Camping in Buckinghamshire

There are 19 campsites published on BritStays across Buckinghamshire, and they are a varied bunch: scout and guide centres with indoor space, orchard and woodland pitches, farm fields with a bar, and small certificated locations for a handful of units. Buckinghamshire is a landlocked county, so this is countryside camping rather than coastal camping — fields, woods, orchards and farmland, usually with a village or market town within easy reach.

Where the campsites are

Twelve of the 19 are listed simply under Buckinghamshire rather than a named town, which tells you something in itself: a lot of these are rural pitches identified by the farm or the wood rather than the nearest high street. The remainder are spread thinly — one each at Gerrards Cross, Stoke Hammond, Tring, High Wycombe, Frieth, Leighton Buzzard and Beaconsfield. If you want a particular corner of the county, you will usually be choosing between one or two options, not browsing a dozen, so it pays to start with dates and work outwards rather than fixing on a village first.

Broadly, the southern end around Gerrards Cross, High Wycombe, Frieth and Beaconsfield suits wooded, hilly camping and short hops into London for a day. The north, around Stoke Hammond and Leighton Buzzard, is flatter farmland and canal country, handy if you like level pitches and gentle towpath walks.

Which site suits which trip

The example stays give a fair picture of the range:

• Families: Hill Farm Campsite near Tring lists a café, a playground and toilets — the sort of combination that saves a lot of bother with young children. Paccar Scout Camp at Gerrards Cross and Braid Wood Scout & Guide Activity Centre both list indoor areas, which matters enormously for groups and for British weather.
• Couples and quieter stays: Norcott Campsite — Camping In The Orchard, Heron's Rural Retreat at Leighton Buzzard, Embers Claydon and Cholsey Grange CARAVAN Certificated Location are the lower-key options, with little or nothing listed in the way of on-site facilities. That usually means peace, and self-sufficiency.
• Dog owners: only three of the 19 are listed as pet friendly, and Chiltern Retreat, Woodland Camping at Frieth is one of them — it also lists toilets and a picnic area. With so few confirmed, ring ahead rather than assuming.
• Arriving without a car: four sites list being near a bus stop, including Bella Vista Camping at High Wycombe, Queen's Acre Caravan & Camping Site and Home Farm.

What the facilities lists really tell you

Toilets and parking are each listed at seven sites, WiFi at five, a bar at three, and a picnic area at just two. Read those numbers carefully: they are what has been recorded, not proof that nothing else exists. But they do confirm that plenty of Buckinghamshire camping is simple — a field, a tap and your own kit. Bring loo roll, a torch and a water carrier, and treat a shower block as a bonus rather than a given.

A few sites soften the edges. The Old Dairy Farm at Stoke Hammond lists takeaway food, toilets and WiFi. Town Farm lists a bar, as does Paccar Scout Camp. Chiltern Retreat, Park Field Camping lists disabled access alongside toilets and a picnic area — worth noting, as accessible camping is thin on the ground anywhere.

What to do once you're pitched

Buckinghamshire is unusually rich in grand houses. Claydon House is in the care of the National Trust, and Dorney Court, Taplow Court, Harleyford Manor, Pednor House, Halton House and Dropmore House are all in the county's stately home collection — check individual opening arrangements, as several of these places open only at certain times. For children, Bekonscot Model Village is the obvious outing, and Oak Farm Animal Park is a gentler, closer-to-camp option.

Slightly further afield, The Canal Museum sits over the border in Northamptonshire, Moot Hall is in Bedfordshire, and Wet n Wild Oxford and The Signalling Centre make good wet-weather or hot-weather days out to the west. Twist Museum and Chiswick House are both in London if you fancy a train day.

When to book

With only 19 sites countywide, and often just one in any given town, availability disappears faster than the raw number suggests. Book school holidays, bank holiday weekends and anything over a festival or event weekend several months out. For midweek nights outside the summer holidays you can often leave it a fortnight or less.

Before you pay, confirm three things directly with the site: whether dogs are accepted, what the toilet and shower arrangement actually is, and whether you can park beside your pitch or must barrow your kit in. Those three answers will shape the trip more than anything else.