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What a great time we had at RDCP. We (a family of four with two boys 12 and 9) had a brilliant time and our children wouldn't let us leave without us agreeing to go back next year. We've never had this from any site before.
We stayed for 9 nights during a very challenging period for the site which it handled with openness, honesty and achieved the utmost respect from most campers.
When we were packing up to leave we discovered a puncture on our trailer tyre and the staff were fantastic, they helped us to take the wheel off (as our socket set didn't fit!) and then took the wheel to a local tyre company to be fixed and then returned it. Amazing!
During our stay we ate in The Saw Mill three times at breakfast and in the evening and thought the food was good and reasonably-ish priced.
We also experienced the high ropes (£14/pp) and the zorbs (£5/5 mins) both of which the boys, big and small, thought were great.
We stayed in the Meadows which was a lovely position. We seemed to have the sun for most of the day. Our only gripe was that the pitch was on a slight slope so it was a bit tricky to keep food on the table and it took a bit of getting used to sleeping - I just seemed to roll-off our SIM!
The amenity block was clean most of the time and there were plenty of showers. I only had to wait once.
The park is picturesque with lots of space to wander and play. In the surrounding area there is Ashburton (great butcher) or Newton Abbot for supplies. We also took a trip to Torquay one day and also the steam train from Paignton to Kingsmead and then the foot ferry across to Dartmouth. All good days out.
I'd have no hesitation to recommending River Dart Country Park to anyone.
Literally just returned from river dart country park. 2nd time of visiting and it doesn't disappoint. Huge pitches (we were on pitch 28 with electric hook up). Large pitch easily fitted our 8 man tent and car alongside, nice and flat and caught the morning sun to early evening.
Kids loved the lake with assault course, my 7 yr old skillfully mastered very quickly and spent many an hour playing, whilst the 9 yr old joined forces with other children to storm the pirate ship and had to be retrieved by his younger sister once it was time to go. Huge play area in amongst the trees plus smaller toddler area within view of the tents. Kids played here happily with their new found friends.
Shower block cleaned daily and was adequate never had to queue for a free hot shower. My only critism would be not much of a partition between shower and drying area within the cubicle meant the odd damp towel, if this was only a couple of inches wider then it would be perfect.
Staff very polite and helpful.
Shop sold the basis, but it's not far to ashburton to stock up on more. (Lovely little tea shop in ashburton worth a visit for afternoon tea).
Ate once in the restaurant, food was delicious and plentiful, although not the cheapest.
Security patrolled of an evening, but to be fair we found all noise had died down by 10. 30, not that it was loud in the first place.
Kids did high ropes £14 and zorbs £5 for 5 mins, staff running these activities knowledgeable, polite and a credit to the company. Felt the activities good value for money.
Would we visit again, yes absolutely in fact 2015 already booked! Highly recommend this campsite.
The playgrounds are brilliant with an area for children under 4, large slides, a fort, zip wire and even an assault course. There are also a number of chargeable activities such as high ropes and water zorbing which makes this a great place to stay.
The crème de la crème of this site is the river which is a small trickle into zoned play areas with a little beach for babies, a submerged pirate ship for larger ones and a number of rope bridges. The kids (2, 6&9) spent ages here and it had a really good 'back to nature' feel to it.
The site is kept very clean with clean toilets and showers and a restaurant serving food and drinks in the evening (not very reasonable) but to be fair the food was fantastic.
We will definitely be going back, my 9 year old hasn't stopped asking me since the moment we left!
This is our third visit to River Dart Country Park and it won't be our last. If there is a better family campsite in the UK, we've yet to find it. This time we stayed in our caravan, but previously we've used our tent.
The facilities are excellent, always clean and the showers never run out of hot water. This is a major achievement given the activities on site.
The pitches are large and well spaced out with good access, no trying to reverse a caravan around a tree into a tight spot. There are plenty of water points and pitches with electric hook up. It is busy in the summer holidays, but it's a huge place and never feels cramped.
The kids activities really take some beating - they are not 'worn out' as mentioned in another review, they are in a forest and made of wood, it's how we used to play as kids. If you want arcade games, an indoor swimming pool with lots of rules and health and safety posters everywhere, this is not the place for you. Activities are 'old school' and designed to be a bit of a challenge. Rope swings, assault courses (for different ages and abilities), zip wires, and friendly water fights in the lake with a pirate ship to invade or defend. These are not small play areas for a few kids - the pirate ship can handle 50+ on it's own and the free zip wire is about 50m long. And don't think these are just for kids, any adult in the lake is considered target practice and expected to join in. All these things are free to those staying on the site.
For young kids there is a small beach on the edge of the lake and for older kids and adults there is a 'paid for' high ropes course, canoes and water zorbing. For teenagers they run activities out onto Dartmoor. Our grandson is only 9 so he's not done those, but if the other activities are anything to go by, they will be well run and just challenging enough that they come away with a sense of achievement that you can't get from a theme park or video arcade.
As mentioned in other reviews, the bar is very good value with a wide range of beers, wines and soft drinks (inc milkshakes for the kids) and you can't fault the food. The shop is basic but in fairness probably holds a better range of essentials than most campsite shops, including water squirters for use on the pirate ship and children's wetsuits and it's not over priced.
This site is really designed for families, so there are a lot of children. But it's always quiet by 10pm - I think they are exhausted by then!
I've tried to think of a negative to balance out the review, but I can't. There are plenty of staff about and all very helpful and friendly. The owners have clearly thought long and hard about what makes a great family holiday in the UK and made it work. The only thing I can thing I can think of and it has nothing to do with the site is the road from the A38 is tight in places and it can be quite busy. The site is well away from the road, you can't hear or see it at all but for some reason coaches use it to take people onto Dartmoor. I've no idea why because there are better, wider roads. I can only guess it's the way the sat nav directs them. It's never happened to us, but you wouldn't want to meet one coming the other way if you're towing a caravan.
One thing worth mentioning is; you'll need a wetsuit. The water is diverted from the River Dart. The source is only a few miles away so it's pretty cold. The kids are having too much fun to care, but if you plan on going in the lake or using the rope swing with them - you'll feel it!
The only downside for us is it's a long way from Essex to South Devon. But it's well worth the trip!
This place is absolutely fabulous! We couldn't fault it. Despite the enormous amount of people it caters for, it didn't feel overcrowded, there was plenty of space between campers and everybody we spoke to were very friendly. Dogs are allowed on this site but nowhere did they bother us and no unexpected mess anywhere. The grounds are beautifully kept and the facilities spotless. There is also a family bathroom with a bath which was wonderful as I could stick my littlies in the bath after a very busy day. A drying room too where you can hang your wet gear overnight and get it back dry in the morning. The activities you can get up to here are amazing and very reasonably priced. The restaurant is marvellous, lovely food and good service all at a price that is affordable for a family on holiday. The on site shop is very small and only has the barest of essentials but in the nearby town there is a small supermarket if you need it. We had a fantastic holiday here and I would and have recommended it to all our friends. We will definitely be back. Happy Campers!
My Husband & I stayed here with 3 boys age 10, 9, 7 and our dog. It was a great weekend everyone enjoyed it. 10 out of 10. Toilet and shower block were really clean. Excellent playgrounds for all ages even adults. The food was lovely and very well presented and at reasonable prices. Only criticism is that the shop could of stocked more milk, bread, eggs. The surrounding town of Ashburton is a lovely little town and the views surrounding the campsite are so beautiful.
After a recommendation about this site I thought I`d take my 11 year old daughter there.
I`ve just come back (spent 3 nights there) with mixed feelings.
Positives :-
The paid for activities are excellent. Zip wire and High Ropes Course in particular were brilliant.
The staff on the paid activities were fabulous. Very kid friendly and made sure kids understood what they had to do and safety was well explained.
Excellent washing up area and the showers and toilets could no be faulted. I went at a peak time and saw lots of cleaning going on so whenever I went it was always clean. Always hot water too. Top marks
Bar beer prices were very reasonable and a good selection too.
Plenty of space in the Walled Garden camping area for outdoor games ie frisby, badminton, ball etc
Negatives :-
The free kids activities were very very poor. They may have been good when the park first opened but are now in desperate need of renovation, repair or reconditioning. Very disappointed.
The arcade. In a word terrible. An air hockey game that blows next to no air so is virtually unplayable and it only records one person scores ! And a pinball machine with only one working flipper. You can`t play with one flipper ! Both are therefore a waste of money.
The walled garden has no facilities at all except for a tap.
Meals at the Old Saw Mill were pricey although looked good quality.
Shop was average at best
A shocking lack of signage. A map of the whole site at regular points is desperately needed as it`s so huge.
Location - its a good way from the coast. I know I made the choice to stop here but as a base its a good 40 mins or so from Torquay or Paignton, Goodrington Sands (which is a fantastic place as so much to do there)
To be fair when I booked I was told it may be a small walk to the facilities but I wasn`t advised just how far ! At £26. 50 a night for just two people I expected more in the way of facilities.
It would be good for a day out but don`t feel they have done enough for it to be recommended as a campsite.
Although I appear to have more negatives than positives we did enjoy ourselves but not sure I`d go back there.
Wow brilliant, managed to get on without booking as spotted it as a drive by! Super site lots of room on pitches and positioned well for privacy. No end of things for children to do parks are fantastic which allow kids to play with their imagination. Also on site various actinides for extra cost however we never got time as so much to do anyway. Shop not too great but maybe as it was end of season lots of toys not much food however great bar next door so a good excuse not to cook! Bath was great showers were normal tap push camping showers do the job but will never be as good as home! Washing Mach dryer iron room. Dog friendly
Great site, as per the majority of reviews on this site state.
Very clean facilities, good value in the on site restaurant/pub and our 3 daughters (11, 11 and 6) loved all the play areas, even though the water was a touch cold!
Really enjoyed our 5 nights, heavy rain for a few days but the site drained quickly.
Big pitches, we were on pitch 5, with hardstanding and electric.
We camped at River Dart with our 3 & 1 year olds, as part of a group of family/friends. It was perfect for group camping as plenty of space and easy to get pitches together. The staff were really friendly and helpful, the facilities were excellent, - plentiful and clean. We used the family bathroom with bath - really handy with small children. Washing up was quick and easy, no queues and plenty of warm water. We don't have ehu though pitches were available, and reception kindly charged my phone for us.
The adventure play facilities aerial spread throughout the park. Our girls loved the slides and paddling beach, and the network of paths/site roads were great for pushchairs (real and dolly!) We didn't pay for any activities but were busy exploring and playing the whole time. The Sunday carvery was good value, and the shop, though unimaginative, had what we needed.
This is a lovely site - We have 2 boys aged 11 & 8 and they had a great time - the river play area and adventure play are really good (we were lucky with the sunny weather!)
We were sited very close to the wash rooms which I thought may be a problem with the noise but between 11pm and about 8am it was very quiet -
The showers and toilets were kept clean (as possible on the first week of the summer hols) There were plenty of showers but if all were in use the water pressure couldn't quite cope and some of the showers just dribbled out, I only found this a problem once as most of the time they weren't all being used, I also noticed a family bathroom with a bath which I thought was good for little ones.
I used the washing machine which was £4 but a lovely large drum so got plenty in - also had dryers and irons/boards if you felt the need to iron!
Two large freezers were also available for freezer blocks etc.
The playground near to the washrooms/sinks didn't have much there but the large tunnel seemed to keep a various range of kids entertained and there was plenty of space to make use of bikes and scooters which my kids loved.
The site was mostly young ish families with not that many teenagers and it felt very safe and friendly - the staff were really helpful too (when we booked in we were too far from the EHU but it was no problem as they provided us with an extension)
Had a good week here just before the school holidays. It was our second visit. The weather was challenging and we weren't able to go on the pitch we had booked due to it being waterlogged.
The site warden took us to another area and gave us a choice of pitches. We were happy with the pitch we chose although by the end of a very wet week it was very muddy and wet.
We felt a bit sorry for the staff as they were frantically replacing turf to repair pitches.
The children still enjoyed the play lake and all the play areas. The one at the top of the site by the snake slide proving very popular.
The adventurous activities are good but I felt that the high ropes wasn't well supervised and when my daughter was frightened I had to go and get the attention of a member of staff who was not really watching what was going on.
We love this site and will try to return in the future but we will not be paying for the high ropes next time.
This was our first camping visit to the River Dart Country Park and it did not fail to please. It was perfect for us as a family offering big open spaces, beautiful scenery, lots of wildlife, 2 big clean amenity blocks and best of all lots of play areas for all ages.
The free play areas were well thought out, making the best of the environment already there as the assault course, low ropes, slides etc were all placed using the lovely trees in the park.
Even though we didn't have the best of weather the children still used the lake and had a great time.
It's a site that has been well thought out and for once it is great to go to a place where you don't have to spend a lot of money whilst there. We will be visiting again soon.
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Common Questions
Is River Dart Country Park child friendly? YES, it accepts children & has a playground View all facilities
Where is the nearest shop to River Dart Country Park? There is a shop on site View all facilities
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
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 
No Glamping Units 
No Statics for Hire 
No Statics for Sale 
No Seasonal Pitches 
Electric Hookups 
Hardstanding Pitches 
No Fully Serviced Pitches 
Families Welcome 
Not Members Only 
Rallies Welcome 
Not Naturist Site 
Dogs Welcome 
No Dogs Allowed 
Groups Welcome 
Toilet Facilities 
Hot Showers 
Washing Up 
Bathroom 
Baby Changing Facilities 
Laundry On Site 
Drinking Water 
Disabled Friendly 
Chemical Disposal 
No Battery Charging 
Gas Exchange 
Recycling Facilities 
No Kitchen Facilities 
Freezer / Fridge 
No Motorhome Point 
Wifi Access 
Shop On Site 
Bar On Site 
Restaurant or Cafe or Takeaway On Site 
Kids Playground 
No TV Room 
Games Room 
Evening Entertainment 
Fishing On Site 
No Wild Swimming 
No Indoor Pool 
No Outdoor Pool 
Horse Riding <5 miles 
Cycle Hire On Site 
No Golf 
Tennis On Site 
Beach <10 miles 
Watersports On Site 
No Boat Launch 
No Sea Views 
Not Working Farm 
Campfires Allowed 
Open All Year 
Riverside Pitches 
Public Transport <1 mile
Offroad Dog Walk On Site or Direct Access 
Electric Car Charging Point
What a great time we had at RDCP. We (a family of four with two boys 12 and 9) had a brilliant time and our children wouldn't let us leave without us agreeing to go back next year. We've never had this from any site before. 
