Bracelands Campsite, Coleford, The Forest of Dean
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Campsite: |
Bracelands Campsite |
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Location: |
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Suitable for: |
Everyone |
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Price: |
£20 per night for non-electric grass camping pitch |
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Website: |
campingintheforest.co.uk/england/forest-of-dean/bracelands-campsite |
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When: |
5 nights in June 2017 |
Bracelands Campsite in the Forest of Dean has to go down as one of our favourite camping memories here at Piggl. This holiday evokes memories of gorgeous weather, happy camping, beautiful surroundings to explore and the last summer that our daughter felt like a toddler before she started school.
THE CAMPSITE:
The Forest of Dean was an area unknown to us, but one we had read and heard fantastic things about - and it didn’t disappoint. Bracelands Campsite is located on the edge of the Forest of Dean with direct access into the forest from the campsite itself.
The driveway into the site is located next to a holiday lodge village but the two are very separate and the area never felt busy. The campsite itself is quite large with 520 pitches for tents, caravans and motorhomes spread over three fields and hard standing areas, plus five camping pods and from 2019, Ready Camp Tents which you can book online.
FACILITIES:
Facilities are excellent with large, clean shower and toilet blocks in purpose built brick buildings as well as a separate dishwashing building and chemical disposal. The reception area also doubles as a shop selling essential food and drink items. The staff were friendly and helpful and have weather forecasts and leaflets for local attractions available for you to take.
We found a grass non-electric pitch along the fenced edge of the field which looks right into the Forest of Dean. If you are lucky you might just see wild boar running around or hear them at night time - don't worry the fences around the camping field are robust so you won’t get any unexpected visitors! The camping fields are on a slight slope but along the fence was fairly flat and nothing some levelling chocks under our campervan tyres couldn’t level out. We set up our campervan and our funky 70’s canvas tent that we use mainly for storage and set out to explore the region.
NEARBY:
Bracelands Campsite allows you to walk into the Forest of Dean from gates along its fence line. We spent a glorious day following the many walking paths through the forest, collecting fallen pine cones and ferns.
After an hour or so the forest emerges onto the edge of the River Wye. We walked along the well maintained footpaths following the river's edge to the nearest village where we stopped for a riverside pub lunch at The Saracens Head Inn at Symonds Yat East (NOTE: You can also drive here and park in the little pay and display car park but it can get very busy) before paying £2 each to get the little hand ferry over to the other side of the river and walked back the opposite way.
To cross back over the river you can walk over the impressive Bilbin’s Bridge and then return back to the campsite through the forest. In total our circular walk was an 11 kilometer circuit (our little 3 year old managed it with a little encouragement and plenty of stops for drinks and ice cream of course!), but you could easily shorten the walk by driving and parking at the pub as described.
The next day we set out in our van for the famous Symonds Yat Rock viewing point. Only a two mile drive from Bracelands Campsite, the pay and display parking wasn’t very busy (but we hear it is at peak times) and cost around £3 for two hours. There is a little visitor centre at the car park with toilets and a kiosk selling drinks and snacks. The walk up to the viewpoint is easy and mainly on a purpose built wooden walkway leading to the raised viewing point. The views are spectacular and well worth the short walk - you can also exent the walk on the many way marked paths through the forest from the car park.
After a couple more days of exploring coupled with five peaceful nights’ sleep at the campsite we were well rested and ready to head home in our campervan with fond memories of our little off-peak family week. We will definitely be back!
WHAT WE DIDN'T LIKE:
The camping fields are on a slope so definitely bring some levelling chocks for those campervans!
WHAT WE LIKED:
A well maintained, clean and tidy campsite which wasn't busy when we visited off-peak. The proximity to the Forest of Dean is fantastic and the campsite is a great place from which to explore on foot, bike or by car or campervan.
FIND THIS CAMPSITE:
ABOUT US:
We have been travelling in campervans for over 15 years, taking in the best that the UK and Europe has to offer. By sharing our adventures, insights, recommendations and reviews we hope to inspire you to explore more!
Take a look at Piggl CAMPERVAN - a uniquely designed, campervan kitchen, bed and bike storage system for VW T5 and T6 Transporters. An industry leading product, available to anyone wanting to undertake their own van conversion – without compromising on function or style.