Set within 26 acres of glorious Dorset countryside, Riverside Lakes offers a relaxing stay just 20 minutes from Bournemouth. Spacious, mown grass pitches welcome both tents and tourers, with the option of electric too. For a touch of luxury, stay in one of the fully furnished bell tents, each set by one of the scenic lakes with onsite fishing available. Meet the friendly animals and even take part in one of the onsite arts and crafts activities!

Featured in our 2024 Outstanding Sites list of reliably excellent camping, glamping, and touring sites

Family and dog friendly camping, touring and glamping in 26 acres of peaceful Dorset countryside

Top facilities with fishing/wildlife lakes, a shop, fires welcome, animals, activities and more!

Located just 15 minutes from the New Forest, 20 minutes to Bournemouth and the coast

About Riverside Lakes

Within a 20 minute drive of the New Forest National Park and the Jurassic Coast, this family friendly site is perfectly located for days of exploring. Covering 26 acres of countryside, you can also enjoy gentle strolls onsite, fishing in the lakes or simply unwinding at your pitch. Each of the pitches are neatly mown into the camping field, welcoming up to ten guests each. Enjoying unspoilt views over the surrounding landscapes, there are 16 pitches with an electric hook up, available for both tents and tourers. Pitches one to 11 are certified with The Camping and Caravanning Club, therefore those staying on these pitches must be a member. All of the pitches are grouped into areas amongst the meadow and woodland. Each of the clusters is accessible by car, with long wild grass in between to help with privacy. For those wanting a little more luxury, the site offers five fully furnished bell tents, each sleeping up to six. Set next to the scenic lakes, the tents come equipped with a double bed, single beds for extra guests, bedding, linen, lighting, blankets and a log burner to keep you nice and toasty. For unwinding outdoors, there is a picnic table and fire pit with a grill. If you want to keep busy onsite, there are a whole range of activities available too. Take part in pottery painting and tie dying and create something to remember your stay, or even meet some of the friendly animals including alpacas, Kune Kune pigs, chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits and more! Dogs are also welcome to join you for your stay, so there is no need to leave a member of the family behind. There is a large fire pit and smaller ones dotted around the site for toasting marshmallows too. BBQs are also allowed, with bricks to keep them raised from the grass.

Camping and touring is available from 29th March until 1st October. Bell tents are available from 1st May until 1st October.


Facilities and amenities

Facilities include four showers and four toilets with both men's and women's, plus dressing areas with electric points and a family bathroom. There is also a washing up room with communal fridges/freezers, a microwave and workspace. A small shop stocks all of the essentials too.

Onsite fishing, arts and crafts, pottery painting, manicures, pedicures, ear piercing and small waxing treatments are also available at an extra cost.

Within a five minute drive, you will also find The Cross Keys Inn and The Three Legged Cross for a drink or something to eat.

adult-only icon

Adult only

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Allow commercial vans

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Allow pets

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Bike hire

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Café / restaurant

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Communal BBQ

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Disabled facilities

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Drinking water

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Electric hookups

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Entertainment

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Family friendly

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Fires allowed

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Fishing

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Games room

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Glamping

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Golf

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Horse riding

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Hot tub

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Internet access

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Kids club

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Kids playground

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Laundry

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Near beach

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Near pub

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Open year round

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Peaceful

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RV pitches

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Shop

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Showers

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Swimming pool

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Toilets

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TV room

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Vineyard

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Water hookups

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Watersports

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W.C. disposal


Map and address

Park address

Riverside Lakes,

Riverside Farm, Slough Lane, Horton, Dorset, BH21 7JL

Coordinates

50.8630, -1.9248 | SU 5 7

View on Google Maps

Riverside Lakes is ideal for...

Couples

Older children (13+)

Peace and quiet

Young children


There are 36 accommodation options on-site

Bookable pitches and accommodation options

6 x Non Electric Grass Tent Pitches (Centre Point)

Max 10 people

Grass pitches without electric in the centre of the site, suitable for tents only.

Non electric grass tent pitch - Chill Out

6 x Non Electric Grass Tent Pitches (Chill Out)

Max 10 people

Grass pitches without electric in a far corner of the site, suitable for tents only. These pitches are a little walk from the shower block but there is a compost loo nearby. Direct access to the woodland walk.

Non electric grass tent pitch - Ridgeway

5 x Non Electric Grass Tent Pitches (Ridgeway)

Max 10 people

Spacious grass pitches without electric at the top of the site, suitable for tents only and offering shelter and views across the whole site. These pitches are very close to the car park, toilets, showers and farm.

3 x Electric Grass Tent Pitches (Lake View)

Max 10 people

Grass pitches with a 16 amp electric hook up looking out across Willow lake. Suitable for tents only. These pitches have no shelter so are great sun traps.

3 x Electric Grass Tent Pitches (Overview)

Max 10 people

Grass pitches with a 16 amp electric hook up between Kingfisher and Willow lakes offering the perfect fishing spot. Suitable for tents only. These pitches have a little shelter and are close to the toilet facilities and freezer shed.

8 x Electric Grass Touring Pitches

Max 10 people

Grass pitches with 16 amp electric hook up and lake views. Suitable for tourers only. These pitches are a close walk to all facilities and amenities and have their own washing up and CDP areas nearby.


Riverside Lakes reviews

4.78 /5

22 reviews

91%

would recommend

Overall
4.78
Location
4.82
Value for money
4.91
Service
4.73
Facilities
4.68
Cleanliness
4.77

"The staff are perfect and the facilities are as clean as could be"

Dean M - Jul 2024

"If you are looking for somewhere quiet to stay, you will love this beautiful hidden away place"

Lorna H - Jun 2024

"A place you can escape all the city noise and be still within easy reach of big town entertainment"

Jelena B - Jun 2024

"I challenge you to find a better campsite anywhere"

Michael B - May 2024


Peaceful

Nico D

0

0

Motorhome - Electric Grass Touring PitchesSep 2024

An amazing experience. Matt and his partner. Will definitely be back, I came little unorganised so I had to cut the trip short.

Riverside Lakes

Darren W

0

0

Motorhome - Electric Grass Touring PitchesSep 2024

A great site, lovely helpful people and well run. Could not fault anything.

Noisy

Jason D

0

0

Small Tent - Non Electric Grass Tent Pitches (Chill Out)Aug 2024

This is a lovely, well looked after campsite and the owners are very friendly. However, I booked it on the basis of it being advertised as a quiet campsite. Their website actively deters anyone looking to party or generally make lots of noise, and says offenders will be asked to leave. It asks for quiet after dark and no noise at all after 11, which sounded perfect. This was very far from the reality though. I have camped in many many campsites and this was right up there in terms of the noisiest of them. Lots of partying, large noisy groups, kids screaming, yelling and running riot all over the campsite right up to and past 11pm. There was even the national anthem yelled drunkenly out shortly before midnight. Generally lots of campsite noise past dark which in no way could be claimed to be 'quiet'. No one was being unpleasant, just not adhering to the campsite rules, which were not being enforced in any way - or if they were, no one paid any attention. There were a host of noisy groups - some exceptionally noisy. When I spoke with the owner the following morning, whilst she was apologetic, she told me that weekends can get very noisy and that their regulars like to play games until late. I found this quite unsatisfactory - basically she was saying it wasn't a one-off but an ongoing occurrence which they are aware of, and yet still the site emphasises on being a quiet space. We were offered an extra free night as compensation, but really, if you've booked holiday for a certain length of time, this is unlikely to be possible and wasn't for us. A refund would have been more appreciated, but wasn't offered.

Site's response

Thank you for your feedback. As it states on our listing, we are a friendly, family run campsite, we welcome families and quiet groups onto site, most of which can be regulars, but it was lovely to see a lot of new faces this year. Unfortunately noise is sometimes out of our control, as we cannot always hear after we've done our walk rounds, which I apologised for when you came and spoke to me about the next day. Unfortunately, you were pitched in amongst a group which had booked most of their pitches online as well as some bell tents. We managed to catch up with them the next day and they apologised for any noise that was made. I informed you on the morning you came to speak to me that sometimes, Fridays can be a little noisier through the holidays due to the children onsite being overexcited and they play games of hide and seek which we make a point of calming usually around 9.30pm - 10pm. We also mentioned we clean the shower block around 11pm and walk round to calm the noise from adults, sometimes after this time, the noise can creep up once we are indoors. We have phone numbers on the door for any problems onsite. I didn't see it necessary to offer a refund, nor were you leaving site early because of the situation. I think next time, as you can see from our reviews, be best for you to book at quieter times of year, maybe not in the school holidays. To add, and pardon me for fighting my corner slightly, I do believe a camper who arrived when most campers had gone home, was pitched next to you for the evening, and she text us to move because of noise complaints from yourselves early afternoon. Kind regards :)

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FAQ

Check-in is due between 1pm and 9pm for camping and touring. Glamping check-in is available between 2pm and 9pm. Check out for everyone is due by 10am.

Yes, the site is dog friendly with up to three permitted per pitch and in each of the bell tents. Please note, breeds and crossbreeds listed in the Dangerous Dogs Act are not permitted.

Campfires and BBQs are allowed with areas and fire pits provided onsite. Only logs bought from the site may be used.

Yes, fishing is available onsite and you can add permits to your booking when you check out.

Yes, there is a small onsite shop stocking the essentials.


When the weather is warm, a trip to the New Forest Water Park (20 minutes) is the perfect way to have some fun. Take on the real life 'Total Wipeout' and try and get through the course without getting wet!

The bustling town of Bournemouth is also within a 20 minute drive. Full of shops, eateries and attractions, there is plenty to keep you busy. Head to Bournemouth Pier for some traditional seaside fun or visit Oceanarium to see some sea life.

Kingston Lacy (20 minutes) is a pretty National Trust property, perfect for a gentle morning or afternoon out. Wander the manicured grounds, explore the lavish home and let kids run wild in the two play areas.

Other nearby attractions include:

  • Go Ape Moors Valley (10 minutes)
  • Liberty's Owl, Raptor and Reptile Centre (15 minutes)
  • Boscombe Pier (15 minutes)
  • Snowtrax Alpine Activity Centre and Snowsports Shop (15 minutes)
  • Sandbanks Beach (35 minutes)
The listing for Riverside Lakes was last updated on November 1st, 2024 at 2:14 AM

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