Bolam Lake Camping Paddock

View prices & book 9.8 162 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

Tent pitches 6
Motorhome pitches 2
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.
  • Guests are advised to bring a good quality torch with them as parts of the site are unlit.

Languages spoken

English

Open from Fri, 18 Apr to

Pitch types & availability

Reviews

99%

would recommend this site to a friend

99%

would stay here again

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Only showing reviews for the last 30 months.

Beautiful location, very clean and well kept, hosts very friendly and always…

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

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: Beautiful location, very clean and well kept, hosts very friendly and always on hand if needed, would definitely stay here again

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks much for sharing your feedback as it is so helpful to us and to other campers who are looking to book a family camping trip in Northumberland.

It was lovely to meet you and thanks for choosing to stay with us - we hope you visit again in the future.

Highly recommend

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

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: We’ve just returned from three nights here and we are so impressed! Lovely warm welcome. We will absolutely return very soon. Spacious pitches, toilets clean, washing area cleaned and well stocked too.

David and Jill go above and beyond to help and to make your stay enjoyable. Cannot recommend enough!

Disliked: Cannot fault anything.

Recommend to friends Visit again

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

It was really great to meet you all and we hope that you visit us again soon.

Brilliant!

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

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: Fabulous site. We were down that way out of necessity but hope to return for a short break in the new year.

Youngest loved the horses and the eldest loved the views.

Thank you to David for being such a warm and welcoming host!

Disliked: Nothing

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks so much for sharing your feedback. We are so pleased that you enjoyed your very short stay and you are truly sturdy campers as the weather is not so kind at this time of year.

Thanks for staying with us and we hope that you visit again next year when the weather is better and you have more time to explore this lovely part of Northumberland.

Thanks for sharing your great photos too.

Amazing campsite in a fantastic location with amazing owners

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

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: This is the second time we've stayed this month and we love it. The pitches are spacious and well maintained. The kids loved the horses in the field and there is plenty to do near by. The campsite has always been family friendly and quiet which is perfect if you have young children.

The owners David and Jill are the highlight of your stay. You can tell that both are very passionate about ensuring you have a good stay and generally care about their land. Both are around the campsite daily if you need anything. David helped pack up our tent in the rain.

The toilets are always immaculately clean.

Disliked: There was nothing we didn't like. I would just suggest to look at the facilities before you book. If you want a campsite with shower etc then this may not be the place for you. If your happy with a toilet and sink to wash up then this campsite is an amazing option.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks so much for sharing your feedback as it's so helpful to other campers when planning a camping trip and to us to help us improve what we offer.

We are located in Northumbrian green belt so we can offer simple camping in a lovely location but it's still important to us to offer our guests have clean facilities, spacious pitches and everything they need to make their stay as comfortable and as relaxing as possible.

It was great to meet you all again and hope you visit us again in the future.

Thanks for sharing the photos of our beautiful trees too:)

Nice field with wildlife around , very nice walks at the lake…

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

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: Nice field with wildlife around , very nice walks at the lake , friendly owners

Disliked: We were not able to use our own fire pit

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.

The walks at the lake are lovely and for sharing the great photos of the squirrels and our horse Dan who often pops over to the fence to say hello.

We are sorry that you could not use your fire pit on this occasion - we do allow guests to bring their own but we have to check that they are the correct height to protect the grass from being scorched. David is always on hand to offer help and we include additional information in our guest information.

Thanks so much for staying with us.

gorgous surroundings,clean facilities,excellent service,lovely horses

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

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: Absolutely beautiful surroundings directly across from Bolam lake entrance . We were about 40 minutes from home but found ourselves a world away from the hustle and bustle! The facilities were clean. Portaloos did not resemble anything like the ones you find at a festival, they were cleaned morning and night and emptied while we were there. The owners Jill and David we so welcoming and friendly. David came along with apples and plums for us the next day - how kind!

Disliked: The one and only thing I can say - and this is being very picky- the horses are slightly noisey at night. We had pitched right up near them so we could watch them. It was wonderful walking up to the sight of the horses running around early in the morning. This completely outweighs the fact they chat to each other during the night. Who knew horses were night owls :D. This would not stop us from booking again. We are planning our next trip for spring.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks so much for sharing your great feedback and we are so pleased that you enjoyed your stay - it's so helpful to other guests who may be planning their next camping trip.

So sorry about the disturbance from some of the horses - most of them are older and retired but we will have a team meeting with them to remind them of our campsite rules of quiet time from 10.00pm - 7.00am !! :)

Thanks so much for staying with us and we look forward to meeting you again next year.

- I loved how friendly and welcoming the owners were (David and…

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

Non-electric grass campervan pitch

Liked: - I loved how friendly and welcoming the owners were (David and Jill).
- I loved that we were surrounded by beautiful horses and trees.
- It was very peaceful.
- David even brought us fresh plumbs and apples from his trees which were yummy!
- Portable toilets were very clean.
- Dish washing area also sparkling clean!
- We would definitely stay here again if choosing to wild camp. We felt safe.
- It is situated across the road from Bolam Lake which is beautiful.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks so much for your great feedback and the lovely photos taken from your pitch.

Your comments are so helpful to us and to others who may be looking to book a camping trip that meets their needs.

We offer simple camping but it's really important to us that the facilities are clean and that our guests have everything they need to make their stay enjoyable.

It was great to meet you all and we hope that you visit again soon.

Happy camping - great September weather too:)

Overall an amazing stay we have been back 3 times this month

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

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: Everything about the stay was amazing the facility’s, location you can hire camp fires, logs and fire lighters the value for you money is fab!!!

Disliked: Absolutely nothing everything was amazing.
Owners are so helpful

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks so much for sharing your feedback and we are so pleased that you enjoy your camping trips.

We offer simple camping in a lovely location so we just want our guests to pitch up, be comfortable, relax and enjoy the countryside.

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

The owners were so welcoming and lovely. The field was very well…

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

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: The owners were so welcoming and lovely. The field was very well kept. We were a little concerned that there was only portaloos but rest assured, they were so well kept, they even smelt nice! So please do not let this put you off at all! It’s lovely to see how much time and effort the owners put in to the site and keeping it well looked after along with all the guests. Thank you for having us and we will certainly recommend to friends and family. We look forward to hopefully seeing you again next summer.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thank you for sharing your great and informative feedback.

It was brilliant to meet you all and we are so pleased that you enjoyed your stay with us - the great September weather helped too! :)

We hope that you visit again next year.

Lovely spacious campsite, peaceful surroundings and incredibly warm reception from the hosts.…

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

Non-electric grass campervan pitch

Liked: Lovely spacious campsite, peaceful surroundings and incredibly warm reception from the hosts. Perfect getaway spot and reasonably priced too.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thank you so much for sharing your feedback as it's so helpful to us and to guests who may be looking to book a campsite that suits their needs.

We really enjoy meeting the great people who stay with us and just want them to have a relaxing stay in a lovely part of Northumberland.

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


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 +0100 (GMT+01:00)

GPS

55.1332°N
-1.8688°W

Nearest transport

Coach
3.8 km The Arcade
3.8 km The Arcade
5 km Road end
Rail
12.3 km Morpeth Rail Station
14.8 km Newcastle Airport Metro
15.2 km Pegswood Rail Station
Ferry
30.7 km North Shields Ferry Terminal
31 km Newcastle International Ferry Terminal
31.3 km South Shields Ferry Terminal
Airport
14.7 km 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 23.1 km Sea N/AGoodExcellentExcellent
Newbiggin North 23.5 km Sea N/AExcellentExcellentGood
Blyth South Beach 23.8 km Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Druridge Bay South 23.8 km Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Seaton Sluice 25.4 km Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens 3.6 km

George Stephenson's Birthplace 17.5 km

Prudhoe Castle 18.7 km

Cragside House, Gardens and Estate 20.1 km

Chesters Roman Fort 20.8 km

National Trust

Wallington 6.1 km

Cherryburn 19.5 km

Cragside 20.6 km

Seaton Delaval Hall 24.3 km

Holy Jesus Hospital 24.5 km

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 km

BELSAY HALL 3.7 km

Hartburn Circular 4.6 km

CAPHEATON 5.1 km

WALLINGTON 5.9 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.

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 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:  noon
    Read more
  • How much does it cost to stay at Bolam Lake Camping Paddock? From €29.31 (for 1 night, 6 people) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.