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Reviews of Smedmore House Caravan Site

Campsite Search > UK > South West England > Dorset > Wareham > Smedmore House Caravan Site > Reviews

Smedmore House Caravan Site
Kimmeridge
Wareham
Dorset   (Browse area)
BH20 5PG
Tel: 01929 480702
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Pitches: 48
Open: 01/05/2024 to 31/10/2024
           01/05/2025 to 31/10/2025

Rating: Average Review Score: 8/10 from 14 Reviews
                8/10 from 14 Reviews

 No Tents   Caravan Pitches   Motorhome Pitches   Small Campervans 
 No Glamping Units   No Statics for Hire   No Statics for Sale   Seasonal Pitches 
 Electric Hookups   Hardstanding Pitches   No Fully Serviced Pitches   Show Full Facilities
Who's it for
 Families Welcome   Not Members Only   No Rallies   Not Naturist Site 
 Dogs Welcome   No Dogs Allowed   Groups Welcome 
Facilities
 No Toilets   No Showers   No Washing Up Area   No Bathroom 
 No Baby Changing   No Laundry   Drinking Water   Disabled Friendly 
 Chemical Disposal   No Battery Charging   Gas Exchange   Recycling Facilities 
 No Kitchen Facilities   No Freezer / Fridge   No Motorhome Point   Wifi Access 
 Shop <5 miles   Bar <1 mile   Restaurant or Cafe or Takeaway <1 mile 
Activities
 No Playground   No TV Room   No Games Room   No Evening Ents 
 Fishing <1 mile   Wild Swimming <1 mile   No Indoor Pool   No Outdoor Pool 
 No Horse Riding   No Cycle Hire   No Golf   No Tennis 
 Beach <1 mile   Watersports <1 mile   Boat Launch / Mooring <1 mile 
Other Features
 Sea Views   Not Working Farm   No Campfires Allowed 
 No Waterside Pitches   Public Transport   Offroad Dog Walk On Site or Direct Access 

Reviews:  14 in total, now showing 1 to 10                 Previous 10          Next 10
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Date of Visit: October 2022 Unit:  Touring Caravan
Nights stayed: 6 Travelling as:  Mature couple
Reviewer: GordonM 4 reviews from this member

 My wife and I love this place, nice and quiet, great views, plenty of space so you are not close to other units.

The lack of 'extra' facilities keeps the site busy but available most of the year between May-End October when it is open.

The route to get there is narrow in places, and quite hilly but worth it when you get there.

This is our go to place and we have visited often in the last 3 years since we found it.

We even have a favourite pitch we try to get each time, and the dogs love it. 


Date of Visit: September 2021  Confirmed Booking Unit:  Touring Caravan
Nights stayed: 7 Travelling as:  Mature couple
Reviewer: Willia 2 reviews from this member

 We had a great stay and will be back great location for touring that area.

I will add its about 4 miles from main road on single track road but ok with care.

The site supplies leveling blocks as they are required but using the blocks on some pitches gives you a great view. 


Date of Visit: June 2021 Unit:  Touring Caravan
Nights stayed: 6 Travelling as:  Retired couple
Reviewer: Dave and Wendy 35 reviews from this member

 If you want peace and quiet this is the site for you. This site is affiliated to the caravan club but open to anyone who wishes to stay. Nothing on site for children.

Kimmeridge bay is either a mile walk across country or a short drive, to get to the bay by car will cost you £6. 00 (toll rd) however once you have paid see the warden and you get a receipt stating that you are staying on the site and you don't pay again.

The site has some level hard standing pitches at the top the rest is grass, mainly sloping, (blocks are needed). No toilet blk, chem/waste is at the top of the field along with 2 fresh water taps and grey waste water emptying points 1 at the top and 1 towards the bottom.

This site is away from everything and some traveling is required to get to most areas. The approach roads are narrow and should you meet a very large vehicle or a towing caravan it could be tricky, time your arrival and departure and you should be ok.

Nearest small shop is in Corfe castle or keep going towards Swanage at petrol station is a shop. Cafe in Kemmeridge village does very good food (before toll rd).

Wardens are only on site Between 11am and 3pm found them helpful and friendly. 


Date of Visit: June 2021  Confirmed Booking Unit:  Motorhome
Nights stayed: 2 Travelling as:  Mature couple
Reviewer: Annat2 1 review from this member

 Permissive path from campsite to the coast at Kimmeridge. Had a hard standing level pitch. Nice dog walk area. Peaceful.

Enjoyed a good pub meal at the Scott Arms in Kingston.

We arrived late (we’d already paid in full) and out for most of the next day and left the next morning and had no contact with reception or owners. 
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Date of Visit: May 2021 Unit:  Motorhome
Nights stayed: 2 Travelling as:  Retired couple
Reviewer: DeniseSmall 1 review from this member

 The site was okay and the price was reasonable. However we were given a pitch where it was hard to get our motorhome level.

My husband asked if there was any chance of a different pitch but was told no and that no-one else had had a problem with our pitch. What was really annoying about this is that plenty of other pitches were vacant.

We thought perhaps more people would be arriving later but only another 1 or 2 did and neither did lots of other people turn up the following day. My conclusion is that the staff member was just being awkward.

On the plus side there are some lovely walks from the site and it was quiet apart from an owl! 

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Date of Visit: May 2018 Unit:  Touring Caravan
Reviewer: DickieFix 2 reviews from this member

 The road from Corfe Castle to the site is narrow in places and rather twisty, but not a problem – just watch out for the locals and day visitors to the beach who seem to drive like bats out of hell! This basic site is predominantly sloping, so if you want to pitch an awning you need to chose carefully, The newly-created hard standings on the right as you enter the site are on the flat and can be recommended, and there is a new chemical toilet disposal point on the left as you enter. Emptying the loo is a daylight-only task as there are no lights to help you see what you are doing when it is dark. Many comment on the fantastic views; however, in our opinion they are over-rated. Only a few select pitches have views of the sea and even they are disappointing, unlike the sunsets which can be truly spectacular.

Phone signal reception is poor, though we did achieve 4G on Three and O2 intermittently at different times of the day. Fortunately, the site’s wifi is fast with PAYG for one week costing £10 for 5Gb (just make sure you inhibit Windows 10 from downloading updates, otherwise all your data allowance will vanish in 2 hours, like ours did!). TV is limited with the best signal coming from the Weymouth transmitter across the bay which only has a limited number of channels (aerial needs to be vertical). Nine miles away is Wareham, the nearest town for fuel and a supermarket (Sainsburys, 70p parking charge refundable on a £15 spend).

There are a number of good circular walks from the site, but beware that some of the permissive footpaths pass through fields which can have cows and sheep in them. The 5 mile, 2 hour walk up to Swyre Head, then along the ridge to Kimmeridge and back to site is well worth the effort. 


Date of Visit: August 2016 Unit:  Touring Caravan
Reviewer: Quirky Camper 2 reviews from this member

 We thought it was about time we reviewed this site as we love it here. The site is set in the most stunning countryside on a private estate behind a listed country house and have been visiting for many years. Now our children come with their children and have great fun exploring the countryside and beach collecting fossils. The teenagers can get a little bored but they can use Kimmeridge bay for water sports (You get a parking pass so only need pay once to go down) There are also lovely walks down to Kimmeridge Bay which is just over a mile from the site and the coastal path can be accessed via a short walk from the Site. The warden told us that there would be Wi-Fi on-site from 2017 so that should please many including the teenagers. There is also a new multi million fossil museum in Kimmeridge village a mile from the site which opened in October 2016. We haven't visited it yet but it looked amazing on tv and we look forward to visiting it this summer.

We love to stay on the sloping pitches, you do have to chock up but they keep plenty of wooden chocks in and the sea views(weather permitting) are amazing as are the sunsets setting over the sea. Perfect to watch sat out with drink in hand after a lovely day siteseeing. Some of the flatter pitches have sea views too but they are more distant. All the pitches have great views of the surrounding country side and if you are lucky it's wildlife.

The very helpful Warden Jo is always happy to help or advise with any questions you have and keeps the information shed well stocked with leaflets.

The down side for some might be the lack of toilets, showers and a clubhouse but those would ruin the ambiance of this peaceful site. With facilities in 90% of vans, campers and motorhomes these days who needs to use facilities used by the multitudes anyway? With Clavells cafe and restaurant just a mile away in Kimmeridge village its only a short walk or drive if you want to go for a drink or eat out without travelling too far.

We even had on-site entertainment last year with a wedding taking place at Smedmore house. It was lovely to watch the beautiful party and the bride was stunning. With a perfect balmy evening we sat out with a bottle wine listening to the great live band playing at the reception. It was over by midnight and all was quiet save the Owls so no disturbed sleep and raring to go in the morning ready for our trip out on the sailing ship Moonfleet from Swanage.

The lanes are a little narrow in places getting to the site but the hill down to Smedmore has been widened a little and if you use the sites instructions on how to get to the site via Corfe Castle there are plenty of pull ins for approaching traffic.

With so much to see and do in the local area this peaceful site makes the perfect base for exploring and a lovely holiday location for guests of all ages. We highly recommend it but don't tell everyone as we like it quiet as do so many of our returning friends made on the site over the years. The site closes over winter as it is a grass site but is open May -October inclusive every year. 


Date of Visit: May 2015 Unit:  Touring Caravan
Reviewer: Sydnsue 7 reviews from this member

 Situated on the private Smedmore Estate so very quiet with some nice walks around. No toilets/showers which I think is a shame. Pitches can become waterlogged in bad weather which is why the site opens late in the season. There are no sea views, in fact the only views are the distant coastal cliffs and those only if on a higher pitch. There is a nice walk of about twenty minutes through the fields to Kimmeridge Bay. The drive by car takes 5 minutes and £5 entry for the day. There used to be a concession for site users of pay once and the rest of the week is free but not sure if this still exists. Ask at reception. The lanes to the site can be difficult. Met the bus coming out of Kimmeridge on the final hill before the site and must have had one inch clearance. Took 5 minutes to squeeze past each other. Restaurant in Kimmeridge has good food but a tad expensive. Could not eat there every evening. Other pubs and restaurants are a few miles away, all of which need phone reservations in the busy season. Overall very peaceful no frills site but Kimmeridge Bay makes it all worth it. One of the best bays in Dorset and not packed like Lulworth and Durdle Door. 


Date of Visit: June 2008 Unit:  Touring Caravan
Reviewer: GailV 10 reviews from this member

 This is a Caravan Club, member only site, but it is an affiliated site, so does not have quite the same high level of organisation as a Club site for some reason.
There wasn't much of a welcome from the site management and they are only around for an hour in the morning and evening.

It is basically a very large equivalent of a certificated location, being a field, water taps and a toilet emptying point which is some distance away from the pitches, so much so we had to put the toilet cassette into the car to drive there.

The site's website says there are sea views from the site, which is why we went there, but there are no sea views from the pitches to our disappointment. There are sea views on the route into the site, but as the roads are so narrow on the approach you can't take your eyes off the road to look at them. It is a winding 6 miles from the main road to the site, some of which is quite scary with a van on the back, so try to miss peak times for tourists, school buses etc.

If you like solitude, self-sufficiency and walking, this is the site to go to. But do your homework on the route in, and on things to do as there is no information on site. The nearest supermarkets are expensive Somerfields in Swanage and Wareham, so stock up in Weymouth and Poole when visiting there. Corfe Castle is lovely. Take the chain ferry over from Studland to Poole to get to the large beach in Sandbanks. Recommend the Halfway Inn near Corfe Castle, and also a trip to Portland Bill. 


Date of Visit: September 2007 Unit:  Touring Caravan
Reviewer: Happyhippy 10 reviews from this member

 Brilliant site, Just the way we like it :) For the first night we were the only people in the field and so we were able to let the dogs run around without too much concern.

Really cheap and paid to the friendly farmer who comes round in the mornings.

Lovely walks, and the nearest pub is pretty much walking distance although its more of a restaurant than a pub, and no dogs were allowed in.

If your looking for real basics with little interference from anyone this is a great base to explore the local area. Would definitely stay here again 


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Common Questions

Is Smedmore House Caravan Site child friendly?  YES, it accepts children  View all facilities

Where is the nearest shop to Smedmore House Caravan Site?  There is a shop within 5 miles  View all facilities

Is Smedmore House Caravan Site dog friendly?  YES  View all facilities




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