This is the fifth post in our series reviewing the best place to find a campingsite. This time we have visited www.ukcampsite.co.uk to find out if they can help us find a suitable place to pitch our tent.
http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk
This website has a distinctive yellow background with yellow and red buttons. Its a bit garish but does make the website memorable!
UKCampsite.co.uk, the net’s best, oldest, and biggest internet guide to all things camping and caravanning related. Tents, caravans, motorhomes, trailer tents, you name it we love them and we get millions of visitors each month.
Finding a suitable campsite
The home page offers a quick search by campsite name, town or county. Alternatively you can click through to search from the interactive map. Clicking the map first zooms into a general area, i.e. The North West, then you can zoom in to counties. Campsites listed are then displayed in a Bing map. If there is more than one page of listings only those camping sites listed on that page are shown on the map. Featured sites have a green tent icon whilst non-featured have a red tent icon. Hovering over each icon reveals basic information about the campsite and a link through to detailed information.
Alternatively you can select a location on the map and search for campsites with a certain radius of the location. You can choose from within 5, 10 or 20 miles.
The map and advanced search features can easily be used in conjunction with each other, offering a very useful search facility.
The advanced search functions correctly, whittling down the number of campsites as you select desired criteria such as campsites that accept dogs and allow you to have campfires. There is a reasonable sized list of choices here, although not a as many as some websites offer.
A summary list of campsites is shown which includes a brief description for featured sites. From the summary list you can click through to the full details.
Full contact details are provided for the campsites and if you wish you can contact the website direct via an on-line form.
Camping Site Details
Icons are used to denote whether the campsite has pitches for tents, caravans and motorhomes. There are also icons showing the facilities the campsite has itself as well as any facilities nearby, including the distance to them. The campsite description, nearby attractions, directions and photos are entered by the campsite and can be variable in terms of quality. Featured camping sites have detailed information whereas non-featured campsites have a message saying that “No details entered by the campsite “. The location is shown on a Google map and they also provide you with the distance to your nearest Halfords store!
Campsite Reviews
There are lots of campsite reviews that have been submitted for most of the campsites. Apparently there are over 85,000 reviews and these seem to be quite an integral part of the website. It is certainly useful to be able to read other people’s experiences. Here are some examples:
Reviewer: TartanT (3) Date of Visit: June 2010 Unit: Tent
A mainly backpacker/climbers site. Get there early if you want to find that nice level pitch as it soon fills up. The bus passes right by the entrance so ideal for those on a walking holiday but don’t forget your food as there’s no shop on site…
Reviewer: Dryan (4) Date of Visit: June 2007 Unit: Tent
I’ve visited this site on 2 occasions, July 2006 and June 2007. The location is excellent. However, that’s where the positives end. Drainage within the site is poor, so pitch on higher ground, or avoid this site altogether in wet weather. The quality of facilities is average, made worse by the fact they are not well maintained. The only time you’re liable to see the warden is when he’s collecting money.
The review section could be improved with a review summary in which each reviewer has given ratings for particular campsite features.
Other Features of UKCamping.co.uk
Some campsite have subscribed to the availability calendar to indicate whether or not any pitches are available on a given date. However it is not possible to book a camping pitch using ukcamping.co.uk.
You can save campsites to a list of favourites using the virtual brochure.
Overseas campsites are also listed, for example, camping sites in France, Belgium, The Netherlands and more.
The website is sponsored by Halfords and there is quite a lot of advertising.
UKCampsite.co.uk Review Summary
Good map and advanced search facilities combined with a large number of campsites listed make this an excellent website for finding a campsite. There are also lots of campers’ reviews which help with choosing the ideal camping site.
Possible improvements would be to include information about whether campsites have any green initiatives and to let non-featured campsites submit a short description of their website.
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Find out what we thought of the other websites in this series:
CheapTents Outdoor Gear Blog 
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