Hatfield Woodhouse

Hatfield Woodhouse has no hotels of its own, being a small village rather than a tourist town, but its position on the A614 makes it an easy base if you are happy to stay just outside the village itself. Bed-and-breakfast rooms and guest houses can be found nearby in Hatfield, only a couple of miles away, which also has an outdoor activity centre and a marina on the Stainforth and Keadby Canal. For a fuller choice of hotels, from budget chains to more comfortable options, Doncaster is around seven miles north-west and has a wide range of accommodation close to the town centre, the racecourse and the mainline railway station, with fast trains to London and Edinburgh. Staying in or near Doncaster also puts you within easy reach of the M18 and M180, useful if you are exploring further afield in South Yorkshire or North Lincolnshire. Wherever you base yourself, the real appeal of this area is the surrounding countryside rather than the village amenities: the flat, drained fenland of the Humberhead Levels and the wild expanse of Hatfield and Thorne Moors immediately to the south. Anyone booking a stay nearby for the moors should factor in that facilities in Hatfield Woodhouse itself are minimal, so it is worth stocking up on supplies in Hatfield or Doncaster before heading out for a day on the reserve. Early risers keen on birdwatching may prefer accommodation as close to the Boston Park car park as possible, to make the most of dawn light on the peatland.

The main draw here is the peatland reserve on the doorstep, but there are a handful of other nearby spots worth combining it with.

• Hatfield Moors (Humberhead Peatlands NNR) — part of the largest lowland raised peat bog in the UK, with waymarked paths, bird hides and viewing platforms; look out for nightjars, adders and dragonflies depending on season.
• Thorne Moors — the sister reserve a few miles north, linked to Hatfield Moors by the long-distance Peatlands Way circular walking route.
• Boston Park car park — the main access point for Hatfield Moors, off the A614 between Hatfield Woodhouse and Blaxton, with a network of easy access trails starting nearby.
• Doncaster town centre — around seven miles away, with the Doncaster Market, Museum and Art Gallery, and Doncaster Racecourse.
• Hatfield village and marina — a couple of miles away, with pubs, an outdoor activity centre and a boating marina on the Stainforth and Keadby Canal.

The village has a social club (Hatfield Woodhouse Mens Club) but limited dedicated dining of its own, so most visitors head into neighbouring Hatfield or Dunscroft, which have pubs and takeaways, or into Doncaster for a wider choice of restaurants and cafes.

Hatfield Woodhouse sits at the edge of the Humberhead Levels, a vast, flat former wetland landscape, with the Humberhead Peatlands National Nature Reserve immediately to its south covering Hatfield and Thorne Moors, the largest lowland raised peat bog in Britain. It is a landscape that feels far removed from typical Yorkshire scenery: no hills, just huge skies, drainage dykes and open heathland, which makes for a memorable but very different kind of camping trip.

As with everywhere else in England, wild camping on the moors or surrounding farmland is illegal without the landowner's permission, so a pitch at a proper campsite or caravan park is the way to go. The nearest options are in and around Hatfield, Thorne and further out towards Doncaster, where you will find a mix of touring caravan and camping sites, some with electric hook-ups and family facilities. Anyone wanting a softer introduction to the area could look at glamping options, such as static caravans, pods or safari tents, which are increasingly available across South Yorkshire and neighbouring North Lincolnshire and take the edge off camping in what can be a genuinely wet, boggy landscape underfoot.

The best time to camp here is late spring through summer, when the moorland heath is at its most colourful, days are long, and breeding birds including nightjar are present on the reserve; be prepared for midges, mosquitoes and horse flies in warm, still weather, and pack good waterproof footwear as the peatland paths can be soft even in dry spells. Autumn can also be rewarding for a quieter trip, with good conditions for fungi and passing migrant birds, though sites and facilities may be more limited outside the main season. Whenever you go, the flat terrain makes this an easy area for walking and cycling from your pitch, with the long-distance Peatlands Way linking Hatfield and Thorne Moors for those keen to explore both reserves on foot.