Hook Farm Caravan and Camping Park

Island hopping dinosaurs were part of the scenery in these parts some 190 million years ago. Many lost their footing and fell into the sea, leaving their mark on what became known as the Jurassic Coast. Hunting down their fossils is a popular sport in the quaint harbour resort of Lyme Regis. 

Picturesque and peaceful, but within a stone’s throw of the lively harbour town, Hook Farm offers the best of both rural and urban worlds. Tucked away in the small village of Uplyme, with views up the pretty Lym Valley, it’s a lovely, leafy site that feels quite remote: being in a designated Dark Valley there’s no light pollution at night – just lie back and watch the stars emerge on a clear evening.

A few steps is all it takes to be warmly welcomed at reception, whisked past a section for caravans, and ushered into a beautiful terraced garden valley, where campers look like they’re proudly privy to one of the best-kept camping secrets on the south coast. 

The site itself is well-kept and welcoming, with pitches on several different levels, some spacious and open, others secluded and sheltered behind trees and bushes. Generous pitches allow space to spread out with gazebos and blankets. A dozen are tucked beside various bushy nooks and crannies, offering a little more privacy. You could select your patch according to your sleeping habits. Early risers should head west to enjoy the morning sun, and night owls looking for a lie in can camp east, where the last rays of the day fall. Sunsets look best from the top of the hill, and the lower area is better shielded from the elements. 

Friendly, quiet and gently undulating, it’s a perfect spot for families: children will enjoy the playground, complete with an old boat to clamber around, while their parents will appreciate the well-stocked shop selling fresh bread and croissants in the mornings and a village pub within easy strolling distance that serves local real ales and wholesome pub grub.

And if the peace and quiet of the countryside isn’t enough, there’s a great 45-minute walk down the valley which runs alongside the River Lym and into the cobbled backstreets and alleyways of Lyme Regis, with its bustling harbour, arty gift shops, sandy beach and array of restaurants and cafés.You can either make it a round walk and return via the coastal path and the cliff-top (the camp shop can provide details of the walking route and maps) or, if you can’t face the steep walk back uphill, call the resident tuktaxi, which will come and pick you up and take you back to the campsite for about a fiver.

Fortunately for any young, eager fossil-hunters returning empty-handed from a day’s beachcombing, plastic dinosaur eggs are sold in the campsite shop, which ought to lift spirits before the next outing.