CAMPSITES | Park Foot Caravan & Camping Park, Ullswater Lake District – Review

July 13, 2014 Shell Robshaw-Bryan

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Campsite Reviews, Homepage Feature, Reviews

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Where We Stayed

Park Foot Caravan & Camping Park
Howtown Road, Pooley Bridge, Penrith, Cumbria CA10 2NA

Tel: 017684 86309
Website: parkfootullswater.co.uk

The Lowdown

Tents, Campervans and Caravans
£17 per night for a tent with no electric hookup
Campfires are not allowed
Raised BBQ’s allowed
Dogs are to be kept on a lead at all times
Some pitches have a lake view
Direct access to Ullswater lake from the campsite

Our Visit

July 11th – July 13th 2014

The Verdict

Park Foot have a great website and the interactive map which showed the site layout and pictures meant we knew exactly which field we wanted to be in, which made booking super easy. We booked a pitch for 2 nights in the Aikbeck field (closest to the lake) at a cost of £34. We arrived at 8pm on Friday night and the check in process was efficient, though ‘Gangham Style’ blasting out in the bar next door, was quite a jarring arrival to say the least. Finding a pitch didn’t take too long, though as to be expected when arriving late on a weekend, there were few options left.

Having direct access from the campsite to Lake Ullswater was a real bonus

The site is large and features hard standing pitches with electric hookups, along with well maintained grass camping and camper van fields. We loved the location, and were delighted with the quick and easy direct access to Ullswater, which was lovely to stroll around. Due to our late arrival however, we ended up in the middle of the Aikbeck field, which meant we only had a distant, partial view of the lake. All of the pitches closer to the lake were hard standing pitches with electric hookups.

If you want action, hustle and bustle paired with easy lake access, then Park Foot is the ideal campsite. Several campers had brought boats and kayaks with them.

On site there is a lovely kids play park, a kiosk selling delighted children massive slushies, a bar with blaring disco every Friday and Saturday night, a takeaway and a very well stocked shop. So well stocked in fact, that as well as all the basics like drinks, bread, condiments and milk, they also stocked a good selection of well priced BBQ meats, and cooking ingredients including herbs and even flour! The camping gear available on site was also pretty good, with everything from tent pegs to airbeds and camping furniture.

Add to this the fact that there is some lovely woodland, a play park, pony trekking and bike hire on site, and you’ve got all the ingredients for an active family break, but if you are looking for peace, quiet or relaxation, then on a weekend in early July, this is not the place to visit.

The site was busy, very busy, and noisy too. This meant that although the scenery was lovely, there was no peace or quiet to enjoy it in. We are by no means dull and wholly expect kids playing, music and chatter, but we did find it excessive. In fact we packed up and left as soon as we got up on Sunday morning, we were so keen to get home.

Any Downers?

Whilst there are clear campsite rules, they were not enforced during our stay.

There is meant to be no excessive noise after midnight or before 8am. We found the site very noisy until close to 1am on the Friday night and noisy again from 7.30am on Saturday morning. Dogs were frequently off leads which was also against site rules, (though I love dogs and generally don’t mind them being off their leads), but having dogs so frequently running up to you and not responding to their owners commands can get annoying, as can footballs continually crashing into your tent and tennis balls bouncing off your car windscreen.

The site was busy and noisy, though I appreciate that for some families, this might be part of the appeal.

We found the huge and highly visible CCTV notices incredibly off-putting, and they made us paranoid about leaving anything at all outside of the tent; the general feeling of being watched and that our possessions weren’t safe, made us feel more like we were in a city centre rather than a rural idyl.

Parents should be aware that if staying in the Aikbeck field, kids will have to cross a road to get to the main part of the campsite, where the shop and play park are located.

Will We Be Back?

We might consider a return visit once we’ve bought a kayak, but we definitely wouldn’t return during summer or any school holidays.

More Park Foot Campsite Pictures

The location of Park Foot campsite, right next to Ullswater, is beautiful.

Pretty and well maintained grounds with a handful of really lovely, small pitches under the trees next to the stream.

The great kids play park (I want an adult-only version, how much fun would that be?!)

On site facilities were good, though the ladies toilets in the Aikbeck field were busy and I queued on several visits.

The site was busy, but there was still plenty of space left between tents, with the minimum 3m pitching distance being adhered to.

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Shell Robshaw-Bryan

Editor & Owner at Camping with Style

Shell loves all things travel and outdoors and is a nature-loving, comfy-camping kinda girl. Shell started the Camping with Style blog after a serious snowboarding accident which left her with a broken back. Despite this she used the outdoors and healing power of nature to aid her recovery and she continues to spend time outdoors whenever she can.

From open water swimming, snowboarding and kayaking to hill walks and meditation, Shell shares her travels and microadventures here on the blog and in various publications she's written for, Shell has a particular interest in promoting wellbeing and the many benefits of nature therapy.

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