 2020201920182017
Swanage Central 1.6 km Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Studland Knoll House 4.2 km Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Shell Bay North 7 km Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Poole Sandbanks Peninsular 8.4 km Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Poole Shore Road Beach 9.2 km Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

Swanage Railway 1.6 km

Studland Beach and Nature Reserve 4.8 km

Corfe Castle 6.1 km

Brownsea Island 8 km

Dorset Cruises 13.1 km

National Trust

Studland Beach and Nature Reserve 3.5 km

Corfe Castle 6 km

Brownsea Island 7.9 km

White Mill 21.5 km

Kingston Lacy 21.7 km

Cycle routes

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

Other

Herston - Worth Matravers - Corfe 0.6 km

Swanage to Corfe Circular Walk 3 km

Durlston Castle Historic Landscape 3 km

Studland - Old Harry - Ballard Down - Studland 3.6 km

Worth Matravers - Cliffs, Caves and Chapel 4.7 km

Local events

  • Dorset County Show (Saturday 6 September 2025 – Saturday 6 September 2025)

    Dorchester, England 33.5 km

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 campgrounds

Unfortunately, we have no nearby bookable campgrounds.

Want to know more about camping in Dorset?

Frequently asked questions

  • Does Herston Caravan and Camping have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is Herston Caravan and Camping dog friendly? Yes View all features
  • What attractions are near Herston Caravan and Camping? A five-minute drive gets you into Swanage for sandy walks, sandcastle building, splashing about and more serious watersports. To kayak round the cliffs and coves of the Jurassic Coast, make for Knoll … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of Herston Caravan and Camping?
    Camping and caravan
    Arrive:  noon –  10 p.m.
    Depart by:  11 a.m.
    On-site accommodation
    Arrive:  3 p.m. –  Anytime
    Depart by:  10 a.m.
    Read more
  • How much does it cost to stay at Herston Caravan and Camping? From $104.20 (for 2 nights, 6 people) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.