Camping in Dorset

Dorset is one of the best-served camping counties in England, and the reason is geography. Chalk downland and limestone drain quickly, so pitches on the Purbeck ridge or the ground behind Lulworth dry out faster after rain than clay sites elsewhere. The heathland around Wareham and Poole is sandier still. What you trade for that drainage is exposure: clifftop and downland sites catch wind off the Channel, so bring proper pegs rather than the wire ones supplied in the bag, and pitch with the back of the tent into the prevailing southwesterly.

The season runs roughly Easter to the end of October, with a handful of sites open year-round. May, June and September are the best months. The weather is usually settled, the ground is dry, and you can get a pitch without booking a year in advance. July and August are hot, sunny and very full; coastal sites near Durdle Door, Studland and Weymouth sell out for the school holidays months ahead, and prices roughly double.

Wild camping is not legal in Dorset without the landowner's permission. Unlike parts of Dartmoor, there is no general right to camp on open land here, and the National Trust, the Lulworth Estate and the MOD ranges at Lulworth all enforce this. If you want to sleep near the coast path, use a proper site or ask a farmer directly.

Pack for wind and sun in equal measure. Dorset gets more sunshine hours than most of the UK, so shade and water matter on downland pitches with no trees. A windbreak is genuinely useful on the coast. Nights can drop sharply even in July when the sea breeze picks up after dark, so a decent sleeping bag beats a summer one.

Glamping has expanded quickly across the county, with shepherd's huts, safari tents and pods on farms across the Blackmore Vale and Purbeck. They cost roughly three to five times a tent pitch but come with beds, heating and often a private shower, which makes them a reasonable compromise for a spring or autumn stay when a tent would be cold.