The UK’s best eco-friendly campsites

Over the past few years, eco-friendly camping has surged in popularity here in the UK. A survey by motorhome and campervan rental business Camptoo revealed a staggering 436% increase in web searches for ‘eco camping’ since 2017.

We are all becoming ever more aware of our responsibilities towards the planet, and of the increasingly vital need to live our lives in a more sustainable, environment-friendly fashion: and camping, which at its best can always be a relatively green, low-impact way to holiday, has really embraced the eco message.

Camptoo’s survey found that the UK now has no fewer than 161 specialist eco-friendly campsites, all offering some degree of environmental good practice, from rainwater showers to extensive wildlife planting areas. What’s more, this number is only likely to increase in the years to come.

If you’re planning a forthcoming holiday and want to leave your mark lightly on the natural world around you, a trip to an eco campsite in your campervan is clearly the way to go. We suggest booking early into any of these wonderful and ever-more-popular green campsites. Oh, and check your insurance for a campervan is up to date before you go!

Here are some of Britain’s best and greenest campsites:

Digs in the Wig

Pembrokeshire, South Wales

Tucked away in ancient woodland beside Pembrokeshire’s Preseli Hills, this idyllic small campsite really does the whole ‘back to nature’ thing very well.

Digs in the Wig is part of the Greener Camping Club scheme, which demands the highest standards of sustainability from its members. This means that this place represents proper wild camping, with facilities firmly on the basic side. That said, you will find a toilet block, with three shower stalls and eco toilets, plus a communal fridge.

Other than that, though, it’s all very idyllic and tech-free here. You’ll be cooking over a campfire while the kids play in the long grass.

Membership of the Greener Camping Club also means that campers’ travel to the site is offset by a tree planted for every booking.

There are just five camping pitches, each in a private clearing with its own campfire pit and stack of free firewood – and just two of these are suitable for campervans, so you’d best book fast if this is the place for you.

Looking for a delightful picnic spot in Pembrokeshire? We’ve got you covered!

Mother Ivey's Bay Holiday Park

Nr Padstow, Cornwall

Mother Ivey’s Bay was the proud recipient of a David Bellamy Gold Award, which recognised its safeguarding of plant and animal habitats, strong recycling credentials, and efficient use of energy. And the holiday park’s glorious surroundings certainly inspire you to look after the environment around you: various surrounding stretches of countryside have been given the Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) designation, in recognition of the many rare plants and creatures found here.

Mother Ivey’s four touring fields are set within landscaped grounds, and also give access to the campsite’s very own private beach.

If you’re planning on driving your campervan on a Cornish beach, make sure you’ve got campervan insurance in place to cover any mishaps.

Ballyness Caravan Park

Co Antrim, Northern Ireland

Ballyness was the first campsite in the whole of Ireland to win a David Bellamy Gold Award for Conservation, recognising its dedication to providing a rich habitat for local species.

Set in north Antrim countryside just minutes from the famous Giant’s Causeway, Ballyness has been planted with native trees and shrubs to attract wildlife: its beautifully tended grounds also feature a nature walk, plus ponds bursting with aquatic wildlife.

Beech Croft Farm

Nr Buxton, Derbyshire

Another David Bellamy Award winner, Beech Croft has taken its on-site sustainability very seriously. On the one hand, the site owners have created new wildlife woods and meadows; still more practically, however, they have built a shower block that’s powered by sustainable energy – the underfloor heating is powered by air-source heat pump, has lots of insulation and is built from local stone.

Greendale Farm Caravan & Camping Park

Oakham, Rutland

Greendale is a small but beautiful garden campsite where every measure possible is being taken to preserve the beauty of the surrounding countryside. From your campervan you’ll be able to see a variety of beautiful plants, wild flowers and fruit trees which, in season, attract swarms of birds, butterflies and moths.

Around the perimeter of the site, the trees are adorned with bat and owl boxes, as well as bird feeders and nesting boxes. The borders of the hedges have a margin of grass left unmowed, providing cover for small mammals. They really have thought of everything here.

If you like to mix a little luxury in with your sustainability, you’ll be pleased to know that Greendale’s very own swimming pool is heated by solar power – and the same goes for all lighting across the site. You can do your bit, too, by leaving the van on site and taking a bike to one of the characterful local pubs, or to the handsome nearby town of Oakham.

The Old Oaks Touring, Glamping & Camping

Nr Glastonbury, Somerset

Somerset’s Old Oaks touring and camping site is another place that has taken great care over every aspect of its day-to-day living and working methods.

The owners have introduced no fewer than 1,000 hedging plants, as well as placing recycling points dotted conveniently around the site. Wildflower seeds have been sown across The Old Oaks site, and the produce you can buy and eat on-site has been sourced from local suppliers.

The campsite also has its own reed bed, which filters its used water in a totally natural way, with no need for chemicals.

Daisy Bank

Powys, Wales

This adults-only park on the English/Welsh border is surrounded by beautiful countryside – and also takes its eco credentials seriously. Daisy Bank’s toilet block was built using recycled materials and scooped the coveted award for Wales’ most ecologically-friendly loo, thanks to solar water heating, rainwater harvesting system and energy-efficient lighting.

Talking of lighting, there’s relatively little of it in the park – which is great for both sustainability and stargazing: on a clear night you’ll have unparalleled views of the heavens.

Recycling facilities abound, while bird boxes and feeding stations are found right across the site – so bring the binoculars. Finally, all the grass mowings at Daisy Bank get re-used for compost and mulch for the flowerbeds.

Sunnyside Croft

Arisaig, Inverness-shire, Scotland

Sited on Scotland’s majestic West Coast, with its white sandy beaches and stunning scenery, Sunnyside Croft Touring Site is on ‘The Road to the Isles’ between the villages of Arisaig and Mallaig, with the Inner Hebridean islands of Mull, Rum, Muck and Eigg visible across the water.

The site’s green credentials are exemplary. For one thing, they use low-energy lighting throughout their main building – lights are motion-sensitive, so they only come on when required. The shop features local, Scottish, organic and/or Fair Trade produce, and all the cleaning products used across the site are eco-friendly.

Glass, paper, cardboard, most plastics, aluminium and steel cans are all recycled on site; the underfloor heating throughout the site building is courtesy of exhaust air heat pumps; and areas have been set aside solely for animals and plants, including ‘beastie heaps’ created from windfall branches.

Woodovis Park

Nr Tavistock, Devon

At Devon’s Woodovis Park, they take their green responsibilities very seriously – so much so they’ve published their own Environmental and Social Responsibility Policy. The list of green measures that they undertake at the site is probably too long to reel off in its entirety, but highlights include the use of low-energy and, where possible, LED bulbs, plus all outside lights on timers or sensors to cut out unnecessary use.

Then there’s the swimming pool with its own solar heating, and numerous water-saving features such as dual-flush toilets and mechanisms that water the plants in the small hours, before the sun comes out and evaporates it.

Glass, paper, cardboard and plastic are all recycled on site; old bedding is donated to the local animal rescue centre; garden waste is chipped and converted into mulch for the plants.

Local produce is the watchword here, including free range eggs from nearby farms and a variety of mouthwatering Devon jams, pickles, chutneys and vinegars.

Last but definitely not least, Woodovis has planted hundreds of native species – and has cut extra growth on their beech trees to allow new specimen trees to come through.

How to be an eco-friendly camper

Here are some top tips for enjoying a brilliant camping holiday, while also leaving little impact on Mother Earth…

• Choose your campsite well

If you’re aiming for green, low-impact camping, a prime consideration should be the campsite itself. Are they doing their best to encourage wildlife, to exist sustainably and to offset any environmental damage or electrical consumption? You can find an excellent inventory of the UK’s most eco-friendly campsites on the Greener Camping Club website.

• Reduce

Eco-aware campsites will encourage their guests to reduce their energy and water usage as far as possible. Simple practices like closing doors behind you will keep the heat in and conserve energy. Turn off taps after you’ve used them and switch off any electrical appliances while they’re lying idle.

• Recycle

You’re probably fully in the swing of recycling at home by now – so why not continue these good habits while on holiday? Many campsites now have areas where you can separate out recycling items from your general waste.

• Keep it local

You can help keep down the environmental impact of everything you consume by buying locally sourced food that doesn’t require extensive transportation and refrigeration. At the shop at Sunnyside Croft, for example, you’ll find that almost all of the produce is local, Scottish, organic and/or Fair Trade.

• Respect nature

You’ll be camping in idyllic surroundings, which will doubtless inspire you to look after the landscape and wildlife around you by not littering, guarding against fires and following the Countryside Code.

• Set out on foot

We love our campervans here at Lancaster Insurance but we also love being able to spend a day or two without getting behind the wheel. Many of the campsites we are recommending will have bicycle hire, either on-site or nearby. Or just take it easy, go for a walk, relax with a book, or wander down to the beach or up in the hills.

• Be green and clean

The cleaning supplies and septic treatments you use in your camper can have a negative impact on the environment. It’s a great idea to try and find biodegradable soaps, cleaning sprays and other products. These will do just as good a job as the non-bio products, but without all the harsh chemicals that can harm the environment.

• Go off grid

Have you considered dispensing with electricity altogether while you’re out in the wild? Some of the campsites we’ve mentioned above are ‘off grid’ – and if the thought of a few days without electricity sounds scary, think again. A decent cool box, for example, will keep your food cool for a couple of days.

• Reduce your water usage

The great outdoors is a great place to cut down on your water consumption. Campsites like Beech Estate offer simple bucket showers, which are excellent for conserving water. A typical bucket shower will use around 13 litres of water, which stacks up very well indeed against the 62 litres for an eight-minute shower, 80 litres for a bath or 136 litres for a power shower. And what could possibly beat showering under the trees?

• Try eco-safe driving

Of course, your green camping crusade starts the minute you switch on the engine of your campervan. You can make the journeys to and from the campsite (and any subsequent trips you make during your holiday) as green as possible by following a few simple tips for eco-safe driving. These good habits will reduce your emissions – and make you a safer driver to boot, with possible long-term benefits when it comes to campervan insurance premiums.
For example, anticipate road traffic conditions ahead of you and act in good time, rather than reacting at the last moment and braking hard, wasting momentum. Make sure you drive with your tyres inflated to the correct pressures. And don’t carry unnecessary weight.

Campervan insurance with Lancaster

Protecting your classic camper and its content should be your top priority before setting off on an eco-adventure.

Contact us today for a campervan insurance quote.

Policy benefits, features and discounts offered may very between insurance schemes or cover selected and are subject to underwriting criteria. Information contained within this article is accurate at the time of publishing but may be subject to change.