Barnard Castle Camping and Caravanning Club Site

The Tees runs quick and cold below the castle ruins, and on still mornings you can hear the water from your pitch before you see it.

This is classic Teesdale camping — sheltered pitches for tents, caravans and campervans on the edge of Barnard Castle, one of the prettiest market towns in County Durham. It suits couples exploring the Dales, families after riverside walks and castle scrambles, and anyone touring the North Pennines who wants a proper base with facilities rather than wild ground. The town's ten minutes on foot, all cobbles and independent shops, and you're on the doorstep of waterfalls, moorland and some of the emptiest roads in England.

Onsite you've got the essentials — clean toilet and shower blocks — and it's open all year, which means you can have snow on the fells or bluebells in the woods depending when you come. Ask about campfires when you arrive. The feel is quietly capable: well-kept, no fuss, friendly without being over-organised.