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Top tip, look at the map before you leave, as Sat Nav may not be accurate. 1 mile access road is a bumpy ride with a caravan on the back.
It's a well kept site, good sized pitches, facilitates could be cleaner, but it was half term week and really busy. Lots of kids around. I took my lot, so I can't moan!
Swimming pool was heated and busy, some kids jumping in dangerously with no parents accountable.
Onsite Pub with free WIFI was pleasantly quiet. Plenty of woodland walks with direct access from the site.
Having stayed at Dower House over the years has given us some memorable Holidays and weekends away, for us as a family we have used tents, trailer tents and our next visit probably with a caravan.
We first camped at DH back in 2007 with our friends as we were planning a road trip across Canada, pretty much every year we have returned as DH is only 90 minuted drive from home, this experience has given us plenty of knowledge of the park and surroundings that has been covered in length bu most reviews.
My review will focus on two parts of the park that need addressing, they are the only two gripes I have as the park is VERY good indeed.
1, the access road is TERRIBLE with pot holes, I'm not sure if the surface has been repaired since my trip but it really did need attention.
2, the shower blocks are very dated and need an overhaul, even at quiet times the water could be hotter.
I have emailed the park about the above and await their reply.
Please don't let the above put you off the Dower House its fab, our 9 yr old goes off with his new friends after breakfast and comes back when he's hungry or thirsty, a very safe park for kids
We really love this site for the forest location, however over the bank holiday weekend noticed that the facilities for the number of people on site were stretched to the limit, with a full park and only 7 showers (male) at peak times there was a long wait. Also looks like the facilities are in need of a spruce up with paint flaking. Site staff appeared to be stretched and not very friendly. The disabled shower is used by all with no radar key, my son (wheel chair user) regularly waited over 15 minutes to access the toilet/shower.
My two daughters (12, 9) myself and four other families have just returned from a 3 night stay. We were welcomed and shown to our pitch which was very generous in size. Slight downside is the EHU unit was quite far from the tent and despite our long cable it was difficult to reach. Luckily I was pitched next to my friend so I ran the cable across her pitch. Could have been a bit akward if it was a stranger.
Despite the site being large we didn't queue for the showers or washing up facilities which I was very pleased about. The showers aren't the best I've encountered but they get the job done! Only 5 showers (ladies) for the whole site but well maintained and clean.
Kids loved adventuring in the forest, swimming in the pool was a big plus. They were in there rain or shine. Take a chair to the pool as there's lots of space but no seating provided. We spent all three days on the site and kids were happy and made their own entertainment. Parks, football, table tennis, futsal, pool table - what more could they have wanted! My daughter was desperate to watch Women's UEFA semi final and wifi wasn't behaving - a very helpful waiter in the pub restaurant helped us sort out an alternative way to view, which made my daughter very happy despite the result ☹️
Overall I'd recommend the site and would visit again and perhaps explore the surrounding area as there is quite a lot to do locally.
We are a family of 5 who Visited In April for 5 Nights and will return and recommend.
This is a fantastic campsite set in the forest, it is really peaceful and there are fantastic walks to be had but also many great facilities on site.
The staff keep the site looking clean and tidy and seem to really enjoy what they do.
There is an outside pool for the summer months, a bar and restaurant with a small play area outside and a larger one on the main field to the front of the Dower House, there is a well stocked shop with little bits for the kids to buy. My eldest son enjoyed using the football pitch area on the field outside reception/shop and was in and around the bar area with friends most of the time. The pool table in the bar is also a big hit with the older kids.
This is a very pleasant site with spacious pitches in a great setting, I really like that you drive a couple of miles into the forest to get to the site.
This is our 2nd trip to the Dower House touring park,
As a family of 5 with 3 boys aged 4, 8 and 15 we find it a perfect place to visit, we take all of the bikes with us and enjoy cycling around the forest and various cycle tracks, there are miles and miles of track to follow.
As for the park itself, the pitches are very large and provide good level ground with electric hookups very close by. There are plenty of water points and waste points. There are only a couple of toilet waste points but are easy enough to get to.
There is a park on site for the kids to play at and a pub for the adults ;-)
They have recently opened an on-site restaurant which I cannot rate as of yet due to not trying it out yet.
There is a pool table that costs 50p ago but it is in dire need of refurbishment.
The outdoor swimming pool is an excellent feature, however wasn't open in April, but was open last October when we visited last.
There is a reasonably well stocked and priced shop on-site.
I haven't used the shower blocks, however the wife has used them, unfortunately she doesn't rate them particularly highly, although they are clean. They are the typical push button pre-set temperature ones.
Just returned from a 10 day visit at the dower house with our caravan.
Good points
Very nice setting in the woods
Nice pub on site
Playground for the kids and a number of play areas
Swimming pool which is heated and kids loved it
Very relaxing place
Nice walks in the woods
Staff very pleasant
Not so good points
Shop needs to sell more shopping items don't even sell eggs or news papers.
9 miles to the nearest shops
Pub only opens at night, had red hot days, site was full and I'm sure the pub would have been full in the afternoon if it was open.
Wifi is only in the pub not on the site.
The road to the site is 2 miles long and is horrendous, bumps, pot holes shakes your car and caravan all over the place you don't want to go out for the day because of facing the long road out of the site and coming back onto site.
Toilets need updating - not enough for the size of site.
Staff seem to be over stretched at times.
Bins always seem full and not emptied enough
Take torches no lights on the site at all - only inside toilets
Dont get me wrong the owners and workers tried there best and we had a lovely time but just seems they are over stretched and amenities need updating.
When we got there on day of arrival -
No running water
Some of the toilet waste was out of use as they where blocked. The one you had to use was at the back of toilets in the woods not good if you need to empty in the dark
No food at the pub as they had staff sickness so we had to face to horrible road again to go out.
Will not go back. Sorry.
Management response: That Saturday we had a major electrical failure and power surge that took out power to all facility blocks, shop/reception,the office, bar and house plus all computers and most importantly our bore pump thus leaving us without water. It also destroyed all sorts of equipment incl tills, chillers, computers etc. So yes we were short of staff as we were dashing around trying to sort broken systems, going out to buy bottled water to distribute to campers and deal with our normal daily jobs without some of the services that we rely on. The power was off from approx 8am until 5pm. We have owned this site for 30yrs and this was my worst day and thank heavens not a typical one.
Just back from a lovely 4 night stay here. Very friendly welcome from reception and warden Gordon who took a shine to our little dog Bella.
Pitches are very large, plenty of space for an awning, day tent and car. Good play areas for kids which my daughter lives and of course the swimming pool which although busy still had room for 3 more!
The site was exceptionally clean although it was full, even the wash up area was cleaned in the day. The warden was always seen about and very friendly and obviously cares about the site and surrounding environment.
There is access directly into the forest with some lovely walks.
There are supermarkets in Thetford about 5 miles away and a small shop on site for essentials.
Brilliant site for families and good value as there are no additional charges for dogs or awnings. Will definitely visit again.
Just returned from a weeks stay at the dower house costing £220. We travelled for 6 hours and couldn't wait to set up and rest. The lane which takes you to the site is just short of a mile long which is VERY bumpy with lots of potholes. We were shown to our pitch which was in the perfect spot. A stones throw from the park and less than a minutes walk to the pool and pub. The surroundings are beautiful. The main outdoor pool was warm. The small toddlers pool was cold! Everywhere on the site was spotlessly clean. Small shop stocked all essentials. Nice woodland walks. Park area was great for the kids. Visited the pub 3 nights we were there. Only opened 7pm til 10. 30pm and no food was being served. Would have been nice if they served lunches, the site was full so would have been very worthwhile. The beer garden did get plagued with lots of teenage children at night.
Banham zoo about 25 min drive away. (Take some leaflets from information shed on site as there are free child vouchers inside worth £14) sainsbury aldi lidl halfords about 15 minutes away (after reaching the top of the bumpy Road! )
All in all, a great week and would definitely stay again.
We have just spent a week at this site. It is generally a good one I particularly liked the idea of the late shop in the bar. The access to the forest is excellent and we found it a good location for the places we wanted to visit (High Lodge and Norwich). Our children are 6 and 10 found that the playground was too young for them but they had the forest and the pool. Toilets and showers were clean, but we found the showers quite small and that it was difficult to keep towels and clothes dry. The approach road was bumpy and very difficult to deal with when the trailer was attached.
Our main issues came from booking. We had unknowingly booked for a trailer tent and not a tent. Because of our set up we need electric hook up. There was nothing on our confirmation to let us know about that as apparently both types of booking are referred to as touring pitches. The solution was to go without electric hook up for the first night. If this didn't suit us there was nothing else that could be done, so effectively our holiday would have been over before it began. One night without electric is in itself no big deal, but the only way our airbeds could be inflated was to walk them the length of the camping field and plug them into the toilet/shower block. Couldn't even make a cup of tea! If we no that we won't have an electric hook up we have a power pack, I find it surprising that the site didn't have something similar. The really disappointing thing was the sites attitude their position was that it wasn't their fault and that was it. Not a bad site but we won't be returning.
Well what can I say. Went away Thursday for bank holiday weekend. My parents come too. We went to Dower House in Thetford. We will not be going back. Our pitches were right next to the football pitch and the swimming pool. Also the man road in and out where traffic was constant all day. Then there was the night time. We belive times for curfews are set for a reason and this is why we pick these sites but here they was not adhered to. Teenage kids running around after 11pm screaming shouting making scary noises which if our 4yr old was awake I'm sure would have scared her. Kids tripping over guy ropes at this times too. Then there was the people having a full blown conversation at night time on the corner of our pitch. I had to shout at them shout at the kids tripping over our guy ropes and then confront the group of teenagers which must have been 10-15 of them. Went to see the warden who was off duty to then have to go and knock on the main house like the sign said. Nobody answered the door. So first thing Sunday morning complaints were made. Had our own meeting with the manager after he had cleaned the pool. We had already spoken with the warden first thing in the morning. We did however get full refund of our weekend break for both pitches. But we believe that if there are rules and these are on the paper work you get when checking in they should be adhered too. But here they are not. Sad really as could be a really nice site but the owners don't care. The owner told us he knew who was causing all the noise but could not chuck them off site. It then came to light on day of leaving that the children causing all the problems there parents used to be children coming to this site and was allowed to run riot it seemed. Good luck to the wardens from this site we could see they was trying hard but no backing from management. And good luck in finding a nice site for yourselves in the future.
We arrived around 7pm on Friday 17th July and were shown to our pitch which was very large and mainly level, I have an 8 metre twin axle caravan and there was still room for the Sorento to park in front as well as room for the awning and 2 cars parked side by side next to the awning.
The toilet and shower blocks were always clean and we never had to wait.
Although this is a very large site and was nearly full, it never seemed busy.
The pub was open on a Friday and Saturday night for our first week and then more nights during the second week, drinks are reasonably priced, they also do food on certain nights during peak season but we did not have any.
The on site shop is quite expensive but it has all the essentials in case you run out.
The WIFI worked well but is only available at or outside the pub.
Make sure you bring your bikes with you as there are miles and miles of forest track to explore, I would have thought the site would make some money out of hiring bikes but they do not have them.
The swimming pool was crowded on our first weekend there but there were some points that we were the only ones in the pool.
It rained quite a lot on our second week but as the ground is very sandy the water drained away and there were no soggy areas of the pitch.
The site it quite by around 10pm, make sure you take a torch as it is pitch black at night as there are no lights apart from around the toilet and shower block.
The owners and the warden were great and would stop to chat and would help with anything.
The track leading to the site was being repaired while we were there although with all the rain there were still many potholes the whole length of the track but if you take it slow it is ok.
There is a large Tesco not too far away, as well as many other shops in Thetford itself including a £1 shop.
We really enjoyed our stay and will be booking again for next year.
A fantastic site with just about the biggest pitches you will come across. A small play area and a large area for ball games, even a set of goals for the budding footballers, there are are also two small outdoor pools which the kids all love and if they are still in need of something to do then a bit of den building or tree climbing is a must in the surrounding forest. There is a small shop that sells a good variety of items and a pub with a garden on site (check opening times). The Owners, Warden and other Staff are very friendly and helpful when needed and work extremely hard. Toilet/Shower blocks although not the most modern were more than adequate with plenty of hot water and always very clean, even with a full site we never had to queue for a shower. This site is about as good as it gets if you are a cyclist or a walker, quite literally surrounded by forest which goes on for miles. The fact that you pay your pitch fee and are not charged individually for every other item (awning, dogs, etc) is a very refreshing change, please don't change this and other sites could learn from this site instead of ripping us all off! This is a site that we will be returning to again and again, our new top touring park and we look forward to visiting in the future. Trust me, you cannot go far wrong visiting here.
A GEM ! Lived in Suffolk all my life and never even heard of Dower House until a friend asked us to book with and go with them! It was the scorching weekend at the end of June! Boy, were we pleased to use the pool, along with around 50 children, but hey it was boiling so we were all in there! The site is beautiful, toilets and showers are lovely, busy times not so good! We will definitely be heading back, in the not so busy times, although I know the pool closes in September, that will not put us off, as the forest walks are lovely. Dog friendly too. We didn't use the bar facilities as we enjoy sitting around chatting with our fellow campers :o)It was an expensive site to stay on, having to pay extra for my 19 year old daughter and her boyfriend also their car, even though they stayed in the caravan with us. But the shower facilities are free. All in all a lovely site.
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Common Questions
Is Dower House Caravan And Leisure Park child friendly? YES, it accepts children & has a playground View all facilities
Does Dower House Caravan And Leisure Park have a swimming pool? YES, there is a pool on site View all facilities
Where is the nearest shop to Dower House Caravan And Leisure Park? There is a shop on site View all facilities
Is Dower House Caravan And Leisure Park dog friendly? YES 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 
Glamping Units 
No Statics for Hire 
No Statics for Sale 
Seasonal Pitches 
Electric Hookups 
No Hardstandings 
No Fully Serviced Pitches 
Families Welcome 
Not Members Only 
No Rallies 
Not Naturist Site 
Dogs Welcome 
No Dogs Allowed 
Groups Welcome 
Toilet Facilities 
Hot Showers 
Washing Up 
No 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 <5 miles 
Kids Playground 
TV Room 
Games Room 
No Evening Ents 
Fishing <5 miles 
No Wild Swimming 
No Indoor Pool 
Outdoor Pool On Site 
Horse Riding <5 miles 
Cycle Hire On Site 
No Golf 
No Tennis 
No Beach 
No Watersports 
No Boat Launch 
No Sea Views 
Not Working Farm 
No Campfires Allowed 
No Waterside Pitches 
Public Transport <5 miles
Offroad Dog Walk On Site or Direct Access 
Top tip, look at the map before you leave, as Sat Nav may not be accurate. 1 mile access road is a bumpy ride with a caravan on the back. 
