KESWICK’S CASTLERIGG HALL holiday park has been named as Europe’s most popular camping destination for visitors to Great Britain.
The family-run business topped a poll of camping enthusiasts in 33 countries, organised by Europe’s largest publisher of camping information, the ACSI.
Based in Holland, the 60-year-old motoring organisation – similar to the AA and RAC – represents more than 9,400 campsites across Europe.
Each year, it asks members to nominate the best places to stay based on their personal experiences, and in Britain it was Castlerigg Hall which emerged as the outright winner.
The farming Jackson family has been at Castlerigg since 1938, and their park has won many national and regional awards for its quality standards and sustainability policies.
In summer this year, it was named as overall winner the 2025 Cumbria Tourism Award for Regenerative Tourism, underling the family’s concern to protect and enhance the natural world.
Business owner David Jackson said the new ACSI award was “a fantastic feather in the park’s cap” and comes at the end of a successful summer season:
“We’ve long been delighted to welcome visitors from mainland Europe at Castlerigg, and I think the park ticks a lot of boxes for overseas guests,” he said.
“There are stunning mountain and lake views from our grounds, and it’s the ideal starting point for both high and low level walks in the surrounding countryside.
“But what makes this award very special to us is that people are asked to vote not just on the basis of the location and quality standards, but also the hospitality on offer.
“Delivering this is very much in the hands of our park team, and so they deserve a lion’s share of the credit for our winning this award,” said David.
As well as camping facilities, Castlerigg Hall provides luxury holiday caravans for hire as well as pitches for touring caravans and motorhomes.
There is also a range of glamping accommodation including the park’s innovative Hex Pods, each comfortably furnished with plenty of living space as well as a kitchen area, shower and toilet.
Built with sustainability in mind, the pods feature underfloor heating from renewable energy, furniture and beds made from recycled timber under a hexagonal glass roof prism.
More information about the park, which is a longstanding member of the Holiday and Residential Parks Association (HARPA), can be found at www.castlerigg.co.uk