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BILLING AQUADROME ...i visit this site regularly to visit friends who live there. The biggest gripe is billing are only interested in MONEY... they HAVE ALL BEEN EVACUATED AGAIN, for fear of floods . THIS IS A RECURRING PROBLEM that never gets sorted,... but, open so they can run a caravan/boat show. Despite more rain on the way and water lying all over the site. As long as they make money they don't give a toss... until someone likeHAVEN (rank) organisation take over make it all hard surface with proper drainage and flood defences and is run like sites that they have now this place is only going to go downhill even further. bigger / proper investment, properly run for the customer and proper entertainment in something that does not resemble a shed. The best entertainment comes from the onsite pubs. but always the risk of trouble and not enough security to deter anyone. A change to PROFESIONAL COMPANY will lead to good profits and happy customers who WILL want to come back again and again ,. at the present time that's not going to happen. So avoid at all costs.

Campsite is very dated and therefore tired. The nicest shower blocks are always locked. The older shower blocks are cold, dirty, lacking in paper, toilets blocked and the shower water often runs for about 30 seconds (timed it). The old strip of shops have been boarded up with just one convenience store open. What this site needs is a huge investment by a big company like Haven who will put hard standing for caravans, try and sort out the drainage for tents, put in much better shower blocks, IHave been to Searles where there are heated floors, heating, constant hot water (no buttons to press) just good old fashioned taps, changing rooms to dry and change.

Bring all the local shops back, have bikes to hire, extend the train line round the camp with various stops along the way, Better entertainment for children and those that don't want to just sit in a pub. Remove some of the trees which are an eyesore. Searles have hedges which are much better and still give shelter. On the plus side the staff in the office and at the gate are lovely and helpful and every resident I have spoken to have been lovely but agree with my views. Roads to residents' places should be gated. Security should patrol the lanes more often when there are big m

It is a shame that Billing Aquadrome is laid out so well for a relaxing camping or caravanning for families and couples wanting a nice relaxing weekend, our experience was going very nice until Friday afternoon 3 couples arrived set up camp at the back of our pitch we had a chat with them, they started parting which we have no problems with they finished parting at 5 o'clock Saturday morning, throughout the night they we driving around the camp-site drunk in their cars playing music shouting arguing, the security came out twice in the evening didn't make much difference, anyway the Saturday they were moved to the other side of the resort which was fine then 3hours later billing booked vacated area out to 10 more happy campers that were going to start the process all over again, fortunately a gentleman that had witnessed friday night along with ourselves stopped them pitching their tents, called security and security moved them approx 500mtres away. they finished partying at 2am Sunday. billing is such a nice site but they are spoiling their own business by letting a small minority of people spoil it for a large number of people it seems madness to me.

Well, some of what has been said is accurate, some a distortion and some based on a bad experience.

I live on site and I agree that generally the security is good but on the weekends when there are big shows on site (Landrover etc) we take bets as to how often we will have to call security to sort out wandering drunks who are staggering back to their campsite having over-indulged at the onsite bar in the middle of the site. Often they are depositing bottles, glasses and drinks cans along the grass as they go.

Despite there being a strict speed limit onsite - this is ignored by many who use the main roads as a racetrack only slowing down for the humps.

The site manager and staff all drive about with one hand on the wheel and the other on the mobile phone clamped to their ear - yes they dont give a toss about the law on here - they are above it.

The fairground is tacky and really only suitable for children- though at the big weekend shows they import some adult rides - the place looks down at heel and most of the buildings that once housed the gift shops etc are locked and secured with shutters.

I suppose that the satisfaction level is determined by where you live and what you pay for living here - when you live on a main drag and pay nearly £4500 a year for the privilige then it galls somewhat at times. If you live by a lake in a quiet backwater and pay less than £3000 for it then you may have a different view.

It is not all bad though, there is a sense of community, generally neighbourliness and actually really no worse problems than you encounter in many villages around the county.

Some of your reviews are beyond belief. Billing has always had security, and is now being made even better. There is never a time when the police remove people and shut the site down, and there is never a time when 'kids drive parents cars' - I think you're over exaggerating. I actually live on Billing, so I see the ins and outs.

I live here and find it very hard to believe some of the bad reviews. We have never had anything stolen and on numerous occasions have left my shed unlocked. I agree the security at Billings is very good: whenever we have phoned them about teenagers in the play area behind us during the night it has been dealt with promptly, and during the shut down period we felt secure that our property was in safe hands. A lot of people have the wrong attitude towards the staff, everyone should treat people with the respect they would like to be shown. My grandchildren and kids love it here. I used to live next door to the Kingfisher and was only woken once by a commotion outside and the security dealt with it at once. Wherever you go on holiday there will be people who are disruptive and show no consideration for others.

We visited Billing last year it was our first experience of camping, there was a group of us including tents and caravans, we found the site to be in a very depressed condition, we were very aware that extra security was needed as we felt our property was under surveillance by other users of the camp site!! After reading that the new swimming complex was now open also the train had re-started and the site had a revamp we decided to give it another go, I can assure you this was a big mistake, yes the new complex is nice, though the beer was undrinkable and at an extortionate price and after paying £5 per person and there was 19 people in our group there is no shower facilities other than the open ones that lead into the pool where anyone can see you showering. There is no hair dryers, these are basics even in our small local swimming pool that only charges £2.50 to swim. I walked into the shower block and as far as I can remember there is still the same broken toilets seats and missing locks on the doors, I did not shower for 3 days due to the very poor conditions and cold water. Although we made the most of our weekend and did enjoy ourselves but this was not down to any facilities on the site. Again this year we were very aware of vans and lorries driving round the site again and again and going nowhere in particular, in the end we felt we were being watched and had to arrange our vehicles into a way that we felt safer, and on the last evening (Sunday) there was an argument going on between the travelling families that last a good hour, why did it take another brave camper to intervene and not the security!! It is such a shame because if these issues we sorted out properly Billing would be a lovely place to visit on a regular basis but I would not recommend this site to anyone other than telling other travelling families that there is a site for them there.

I agree with Mandy, we have just brought a lodge here and love it. The probs at Billing are know different than the cities, towns, and villages, maybe if everyone stopped slateing the place and started concentrating on its good points instead of the bad it would give he whole of the pure leisure team some encouragement . I have worked in the hospitality business for over 20 yrs and I am well aware that people are always ready to complain, but never to say well done.

SO WELL DONE MANDYS HUSBAND AND TEAM AND PURE LEISURE, BILLING IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE.

(No I dont work for pure leisure)Would though

I couldn't believe what I've just read,, such bad press,, my husband has been head security on this park for 1 & half years and i can tell u critics that he works all hours every day,, so many people have praised him for his good work,, and to point out when everybody is off for the month ,, this year there was not one breakin, my husband and the other security guards work very hard here,, i live here and i really love it,, the people r very friendly, the shows r very good and they are always secured with security,, the entertainment on the park has been improved so much,, everybody who works on this park work very hard,, i am proud to live here ,,

We always went to Billing Aquadrome when I was young. So now 25 years later me and my husband bought a caravan and decided to take our daughter to billing. Massive Mistake !!! Entrance looked like a building site, piles of earth, work vans, mud everywhere. Miserable blokes on the gate directed us to our field, we slowly travelled through the "building site", past a smoking generator that was obviously struggling to cope with the new indoor pool. The new indoor pool was the only new thing on the site by the way. Everything was old. Took a while to find our pitch, no numbers, no lines on the ground showing you pitch sizes, caravans packed together so close. We found our crap pitch and settled down. First job, check out the toilets, oh my god, filth !! they smelled terrible, no lock on toilet door, toilet roll all over floor, we never used them again, we used our caravan for toilet and washing. We walked up to the amusements (fun fair) dodging dog muck, duck much, litter, mud, and the fair was ancient, maybe 4 rides at most, the rides were really old. The noise late at night from other campers was a nightmare, inconsiderate drunks !! Boom Boom music. Teenagers being sick and swearing. we spent 3 days there and i will never go again, ever !!!!!!

In 2007 my parents paid £20,000 cash for a caravan, last Easter 2009, my partner and I upgraded the caravan, they gave us £4,000 back, then when we went to pay this years fees they have gone up by £900. Billing saying we are new owners and have to pay more...

My neighbour got hit at New Year by someone on site. He was told to forget it as the person concerned would probably damage his caravan...

2 years ago my son and friend was badly beaten up, we was told the boys and family would have to leave, they are still on site..

Drugs, guns and stolen cars were removed last year from behind us, upsetting a complete week end.

Now we find that all visitors/ friends have to pay £10.00 to get in. They will get it back if it’s not on a weekend event, or it’s pay just like the public.

Billing may tell you they are making improvements, but believe me there are more people leaving than staying. We would be out of here too if it weren’t for the finance we were stupid to take out. But we will keep trying to find out how to get out of this hell hole without going bankrupt...

On a goodish note the swimming pool is nearly finished for those who wish to bother. And they are bringing the train back. But no doubt they will ruin that by charging the earth.

I would agree with Andy Cressey the park is improving slowly but that is only has it take time for new facilities to start as they need planning permission etc.

To the people who moan that property has been stolen well would you leave it in sight when you are at home? I think not.

If a thief is wanting to nick something they are going to do it we can only prevent it as some thieves can get violent and it’s not worth risk your life for it.

People who complain about security I’m sorry you are so wrong they do a fantastic job. Whether it’s because there is trouble or you are needing help as you are ill or injured they are quick.

I had a holiday home for a couple of years now before that I stayed with parents in theirs.

In the days of the old owners there was more trouble then I would say it has decreased now since the new owners have taken over. I can recall when the park shuts in the days of the old owners of the park then when all the homes and sheds get broken into and the things that were being stolen you would need a vehicle to come on and take these so where the security then that’s what I call very strange security. Then the new owners take on the park and when the park shut under them there was not one home or shed broken into. Now what does that say? The security are doing a good job and that includes the ground and office staff so well done. Billing Aquadrome are doing as much as they can to improve the park. It doesn’t help when you have kids throwing rubbish in the lake and not caring for the surroundings and to dog owners pick up your dogs’ mess.

I have recently bought an old caravan, my first, so I thought it a good idea to go to Billing as its only 60 mins drive from my home. So I booked. No problems, that holiday was great except the dirty toilets. I thought ‘one more chance’ so off I went not booking this time.

When I got there I was in a long queue as it happened to be a bank holiday weekend. I had my sister and nephew with me. I got to the booth and asked for 2 nights stay. The attendant told me I had to pay 3 nights £75 for 4 adults. I said my nephew is only 14 and 2 adults 2 nights. If I could have turned around I would have but the cars behind were pipping at us. The man in the booth said not my problem, the management have said same price to all. I paid. He had no change, and had to get some from the office. This made the other cars pip even more.

We went in to the park, found our friends and told them. They said complain but no one was around to complain to, only the man I spoke to in the booth. I got ready for my weekend break to find a rottweiler next to me. No large breeds on the site! We settled for the night had a few bevies as you do, to find fires being lit further down the field so I rang the office and left a message. 1 hour later the fires still burning so it wasn’t a barbecue. The roti is barking like mad and I phoned and left a message. I saw no security come after either complaint.

The toilets are still a disgrace. What more can I say. Just this: I’ve been to another large site and it was brilliant: clean, people there to help if problems come up, great. I’ll not go to Billing again even if they offer me a million quid, it’s rubbish.

Billing Aquadrome was already in a decline before Pure Leisure came aboard but the decline has be made worse because the company that had taken over had not got a clue about running such a large site. Having said that they seem to have learnt a few lessons and we seem to be on the up. The one thing that spoils Billing is Pure Leisure's hunger for money, its money money money and any which way they can and you get that impression right from the start.

I currently have a Holiday Home on the site and like a few on here I would advise to leave buying a HH on the site for the time being, come back in a few years and lets see what has happened.

If you buy and you don't like it your going to lose a lot of money, not only is the resell value dropped big time but you can't even say the Home would be allowed to stay on its plot of land.

A lot of us who do have a Home here love it but we remember how it used to be and keep our fingers crossed for a return to those days.

If you still want to come then make sure you’re sited well away from The King Fisher, a constant source of trouble and noise and don’t bother complaining because you won't be heard.

We stayed at Billing on a seasonal tourer pitch, for over 5 yrs.

The site is nice when EMPTY.

The ducks are killed once a year.

WHEN FULL IT’S MOSTLY FULL OF LAGER LOUTS, LOUD MUSIC AND BOY RACERS DRIVING LIKE MAD MEN

Security is a joke and if any problems arise you’re better off forming a group of adults and using force. Security do nothing if they come out at all.

Washrooms and showers are kept in a poor state.

The park is nice when empty.

BH weekends and major events breaks avoid at all costs.

The rear static part is like a scene from a trailer trash movie.

SORRY TRAILER PEOPLE.

Site is a firm favourite with TRAVELLERS/white vans, 4x4.

If you move your car people will pitch on the space.

ALWAYS erect wind shields round your plot

You have one meter all round and space for your car.

They also cull the ducks ie shoot them once a year.

[From the new manager of Billing Aquadrome]

There can be no doubt that the Aquadrome has suffered over the years. It has suffered with the same issues experienced by every caravan park in the UK. That is local youths hell bent on coming onto park to cause trouble, would be thieves taking advantage of those folk on holiday, poor British weather and generally the same troubles experienced in all walks of life, in all venues, all cities and towns right across the UK!

In recent months the management at Billing have installed CCTV cameras. Evidence from these cameras will be used to prosecute any wrong doing! They have also installed over 800 meters of perimeter fencing to further improve security on park. A number of undesirables have been removed from the park and will not be allowed to return.

There is a serious effort going on behind the scenes to keep improving the park. feedback from those who understand this has been very welcome and the majority of people have been grateful for the recent improvements.

The park has also now commenced building of the "Pure Aqua" leisure centre at a cost of some £5M.

The reality is that this is a small town with in excess of 4000 people here on busy summer months. Those people who leave their cars unlocked, goods on display and generally think that the place is one where the undesirable members of the community avoid, need to wise up! This place like every other place in the UK can have undesirable people on it.

As a guest you should be sensible and behave exactly as you would anywhere else.

Billing Aquadrome is a great place to holiday and to own a holiday home and the one thing that I do know is that all the team who work here are very committed to the cause and as a team this place will continue to move forward.

People are very quick to criticise when anything goes wrong. It is how things are dealt with that makes the difference.

As the new manager on the Aquadrome, I am well aware of its historic problems, but at the same time there are lots of positive experiences that you don't hear about because the very nature of the human being is to complain and not praise.

Please rest assured any complaints are dealt with in a timely and professional manner and used to help us move forward.

We stayed for 4 nights at the end of July, for the Japanese Car weekend. We stayed in our own touring caravan and a pitch with hook up.

We've been staying here for a few days every summer for the last 10 years. The cost of staying has leapt up over the last few years so much so that it begrudged me paying for my son to sleep in a pup tent outside of the awning, considering I've already paid extra to have him get in anyway. So not only do they charge per person you then get charged again for his tent.

We used to bring our 2 dogs, but even they stayed at home this time. Maybe Billing will charge us for using our own cycles next year. ;)

We were also disappointed that Billing still charged TEC for use of the field despite there being several visitors and campers for the event. Some of us did chose to use the Hook-ups and may not of even shown up at attending the Japanese Car weekend.

he

On the positive side now. The security did give us some comfort knowing that they were keeping an eye on our show cars throughout the night, all of the security that I did speak to were very professional and polite.

There were 2 thefts from cars whilst at the show, but they were left unsecured with cash and a purse on show. Tempting fate maybe, but it is a shame that in the world we live these days some members of the public have no respect for other peoples property, hardly something unique to Billing Aquadrome.

The toilet cleaning staff once again had a battle on their hands, Billing can't control the mess made in the showers or the toilets, but they did a cracking job considering the age of the blocks.

So will I go back? Yes .......BUT the pricing needs to be a little cheaper £30+ a night for a caravan + Awning, Hook-up, Towcar + Showcar, 2 Adults, 1 Child is not a cheap weekend away. For the petrol I used to take the caravan away I could have stayed in a cheap hotel and just visited for the days of the show.

We first went here a month ago and couldn't understand the bad reviews, till we went at the weekend. Baghdad was a safer place to here. Bare knuckle fighting, a riot, police removing hundreds of people from site and officially closing the site down for the night. Very little security for the site of that size and our dog was attacked by a resident's pitbull.

Drunk drivers, kids driving their parents cars, cars speeding and handbrake turning, loud music and having to stay up the second night to protect my family as I felt the on site security were not up to the job. We won't be going back and currently trying (unsuccessfully) to get a full refund.

Don't go here, don't go near it and for goodness sake take note of the comments above. A book called cool camping for kids has found us some nice and safe places to go since and has restored our faith in camping. If the British army needs somewhere to train they should use this site.

Just passed by and stopped for the night. Was here 2 years ago for 1 night, its like going for a meal here. If you have a good one then there are no complaints but if you get a bad one well you will wish you hadn't come.

Been here 6hours and so far my boy has been pushed and kicked by a 5 year old hoodie in the toilets and another young girl was seen throwing things at the ducks. Usual scumbags that i saw 2 years ago, this place will never change.

I've just come back from Billing. I was not going to go there after reading all the bad reviews, but as I had already paid to go, I did not want to disappoint my two kids.

Well, when I got there I was pleasantly surprised. The staff were very good, the place was clean, there was no dog or duck mess anywhere, the toilets and the showers were cleaned twice a day, the bins were emptied regularly, the onsite chippy was very good. There was noise but by midnight it was nice and peaceful. All I can think of is that the people who complained should be living in sheltered accommodation [or maybe Billing has got its act together since the previous reviews - webmaster]. You will get noise: it's a camp site. In all we had a great time and we are going back for the Japanese weekend with another three families.

You must remember you are going camping.

If you want luxury BOOK A FLIGHT

Stayed here over Easter. It could be a great site if they spent some money on it. There are gypsies coming in and out all day and night, and yobs from the local estate. You have to lock everything or it’s gone. Gypsies seem to bring in stolen caravans, strip them out and no one seems to care. Will not go again, holidays are for relaxing not being on high security alert.

Camp ok, areas clean and quiet at night while we were there.

Static caravan had dirty fridge, dirty carpet, leaking tap in kitchen, no lock on bathroom door, and only 1 out of 3 lights in living room working. We reported this to reception but nothing was done. Woke up late 1st morning to discover no water to wash or clean teeth - apparently planned repair work but we were not warned.

Vinnies restaurant was lovely with really friendly staff and wonderful food. Take away was also friendly and large portions of food - too much for me to eat - and cheaper than we pay locally.

Cars are checked for passes when they go in, but anyone can walk in at anytime of day without being checked.

Children didn't like the look of the funfair, and didn't go on go-karts or pedalos as no one else seemed to be using them and they did not want to be there alone.

We usually camp in the summer but would not want to be on prebooked part as they were crammed in too close for our liking.

Had never heard of the place until 2 months ago and although we liked Northampton and other nearby tourist attractions we would not choose to go back to this park.

I've just come back from Billing Aquadrome with my friend and her dad and we stayed in tents on the campsite. Billing is good it has many different pubs to go to for meals and a drink and also for the children that get bored there are numerous parks and there is also a fair there too but I must say there is not a lot of rides to chose from at this fair!! At times the place can get pretty busy so maybe your children will need to be supervised in this sort of environment?? One of the problems at this campsite is that it used to be pretty quiet and there used to only be allowed families but now there are quite a few young youth's. Another problem is that in the morning you will most likely be woken up by noises but it is not too bad. Just to warn you there are many birds there i.e swans and many more so there will be a lot of poo so you will have to be careful of where to stand!!! There are many refreshments from drinks to ice creams so no need to worry about that and also the people who run the fair rides are very friendly but some can be a little flirty so you will need to be careful other than that Billing is a amazing place so you should maybe go there for a family outing ....p.s I enjoyed it a lot xx

The last 3 or 4 reviewers must be employees or picked the 2 quietest weekends of the year. I have a static and stay here 11 months of the year, so you could say I've seen it all. It's like being in the Gaza Strip during the summer months and in winter the local thieves love the quiet and darkness. Static caravan break-ins are common place. Security's main function is to attend the break-in and arrange to have the door boarded up, rather than throw out the wandering hoodies, thieves and trouble makers.

My biggest mistake was believing the sales hype and not doing proper research before buying my place. I can't wait to sell up and leave like most of my neighbours.

Security is a joke, anyone can get in as long as they pay. If you walk from the local estates or gypsie camp site over the road you get in for free and can cause as much trouble as you want.

Loutish and lewd behaviour, gangs of youths drinking all night and causing trouble, fights, loud music to all hours and drunk speeding drivers. Welcome to hell! If you want a nice family orientated holiday you're in for a shock. If you're looking for a quiet place to retire, don't even think about coming here. I've been to many campsites around UK and Europe and never experienced a place quite like Billing Aquadrome. I've enjoyed the Kent Custom Bike show run by the local Hells Angel chapter with my son who was three yrs old at the time and felt safer, I kid you not!

I don't let my kids out when it gets dark and keep in constant contact when they are out in daylight hours.

I've been threatened when walking back home after a night out in town with friends.

I wouldn't recommend the place to anyone. The shame is that there are many nice families who visit and stay here, but the idiots that are allowed to come on site and act with impunity spoil the place for the many.

COME ON Pure Leisure, do something about the security here, it's a laughing stock. You're alienating your customers and losing them faster than you bring in new mugs. You say Billing is a fun place for all the family, do something so that it is a fun safe place for the whole family before you lose complete control.

[Note that this reviewer does not actually seem to have camped here]

I have read some of the reviews wrote about Billing Aquadrome. I would like to say. we arrived in the morning, parked in the free fairground car park at the entrance. All the staff in this park are very helpful. We bought two wrist bands for our children at £9 each. Great value for all day. Some reviews said the rides were outdated this was NOT the case. All the rides we saw were almost new & a few new rides since we last visited. We had a picnic, played crazy golf, went on a pedal boat, went gokarting. We had a great day out. The park was full of people having fun. We will return to this park again soon.

I don't know what some people writing these reviews are moaning about. We had a great time. I would recommend this park to anyone with a small family. For camping & fun.

I have just read some of the reviews of Billing Aquadrome. I think a lot of these reviews are very unfair. We have just had 2 days camping here with 5 children. They have had a great time, crazy golf, pedal boats, go karting, the funfair was very good value we bought wrist bands at £9 each to ride all day on the rides. With 5 children we have to have a budget & this kept them occupied all day. A lot of good rides for all ages. The pub food was good, evening entertainment good. Showers not the cleanest but this is a family camping site with its own amusement park, pubs & shops on site, not a 5*Hilton Hotel. All in all great value for money.

I really don't know why people are moaning. I've been to this place 3 or 4 times now and its great. I don't know why people are moaning about unwanted people getting on the site. It's so hard to get on the site, you have to pay £10 just to park in the car park.

The food is great, great atmosphere, great facilities. The rides are looking good, they have three or four new rides now.

Maybe, for the new season this year they have sorted all the problems. I don't have any faults with the park.

We stayed at Billing to travel to Silverstone and met up with some friends for the night. We had a great time. I nearly cancelled after reading the reviews on here! Get a life you moaners... it is a lively site with live bands and great car shows.. so it won't be for you if you don't like that kind of thing.. It was a little muddy but it's only the good old British weather to blame. And just for the record ducks do poo... which idiot moaned about that?? THERE WAS NO DOG POO.. THE SECURITY WAS FINE. and I took my caravan and got a lovely spot by the water and found staff helpful and friendly.. Trust me this site is fine my 14 year old son can't wait to go again he loved it.

I read the reviews and thought OMG no way will we go there but as I couldn't find anywhere else I bit the bullet and booked for 3 nights. Well what a surprise, we had a great time.

As they had some bad weather a few days before it was pretty wet but we found a lovely spot and put the tent up. Later we went to the Willow Lake pub on site, all the staff were friendly and helpful, we also ate there that night and at £22.00 for 2 adults and 4 kids you really cant go wrong, in fact we went back the next night as well.

From the man on the gate, to the women in the main office everybody was lovely.

The toilet and shower blocks did get a bit messy by the end of the day but with how busy the park was I suppose this is only to be expected, but they had a great team who put everything right first thing next morning.

There are only 2 things I had a problem with, 1 was the gift shop and how expensive it was, ok your on holiday and expect to pay a little more but this really was a lot more, the other was the wrist bands for the fair, the cost was ok but when finding out the restrictions on their use I found it cheaper to buy the tokens.

Other than that I really can't fault the park and wouldn't hesitate to visit again.

Pure leisure or Pure greed.

It seems the only thought is profit and not the people that provide it. Is it not time to give the residents and visitors something back? The camping areas are a joke the tourers are being squeezed out by an invasion of statics, the train's gone the pools gone the fair and amusements are so dated they are no longer an attraction. Couple this with new and old statics scattered everywhere and without some input to the site the repeat visits and the solid resident base will soon dry up.

PS what happened to the pool and gym starting March?

I have just visited Billing for the R&R weekend, and was robbed of my Peugeot Scooter on the first night which was on the rack of my motorhome, what can you say, I know (PLEASE DO NOT GO THERE IT IS INSECURE). I reported the incident to security but there was only one person for the whole site, I shall be informing the ARVE magazine and the MMM of this.

We had hoped for a peaceful, relaxing weekend but were very disappointed. The pitch was fine but the noise at night was dreadful. This mainly came from groups of males who were obviously drunk. At times we felt very unsafe and worried about the safety of our children. The first night was bad but the second was worse with an even larger group of males (about 20) drinking and driving around the site. The noise went on on both occasions well into the early hours. We were also disappointed with the rundown funfair and shopping facilities. Having made a written complaint to the site we received a very standard reply with no attempt to assure us it wouldn't happen again.

I am sorry to say this but all you people do is moan about Billing. I am sorry you have had a bad time but people go on holiday to have fun. Billing has sorted out the rides. When I went last weekend the only poo on the floor was left by the ducks and there was no rubbish on the floor. People are friendly and helpful so I don't know why people are complaining. Or are you the people who sit in the corner and moan who ruin the holiday not only for yourselves but for the people around you?

Even after being taken over by new management Billing Aquadrome shows few signs of improving. The emphasis seems to be on cramming as many static vans as possible on the site, raising the prices (by 100% on certain things!!) and not giving the customer anything back in exchange for their cash. We first had to pay £25 two years ago for every extra car pass we wanted, the next year it was £50,and surprise surprise it's now £75!!! So instead of buying 3 extra passes we have decided to tell them to stick their passes. I know of many people who have decided to move off the park as you are paying a fortune for nothing. If the idea is to outprice the average family and only attract gullible fools with bottomless wallets, oh boy it's working. But even the gullible will eventually get fed up with throwing money away for little in return.

Need to reply to Mary who visited the site - where we live !! It POURED with rain for the whole weekend at the Land Rover show, and one would imagine therefore that even HRH's grounds in Windsor would have been like a swamp. I also deeply resent the inference that the "camp" is populated with latent creeps and paedophiles.

True we do have some strange people hereabouts, truthfully though many of those are the weekend visitors.

I had a caravan on Billing for 35 years. Everything was ok under the Macaness family. Then this lot took over what a load.

The rent went up, more caravan bases being put down.

Rubbish collection stopped. I had to go to fair trades before I eventually sold the van. Billing stop me selling a least 7 times by telling buyers they can’t keep the van on the same site.

Load of rubbish: seek legal advice and you can beat them.

Don’t ever buy a van on Billing, it’s the worst thing you could do. I never did live there only as a holiday home.

We have just returned from 5 day short break at Billing Aquadrome - never to return!!! We appreciate that it is late in the season but we did not expect to find 3 out of the 4 toilet blocks closed with no explanation as to why. The toilet blocks that were open were 1) COLD 2) DIRTY 3) SOAPLESS 4) LOO ROLL LESS 5) USELESS!! They seem to have invested in some new showers (2 portacabins bolted together) but these are useless too. The water took ages to heat, lasted only minutes and there are no doors on any of the shower cubicles - only curtains!!! I dread to think what this will be like in the summer months when the place is heaving.

There is a total lack of security in the park too. Our neighbour for the 5 days had his gas bottle hose cut and bottle pinched. We also had our windows knocked twice on separate nights - with no one apparently there!! The only security we saw were driving around the park in their white Corsa vans and 6 times the stated speed limit! At no point did we see any foot patrols of any sort. The security (haha) guys on the gates had a job to smile as they were to busy watching the telly!

The whole park just has that 'run down and dirty' feel to it. Its a real shame as it could be made into a lovely place but unfortunately we wont be returning to find out - and until the reviews change then I advise that anybody contemplating going here seriously consider looking at the alternative sites!!!

3/10 (and that is being generous!!!)

Visited Billing for the first time at the August Bank Holiday weekend. Pitched our van on what little flat surface remained due to ruts and pot holes all over the place. The toilets and showers could have been better despite noticing the cleaners were there twice a day. This was partly due to inconsiderate people leaving their rubbish (soiled underwear and used sanitary products (women's toilets) all over). It makes me wonder what these so called campers/caravanners must live like at home. On the Sunday night we were unfortunate enough to get new neighbours who had no respect for anyone else, shouting, screaming and doing things of an adult nature, which we found to be unacceptable especially as we have small children. Surely couples should be put in a separate area away from respectable families! Also we were aware of idiots in souped up cars racing about at all hours of the day and night. What were the security doing? Sweet FA, except riding around in vans and even they were breaking the speed limits. I suppose the only good things over the weekend were the meals we had on site and the excellent weather. We would probably visit again but not until the new owners get their act together and do something about all the problems we and others have had.

Yes I agree and so do many other people who stay here for 11 months of the year.

We have all bought our static caravans or log cabins at great expense and we are enormously disappointed at the way things have gone with the new owners.

The majority of owners here are decent, law abiding citizens who are disenchanted by the weekend visitors who seem to be able to do what they like. We have strict rules that we have to adhere to or we get thrown off with our caravans, but visitors to our site get away with all sorts.

We have to keep our dogs on leads at all times and remove dog waste immediately. We are not allowed to drink and drive or break the speed limit or have rowdy parties but visitors pitch there tents where they like and leave all there rubbish behind. Its not the 'caravan owners' at Billing that are to blame its the lack of funds being invested by Pure Leisure. And they promised so much too!

I think Billing is a disgrace: the rubbish is always overflowing, security are no use to anyone; they just drive round for 10 ten minutes then go back to their shed for a cup of tea...the fair? well that is just a joke...the amount of underage youths that drink alcohol whilst riding around on push bikes is unbelievable...I also visited after the latest Land Rover weekend and may I say what an utter disgrace, the whole park is like a swamp and to top it all off how can you say its right to let people have tents and tourers around an infants play park...they say don't let you kids talk to strangers how exactly do you stop them when there are people basically living in the park......

sort yourselves out you are VERY EXPENSIVE as it is and if it gets any worse the environmental health will end up there.

"I love Billing Aquadrome"

No, Really, I do, which is why I find it such a shame that it has gone from bad to reasonable to bad, then to worse.

I have been forced to write this after a discovery I made today upon attempting to renew my yearly pass.

I'm afraid I'm not a camper, or caravanner any more, but, if that's what flicks your switch, then go for it, I just think it would be a great mistake if you choose to do it in this godforsaken place.

For the past 10 or so years ago I have bought a yearly pass to enter Billing, so that I can attend the many shows that are put on there each year. I am typical of the type of person that attends these shows and, can confirm that we also hate the fact that it is so crowded and rowdy, my thoughts go out to all of those who have had the misfortune to have thought they could have a good family camping holiday here. As usual, its the minority that ruin it for everyone else, unfortunately, this minority seem to be there all day, all night and all year.

The amenities are barely suitable for a day visit, I don't know how people cope camping, the overall feel of the place is that of a decaying Chav town, complete with overflowing dumpsters, toxic looking rubbish filled river and rusty old fairground rides that look as much fun as hitting your thumb with a mallet.

As I have said before, I am not a camping person, but, if I were to be given a choice of a week at Billing Aquadrome and a month being chained to a rusty radiator with Terry Waite, I think Terry would win. The company would certainly be better, but the overall view of a person that hasn't had a wash for ages due to a lack of decent amenities and rusty metal would be about the same.

Some years ago, whilst on one of my visits to Billing I had some drunken, possibly worse, thug, threaten to beat me up, it it weren't for a friend of mine being with me, I'm sure he would have had his way, it was like being in an open prison without guards or control, but that was a one off, even so one more than it should have been.

Are things looking up for Billing?

Last year it was taken over by a new company, with new ideas, one of those is to redevelop the site to take make believe "log cabins", the rest of the site seems to have remained as attractive as a decaying ghetto filled with Chavs (so much for their entrance rules)

Here is the big crunch: my season ticket has gone up 100% without 100% of improvements. At £100, this to me is the final nail in its coffin, surely it was better to have put it up a small amount and still get the money, rather than force me to attend shows elsewhere.

Billing Aquadrome.

I'd like to take the opportunity to congratulate you on a job well done and value for money.............

But I can't

The latest news on Billing aquadrome.

The nice people on the American Automobile club, who attended Billing this weekend (14 April 2007) have all clubbed together and bought one of their members a new electric wheelchair to replace the one that had been stolen and damaged last year.

The headless Swan, found in the site last week, had not been shot, but had had its neck broken then was decapitated.

Nice to see things are looking up. (Not the Swan though)

Here is an explanation of the experience my family and I had at Billing Aqudrome over the August bank holiday weekend 2006. We are keen campers and have been for some years now. We live in Milton Keynes and usually go camping to Cheddar or around the coast. This year we fancied a change so decided on staying closer to home. Billing is somewhere I have never thought of going but after looking on the web site and reading:

'At Billing Aquadrome we seek to provide you with a tranquil environment and range of facilities so you can take that well deserved break'

We thought we would give it a try as after visiting other camp sites we know how nice and relaxing camp sites can be that pride themselves on providing a tranquil environment.

The experience we got from Billing was actually far from what is described on the web site. The first night we arrived and were pleasantly surprised with the amount of young all male groups that were pitched up with blaring music booming from their cars! They were being very loud and shouting obscene language. We moved our tent away from these groups and found what we thought was a better spot as it was as far away as possible from the fair, parks and takeaway's. On that first night as we were trying to settle our children who were all between the ages of 2-13 the music from cars and shouting got louder and louder. I don't know how but we managed to get the children to sleep ok. For the adults it was a different story! I am not exaggerating when I say that up until at least 4.00am people were screaming, shouting, swearing and singing with no consideration for anyone else at all. This went on through Saturday and Sunday night too but was not as bad as Friday night. Also people were driving around in cars around all the tents with music full blast beeping their horns! Lots of other people were shouting for them to be quiet but they did not let up. The noises from the children's parks where teenagers gathered at night was dreadful! we were no where near them but the noise was still very loud until the early hours.

What I can't understand is how this is allowed to happen! The park clearly had a lot of security but nothing seemed to be done about it. My 5 year old son nearly got run over twice just playing right next to our tent as massive pick up trucks flew around driving too fast on the grass and the language used by people was disgusting especially when children are around. I can honestly say that what was meant to be a nice relaxing bank holiday was ruined. We would have packed away and left the site after the first night but the children got upset as they love camping and wanted to stay. They had all been very excited all summer holidays about it so we did not want to upset them. Other camp sites we have been to all over the country seem to have strict rules about noise after a certain time but Billing certainly has none of those. Of course we expect a certain level of noise as people have a right to enjoy themselves and have fun, listen to music and sit around chatting but this was something else! I am only 27 and enjoy fun but being at Billing made me feel very threatened and vulnerable whilst in my tent at night. Instead of the web site saying 'Tranquil' it should say 'This campsite has a club 18-30 feel with no rules, expect shouting and screaming until all hours with people beeping their horns to keep you awake'

It has taken me two nights to catch up on the sleep I missed. Also the web site boasts about its new development. It also said that the new 'Crazy Golf' was proving very popular! We were there from Friday to Monday and walked past it about 4 times every day, it was never open and the only sign of human existance was dirty condoms hanging off a plastic shark above the door! Disgusting!

Since returning and speaking to friends most of them have told me that Billing has a bad reputation and is known for being dirty, noisy and a park that allows teenagers to wander in at all hours causing noise and trouble. The fair was fun for the children but as adults we could see that it is in a bad state of repair with half the stuff broken and missing. Also one good point is that they do have shops where you can get everything you need and the toilets were nicer than I have seen at other camp sites. The pubs and clubs are nice but one bad point about that was the amount of drunken adults staggering around bumping into people and apparent 'boy racers' screeching around in cars. Drunken local teenagers were also lurking at every corner spitting on the ground which did not make for a pleasant 'family feel'. I am sorry to say it but Billing Aquadrome seemed like a place for local teenagers to loom and dogs to bark and not only crap everywhere but to bark right through the night along with the sounds of car horns, drunken people singing, screaming, shouting and obscene language. The best part of my weekend was packing up on Monday morning to leave.

I will certainly never be visiting this horrible place again and I recommend anyone who is looking for a nice relaxing family break to steer well clear!

Initially we thought Billing Aquadrome was a tranquil spot which would suit our needs for our retired lifestyle and my oh my how you have to invest in the place to enjoy it's "lifestyle". We chose to invest in a second hand static. During the coming months /years, we heard of breakins, experienced rowdiness/ litter /fouling and a general "we know it happens but prefer not to be told" attitude. Rules which are hammered home to investors in their vans, apply only as and when it suits, ie same sex parties, breeds of dog which should not be admitted, even the rule that van owners should not hang out washing on Fridays & Saturdays are ignored, I wonder why. Should anyone have the mind to wander round taking photographs of all the eye-sores, they would have a best seller.

I love Billing Aquadrome.... yes it needs updating... and work has now started... I went on site 5yrs ago with my tourer, loved it that much I bought a static there 2 years later... it's hard work for the staff to keep this large site clean when its packed, and remember it's the people on site that make the mess...I also have a dog.. but I pick up after it... so maybe if all owners did the same it wouldn't be in that state... most of the mess is off the ducks...and that's nature...The rubbish is removed every day, the grass is cut regularly, it's the touring side which is the worst... but all this will change as the refurb takes place...it's like updating our homes... we have to put up with a bit of mess to reap the rewards at the end of it.. so don't be too quick to judge... and well done to all the staff at Billing for trying so hard to make people's stay there a happy one...

I agree with the above review. I stayed there recently and on returning home sent an email with similar comments to Billing Aquadrome. I did not even receive the courtesy of an acknowledgement let alone a response to the points raised. I guess the trouble is that the site gets so many customers due to its size and location that they don't care about adverse comments!

I have been to Billing on numerous occasions, I also used to have a tourer there a few years ago. But I must say that the place needs a total revamp as it is very dated. The fair rides are good but tatty looking. Also lots of youngsters roaming around in groups, being loud and intimidating. Considering the place does not cater for groups of youths, what are security doing, apart from driving around the park not getting out of their vans to deal with the problem.

My partner and I took our 2 kids to the site over Easter. Quite frankly the whole place needs a complete renovation starting with the fair and its old rusty looking rides-to the appalling lack of bins!!! I remember thinking as I was walking around the place, whilst avoiding the empty broken bottles and dog excrement, what our foreign visitors must think of the place. It quite clearly states that there will be no admission for single groups of males or females. Not the case. The showers were filthy! My daughter refused to have one. No soap in the toilets, and a lack of toilet paper all 4 days we were there. And the river that runs the length of the park had so much rubbish in it I couldn't comprehend how the ducks and swans managed to swim in it. In short, disgraceful.

We had a static caravan on this site for ten years or more and then the bad element came creeping in i.e. the new management. They were putting up the prices on site and the poor people whose caravan was 15 years old were given 3 months to get the off site. Was this really fair? Also the Sales staff were then pushing for us to buy new Caravans at a ridiculous hyped up price. I am pleased that we sold and got of site. I also agree that the vandals seemed to enjoying smashing the place up and the amenities over the years had deteriorated fast. No I wont go back to Billing again.