Onafhankelijke Camping Recensies

Telefoon:

Telefax:

Website:

E-mail:

Online kaarten:

Papieren kaarten:

Ordnance Survey Explorer

Ordnance Survey Landranger

Breedtegraad:

Lengtegraad:

(Deze herziening is niet beschikbaar in nederlands)

Site is primarily holiday apartments and cottages but boasts 10 de-luxe super pitches for tourers as well. On arrival the view we had been promised of one of the lakes to the front and over rolling countryside to the back were both totally obscured by overgrown weeds and a tall hedge

In addition to the 10 tourers were what looked like seasonal pitches including one used by the bailiff

There was one toilet and I mean one toilet, not a block for use by all these pitches, no hot water, no paper and no facility for drying hands. The single shower was also in this room though the meter for it was out through the door and in another room 3 doors away This area was not cleaned once in the 8 days we were there.

Rubbish was strewn all over the floor as there were 5 domestic bins, the old round ones not the wheelie bin size, to cope with any rubbish from the tourers and 6 cottages. Many of the bins had no lids meaning litter fell to the floor to be pounced on by rats bigger than most cats.

My husband had gone there mainly for the fishing but we were not allowed to fish all the lakes promised on the website as when questioned we were told the web was intended for residents in the cottages and did not apply to tourers though this is not mentioned on the site

Obtaining a permit to fish became another problem as we were told we could not buy a ticket for the afternoon in the morning but the shop closed at lunch and the alternative place we were asked to purchase tickets from did not stock them!

My husband was fishing one day when a large branch fell from a tree just missing causing him any injury, the branch needed two men to lift it off him but even though we told the bailiff no one appeared to check either the tree or my husband were ok

To cap it all even though we had paid in full before we went we were asked for payment again and even told we had been nothing but bother since we had arrived.

If you want a badly managed, rat ridden filthy site please go there but otherwise give it a wide berth.

(Deze herziening is niet beschikbaar in nederlands)

I have just come back from Docklow Pools, and glad to say the campsite is not now as described above. There are toilets and showers, and hot water. The campsite is a lovely place as well as the place as a whole. Excellent fishing and the owners are very nice making us feel more than welcome.

(Deze herziening is niet beschikbaar in nederlands)

We booked some months ago and sent a cheque by way of deposit. When we had no reply/confirmation, we queried Docklow to see if they had received the cheque. "Not turned up as far as I can see", says Jonathan. So we wait a bit longer and query again... Still no sign of said cheque. So we say that we will cancel the cheque and send another one...and if the old one turns up - not to bother banking it. OK says Jonathan. On the day we sent the new cheque, we called Docklow to tell them we had sent a new cheque, only to be told by Jonathan that the old cheque had arrived that day and he had attempted to bank it...! (Hmmm)

Day of arrival and we turned off the A44 onto the single track that leads to the site. After a brief stand-off with a dump-truck coming out of Docklow, the dump truck relented and reversed some way back down the road. The track has some laybys but barely big enough to hold a car and certainly not a towed outfit.(Me towing a caravan was not about to reverse back up the track and out onto the A44 either).

Arrived at reception and met Josie who then decided to tell us about all the "idiots" that she had had to deal with that day. (Hope she didn't think of us in the same way). She couldn't take the rest of our payment as Jonathan deals with the running of the business and could we come back and pay later...?

We were directed to our pitch and on arrival, were somewhat disappointed with the "Super-Pitch" (£15 per night plus VAT & £5 per night for awning) that are advertised. Dead grass and weeds all over the tarmac pitch and didn't look as though the grass had been cut for sometime. The "panoramic views across rolling fields" was obscured by a 10foot high hedge that hadn't been cut for sometime and I had to park the rear of my caravan into so as the hitch didn't obstruct the road. We had a key for the one toilet/shower that serviced all 10 pitches (£10 deposit) and if you want to use the shower you have to put a £1 in the electric meter in the cupboard next door to heat the water. (No sanitation for Women either). Take your own toilet roll, soap and towel to wash and dry hands too.

Chemical waste for caravan is right below the drinking water supply. An open sewer below potable water. A good case for dysentery if ever there was one. As all the pitches were the same there seemed little point in asking for a new pitch. Next day we went to pay the rest of the money and after going to look for someone to help us (a common theme for the rest of the week when visiting reception) Jonathan appeared and then totalled my bill for seven nights stay ( I said it was six nights -Monday to Saturday ( and he re-totalled without even checking. (Speaking to other caravanners, mentioned that they had also been overcharged too...)!

Mobile telephone reception is poor/non existant at the site as is TV reception...even when plugged into the TV aerial socket at the hook-up post.

OK, now the good news: Fishing at Docklow is brilliant. Had four days good fishing. I consider myself a complete novice who is happy to chuck a line out and reel in and hope there is a fish on the end.

Even a mate of mine who has never fished paid us a visit whilst there and outfished me on numbers (at one point he had caught six to my one and by the end of the day he beat me twelve fish to my ten. (although I caught bigger fish). He is now a converted fisherman.

Everyone we spoke to was friendly and offered words of wisdom. Thanks to the lad who gave me a pop-up which promptly caught my first ever carp (8lbs) and also broke the tip of my Mach 3. :-(

Also heard that Kate who runs the shop phoned a Pole manufacturer and arranged for a spare part to be sent out to a bloke who had broke his pole whilst fishing there!

During my catching spree, I netted common carp (best was 9lbs) mirror and leather carp. Lots of roach and rudd and bonus of two barbel.

The pub sell really good food (Bar meals at reasonable prices average £5-£7 for a plate full of food. We didn't try the restaurant but everyone we spoke to agreed that the bar meals were very good value for money. (We were told by the barmaid on Sat night that we would have to wait awhile for our food because the restaurant was fully booked and they took precedence for service...which left us feeling once again a bit second class and as though our money wasn't as good as those staying in the posher accommodation and dining in the restaurant...

To sum up...had a good week away and got some great fishing in (for a novice). The pub and tackle shop are good but while Docklow is primarily a fishing venue, it seems that caravanners are just an afterthought who the site can make a couple of 'bob' out of. Based on Docklow’s assertion that the caravan pitches are "Super-Pitches", the site itself is pretty poor and a bit of a rip-off. Our pitch was barely long enough to take the caravan with the hitch just poking onto the road (unlit at night and several speeding cars up and down the road leading further on to the fishing lodges).

Would I return...? To go fishing, absolutely...but next time I think I'll leave my caravan at home or book a pitch at the Caravan Club site just further up the road.

(Deze herziening is niet beschikbaar in nederlands)

Went to this site in June 2010 with my wife. I wish I had read the above reviews before booking because I can only express the same issues as above. On arrival there was no one in reception and no suitable space to park the caravan whilst booking in. When I eventually found someone I was told that they were not expecting us even though I had booked some 4 months earlier, had the cheque cashed and received the confirmation email.

Anyway we finally drive to our so called super pitch only to find a Tarmac standing covered in weeds that was barely long enough to get our 23 feet caravan on without overhanging the road. The toilet disposal point was built into the standing right next to the water supply and used the same access point as the waste water not the most hygienic method of disposal when you are putting the waste water pipe in and out.

The biggest surprise was when we went to use the so called shower and toilet block.

On finding the shower it was the most disgusting thing and not what I have ever experienced before on any caravan site. There was only one shower situated in a small cupboard that required you to enter another room to put your £1 into the meter. The shower was filthy, mouldy and the smell of damp was overpowering. It was obvious that it had not been cleaned for weeks or even months and was like something from the dark ages. Also in the same room was the toilet which had no toilet paper and I have seen better public toilets. Above the toilet there was an electrical socket for the shower that was hanging off the wall waiting for someone to be electrocuted.

This one facility was meant to be used by 10 caravans.

The site states dogs to be kept on a lead which we don't have a problem with but when the owner's dog roams free and pissed up our awning on a number of mornings I was not amused.

The only good thing I can say about Docklow Pools is the fishing was good even though as a caravanner you can only fish the day ticket pools unless you join their membership club for an extra £70

Overall I also got the feeling like other people that caravanners were merely seen as a bit of extra income whilst the main focus was on the holiday cottages and lodges. The facilities for caravanners were to say the least disgusting and we definitely won't be returning.