Write your own Review to win a Wolfbox G900 Pro Dashcam and £150!
If you've ever visited this campsite please submit a review for your chance to win! Each month one lucky person will have their review picked at random and will win an Wolfbox G900 Pro Dashcam worth £330 AND £150 of Amazon vouchers. Leave as many reviews as you can for more chances - it only takes a few minutes
We visited Norden Farm from 3-11 August 2009 on the recommendation of a friend. On arrival our reception was fairly grumpy and we were told to head to the Top Field. There are no marked pitches in this field and when we got there we found that the field was already very full. We finally chose a spot which I felt was too close to both the tents ether side of us - probably about 2.5 metres between the tents.
The Top Field is exposed to the wind and rain. We were at the edge of the field, but still felt it was pretty windy at times. We didn't have great weather and after 4 days of rain the field resembled the Somme - mud everywhere. We were a bit concerned about getting the car out!
I appreciate that it is difficult to keep facilities clean when there is bad weather but it wasn't just the floor that was dirty, the sinks were filthy on a couple of occasions as well. There are no showers in the Top Field - there were pobably 200 tents in this field, not including the rest of the site.
Several times during our stay there was no cold water in the ladies toilets in the top field. The hot water is very hot and it was difficult to wash without the addition of cold water. The main shower / toilet block was under constant pressure. Each time I showered I had to use the 'sweeper' to clean the floor and I wore flip flops in the shower. There is a family room, which has a bath and we used this one night only to find that the toilet was blocked and did not flush and the shower did not drain properly.
The play area is very tired and after 4 days of rain the farm itself was filthy. It was impossible to walk back to your tent after a shower without getting covered in mud again.
On the positive side the site is in a great location, very close to Corfe Castle and the steam train into Swanage. It was also fantastic to see a new born calf born whilst we watched - some of the dads were asked to help, which must've been a good talking point about the holiday!
Although we had previously used the shop at this location we only discovered the site itself last year and it has become our overall favourite in the Purbeck area. Well stocked shop, garden centre,'Pets Corner', one excellent shower block including just about all the facilities one (or ones dog!) could require, a play park, spacious pitches, and an indefinable ambience (sometimes a place just 'clicks'). An additional improved toilet block appears to be under construction in the Top Field. Easy to find, numerous local attractions mentioned elsewhere.
Entrance is a little tight if anyone is leaving at the same time, but the pitches were extremely roomy, although I think I would have enjoyed the site more in a different pitch, I was in m28 at the entrance to the top field and so had a constant stream of people walking past the front of a caravan all day, and the access road behind us, so a little busy to say the least. Friends in the tent field arrived back to find another tent had pitched very very close to them, thought there had to be a minimum gap for fire regulations!
The staff were very friendly and the facilities were excellent, the facilities in the top field were poor, but building work is ongoing to build a new shower/toilet block.
I was aware it was a working farm, but thought a little more thought could have gone into the access so that you didn't have to pass through the farm itself which obviously was quite smelly and littered with farm machinery. Leaving the site is difficult due to the amount of traffic and we regularly spent 10mins just waiting to pull out from the farm.
Studland is close by, a lovely beach but beware of the National trust parking charges of £8 a car. The Ferry to sandbanks takes ages, do yourself a favour and go around by road, it will be quicker.
Definitely try the steam train to swanage, what an experience that is.
Just spent 10 days at this lovely site, friendly owners and lovely clean site especially the toilet/shower block which was always immaculate. The highlight for me was the amount of animals on the farm, cows,peacocks,ducks etc. This is a great place to stay as it was central to places we wanted to go to especially Poole which is about 20 minutes away, one day we took the ferry from Swanage over to Poole which only cost £3 per car probably saved as much in diesel. We also took a trip to Bovington tank museum, and Monkey world both of which were not too far away.The tourist information centre in Poole is well worth a visit as we picked up a leaflet for Poole greyhounds which is on 3 times per week the leaflet entitles up to four people free entry and racecard so a nice cheap night out and family friendly too! All in all a lovely site.
I've been here twice in as many months! Excellent! Lovely farm, friendly staff.
They're in progress of adding a second facility block near the top field which will match the newish one near the farm. The old ones are clean and serviceable though, even if you do have to hike to the new one for a shower, which incidently are always hot and nicely controllable!
The winds coming down the valley in the upper field are quite strong and as the farm has shown commitment to campers with facilities, it might be wise for them to plant a screen of tree's. If safe to do so, (I'm not a Forrester).
There's so much to do in the area. Corfe and the castle are fifteen minutes walk, and short drives get you to Swanage, Lulworth Cove, Durdle door and the deserted village of Tyneham to name a few.
The shop seems to have everything and doesn't rob it's captive audience blind. I do go to other sites, but I regard this one as my home from home. Fees etc are very reasonable!
Stayed 1st week of school holidays, weather was rubbish as always with our camping trips!
Pitched in exposed non-electric Top Field which was always extremely windy. No marked pitches, just pitch where you like, good for groups. There was one tap for the whole field. The grass was quite long and not mowed while we were there, kids found it hard work to ride their bikes.
Short walk to Pond Field (electric) where there is a very dated toilet block and washing-up area, surrounded by building site, which we hope is going to be a new shower block. This area got really muddy in the rain, and the walk to the toilet became a real chore.
Further on (nearer to Main Field and Donkey Field (both electric)) is a more modern shower block with toilets, showers, family bathroom, washing-up and laundry. Always seemed to be dirty, probably due to the weather, but some notices to tell people to mop out the shower after use would help.
Our 9-year old loved the fishing pond and our 5-year old loved the playground. Both enjoyed the farm animals.
Fairly well-stocked shop, staff very friendly.
Site in great location for Corfe Castle, Swanage, Studland, Lulworth etc.
Enjoyed our stay and will go again, our main gripe was the trek to the shower block from the Top Field (probably made worse by the weather) and we unfortunately resorted to driving there on occasions.
Stayed at this site last week, a wonderful site. Great walking to be had, so good I found it difficult to stay in my sleeping bag in the morning as I just had to go out and about with my walking boots on.
Lovely off road walk into Corfe, good pubs there - I can highly recommend the Greyhound for beer and food.
Great to visit Swanage again using a steam train. Buses in the area all seem brand new (we didn't have a car with us), and, if it is your thing, Studland naturist beach is one of the friendliest I have ever been on.
This is a very busy site, with several fields but only one shower block. Consequently this is well used. If an early bird, that's fine, but there were queues later in the morning. Also the block got very dirty, very quickly, because of muddy shoes/boots. Also it's quite a trek - we took the car on one occasion when it was raining.
As other reviewers have noted this isn't a quiet site, the 'rules' seemed to be non existent when we were there, including dogs roaming (and occasionally fighting)and dog mess to avoid, kids playing football and running in and around tents, and open fires - not bbq's, a bit scarey when you're in a tent waiting for sparks to land.
In saying all the above I should imagine if you manage to arrive when it's quiet and get a pitch closer to the toilet block, this would be a lovely site, especially if you have small children. The farm is right on your doorstep with some cute animals to ooh and aah over. The shop is well stocked and the staff helpful.
The Norden station on the Swanage Steam Train line is five minutes walk away, and for £9 return you can travel to Swanage and back. Corfe Castle and the village are about 15 mins walk away, and well worth a trip. Studland village is 5 miles drive with fabulous beaches and a great pub. It's a lovely area with good walking and lots to see.
At first glance, this site is in a lovely location, within walking distance of Corfe Castle and in a lovely green valley. Farm animals are wandering around and we pitched close to a field of cows and sheep. The pitches are very flat and you can set up wherever you please when it's not busy.
However, we found the noise levels from other campers too much - the curfew isn't until 11pm and despite a complaint to the owner, our 'neighbours' didn't turn down their loud music until way past that (but it was too loud even at 9pm - the owner didn't seem to care about this).
The shower and toilet blocks are reasonable, but quite a walk depending on which field you are in and there isn't really enough if the site were full.
Just spent a week at Norden Farm with family in 2 tents - 4 adults and 3 children under 3. A great campsite and a great time had by all in the main field with electric hookup.
The working farm is very real and quite refreshing from the manufactured animal farms that you can pay to see these days. All the animals you can think of all on one site! The farmer invited us to watch a calf being born on one evening which was just amazing. We were stood 3 feet away from the action and he even asked me to help when he needed another pair of hands to hold the rope (I won't go into detials!). It doesn't get much more real!
Perfect central location for touring in the area of Lulworth, Durdle Dore, Sandbanks Beach and Poole harbour(across the Ferry), Monkey World etc. And the site is a 10 min walk from the station at end of the line for the steam train to Swanage.
5 min drive to Wareham with a decent Co-Op and Sainsburys and a fab fish and chip shop (on the same road as Sainsburys about 3 doors down - forget the name of it). The shop on site is decent for the essentials - it just shut a bit early (6pm) when we were there.
Corfe Castle is a 2 minute drive away (awkward walk down the main road from the site). Small village, but a nice place and good for a killer walk up the steep hill to the castle.
The new shower, wash-up and laundry facilities near the entrance were great - modern and always clean. Looks like they are starting to build another (new) block for the top field too as the current one there looks a bit dated.
Would definitely go again - we met plenty of people who said that they 'come here every year' and I can see why.
No real criticisms, the main one would be the health and safety concerns (as a parent) from all the farmyard equipment and mess - very little ones need to be watched closely e.G. A few sharp corners, bits sticking out and lots of poo. But I guess that comes with the real farm.
We visited Norden Farm with three other families on a wet and windy July weekend. Although we had been told we would be in the Donkey Field, we were actually sent to the Top Field which is spacious and great for the kids to play but exposed to the weather; the wind just ripped through the valley whilst we were there. The ground also got very boggy during our stay but did seem to drain relatively quickly - wellies are a must. We felt the Donkey Field may have been slightly more sheltered.
It was lovely to hear all the animals in the nearby fields but less pleasant to be kept awake by the loud music being played by fellow campers until after midnight.
The nearest toilets to us were old but adequate for our needs. The modern block near the reception was good.
The farmer was very friendly, he even tipped us off that a calf was about to born. The kids loved visiting the animals and the play area. The shop was well-stocked and has lots of tourist information leaflets. We had planned to walk to the Swanage Railway Park and Ride for a steam train trip but to reach it you need to walk along the busy A351 towards Swanage - not an option with young children. The site is well situated for a wide range of other attractions though and the staff told us about some lovely walks in the area had the weather been more accommodating.
We picked this site because of the reviews and we were not disappointed.
We were shown to our pitch which was marked out clearly, it was flat and very spacious, we have a six man tent and we could park the car next to it.
The main shower block is at the front of the park it has a laundry room with free iron, dog wash, dishwashing, separate toilets and showers. There was a family room which was perfect it had a large shower, small bath, toilet and sink. We have 2 young daughters and I get the short straw when it comes to showers but this room was fab my hubby could finally help out, I wish more sites would take note of this. We were lucky that the family room was empty on the morning we went for the showers but we had already decided that if it was in use we would use the unisex showers. The only hiccup we had was the hairdryer would switch itself off after a couple of minutes but it was free and the showers.
They are building another shower block in the top field, there are some portakabin toilets there but no showers. There is also dishwashing there. It was busy the weekend we were there but there was no waiting for the facilities.
The shop was well stocked and reasonably priced.
The farm was a little run down they seem to be concentrating more on the camping side rather than the upkeep of the farm, but that didn't stop the girls from loving the cows, we seen one in labour, and a calf that was 1/2 an hour old.
The leaving time is mid-day when the site is full, but we didn't realise this till we packed up and I read the ticket. I know for next time.
The site was recommended by a friend of ours who had used it for many years for family holidays, every time he came back he told us to investigate it when we had a chance.
After a trip to Devon we decided to break the drive home up in Dorset and pulled in on the off chance there would be space, being a bank holiday weekend we crossed our fingers and were blessed with a lovely spot in the Top Field, a short walk to the washblock that was a little small for such a large area, but was always clean and never busy for us, the more modern block nearer the entrance was bigger and only a couple of minutes further away.
All the fields had plenty of bins including bottle and can recycling ones which is a bonus when we want to 'do our bit for the environment'
The village of Corfe and the railway are only a short walk.The 1/2 mile in the leaflet is a bit optimistic as it was 1/2 mile from the pitch to the main road for us! but it was a nice stroll and kept us busy for a day.
The staff were very helpful and polite when we came to book in and a quick look round the shop showed it stocked all the useful things you might have needed.
The only problem we faced was the high winds in the valley, a more sheltered pitch in another field next time would sort it, but other than that we'll be back again
Fab site, kids loved the 'free range' animals. Nice staff. Well stocked and reasonably priced shop. We were on the donkey field, short walk to the main toilet block, which was well maintained but probably a bit on the small side for the size of the site.
Lovely walk to Corfe Castle.
Would go again
Previous
299 Reviews in total, now showing 196 to 210Next
Write a Review of this Site to Win a Wolfbox G900 Pro Dashcam and £150
Wolfbox UK is a leading automotive electronics brand specializing in premium mirror dash cams, portable jump starters, and vehicle safety accessories. Known for products like the Wolfbox G900 Pro, they provide advanced driving technology focusing on durability, 4K resolution, and wide-angle visibility Find out more here!
Common Questions
Is Norden Farm Touring Caravan And Camping Site child friendly? YES, it accepts children & has a playground View all facilities
Where is the nearest shop to Norden Farm Touring Caravan And Camping Site? There is a shop on site View all facilities
Is Norden Farm Touring Caravan And Camping Site dog friendly? YES View all facilities
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
All reviews and comments are the personal opinion of the review author only , and as such do not represent the view of the UK Camp Site.co.uk.
The facilities shown on this website are a guide only, and you should check with the campsite direct before making any booking. The UKCampsite.co.uk will not be held responsible for any errors or omissions
Tent Pitches 
Caravan Pitches 
Motorhome Pitches 
Small Campervans 
Glamping Units 
No Statics for Hire 
No Statics for Sale 
No Seasonal Pitches 
Electric Hookups 
No Hardstandings 
No Fully Serviced Pitches 
Families Welcome 
Not Members Only 
Rallies Welcome 
Not Naturist Site 
Dogs Welcome 
No Dogs Allowed 
Groups Welcome 
Motorbikers Welcome 
Toilet Facilities 
Hot Showers 
Washing Up 
Bathroom 
Baby Changing Facilities 
Laundry On Site 
Drinking Water 
Disabled Friendly 
Chemical Disposal 
Battery Charging 
Gas Exchange 
Recycling Facilities 
No Kitchen Facilities 
Freezer / Fridge 
Motorhome Point 
Wifi Access 
Shop On Site 
Bar <1 mile 
Restaurant or Cafe or Takeaway <1 mile 
Kids Playground 
No TV Room 
No Games Room 
Evening Entertainment 
Fishing <5 miles 
Wild Swimming <5 miles 
No Indoor Pool 
No Outdoor Pool 
Horse Riding <5 miles 
Cycle Hire <1 mile 
Golf <1 mile 
Tennis <1 mile 
Beach <5 miles 
Watersports <5 miles 
Boat Launch / Mooring <5 miles 
No Sea Views 
Working Farm 
Campfires Allowed 
No Waterside Pitches 
Public Transport On Site
Offroad Dog Walk On Site or Direct Access 
We visited Norden Farm from 3-11 August 2009 on the recommendation of a friend. On arrival our reception was fairly grumpy and we were told to head to the Top Field. There are no marked pitches in this field and when we got there we found that the field was already very full. We finally chose a spot which I felt was too close to both the tents ether side of us - probably about 2.5 metres between the tents. 
