Grafham

Grafham has a small but useful spread of accommodation options, reflecting its size as a village rather than a town. Within Grafham and its immediate neighbours you'll find country pubs with rooms and bed and breakfasts set in converted farmhouses and cottages, offering a quiet, rural base right on the doorstep of the reservoir. For a wider choice of hotels, budget chains and larger guest houses, Huntingdon and St Neots are both a short drive away and offer everything from business-standard hotels to independent boutique stays, many within easy reach of the A14 and A1(M) for onward travel.

Choosing where to stay largely comes down to what you want from your visit. Base yourself in or near Grafham itself if the reservoir is the main draw, sailing, paddling or the nature reserve trails, and you want to step straight out onto the water's edge each morning. Opt for Huntingdon if you want a wider choice of places to eat and a mainline station for exploring further afield by train, including day trips into Cambridge or London. St Neots suits those who want a livelier market town base with riverside walks along the Great Ouse thrown in.

Booking ahead is sensible for weekends between spring and early autumn, when Grafham Water's watersports season is in full swing and rooms in the immediate area can be snapped up by sailing club members and event visitors. Out of season, availability loosens considerably and it's often possible to find good rates at short notice in both Huntingdon and St Neots.

Grafham Water dominates the area's attractions, but there is more to explore in the wider Ouse Valley and towards Huntingdon and St Neots.

• Grafham Water Centre — a lakeside activity centre offering sailing, kayaking, canoeing, windsurfing and paddleboarding tuition for beginners and experienced paddlers alike.
• Grafham Water Nature Reserve — 280 acres of ancient woodland, reed bed and scrub at the western end of the reservoir, with a series of bird hides looking out over the water.
• Grafham Water Sailing Club — based at Perry on the reservoir's edge, a long-established club offering RYA-accredited tuition for sailors of all levels.
• The perimeter cycle and walking trail — around nine miles of surfaced track circling the reservoir, popular with cyclists, runners and dog walkers and largely traffic-free.
• Fishing on Grafham Water — one of the country's best-known stillwater trout fisheries, with boat and bank fishing available through the water park.
• Hinchingbrooke Country Park, Huntingdon — 180 acres of parkland, lake and woodland a short drive away, with a golf course and children's play areas.
• St Neots riverside and market town — a handsome Great Ouse market town with independent shops, riverside walks and a large market square.
• Huntingdon town centre — Oliver Cromwell's birthplace, with the Cromwell Museum and a compact historic core of shops and pubs.

The Foresters Arms in Ellington, a few minutes from Grafham, is a well-regarded village pub serving proper pub food. Closer to the reservoir, the Harbour View café and restaurant at Grafham Water Park offers lakeside dining with views across the water, handy for refuelling after a walk or a paddle. Huntingdon and St Neots both offer a broader spread of restaurants, cafés and pubs for evenings out.

Grafham Water and its surrounding countryside make for a genuinely appealing camping destination, particularly for anyone drawn to watersports, walking or birdwatching. The most straightforward option is the bell tent village and camping pitches run directly by Grafham Water Centre, set on the northern bank of the reservoir with sailing, kayaking and paddleboarding on the doorstep, plus access to the perimeter trail for cycling and walking. It's a well-organised, staffed site rather than a rough or informal pitch, which suits families and first-time campers as much as watersports regulars.

As with anywhere in England, wild camping without the explicit permission of the landowner is not legal, so pitching up in the countryside around Grafham Water outside a designated site isn't an option, however tempting the reservoir views. Stick to established campsites and you'll still get plenty of that open-water, big-sky feel that makes this stretch of Cambridgeshire distinctive; the reservoir's scale means even a fairly full site rarely feels crowded once you're down by the water.

The terrain here is gentle by British standards, flat to gently rolling arable countryside interrupted by the reservoir itself and pockets of ancient woodland at its western nature reserve, so it suits campers who want easy walking and cycling rather than hill country. Grass pitches can hold water after heavy rain given the clay-heavy Cambridgeshire soil, so a good groundsheet is worth packing.

Late spring to early autumn is the best window, when the water is warm enough for swimming and paddling and the site's facilities run at full capacity; this is also when the reservoir's birdlife and wildflowers are most active along the nature trails. For those who prefer a roof over their heads without giving up the outdoor feel, the bell tents at Grafham Water Centre offer a comfortable middle ground between camping and a proper bed, already made up and ready on arrival.