The Old Post Office Campsite is a small, family-run campsite in Santon Bridge, located on the western edge of the Lake District near Wasdale. Established in 1951, the site offers riverside pitches for tents, caravans and motorhomes, with modern facilities and direct access to walking routes including Scafell Pike and Wast Water.
Set beside the River Irt, the campsite provides a peaceful base for exploring the natural landscape of Cumbria.
For over seven decades, The Old Post Office Campsite has welcomed campers seeking peace and proximity to nature. Its enduring charm lies in its commitment to providing a quiet, friendly environment where guests can unwind and reconnect with the great outdoors.
We love dogs, and so do our guests. With endless walks through woodlands, fells and riverside trails, it’s the perfect setting for a dog-friendly Lake District escape. All we ask is that pets are kept on leads – they’ll love it just the same.
The campsite’s prime location offers easy access to:
Scafell Pike: England’s highest peak.
Our well-maintained facilities ensure a comfortable stay:
10/10
Welcomed and shown facilities, pitch was great with hard standing and some grass with a picnic table. Showers hot and clean. Lovely location near pub and peaceful.
9/10
Location and rates excellent. Toilets very nice and clean. Site is perfectly preserved and kept well and clean. Great communication with Marcus and the area is beautiful. Thank you so much!💗
10/10
We liked the that each pitch had plenty of space with half hard standing and half or more grass pitch, and also some backing on to the river Irt. Shower/Toilet are seperate male and female blocks and door is secured with a code. You need 50p for a 10 minute shower which is plenty of time. They are clean and hot water always available . Next to pub ‘Bridge Inn’ which serves good meals with plenty of choice and there is a small café not far from campsite which is walkable for breakfast ‘Woodlands Tea Room’ again nice food good choice.
A longer 2-2.5hour walk will get you to Waswater and passing the Sawmill Cafe on the way.
You do not need an alarm clock as the cockerel will wake you up nice and early for breakfast :o) !
10/10
We loved this site. So clean and rhe staff were friendly and accommodating. We had a warm welcome when we arrived.
The pitch sizes we very good and it was a nice touch having the picnic benches.
9/10
The setting was fantastic listening to the sound of the stream. The pitches are generous and good hard standing. The staff are fabulous and very welcoming. Pot wash and facilities are good, 50p for the showers last 10 mins which is plenty enough.
9/10
The location by the river.
9/10
Good sized pitches, very clean, well laid out.
10/10
What an amazing site! The location is stunning – right next to a crystal clear river with a lovely pub just metres away and 19mins drive from the start of the main Scafell route. We had a good swim with wetsuits. Also recommend The Sawmill a few mins drive away for incredible brunch.
9/10
Really spacious pitches , well maintained , felt very private , showers and toilets clean and warm , really nice site .
10/10
The whole stay was fantastic, beautiful & clean bathrooms with hot showers. Our pitch was quiet and it was blissful to hear the river running through. We stayed Mayday weekend and the ice cream van made a visit! What a treat! A good base for visiting the local area :)The onsite fridges were a great bonus!
9/10
Great site brilliant location.
10/10
Very clean and tidy site, excellent toilet and showers.
10/10
Everything. We have spent time here every season and its a beautiful site. Clean.
Friendly and nothing too much trouble.
Perfect location.
10/10
The peaceful setting, the river was just beautiful.
The facilities are modern and very clean.
10/10
Excellent.
Great location for walking lots to go at from the doorstep.
We covered about 35 miles over 2 days.
Clean, well maintained site, lovely red showers.
Everything you need in a fab spot.
Pub on the doorstep.
And I loveeeee hearing the cockerels in the morning 🥰🥰
10/10
Such a lovely little site, next to the river, a lovely welcome and nice and clean and handy for walks and the pub next door.
10/10
Lovely site next to a river, pub nearby, staff were very helpful, would reccomend.
10/10
Such a great campsite with clean modern facilities and helpful friendly staff. Close to a good pub that had a good selection of beers and with great food. Ideal location for a base to go off walking and cycling.
10/10
Lovely site, really friendly and helpful owners, great position for hiking around Wasdale. Showers and toilets were great, pitches were spacious.
10/10
Lovely location, nice size flat pitch’s
Great pub right next door serving good food.
10/10
Such a great campsite with clean modern facilities and helpful friendly staff. Close to a good pub that had a good selection of beers and with great food. Ideal location for a base to go off walking and cycling.
9/10
Great location for walking and nice dog friendly pub very close, with good food.
9/10
Small site but pitches flat & level. Plenty of space, wonderful location.
10/10
Privacy, quiet, location, warm welcome.
10/10
Beautiful well kept site in a stunning spot, very welcoming and informative staff.
Well spaced out pitches.
Great pub right next to site. Lovely walks from the site.
Free wifi worked well.
10/10
10/10
What a hidden little gem!!!
Small campsite just what we like!!
We were situated with the river at the back of us with lovely views of hills in front of us.
The pitches are beautifully kept and level with each having a picnic table to the side.
There are 2 lots of washing up areas, a laundry, and toilets and showers which are immaculate.
The elsan area is probably the cleanest I have come across.
There is a pub just 2 minutes walk across the bridge which also serves food ..we didn’t try though this time.
Set in a lovely area and peaceful.
People have mentioned a road that runs along the site. I’m a light sleeper and didn’t disturb me once.
Only light traffic during the day.
You do need 50p for the showers which lasts about 10 minutes…but worth every penny…lovely and hot, clean and smell lovely.
We will definitely be back!!!
10/10
Pretty much everything. The staff are friendly and welcoming. The site itself is beautiful and a perfect spot for star gazing. They Literally have the nicest toilets I have ever seen at a campsite. Plenty of places to eat nearby.
10/10
This is a fantastic site. Very friendly and it feels like to toilets are cleaned every hour. Very cost pub next door and a nice riverside trail to walk or run.
10/10
Clean, tidy and warm friendly welcome.
Toilets always clean and warm.
Pub next door with good food and welcoming. Dog friendly.
Coffee shop a short walk away.
10/10
This is the second time we have been to the Old Post Office – lovely location with the river, quiet and peaceful with pub nearby and open all year round.
10/10
Our second visit to this site, the location is fabulous. We walked to Wasdale on the along sideWast water.
We were greeted with a lovely warm welcome on arrival, very friendly when we arrived on New Years eve with all the information we required. Lovely big site, well marked out.
Around the corner from a great dog friendly pub which serves great traditional pub food at a reasonable price.
WiFi worked excellent.
10/10
The location as it was close to many public footpath walks
The smiley person in the office! Very accomodating on New Years Day when we realised we did not have enough shower 50 ps!
The pitch sizes and how it was laid out.
The cleanliness of the facilities.
How close it was to the local pub.
10/10
Friendliness of site manager. Cleanliness of toilets and showers. Plenty of hot water. Loved our pitch. Nice to hear owls at night and Cockerell in the morning. Would stay again.
10/10
Loved the underfloor heating in the loos! The staff were really friendly and knew the area very well. Clean campsite, cant wait till next year.
10/10
Absolutely loved our stay here the lady who greeted us on arrival was so lovely and the pub next door was perfectly located. Will definitely be returning.
10/10
Liked everything.
10/10
We loved the hole site Gemma greeted us and made us feel very welcome and explained everything to us. The site has everything you need and in a perfect spot,
Plus the boozer 🍻 is over the bridge 👍🏼🤣 thanks very much for a great weekend.
9/10
The shower and toilets are clean and warm.
Quiet pitch in a nice location.
10/10
Nice and clean site, showers and toilets were very clean.
Lovely little site too.
Would definitely recommend.
10/10
We liked everything about this wonderful quiet campsite. Our campervan & awning pitch was very roomy, level & right next to the river. An absolute delight to have early morning cuppa , an evening glass of wine sitting at the bench table (provided) listening to the river rushing by. The staff are welcoming, friendly & very helpful. All the facilities were spot on & ultra clean. Great dog friendly Pub & cafe close by. a very short drive to Wastwater. Also Ravensdale not far.
10/10
Had a great, relaxing stay.
10/10
Fab little site great location next to the river and close to wasdale .. loved it.
10/10
One of the nicest sites we have visited , cant fault it.
Excellent,welcoming staff that go out the way to assist , great to see.
Caters for everyone.
Not a bad pub next door , cracking food (large platefull) , just some staff need to learn manners.
10/10
Pitch.
10/10
The owners are so helpful and accommodating . We had to vacate a site in Keswick due to flooding and come to the old post office a day earlier at very short notice late in terrible weather . The owner went out of his way to meet us and direct us in , he then came back to give me 50p coins to ensure we could shower that night .
The site is beautiful and well kept with very clear and well maintained pitches .
The pub over the bridge is also very well kept and friendly , we are already planning a return visit asap to this wonderful area. We do a lot of wild swimming and Wast water is a short ( but steep on narrow roads ) drive away .
What a wonderful , quiet , slice of heaven . Thank you for your help and kindness.
10/10
Great site .nice people and Nr a pub which was handy .
9/10
Good site, easy to find. We were a late arrival however all the information had been left out for us, with contact numbers available if there was any issues. Facilities were good and kept clean. Nice pub just across the bridge which was very convenient. Pitch itself was made up of bark with grass touring pitch. Handy outdoor tap to the side of the toilet block to clean dogs paws. WiFi worked at pitch and had no issues with it.
10/10
We had an absolutely fantastic 2 night stay at The Old Post Office campsite! The shower blocks were spotless and modern, and the staff couldn’t have been more welcoming and helpful. It was so peaceful at night. Strong WiFi. We’d give it six stars if we could! Highly recommend. Pub is a small walk around the corner. We came back for another night because we had to cut out journey short and the guys helped us out with a pitch.
9/10
Good sized pitched. Good, clean facilities, including a dog wash!!
Right next to the river, and a pub just across the bridge.
Good area for walking.
10/10
Really enjoyed staying on this campsite. Staff were super friendly and helpful. Toilet block was clean showers were hot, your not packed in like sardines. Nice little pub nearby that we took refuge in when the rains came in. Some campers took a dip in the river.
Other reviews are correct about 50p for a shower, but if you don’t have a 50p coin go speak to the staff they will sort you out.
There was a bit of noise from the road behind but most people were up and about early making the most of there days in the lakes anyway.
10mins drive from Wasdale head and load of great walks. I will definitely be back.
10/10
Lovely quiet site with great pub just over the bridge.
great to have free wifi as very poor phone signal.
10/10
It has showers and toilet facilities on site and also washing up area , also has a fridge and freezer to use aswell as a laundrette love the river than ran at the back of the camp, you do have to pay 50p for showers but staff on site have plenty of change if you dont have it and lasts for about 10mins
Altho a bit pricy would definitely stay again.
10/10
The pitch was very private with a hedge, and it had a nice wooden picnic table. There’s a lovely bit of side grass for your use. The toilets and showers were clean. Hook up to electrics and waste next to pitch. Lovely surroundings by the banks of a river, and a couple of walks for your dogs and a pub next door.
9/10
Lovely small friendly site. We had a peaceful stay here in our Hymer, pitch next to the river. Clean toilets and showers. Helpful staff. Two minute walk to a decent pub selling food. Lovely location, beautiful scenery with walks on the doorstep. Would recommend.
10/10
Beautiful surroundings
Spotlessly clean throughout
Fantastic facilities including free hot water washing area
Friendly & helpful staff
Peaceful
Lovely spaced pitches (ours was fully serviced)
Everything you need and more!
10/10
No fuss or hassle. Great place to stay and explore the Lake District.
10/10
Everything, this site is so well maintained with fabulous riverside pitches. Clean toilets and showers, cost is 50pence for 10 minutes with the showers being roomy and hot. BH weekend so site was full but pitches spaced well so didn’t invade privacy and was quiet at night. Walks straight from campsite, pub next store and WiFi which although signal patchy at times was a bonus as not often you have signal in lakes and waking up to cockerels was a real treat.
9/10
Lovely site, warm and friendly welcome, lots of great walking in the area and not far from Wastwater which is stunningly beautiful. Next door to a great pub which serves excellent food. Have stayed here before and will definitely come back.
10/10
Location is great scenery is amazing nice clean site.
10/10
The location was amazing. Close to Wast water and 2 beautiful beaches. The campsite itself was really well.maintained, friendly staff, quiet and had a river running right through it. Pub next door, cafe in walking distance. Loved it.
10/10
Nice quiet site wardens were very helpful and friendly toilets clean.
8/10
First time doing camping
And wasnt sure what to expect
But was great gud clean facilities friendly staff nice location
Thumps up from me
10/10
I liked very much. This camp has something magical near the river and the Inn.
10/10
The site was perfect, the site in general was very clean and constantly being monitored by staff on site during the day. The stream running alongside is a major bonus as my dog and little boy thoroughly enjoyed playing in there. Facilities on site were as good as they could be and clean. The pub on the road was lovely with great food and sky sports. Finally, the campsite was small and well organised so other pitches were not encroaching on ours which was a massive thing for me.
10/10
Had an excellent stay at The old post office campsite. The campsite was perfect and Gemma and Marcus the wardens were terrific, nothing too much trouble. The location and amenities were excellent with a pub and tearoom within walking distance. Will definitely be going back.
9/10
Nice quiet site by the river. The food in the pub just over the bridge was very good. Staff were very pleasant and welcoming. Great location for walks in the wasdale area and on the road towards wast water.
10/10
Beautiful,quiet well maintained site I have been to for a long time
8/10
Good location for scaffil pike.
Friendly pub next to campsite and food was amazing 😉
