Tamar Lakes Campsite

From £21 For 1 night, 2 adults 7.1 44 reviews
Non-electric pitches
Tent pitches (added by manager 23 aug 2022)
Non-electric pitches (added by manager 17 feb 2016)
View across lake from our pitch. (added by visitor 06 aug 2018)

  • Lakeside site with sandy beach
  • Kayaking, canoeing, fishing, sailing, cycling and more all available
  • Short drive to the surfing beaches of Bude and Widemouth
There’s nothing to mar your enjoyment of the vista at this site near the pleasant seaside resort of Bude… pitches face out on the larger of the two lakes on site, Upper Tamar, and its sandy beach. And anglers will no doubt have some fishy tales to tell after a day out netting some of the bream, roach, rudd and huge carp stashed in the two lakes… Make the most of the views using foot, cycle, wind or paddle power, or wander around the large pathway circling Upper Tamar Lake, designed for wheelchair and pushchair use and suitable for walking and cycling. The trails continue into the woods and countryside beyond for those who are feeling energetic, or there are easier walks and good picnic spots to be found around Lower Tamar, which is a haven for wild birds (both lakes have a hide). Or one could get stuck into watery sports right on site: pedalos, Canadian canoes and dinghies are available for hire at a small charge, as are windsurfers and surf skis, although you can also bring your own boats and equipment too. Taster sessions, lessons and activity programmes for adults and kids run in the holiday season and most weekends from April to September at the watersports centre. Tamar Lakes Campsite has communal-style showers, a washing-up area, a chemical disposal point and recycling facilities. On the leisure front, there's also a playground, a tearoom selling souvenirs, and a café serving up light meals, cream teas and some rather moreish Cornish ice cream.

Site type

Lodges, cabins, pods or huts 1
Touring caravan pitches 13
Motorhome pitches 13
Tent pitches 13
Opens 1 May
Please note
  • Facilities/activities including fishing, launching your own watersports/sailing equipment, watersports taster sessions are subject to extra charges payable on arrival.
  • The restaurant is open between 04/07 and 31/10.
  • Twin axle vehicles are not permitted on site.
  • Swimming in the lake is not allowed.

Languages spoken

English

Open from Wed, 1 May to

Pitch types & availability

Reviews

64%

would recommend this site to a friend

57%

would stay here again

  • 40%
    10
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  • 11%
    8
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  • 25%
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Only showing reviews for the last 30 months.

Never visit this site again

Overall 2/10
Location 10
Value for money 2
Accommodation 2
Facilities / Activities 2
Customer service 2
Child friendliness No rating
Cleanliness 2
Wifi 2
Justin O. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent or motorhome pitch

Liked: View was fantastic

Disliked: Nobody on-site throughout the entire time. Had to phone on call manager to gather info for codes for washrooms. No idea where to park or any guidance apart from ‘park where you want’ from the on call manager. £21 a night for no assistance

Recommend to friends Visit again

Clean and tidy site.…

Overall 8/10
Location 10
Value for money 8
Accommodation 8
Facilities / Activities 6
Customer service 6
Child friendliness 6
Cleanliness 8
Wifi 2
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent or motorhome pitch

Liked: Clean and tidy site.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Lovely family break

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi No rating
Louise P. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Electric grass tent, campervan or trailer tent pitch

Liked: We loved this beautiful lake with our 7 and 11 yr olds. We fished and caught lots which kept the kids keen. Kayaks and Swan Pedalo were fun. Great little cafe served good coffee and the full English was superb! The kids loved the pancakes. Lovely 3 mile walk around the lake was ideal for our little dog and for our kids bikes. Facilities kept clean and stocked daily. Showers lovely and warm. Short drive to beaches, Bude and pubs. Highly recommended 👌

Recommend to friends Visit again

The older kids have the freedom to cycle around the lake on…

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 8
Facilities / Activities 8
Customer service No rating
Child friendliness 8
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 2
Rebecca W. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent or motorhome pitch

Liked: The older kids have the freedom to cycle around the lake on their own, and the younger ones have the freedom to go to the park on their own. Spacious. Beautiful. Quiet. Clean showers and toilets 😁

Recommend to friends Visit again

Quiet site with nice scenery

Overall 6/10
Location 6
Value for money 6
Accommodation 4
Facilities / Activities 4
Customer service 6
Child friendliness 6
Cleanliness 4
Wifi No rating
Rhiannon D. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Electric grass tent, campervan or trailer tent pitch

Liked: How quiet it was, the scenery, the cafe was also nice.

Disliked: Nowhere to purchase essential items (we literally needed a pint of milk one day and had to drive 10 minutes for it), grass was quite long and overgrown, no security, showers and toilets are in major need of an upgrade - no privacy. Also having to leave at 11pm on our second night due to the tent breaking from a storm (not the campsites fault but maybe that would’ve altered my opinions slightly as I would’ve had more chance to review it)

Recommend to friends Visit again

Lovely site

Overall 8/10
Location 10
Value for money 8
Accommodation 6
Facilities / Activities 6
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 8
Wifi 8
Emma L. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent or motorhome pitch

Liked: Access to lake, peaceful site, lovely spot. Friendly staff, lots of activities on the lake.

Disliked: Sometimes there was no hot water for showers/washing up. Some pitchers are on a little slope.

Recommend to friends Visit again

The views were beautiful as you could see the lake from the…

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 10
Weronika P. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent or motorhome pitch

Liked: The views were beautiful as you could see the lake from the camping site. We had a lovely walk with our dogs around the lake, it took us about 1 hr. The facility was clean , hot showers and easy access to toilets. Water sports activities with a good reasonable proces,but unfortunately we had no chance to try due to bad weather condition. Cafe on site with a good choice of cakes and snacks, gift shop. Friendly Staff at the activity Centre. Rich wildlife, we loved the wooden sheds with windows to watch different birds.

Disliked: Cobwebs in shower rooms, otherwise ok.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Views are fantastic. Facilities onsite were good, didn’t manage to visit to…

Overall 8/10
Location 8
Value for money 6
Accommodation 8
Facilities / Activities 8
Customer service 8
Child friendliness No rating
Cleanliness 8
Wifi No rating
Kylie M. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent or motorhome pitch

Liked: Views are fantastic. Facilities onsite were good, didn’t manage to visit to cafe but that was a lovely extra that could be really beneficial for some campers. All self managed via online and text which was super simple.

Disliked: Not a ‘dislike’ as such but if you’re staying in a Saturday morning then be aware there is a local Parkrun that takes place so toilets can get a little busier around 9am/10am.

Recommend to friends Visit again

If im honest we arrived and departed within 30 min. We were given…

Overall 2/10
Location 6
Value for money No rating
Accommodation 4
Facilities / Activities No rating
Customer service 8
Child friendliness No rating
Cleanliness No rating
Wifi No rating
Brenda H. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent or motorhome pitch

Liked: If im honest we arrived and departed within 30 min. We were given pitch 1, im disabled, the pitch was on an embankment, there was a sliver of view of the lakes. If your able bodied its great, but I couldn't stay. The view was better from the car park. Lakes looked beautiful, i would of loved to explore.

Disliked: Pitch not suitable for disabled.

Recommend to friends Visit again

We were looking forward to staying at the site hope too in the future

Overall 2/10
Location 2
Value for money 2
Accommodation 2
Facilities / Activities 2
Customer service 8
Child friendliness 2
Cleanliness 2
Wifi 2
Amanda M. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Electric grass tent, campervan or trailer tent pitch

Liked: They responded quickly to communication to update me on the damaged pipe

Disliked: Unfortunately due to a damage gas pipe and then drilling on the site we cancelled our stay

Recommend to friends Visit again


Features

Leisure on site

Bar or club house

Cycle hire

Evening entertainment

Fishing

Fitness centre

Games room

Indoor swimming pool

Kids' club

On-site restaurant/cafe

Outdoor swimming pool

Play area

TV room

Take away

Tennis

Watersports

Amenities on site

Bath available

Car parking by pitch/unit

Composting toilet

Disabled facilities

Dog park

Drying room

Food shop

Free wifi

Ice pack freezing

Internet access

Launderette

Parent & baby washroom

Pick-up from public transport

Portable toilet

Pub toilets

Public telephone

Shower available

Toilet block

Washing-up area

Wifi

Groups welcome

D. of E. welcome

Family friendly

Motorcycle friendly

Single-sex groups welcome

Student groups welcome

Rules

Barbecue provided

Barbecues allowed

Campfires allowed

Commercial vehicles allowed

Dogs allowed

Dogs allowed all year

Themes

Lake and/or mountain

Peaceful

Remote location

Spectacular scenery

Wildlife haven

Utilities

Charging facilities

Chemical disposal

Electric car charging point(s)

Gas cylinders available

Recycling available

Renewable energy

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby

Dog walk nearby

Type

Small (11-25 pitches)

Nearby leisure

Canoeing/kayaking nearby

Climbing nearby

Cycle hire nearby

Cycling nearby

Fishing nearby

Golf nearby

Horse riding nearby

Indoor pool nearby

Outdoor pool nearby

Sailing nearby

Surf school nearby

Tennis nearby

Watersports nearby

Location

Tamar Lakes Campsite

Upper Tamar Lake Country Park

Bude

Cornwall

England

EX23 9SB

Directions

Timezone

Europe/London GMT (GMT+00:00)

GPS

50.87925°N
-4.43561°W

Nearest transport

Coach
5.9 mi The Strand
13.9 mi Bideford Quay
14 mi Bideford Quay
Rail
20.3 mi Chapelton (Devon) Rail Station
21.1 mi Barnstaple Rail Station
21.4 mi Umberleigh Rail Station
Ferry
14 mi Bideford Ferry Landing
16.1 mi Appledore Ferry Landing
16.2 mi Instow Ferry Landing

Please note: All distances on this page are calculated "as the crow flies" - please check actual distance depending on your mode of travel using the Get directions button above.

Local attractions

Attractive Bude has lots to offer and is surrounded by ancient villages such as Poughill and Kilkhampton. North of this area is the Hartland peninsula, home to the precariously perched, carfree cobbled streets of Clovelly. To the south, a tour of Tintagel Castle followed by a visit to the pretty fishing village of Boscastle is a top option for a day out. Or make the short trip inland to Launceston for a journey on the steam railway.

Water quality at nearby bathing waters

Name Distance Type 2020 2019 2018 2017
Sandymouth 5.4 mi Sea N/A Excellent Excellent Excellent
Northcott Mouth 5.7 mi Sea N/A Excellent Excellent N/A
Crooklets 6 mi Sea N/A Excellent Good Good
Summerleaze 6.1 mi Sea N/A Excellent Good Good
Widemouth Sand 8 mi Sea N/A Excellent Excellent Excellent

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

RHS Garden Rosemoor 13.7 mi

Tintagel Castle 20.4 mi

National Trust

Lawrence House 17 mi

Tintagel Old Post Office 20.4 mi

Lydford Gorge 21.7 mi

Lundy 22 mi

Finch Foundry 24.5 mi

Cycle routes

Find local routes on the National Cycle Network - over 12,000 miles of cycling routes.

Other

Battle of Stratton, 1643 4.7 mi

Poughill - Bude - Northcott Mouth 4.8 mi

Duckpool - Stanbury Mouth - Woodford - Combe Valley 5.3 mi

Morwenstow - Hawker's Coast 5.5 mi

Bude to Sandymouth 6 mi

Local events

  • GoldCoast Oceanfest (Friday 21 June 2024 – Friday 21 June 2024)

    Croyde, Devon 19.6 mi

Please note: All distances on this page are calculated "as the crow flies" - please check actual distance depending on your mode of travel using the Get directions button above.

Want to know more about camping in Cornwall?

  • Does Tamar Lakes Campsite have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is Tamar Lakes Campsite dog friendly? Yes View all features
  • What attractions are near Tamar Lakes Campsite? Attractive Bude has lots to offer and is surrounded by ancient villages such as Poughill and Kilkhampton. North of this area is the Hartland peninsula, home to the precariously perched, carfree cobbled … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of Tamar Lakes Campsite?
    Camping and touring
    Arrive:  2 p.m. –  Anytime
    Depart by:  11 a.m.

    This site is not manned 24 hours a day. Once you have placed your booking, a member of staff will email you the relevant permits and access codes to the site.

    Read more
  • How much does it cost to stay at Tamar Lakes Campsite? From £21 (for 1 night, 2 adults) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.