Sitting alongside the River Thames, adjacent to the Thames Path and 11 miles upstream of Oxford, Barefoot’s Upper and Lower Lock Paddocks at Northmoor Lock are amongst the most beautiful riverside camping locations in Oxfordshire.
2024 Camping Fees (per night)
- 3-Night Bank Holiday Weekend : arrive Friday depart Monday
- 4-Night Bank Holiday Weekend : arrive Friday depart Tuesday (May); arrive Thursday depart Monday (August)
- Other Weekends: 2 nights, arrive Friday depart Sunday
Check-in after 2pm
Please vacate your pitch by 1pm on departure day
- Adults (age 18+) : £18 per night
- Teenagers (age 11-17) : £10 per night
- Children (age 5-10) : £5 per night
- Pre-school (age 4 & under) : No charge
Optional extras (per visit)
Free parking for one vehicle per family
- Additional Vehicle : £12
- Hire of Picnic Table : £12
- Gazebo 3m x 3m max (no sides) : £10
- Gazebo 3m x 3m max – with sides : £20 (counts as an additional tent space)
- Event Shelter 4m x 4m max (no sides) : £15
- Event shelter 4m x 4m max – with sides : £25 (counts as an additional tent space)
Tent, Campervan or Log Pod
To book a tent, campervan or log pod, at Barefoot, please visit our ‘Availability Overview’ page via the “Check Availability” link below. From there you will be able to ‘Request a Pitch’. We’ll get back to you as soon as possible to confirm whether we can accommodate your tent. Camping fees must then be submitted in full to secure your booking.
This is a small campsite: We take great care not to overcrowd the site so pitches are allocated according to the size, shape and orientation of your tent. When completing your booking request it is therefore essential to include the following information as appropriate:
- for tents we’ll need the make, model, number, XL, DLX etc (eg Vango Capri 500 XL) and the size of any extension they would like to add to their tent:
- The make and model of your tent is important: The size and shape of 4-man and larger tents varies considerably and not all our pitches are able to accommodate them all. For example, a pitch which will accommodate a HiGear Oasis Elite 6 will not be big enough for a Freedom Trail Toco LX 6, whereas the 8-man Coleman Cortes Octagon 8 will fit on the same size pitch as the 5-man Vango Artemis 500. And don’t forget to include the number – the popular Quechua Arpenaz tents from Decathalon range in size from a tiny 2-man tent, through various sizes including the 4-man 4.1, 4.2 up to the 6-man 6.3 and the 8-man 8.4XL model. We will not be able to confirm availability without this information. The make and model of your tent is usually written on the tent bag. Please check this before submitting your booking request.
- the stated capacity of your tent: 2-man, 4-man etc can usually be determined by the number that appears in the tent’s name – eg a Vango Capri 500 is a 5-man tent, a Vango 300 is a 3-man tent, a Vango 400 indicates a 4-man tent
- the size of any extension or awning you’d like to add to your tent (this is because an extension can turn a 3-man tent into the equivalent of a 5-man tent etc and we’ll need to allocate a pitch which will accommodate it)
- for campervans we’ll need the make and model of the campervan plus the make and model of any awning you would like to use so please check these details carefully. Please also note that we only accept small SWB (short wheel base) campervans, such as the old VW’s or Bongos, not LWB (long wheel base) campervans, conversions or motorhomes. Max length 5m
Want to come with friends?
Yes, we do accept groups but its’ subject to certain conditions and we’ll need accurate information to be able to assess your group request
You can find out more on our Camping as a Group at Barefoot page
Northmoor Lock – Lower Lock Paddock
Tents and Logpods
The Lower Lock Paddock is the larger of the 2 paddocks with great views of Northmoor lock and weir. In this open, sunny site, pitches and fire pits are located around the perimeter of the site leaving the centre open for games.
Our 2 Log Pods are located in the Lower Lock Paddock.
Northmoor Lock – Upper Lock Paddock
Tents and Campervans
Cross over the lock road to The Upper Lock Paddock.
This site is on two levels. Pitches on this site are located on the lower level amongst the cricket bat willow trees.
With full sunshine on the site from early morning, the trees give some relief from the sun on hot days while the upper level remains in full sunshine. When they reach the right size the trees are harvested to be made into cricket bats. The first trees were cut in October 2013 and a second batch in October 2015. The site was replanted with younger trees in the spring of 2014 and November 2015. The new trees will take 10-15 years to mature before they will be ready for harvesting.
This is the best place to launch canoes or go for a swim.
The upper level of this site is reserved for a few small campervans.
Bringing your own Tent? FAQs:
BBQ Code:
BBQs are encouraged, but please follow a few simple guidelines:
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- Please light your BBQ in your campfire area: The small stands provided with instant BBQs are NOT adequate to prevent them scorching the grass.
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- Please DO NOT place BBQs on the wooden picnic tables.
“…the real camp fires provided a great end to each evening, it was quite a sight to see all the fires burning around us in the darkness…” Mike and Shelley, 30th May 2013
Many of you will know that in 2016, with great sadness we had to ban campfires on the campsite following a complaint of too much smoke. This was partly due to some campers a) bringing their own unseasoned firewood and b) gathering unseasoned wood and twigs from the surrounding hedgerows. We were also aware that some campers were bringing other wood products to burn – pallets, DIY waste etc. This has always been strictly prohibited.
In 2017 we carefully managed the campfire situation on a weekend by weekend basis with a combination of seasoned firewood from local, sustainably managed woodland; smokeless ‘hotties’ made in the UK from renewable clean wood residues; and kindling from ‘Raw Workshop’ – a social impact project who employ, train and support people from local communities who face prejudice and barriers to work.
From 2018 are we are now hopeful that we’ll be able to keep the campfires burning, however, only firewood purchased on the campsite may now be used for campfires.
“…allowing fires really makes it feel like “proper” camping…” Carolina (and Anna and Mike), 21stAugust 2013
Each Log Pod has it’s own campfire area and there are others around the site for campers. We make sure everyone has access to a campfire – whether that’s individually or for your group.
Campfire also need to be treated with respect – if you’re going to have a campfire please follow our Campfire Code
Campfire Code:
- Only firewood purchased on the campsite may now be used for campfires.
- Light campfires only in existing fire pit areas.
- If you plan to have a campfire, consider where you pitch your tent: Don’t pitch too close to your fire-pit!
- Kept your campfire to a manageable size and under control at all times and ensure that any smoke does not annoy other site users.
- Under no circumstances should you use an accelerant on your campfire such as BBQ fuel, petrol or diesel Kindling and firelighters are available for purchase on the campsite.
- Please do not gather wood from the hedgerows around the campsite: Apart from unseasoned or damp wood generating too much smoke, wood left to decay naturally plays an important part in the lifecycle of insects. Willow also has a tendency to spark which may leave pin holes in your tent!
- Never leave your campfire unattended and make sure it is fully extinguished before you go to bed or leave site.
- Helpful advice on campfire safety, lighting, maintaining and extinguishing your campfire can be found at: www.campfiresburning.org
- If you want to cook over your campfire, we have a limited number of racks and used grills available to borrow. Please enquire.
- In very dry conditions the building of campfires may be restricted.
Information about what we have and what we don’t have in the way of facilities can be found on the ‘Campsite facilities’ page under the Barefoot Facts tab.
We try to be as flexible as possible with pitches but it’s important you don’t pitch your tent until you have checked-in with site staff: There are some areas which we reserve for groups, other areas for campervans, and other areas where we restrict anything bigger than a 4-man tent.
The Upper and Lower Lock Paddocks at Northmoor are car-free sites.
Parking is in the adjacent field.
“… We liked the fact that there were no cars – it felt really safe.” Caroline, 28th July 2013.
Sorry, car-free means car-free. The parking area is only a couple of minutes walk from your pitch and there are wheelbarrows on site to help you should you need them.
“…Even though we had to carry our kit from the cars, it is our own fault for bringing so much, the lack of cars made for a much better atmosphere and allowed greater space to spread out and play! The wheelbarrows for lugging our kit were very well received!..” Mike and Shelley, 30th May 2013
No, these are ‘back to basics’ campsites and there is no electric hook up.
“…This site has converted us from die hard electric hook-up campers to wanting to do more of the real get away from it all camping…” Cool Camping review simply lovely Written by NJF on September 9th, 2013
Acoustic guitars, tin whistles and other ‘quiet’ instruments are welcome, but it’s a big NO-NO for amplified music – CD players, radios etc. Whilst you no doubt enjoy the music you are playing, the sound can carry and be incredibly annoying to other campers who have come here to relax and unwind. No drums either please!
Want to come with friends?
Yes, we do accept groups but its’ subject to certain conditions and we’ll need accurate information to be able to assess your group request
You can find out more on our Camping as a Group at Barefoot page
Yes and no. Campervans are restricted to the top of the Upper Lock Paddock. There is usually room to pitch a small tent alongside but additional or larger tents will generally need to be located on the lower level of the same paddock.
Tents and log pods can pitch in the same field, and we’ll try to get you together, but it will depend on the availability of tent pitches adjacent to the log pods.
Yes, most well-behaved dogs are welcome but you must book them in on the ‘request a pitch’ form and abide by our Doggy Do’s & Don’ts Code
Before booking you dog in, please check out our information on Bringing you dog to Barefoot