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Wilksworth Farm is more compact than most campsites, with excellent facilities and a safe environment that appeals to anyone looking to grant their kids some freedom during their holidays. Arrivals check in at reception, which doubles as a shop selling essentials, then cart their tent across the road to the tent field.Aim for the opposite end of the field to the wash-block and communal games room to escape the clamour of guests using both. Tents are shoehorned around the perimeter, so it's useful to pack a windbreak for privacy. Better still, invite a couple of friends and huddle up close together.
The site's selling points include the Olde Cart Shed cafe, where reasonably priced, generously portioned meals are served up in a sheltered, friendly ambience. Up the hill and past a sea of caravans is a heated outdoor pool surrounded by sun loungers. Add tennis courts, a BMX track, sandpit, and a dog-walking path, and you won't have to plan any entertainment for the kids...You might even be able to escape unnoticed to nearby Bournemouth for a little retail therapy.
COOL FACTOR Safe, smart, sociable, and family-centric.
WHO'S IN? Tents, campervans, caravans, dogs - yes. Big groups, nature- and space-lovers - no.
ON SITE The tent field has 25 pitches and there are 60 in the caravan/campervan field. All have hook-ups. Excellent, award-winning wash-rooms have underfloor heating, showers, and hairdryers. Amenities galore include an info booth, heated swimming pool, and shop selling all sorts, from breakfast groceries to postcards. The Olde Cart Shed serves takeaways as welt as eat-in meals. The laundry (£3), washing-up, and BBQ areas are communal. No campfires.
OFF SITE Bournemouth's beaches and shops are nearby, as are the unspoilt country walks of Cranborne Chase.
FOOD AND DRINK The Stocks Inn (01202 882481; www.thestocksinn.com) in Furzehill, with original village stocks outside, offers Dorset-farmed steaks, local coastal catches, and a pretty country beer garden.
GETTING THERE From the A31, take the B3078 through Wimborne Minster towards Cranborne; the site is signposted.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT Train to Poole then one of the regular buses to Wimborne Minster, then a short walk.
OPEN April-October (swimming pool May-September).
THE DAMAGE Tent plus 2 people and a car £18-£28.