Camping in Durham

County Durham's mix of riverside pasture, moorland edge and quiet farmland gives campers plenty to work with, and the pitches near Durham city itself are a good example: Finchale Abbey Touring Park sits by the River Wear close to the abbey ruins, while Durham Grange offers the kind of straightforward, well-run stopover that suits a Club site. Strawberry Hill Farm, listed here in a couple of guises, is another long-standing option for tourers and tents alike.

Beyond the obvious touring parks, the county has a good scatter of small Certificated Sites and Locations - places like Conifer Rise, High Flatts Farm and the Durham Amateur Rowing Club ground - which suit those wanting a handful of pitches on a working farm or riverside plot rather than a full-scale park. For something more comfortable, Dragonfly Camping and West Hall Glamping represent the county's growing choice of yurts, pods and cabins, useful if you want the countryside without the tent.

Choosing between them often comes down to how central you want to be: sites close to Durham city put the cathedral and river within easy reach, while those further out give a quieter, more rural base for exploring the Wear Valley and beyond.