Sandringham Camping

Camping and glamping in Sandringham

All rise for the most royal of camping holiday recommendations: Sandringham. The 20,000-acre royal estate is well known as the holiday destination of choice for the royal family. And, if they love North Norfolk, that's a pretty solid nod that you're on the right track for planning your own holiday. While HM the Queen enjoys the luxury of a magnificent mansion, we think camping and glamping offer something equally as special – the chance to be truly immersed in Norfolk’s splendid scenery. The flat rural landscape, the big skies and lack of light pollution lend themselves to camping and glamping holidays with beautiful backdrops by day and starry skies by night.

Sandringham and the surrounding areas are relatively sleepy; home to a couple of good pubs with beer gardens, a village church that’s regularly visited by royalty and the Sandringham House and Gardens – open to tourists when the royals aren't in. As such it offers an insight in to royal life as well as great walking, wildlife watching and, of course, camping and glamping with some choice pitches and glamping pads on Cool Camping-approved sites.

Things to do in Sandringham

The obvious attraction in Sandringham is the royal estate which dominates the place. The house and gardens are open to the public from April to October – when the royals aren’t in residence, but the estate includes a 240-hectare country park too which is always open. A mixture of woodland and heathland it’s a pleasant place for a walk and has a café and visitor centre. Fans of the royal family might also want to take a quick look at Wolferton Royal Station, the station that was once used by visiting royals for Sandringham. Now on a disused line, it is a private home but the platform is open most days between midday and 6pm. A mile or so up the road is Dersingham village where the local pubs can be found along with Dersingham Bog National Nature Reserve. The grand Houghton Hall - built in the 1700s for Britain’s first Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole, Bircham Windmill - the last working windmill in the area with its associated bakery, and the historic town of King’s Lynn are other nearby attractions.

Sandringham is found on the shores of The Wash, the enormous bay and estuary at the very top of East Anglia. With salt lagoons and mud flats, it attracts huge numbers of wading birds from late summer onwards and the best places to watch them from are the hides at RSPB Snettisham, just a couple of miles from Sandringham. There’s more wildlife-watching opportunity all around the North Norfolk Coast, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty where long sandy beaches are backed by dunes. Perhaps the most-impressive sight is the colonies of seals at Blakeney Point, best reached by boat, or at Horsey Beach (where you can walk). For good old-fashioned seaside fun with amusements and fun fair rides head for Hunstanton and for a pretty harbour town try Wells-next-the Sea.