Independent Campsite Reviews

Phone:

Fax:

Website:

Email:

Online maps:

Paper maps:

Ordnance Survey Explorer

Ordnance Survey Landranger

Ordnance Survey Outdoor Leisure

Latitude:

Longitude:

Basic facilities but a quiet site. One field for families, and groups are in a separate field when the owner can be bothered. Expect noise because owner says "just find a spot" despite it being in the family field.

Looking for a place in Derbyshire for the Bank Holiday weekend, I was surprised when a call to Haddon Grove provoked the response "no need to book". They explained that they just opened more fields according to demand. And sure enough, when we got there, we found that was just what they did - for that weekend, I think they had 5 fields open, and they were far from full, so they have plenty of space for everyone.

Pitching is free-and-easy (except for the few electric hookups, which are clearly defined, and which do need advance booking), but with different fields allocated to different types of party (family, youth groups, etc). Most of the ground is on a slope, and you might need to be careful to find somewhere flat enough for your own requirements, but everyone we saw seemed happy enough with what they had found.

The surroundings are beautiful, and there are paths directly from the back of the site into Lathkill Dale (if you don't mind a vertiginous walk down, and a "healthy" climb back up!).

The only real downside of the site has to be the toilet facilities. There are only 4 cubicles for the men, and 5 for the ladies. In the men's, each cubicle has a WC and a washbasin (very small in 3 of the 4). So in the mornings, when the menfolk are spending time washing and shaving, there was always a queue for the loo. For a change, the ladies have less of a problem with loo queues, as I am told their washing facilities are separate from the WCs. The showers are also barely adequate (one for the men, two for the ladies and one "family" shower, which has indeed got room for several people in the room at once). We had problems with the family shower running out of hot water half way through, but no one reported problems with the others. There are also two washing-up sinks, which we did not use, but saw queues here too at peak times. You should bear in mind, however, that this was over a very busy Spring Bank Holiday. By Tuesday, when 2/3 of the visitors had gone, the problems were much reduced. All hot water is free.

Overall, we feel that the location and the free-and-easy attitude of the site outweigh the rudimentary facilities, and I think we're likely to return in the future. However, if you like smart and plentiful facilities, perhaps you should look elsewhere.

Looking for a campsite for me and my friends from university to partake in our annual camping reunion can be tricky as we need a campsite that is fairly cheap that can accomodate a group of mid-20somethings.

This campsite was perfect and we were easily accomodated in the groups field. I had previously visited with my parents when I was very young but I found the views still as stunning.

Facilities were basic but free hot water and showers was a bonus! This is not a campsite for those who require bar/sauna/leisure complex but if you want basic camping this is the place for you!

Easy access to Lathkill Dale (all be it very steep!) makes two lovely walks to Monyash and Over Haddon where there are lovely pubs serving good food and drinks to hungry travellers!

Excellent campsite!!

£2 a night for a hike tent!! not bad!!

Visited here May Bank Holiday - the camp fees have gone up but there is no change re. toilet and shower facilities. In actual fact I thought these things were worse than last year in that the loo rolls weren't filled up ALL day... Saying all this we still will come back again next year the views and surrounding area are just brilliant.

Campsite has changed since last year: new toilets, more showers, much much cleaner, lots of improvements. Can get a bit crowded on bank holidays as it’s so popular.

Safe site for children, 3 fields: big one for families, one for groups, area in back for family tents. Pubs in Monyash and Over Haddon. Bakewell only 3 miles away, Buxton 10 miles away. Great views into valley. Recommend it for school holidays and weekends.

Owners friendly, prices low.