Best campsites for toddlers and first-timers

Short walks to everything, nothing to fall in, naps still possible.

Camping with a toddler is a different sport. You want flat, enclosed grass, a loo within welly-run distance, gentle water rather than deep water, and a pub or tea room for when the beans-on-camping-stove plan collapses. These sites are the ones we would take a two-year-old to tomorrow.

The golden rule for first trips: one night close to home beats a week far away. Half of these sites are under 30 minutes from Faringdon, so a rescue run home for the forgotten sleep-bunny is always possible.

6 hand-picked sites, in our order of preference

What is the best campsite near Oxford for a first family camping trip?

Riverside Park at Wallingford is hard to beat for a first trip: a flat, enclosed riverside field with the town's splash park next door, and shops, pubs and ice cream a five-minute walk over the bridge. Stowford Manor Farm and Coombe Touring Park are equally gentle choices.

More shortlists

Pools & splash Campfire nights Teens & tweens Animal adventures Rainy-day heroes Wild & off-grid Car-free days Riverside & water

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