At first there seems something amusingly incongruous about the name ‘Back of Beyond Touring Park’. For starters it’s just off a convenient A-road and a few miles from popular destinations like The New Forest and Bournemouth. Then, of course, there is the fact it is a ‘touring park’ – a fear instilling title for any canvas campers trying to avoid static caravans and hyperactive kids. Pull up to the barrier though (the fear continues; it even has a barrier) and you’ll be very pleasantly put in your place.
Back of Beyond is a truly exquisite little site. It’s as though the title of ‘touring park’ is a devilish charade simply put there to maximize your surprise. Yes, there is a large field that hosts a collection of caravans but pull around to the left and you discover their separate tenting areas of ‘The Warren’ and ‘Emma’s Glade’ – the latter a designated area of Special Scientific Interest with no electrical hook-ups. These spaces have a more informal vibe and are a short stroll from the three heated toilet blocks, while just beyond the hedge spreads a pair of quiet fishing lakes rippled to life in the mornings by a signet swan drifting along the surface.
Campervans wanting to cash in on the same secluded atmosphere can join the tenters in these meadows. Or take to the main park area with 80 spacious, electrified hook-ups. Wherever you go this adults-only site means peace and quiet is a happy guarantee. Of the 30 acres, 18 acres of this site is mature woodland, where mixed pine and native trees are specifically managed for conservation and, rather than hunting for twigs in the undergrowth, the campsite provides briquettes for the firepits you can hire – you don’t need kids to enjoy marshmallows and a little melted chocolate!
Offsite, the place is a gateway to the Jurassic Coast but if you’re trying to avoid the car it’s an accessible area by bike. Affable owners Martin and Victoria have bags of local knowledge and can arrange cycle hire if you need it. One of the best (and most gentle) routes is to pedal a mile beyond the site and join the Castleman’s Trailway, a 16 mile route that runs from just north of here down to Poole. It largely follows the old Dorchester to Southampton railway line where, conveniently, a handful of decent pubs lie – stop of in Wimborne Minster to see the magnificent cathedral.