Forestry England Trials Motorhome Campervan Overnight Stopovers

If you’ve ever wished that England had the same Stay the Night Scheme that Scotland does- I have good news! Forestry England is trialling overnight parking spots for motorhomes and campervans at some of their forest car parks 🎉

Read on for all the info you need and how to book your overnight campervan stay

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Forestry England trial overnight motorhome parking

​From 16th July to 14th September 2026, campervans and motorhomes (not cars/ caravans) can book to stay overnight in a few Forestry England car parks as part of their new ‘Forest Campervan Road Trip’ scheme.
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The trial will run across SEVEN forest locations:

📍Cardinham Woods, Cornwall
📍Wendover Woods, Buckinghamshire
📍Bedgebury National Pinetum, Kent
📍High Lodge, Thetford Forest, Suffolk
📍Jeskyns Community Woodland, Kent
📍Gisburn Forest, Lancashire
📍Kielder Forest, Northumberland
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As with Scotland’s Stay the Night scheme, there are no facilities at these stopovers (except perhaps toilets, which may be closed at night), so you need to be fully self-contained, with your own toilet onboard (no portaloo style tents next to your van).

It’s only a summer trial for now, but this is exactly how the scheme in Scotland started, so fingers crossed it’s successful and expands into a permanent option for those of us touring England.

A few important things to know:

​​- Bookings open from 21st May and you can only stay between 16th July–14th September
– Pre-booking is essential (except Kielder Castle.)
– Spaces are limited- when they’re full, they’re full. You can’t stay elsewhere in the car park.
– Maximum stay is 2 nights.
– No awnings, BBQs, generators or outdoor gear allowed
– Arrive from midday and depart by 11:30am.
– Price is £16 per night (£14 for members); Kielder is £15/ night

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How to stay off-grid with your motorhome/ campervan

I know staying off-grid for the first time can be daunting. There’s a lot to understand about how to set your vehicle up properly so you can remove the need for electric hookup and facilities.

If you’d like to learn how I do it in more detail, you’ll find that in the Off-Grid and Wild Parking Toolkit.

The toolkit contains step-by-step guidance (by video and eBook) on setting up your vehicle, best options for you, finding places, staying safe and finding more freedom.​

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Want more personalised advice?

Of course, some people don’t want to read/ watch videos.

They’d rather ask questions and get personalised help.

Which is one of the reasons the Wandering Motorhome Club exists.

Every month inside the Club we have a live Q&A where members ask questions about planning their trips, best routes, overnight stops, touring in Europe, wild parking and places to stay, setting up the motorhome, travelling with dogs, off-grid setups and all sorts of other topics.

If you’d like to join these calls, ask questions, get help planning your actual trips or finding a site to stay in and hear about future group trips before everyone else, take a look at the Wandering Motorhome Club here
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If you do want to book one of the Forestry England motorhome/ campervan overnight spots, you can do that on their website here.

Obviously, if you do stay at one of these sites, please use the spaces responsibly, follow the rules and leave no trace 💚

Safe travels,

Kat

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