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Hi, we have just purchased our first caravan (hurray!!) and we are looking for a decent family friendly site in Dorset for our first big trip.  We have 3 kids (6, 4 and 4mths) and hubby doesn't fancy emptying toilet so a site with showers and loos is essential!  Daughter is mad on dinosaurs so thought Jurassic coast would be good but don't really know where to start. Read loads of useful info over past few weeks in this forum and hope someone can point me in the right direction.

Thanks.

Hi Emma

As Bob says above Lyme Regis is exellent for Dinosaurs but it is a nightmare for parking we went in July last year lovley place but we found we had to rely on the park and ride which was exellent but finished some days at 6pm. which ment we could not go into town at night because there is so little parking. Just another thing to consider.

wardy

On the beach at Charmouth, you can go on guided fossil hunts.  We did this a couple of years ago and our son really enjoyed it.  It was very popular with families and was excellent to get the young ones started with 'what to look for'.  In no time we had a bucket containing a fair few fossils, much to my son's delight.

We stayed at the Caravan & Camping Club's site near Charmouth, although I believe the Caravan Club's Wood Farm site at Charmouth is possibly even nicer (it has an indoor pool I believe).

Both have first class toilet/shower blocks.  But I would be willing to bet that one or both of you could easily overcome your trepidation at emptying the loo cassette once you see how straightforward it actually is.  It certainly beats getting up in the night and trekking to the block.  You could always do as many other caravanners do and only use the caravan loo for No. 1's

our favourite site in dorset is wareham forest, near wareham.

Its a lovely wooded site with direct access to woodland trails and woodland cycle tracks, plenty of room for the kids to let off steam, play area and outdoor pool.

Small shop, immaculate modern shower block, nice sized pitches and tidy well kept site, and lots of room to manourvre the caravan/pitch !!

You have the beaches of swanage and studland bay and bournemouth a drive away and chesil beach and lyme regis/charmouth too.

For day trips out you have Monkey world close to the site and Bovington tank museum (in the summer they reinact displays/firing the tanks etc which our 2 nephews loved).

Wareham is a short drive for shops/supermarkets/restuarants etc.

just one small point - if you are going to Dorset in the summer be aware the roads will be busy.....as there is no motorway we found we were sat in queues most of the time......but dont let this put you off - just set out early !!

Thankyou all for some great advice.

Have now booked for wareham forest (room to manoeuvre definitely a selling point!). We are all very excited about the first trip out and daughter can't wait to fossil hunt.

thanks again.

Wareham Forest is a great site but asked not to be pitched next to the road if like us you're not keen on traffic noise (it's not a horrendous noisy road). Your partner may get keener on the loo emptying once the van becomes familiar. So handy to have the loo during the night and the chemicals that you add disolve everything!! So not too bad emptying.

Well I certainly agree with the other posts concerning Wareham Forest we were there last year in May What a cracking site we loved it there, you will not be disappointed of that I'm sure 

Have a great time, happy caravanning.....

Tres