
Holiday park in North Wales on UK list of most popular camping destinations
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The weather is warming up and peak camping season is fast approaching. It is expected to be a good year for staycations and the early weather has been promising.
This has seen Lexrope draw up a list of the 10 best camping spots in Britain. The team analysed hundreds of campsites across the UK to determine which locations are the most popular among campers.
Their research combined four key metrics: average monthly search volume, number of reviews on Campsites.co.uk, average ratings, and Instagram hashtag popularity. Each factor was given equal weighting (25%) to create a comprehensive 'Camping Popularity Score' that identifies the true favourites among UK campers.
There was one site in North Wales that made the cut. Plassey Holiday Park in Wrexham county was at number seven. A check on TripAdvisor shows why with nearly all its 1,700+ reviews scoring it as excellent or good.
The Brookshaw family acquired the Plassey estate near Wrexham in 1960 and ran it as a dairy and arable farm up until the early 1970s.
But then Tony and wife Della Brookshaw took the decision to develop land into a caravan park and later a golf course and retail centre, while the former milking parlour became a restaurant.
It has become one of the best known holiday parks in the region - earning rave reviews from those who visit.
The full list:
1
Highlands End Holiday Park
Bridport, Dorset
57.63
2
Barn Farm Campsite
Matlock, Derbyshire
55.92
3
Riverside Caravan Park
Bentham, North Yorkshire
45.91
4
Shottisham Campsite
Shottisham, Woodbridge, Suffolk
44.50
5
Dale Farm Rural Campsite
Great Longstone, Bakewell, Derbyshire
43.61
6
Wooda Farm Holiday Park
Bude, Cornwall
43.48
7
Plassey Holiday Park
Wrexham, Wrexham
41.89
8
Balloch O Dee
Newton Stewart, Dumfries and Galloway
39.90
9
The Hideaway at Baxby Manor
Amplecarr, York, North Yorkshire
39.17
10
Hurley Riverside Park
Hurley, Berkshire
36.66
Andy Halliday, Founder of Lexrope, said: 'These top camping spots are incredibly popular for good reason, but this means they book up lightning-fast. I always recommend securing your pitch at least three months ahead, especially for summer weekends and bank holidays.
'If you're set on experiencing these camping gems but can't get a booking, consider visiting during shoulder seasons – May, early June or September offer gorgeous weather with half the crowds. School term-time weekdays are like hitting the camping jackpot for those without kids.
'Don't despair if these sites are full – most have equally brilliant alternatives nearby." Join the North Wales Live Whatsapp community now

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