Looking for a good campsite guide

[Bramsley]

We're off on our first camping trip next week (straight after Cropredy) and we're looking for a good campsite guide that we can take with us. Does anyone know of a good camping guide book for England? We're looking for small, out of the way campsites rather than holiday parks.

The Cool Camping books are the sort of thing we're looking for, but I think they are just for tents.

We've found a few potential good sites on http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/articles/pubsmap.asp and http://www.pubcamping.co.uk/pubs-and-inns/ and we'll be booking a couple, but we don't want to tie our trip down by booking everything in advance.

We won't have access to the internet so we're looking for a book we can keep in the van.

Thanks

[kevtherev]

Take a look at the 80-90 recommended sites


click on the link in my signature

[Bramsley]

I've had a look there. Riverside in Stratford on Avon looks good, and I've made a note of that. I was hoping to find a guide we could take with us, and decide where to stay each day.

Course, the van may have other plans and we might have to tour straight back home on the back of a recovery truck

[T-3PO]

Cades (http://www.cades.co.uk) used to be pretty good, available to buy in most of the popular book shops or online, but I haven't bought one for about 6 years, so not sure what it's like these days?!

[trundletruc]

Join the the Camping & Caravanning club and they will provide you with "The big sites book" which has hundreds of sites all over the country. Some are called "certified" sites which are small out of the way sites but be careful to check if they have the facilities you want - toilets, etc.

Almost as cheap as buying a camp site book.

[campervanman]

Like trundletruc said. Join the club and get the book 'free' also gives you better (cheaper) rates on club sites. Some of the hideaway sites are fairly basic, just a corner of a field with tap for water and disposal point for chemical toilets, some are as 'posh' as a proper campsite.

[RachelDaisy]

I'll 3rd that, join the C&C club. Its about £35 a year.

[Bramsley]

Thanks everyone. I'll think about what you say. I thought the Camping and Caravanning club would feature mostly 'holiday parks' with shops, clubs etc - just the sort of thing we don't want to go to, but it sounds as though they have some smaller ones as well.

I think some friends of our are members, so I'll see if they'll let me have a peep at their book before I join.

So far got a Good pub guide (which appears to be MOH's key criteria - choice of real ales etc - and a few phone numbers from the pub campsites pages and the Fun places 2 be website. Aiming to be travelling around the Oxfordshire / Hertfordshire/ Wiltshire triangle so wave if you see us.

Thanks for all your help.

This will be our first real 'trip' - 10 days away, van willing, not knowing where we'll end up - but determined not to get stressed if we end up coming home on the back of a pick up truck.

[squire]

Kathyshack does a good one that is not biased as its people from here giving their honest verdict on sites they have been to

[teutonic T3]

alan rogers campsite book is very good

[kathyshack]

check out funplace2camp, link in my signature. you can also download the poi file for your gps if you have one, that way you can look up the closest recomended site etc....
have fun,
kathy

[b1llyf1sh]

We went to France armed with just the Cool Camping book, and it was great. Everywhere we went had facilities for vans, tents and caravans so you can choose whether you want to be amongst the campers or the big white camping trucks. Every site we went to that was in the book was a pearler, in fact the only duffer we stayed at was when we went all maverick