Earlier this year, a colleague told me about this great little place down in Dorset where you can camp under the stars in a ready-made ‘soul pad’, amidst woodland trees, intertwined with peaceful lakes and surrounded by a plethora of friendly animals.

A week later and I had booked a short trip to ‘Riverside Lakes’ for myself, partner Dan and my mum. The website was a little hard to navigate (you have to check a small tick-box at the top of the page to see their availability and it doesn’t work on mobile entirely) and there weren’t many photos of the place, so I was going purely off of the initial recommendation but boy was it worth it! I can’t recommend this campsite enough and it has firmly become one of my favourite memories from this past year.

The hosts were incredibly helpful and welcoming. They were on hand for anything we needed including upgrading our tent at the last minute as a bigger one was available. We each had our own foam mattress, on which we draped our sleeping bags, pillows and duvets. There was a wood-burner inside with a cursory bag of wood, kindling and firelighters, which we used every morning and evening to keep the tent (and my mum) toasty warm. All firewood burnt inside the tent was free but any extra bags for the outside fire-pit were six pounds a pop and, as we later discovered, delivered straight to your tent door by way of golf cart where the resident Labrador rides shot-gun with a glow-stick for a collar.

There’s a large toilet/shower block, a short walk away, with a place to do your washing up. Several sheds dotted around the campsite with fridge/freezers for storing your food items. Lots of wide, open space for camping pitches or playing games and an ice-cream truck in the summer months. There are lots of animals on site too including ducks and chickens, a small pony and her mischievous foal, three very large pigs (that love an ear scratch) and my personal favourite… the piglets. They greeted me every day on the brisk morning walk to brush my teeth and then throughout the day too. Every time I passed their pen they ran up to the fence, grunting with glee, often making me late back to camp for my dinner.

Brownsea Island

After a bit of a slow morning at the campsite, eating hot golden syrup porridge and reading books by the fire, we took a thirty-minute drive to Poole harbour, where we boarded a small ferry over to Brownsea Island. It’s a place that was frequently mentioned during my time living and working Bournemouth but never somewhere I had actually managed to visit.

Brownsea is the largest of the islands in Poole Harbour and owned by the National Trust with the northern half managed by the Dorset Wildlife Trust. Known for its rich history, views to the Purbeck Hills and abundant flora and fauna (including it’s renowned Red Squirrel population), Brownsea is also where, in 1907, Lord Baden-Powell held his first experimental camp, laying the foundations for the worldwide Scouting and Guiding movements.

It’s true when they say it “feels like another world from the moment you step ashore”, each part of the island offering a new habitat to explore, flitting from sandy beaches to towering pines and fragrant cotton-candy heathlands in a matter of minutes. It’s a photographer’s dream! I’ve been told that, in the springtime, they grow an entire meadow of daffodils, something I’m very keen to witness next year.

Man O’War Bay & Durdle Door

To finish up our trip, we spent a day down on a popular stretch of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, Durdle Door and Man O’War Bay. You can also follow the coastal path east to the equally impressive Stair Hole and Lulworth Cove, should you feel inclined. This area is actually somewhere I visit quite a bit because of its aquamarine waters, vivid terrain and dramatic landforms. The diverse rock types make for an incredible visual mix of colours and therefore, attract a variety of wildlife.

There is a small toilet block and unit selling refreshments in the pay and display carpark making it the perfect spot for a day trip. The steep path down to the shoreline can be quite tricky, even for the surefooted, so I advise wearing shoes with plenty of grip and keeping an eye on where you’re stepping.

We pitched ourselves on the stony shores of Man O’War Bay and basked in the sunshine as Dan and my brother took a dip in the sea to cool off. The water here is a dreamy turquoise hue and often milky from the chalk but perfectly calm for swimming. It’s partially enclosed by a few semi-submerged rocky stacks forming a barrier that protects the bay from the sea beyond. It’s also a favourite spot for paddle-boarding and kayaking for this very reason.

Dorset has a lot to offer camping aficionados, nature lovers and scenery seekers. I hope this has been helpful to anyone wishing to visit somewhere truly spectacular. Other recommendations of places to visit in the area include Old Harry Rocks, Studland and Godlingston Heath, Corfe Castle, Swanage and Hive Beach.