[Closed] Campsites with Water Access for Kayaks.

In the Lake District there is Low Wray campsite.  It's on the banks of Windermere with lake-shore access.

www.watersidefarm-campsite.co.uk Pooley Bridge has great access to Ullswater.

How about the New Forest Waterpark

I know they allow kayaking, but I am not sure if you are allowed to use your own (I don't see why not, but you never know)

Very close to Southampton and camping on site. There is also the Wakeboarding, Fishing, SUP'ing and the inflatable island for entertainment.

Or the Camping and Caravanning Club site at Keswick, right on the shore of Derwent Water.

Anywhere around Symonds Yat (Forest of Dean, Glos...) - try the Biblins campsite, which is after the rapids and so on a nice calm stretch of river.

An evening walk upstream (over the rickety bridge, or the hand-pull ferry) will get you to the Saracens Head for good beer and top nosh.....

The above is obviously inland so not tidal, Another option would be Sandhills at Mudeford. It's a static site and although right on the beach/front you might struggle to watch the kids from the actual VAN, but there is a large grass area with benches .

Waterwise, it is tidal, but there is a large fairly shallow 'lagoon' style area that is benign, but big enough to enjoy and if an adult goes with them they could paddle all the way to Christchurch quay via the mudflats. Two words of caution. The harbour entrance can be feisty, set and enforce a 'steer clear' zone and don't try and walk in the mudflats.

Llyn Gwynant Campsite
Nant Gwynant
Caernarfon
Gwynedd
LL55 4NW

I stayed here last year, great for what you want....handy for a little cycle too.

we've been here once or twice; very close to oxford, but lovely part of the river, and great for campfires

Coniston old hall. Right on the lake

Not stayed here but sailed there years ago

https://www.croftfarmwaterpark.com/camping/  near Tewkesbury Glos

ivorlott

Or the Camping and Caravanning Club site at Keswick, right on the shore of Derwent Water.

We just returned from a weekend there & not sure I would recommend it.  We spent >£60 for two nights there. The walk from our pitch to the toilet block and back again was 1,200 steps and we were not in the furthest away field either - Not much fun at 7am! The toilet blocks  had 8 pages of a4 laminated rules & notices stuck on the walls and the staff were not exactly the friendliest bunch.</div>

Would echo the comments about Keswick - miserable bunch running that place.

There is a campsite near Wareham with its own slipway into the river http://www.redcliffefarmcamping.co.uk/   that you can launch a kayak from and paddle all the way into Poole harbour. Think launching is free if you are staying on the site (I launched but was on another site up the road so paid the parking/launch fee). You wouldn't be able to watch from the tent/van though.

Not been there yet but if you can wait a month for a report back I am booked into this place in Brittany that looks to have launching into an estuary.  http://www.camping-saintcado.com/gb/index.php

Also stayed at the campsite linked to Lower Lode Inn near Tewkesbury :  https://www.lowerlodeinn.co.uk/stay/ This had direct river access and a pub.

Glanllyn Caravan & Camping Park on Llyn Tegid (Bala). An OK campsite a bit heavy on massive oversized family tents for my liking but it's good for families (hence the big tents). Ironically its only really wee little 2 man hike tents that get to perch on the waters edge, the family tents are slightly further back normally so monitoring from your tent might be tricky.

Horgabost Campsite on Harris is probably my favourite campsite for this sort of thing. Only snag is it's on Harris. Actually that is a brilliant thing as long as your family has the stomach for that level of travel. See also Glenbrittle campsite on Skye made (slightly) famous by the Danny MacAskill fence flip in his 'The Ridge' video.

<div>fadda

Anywhere around Symonds Yat (Forest of Dean, Glos…) – try the Biblins campsite, which is after the rapids and so on a nice calm stretch of river.

An evening walk upstream (over the rickety bridge, or the hand-pull ferry) will get you to the Saracens Head for good beer and top nosh…..

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Biblins is not a public campsite (schools/youth groups/etc.).

The site by the Saracens Head is however 😉

Another suggestion is Pont yr Onen on Lake Bala  http://www.balacamping.co.uk/  - you can camp on the foreshore and slide straight into the lake from your tent!

Scrap my Bala suggestion, Psling's is better (I'd forgotten that one), though it is spelt Pant Yr Onnen.

Avon Tyrrell, New Forest

You can only go to Glenbrittle if you have a VW camper - fact

Coniston old hall. Right on the lake

<div id="singl-40721b0d1c84337dcf81e7696009b2a7">This would be my suggestion too.</div>

Avon tyrell... Is there direct access to a river here or are you talking about the lake (pond) at the bottom of the camp field?

We just returned from a weekend there & not sure I would recommend it.  We spent >£60 for two nights there. The walk from our pitch to the toilet block and back again was 1,200 steps and we were not in the furthest away field either – Not much fun at 7am! The toilet blocks  had 8 pages of a4 laminated rules & notices stuck on the walls and the staff were not exactly the friendliest bunch.

Fair enough, haven't been for a while to be fair, but I'd rather this than the free for all that is Coniston Hall. Last time I was there, there were large groups on the pop until early hours, music blasting out of car stereos etc.

Sincere thanks, all. STW at it's  best, loads of good suggestions and no BS.

I've googled every suggestion and they all look good. Scarily, three that I know quite well, and didn't think of! (Bala, Croft Farm and Mudeford.)

Will certainly be visiting more than one of these this Summer.

Gt56 - talking about the lake. I pulled 150 people out of it at the BBB last year for the lake jump!

Would be ideal for young kids kayaking as per the OP, and you can camp in sight at the bottom of the main field

The Lake District has lots of options, you are allowed to kayak on most lakes and there are waterside camp sites e.g. Side Farm at Glenridding. Be aware as with most UK lakes, they are deep and can be very cold just below the surface so make sure the kids have good fitting pfds. Personally I would want to be on the water with them and similarly in tidal water.

For still and shallow with navigation rights, the Cam and Ouse in Cambridgeshire are good for beginners. But the area is not that picturesque for sitting around, some might say its a bit flat!

Not the area you asked for, but Loch Ken in Dumfries and Galloway also has good waterside access from campsites.

Book marked.

Any problems with midges and other flying ****s so close to water?

Basingstoke canal centre is only an hour from Southampton, has a good cafe and a playground for the children. Pleasant walk along the canal to Frimley Lodge park with another cafe and playground. Access to Tunnel Hill in case you want to take your bike as well.......

https://www.hants.gov.uk/thingstodo/countryparks/basingstokecanal/canalcentre

Car Adda camping huts on bank of Lake Trawsfyndd in North Wales

The campsite in Decize on the banks of the Loire in France is superb. The river at that point has a large backwater with no flow, with the campsite along the side amongst the trees. Very beautiful. The town itself is fairly small but big enough for all needs. Very french, not touristy at all. The campsite was top drawer but not expensive - typical quality euro site.

There are loads of canoe hire places on the main river if you fancy going further, the river is set up for touring.

I can;t remember how long it took from the channel to get there, it's not properly northern france but the weather is better!

There's a couple on the Isle of Wight. Thorness Bay is a static caravan type place with a gorgeous sandy beach on the Solent. Bit of a schlep from the actual campsite to the water, though.

Riverside Paddock campsite is on the River Medina, so quite tidal, but very calm and sheltered. There's a sailing school/water activities centre for kids pretty much next door to it so it must be safe enough. Has an ensuite pub about ten minutes walk along the shoreline - the Bargeman's Rest.

This happened about 50m from Riverside Paddock campsite on Friday  -  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-44576675

Coniston Hall Campsite is a great location with lake access, you can also park at the boat launching area/ 'beach' and go from there. We did over half term. The campsite can get very 'lively' over busy periods though. But close to Coniston village for decent pubs.

Park Foot at Pooley Bridge would be another good one, can be busy though like Coniston Hall.

Interesting comments re the CCC site at Keswick, we went and had a walk around both their Keswick sites with a view to going next year, the staff didn't seem too officious, but did happily tell us about the crap they had been dealing with from certain groups; kids putting loo blocks out of use for example. But their lake access is very good.

https://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/outandabout/publicplace6129/       !!!!

I love the Horgabost suggestion for a site as close to Southampton as possible 😃

We're going back there again this summer, as well as Glenbrittle. In a similarly distant vein, I'd add Fidden Farm on Mull, absolutely stunning campsite.