The UK's Best Camping Spots this August
York tops the rankings as the best camping location in the UK, based on weather conditions, visitor ratings, and Google searches. York has 53 campsites and benefits from favourable weather conditions, with moderate wind speeds of 18.48 km/h. Weymouth in Dorset and Skegness in Lincolnshire follow closely behind, while southern and eastern England areas dominate the top 10.
A new study has revealed the best places to pitch a tent in the UK, based on key factors that impact the camping experience.
A total of 144 UK locations were analysed by casino experts Gamblorium, examining ten different factors, including the number of campsites, typical weather conditions, ratings, prices, and Google search popularity. Each destination received a score out of 100.
The 10 best camping spots in the UK (plus, select factors):
| Location | Score (out of 100) | Number of Campsites | Median Price (£) | Avg. Wind Speed (kmph) | Avg. Monthly Google Searches | |
| 1 | York, North Yorkshire | 63.40 | 53 | 30.00 | 18.48 | 4,116 |
| 2 | Weymouth, Dorset | 61.83 | 20 | 22.50 | 25.16 | 8,833 |
| 3 | Skegness, Lincolnshire | 61.55 | 28 | 20.00 | 23.2 | 4,278 |
| 4 | Shrewsbury, Shropshire | 60.47 | 24 | 24.00 | 17.15 | 2,352 |
| 5 | Norwich, Norfolk | 59.86 | 27 | 25.00 | 20.9 | 974 |
| 6 | King's Lynn, Norfolk | 59.76 | 23 | 21.00 | 21.51 | 237 |
| 7 | Lincoln, Lincolnshire | 59.21 | 20 | 20.00 | 19.46 | 969 |
| 8 | Newquay, Cornwall | 58.95 | 40 | 43.00 | 22.99 | 10,992 |
| 9 | Helston, Cornwall | 58.61 | 47 | 20.00 | 23.63 | 459 |
| 10 | Exeter, Devon | 57.84 | 21 | 16.00 | 18.98 | 1,080 |
*Note: Only four factors are detailed for display purposes. A total of ten factors were considered to reveal the overall index score.
York ranked first, with a score of 63.40 out of 100. The city benefits from a high availability of campsites, with 53 to choose from, 856.35 average minutes of daylight each day, and a median price of £30 per night.
Weymouth in Dorset ranks second on the list with a score of 61.83 out of 100, benefiting from above-average visibility of 5.65 miles and low precipitation of 0.85 mm. The seaside town also has the second-highest search interest among the top 10, with an average of 8,833 Google monthly searches made across the UK.
Skegness, famous for its seaside attractions, secures third place with a score of 61.55 out of 100. The resort boasts the lowest precipitation among the top 10 at just 0.66 mm and offers affordable camping with a median price of £20 per night.
Shrewsbury in Shropshire ranks fourth with a score of 60.47 out of 100, scoring well for its low wind speeds (17.15 km/h) and reasonable prices (£24 per night). The market town features 24 campsites to choose from.
Norwich in Norfolk places fifth with a score of 59.86 out of 100. With 27 campsites in the area and excellent visibility (5.59 miles), it provides campers with reliable conditions despite its lower search popularity (974 monthly Google searches).
Another Norfolk location, King's Lynn, is sixth, scoring 59.76 out of 100. This historic port town stands out for its high average visitor rating of 4.72 out of five and offers reasonable pricing with a median cost of £21 per night.
Lincoln in Lincolnshire takes seventh place with a score of 59.21 out of 100. The cathedral city offers affordable camping options at a median price of £20 and scores well for daylight hours with an average of 852.34 minutes.
Newquay in Cornwall ranks eighth with a score of 58.95 out of 100, boasting the highest search volume among the top 10 with 10,992 monthly Google searches. The popular surfing destination also attracts the most photos (4,208) of the top 10 spots.
Helston in Cornwall takes ninth place with a score of 58.61 out of 100. The town offers the second-highest number of campsites in the top 10, with 47 sites available, and has excellent visibility at 5.77 miles.
Completing the top ten is Exeter in Devon with a score of 57.84 out of 100. The city stands out for having the most affordable camping among the top 10, with a median price of just £16 per night, and the highest average visitor rating of 4.75 out of five.
Nodar Giorgadze, CEO of Gamblorium, commented on the findings:
"This data shows that the ideal camping location balances several crucial factors. The popularity of York as a top camping destination highlights how important it is to have a good number of quality sites alongside reliable weather conditions.
"What we found particularly interesting is that affordability doesn't always correlate with quality. For example, Exeter offers the cheapest median price in our top 10 at just £16 per night, yet maintains one of the highest average ratings at 4.75 out of five.
"For those planning camping trips in the UK, looking beyond just the popular tourist hotspots can lead to discovering excellent camping experiences that offer better value and potentially more favourable conditions."
Information provided by: https://gamblorium.com
Methodology:
A total of 10 factors were used to compile the index. The raw data for each factor was cleaned, checked, and standardised on the same scale from 0 to 10, where 0 and 10 represent the worst and best values present in the data, to allow for accurate comparison between factors. Factors for which a high score would be negative were subtracted from 10 to invert their scoring.
A weighting was then assigned to each factor reflecting its importance within the analysis. The factors, their source and their percentage weightings are as follows:
- Number of campsites (10%) - source: pitchup.com
- AVG temperature difference from 16C (10%) - source: worldweatheronline.com
- AVG daylight (mins) (10%) - source: worldweatheronline.com
- AVG wind speed (km/h) (10%) - source: worldweatheronline.com
- AVG visibility (miles) (10%) - source: worldweatheronline.com
- AVG precipitation (mm) (10%) - source: worldweatheronline.com
- Total number of photos (10%) - source: pitchup.com
- AVG weighted rating (10%) - source: pitchup.com
- Median price GBP (10%) - source: pitchup.com
- Avg. Monthly Volume in UK (10%) - source: Google Keyword Planner
Once the weightings were assigned, the total score for the factors was calculated, producing an overall index score out of 100 for each entry, upon which the final ranking is based.
UK Top 30 Best Places to Camp*:
| Location | Score (out of 100) | Number of Campsites | Median Price (£) | Avg. Wind Speed (kmph) | Avg. Monthly Google Searches | |
| 1 | York, North Yorkshire | 63.40 | 53 | 30.00 | 18.48 | 4,116 |
| 2 | Weymouth, Dorset | 61.83 | 20 | 22.50 | 25.16 | 8,833 |
| 3 | Skegness, Lincolnshire | 61.55 | 28 | 20.00 | 23.2 | 4,278 |
| 4 | Shrewsbury, Shropshire | 60.47 | 24 | 24.00 | 17.15 | 2,352 |
| 5 | Norwich, Norfolk | 59.86 | 27 | 25.00 | 20.9 | 974 |
| 6 | King's Lynn, Norfolk | 59.76 | 23 | 21.00 | 21.51 | 237 |
| 7 | Lincoln, Lincolnshire | 59.21 | 20 | 20.00 | 19.46 | 969 |
| 8 | Newquay, Cornwall | 58.95 | 40 | 43.00 | 22.99 | 10,992 |
| 9 | Helston, Cornwall | 58.61 | 47 | 20.00 | 23.63 | 459 |
| 10 | Exeter, Devon | 57.84 | 21 | 16.00 | 18.98 | 1,080 |
| 11 | Ipswich, Suffolk | 57.51 | 16 | 30.00 | 20.01 | 700 |
| 12 | Padstow, Cornwall | 56.9 | 25 | 25.00 | 22.95 | 2,641 |
| 13 | Bude, Cornwall | 56.72 | 37 | 22.00 | 24.35 | 4,129 |
| 14 | Whitby, North Yorkshire | 56.69 | 26 | 25.00 | 22.66 | 14,142 |
| 15 | Dorchester, Dorset | 56.63 | 34 | 25.00 | 24.08 | 203 |
| 16 | Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire | 56.57 | 56 | 25.00 | 23.38 | 256 |
| 17 | Aberystwyth, Ceredigion | 55.88 | 21 | 22.00 | 19.06 | 2,253 |
| 18 | Doncaster, South Yorkshire | 55.82 | 14 | 20.00 | 17.4 | 741 |
| 19 | Woodbridge, Suffolk | 55.74 | 16 | 27.75 | 20.01 | 227 |
| 20 | Chester, Cheshire | 55.58 | 15 | 30.00 | 15.36 | 2,393 |
| 21 | Newton Abbot, Devon | 55.54 | 24 | 20.00 | 21.17 | 497 |
| 22 | Ashbourne, Derbyshire | 55.46 | 19 | 22.50 | 18.71 | 2,123 |
| 23 | Bideford, Devon | 55.32 | 24 | 25.00 | 22.38 | 518 |
| 24 | Wareham, Dorset | 55.2 | 23 | 24.00 | 21.6 | 1,376 |
| 25 | Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk | 55.15 | 14 | 22.50 | 19.66 | 503 |
| 26 | Truro, Cornwall | 54.86 | 26 | 30.00 | 21.67 | 518 |
| 27 | Pickering, North Yorkshire | 54.84 | 20 | 27.50 | 20.84 | 2,348 |
| 28 | Scarborough, North Yorkshire | 54.74 | 28 | 30.50 | 24.45 | 6,654 |
| 29 | Chichester, West Sussex | 54.58 | 22 | 30.00 | 22.84 | 2,096 |
| 30 | Worcester, Worcestershire | 54.54 | 22 | 44.00 | 17.6 | 1,392 |
*Note: Only four factors are detailed for display purposes. A total of ten factors were considered to reveal the overall index score. All data available upon request.