I booked this site weeks in advance for the May bank holiday (3 nights) for 2, 6-man tents and one 2-man tent, all one family, and was told they had the ideal spot for us. They rang that evening to ask the size of our tents and after searching for the instructions, I gave them the measurements, and was told the 'ideal spot' was too small, but he had another 'spot' available. On arrival in the pouring rain they again asked the size of our tents as he had lost the measurements! We were shown to a postage stamp sized patch of grass, on a corner with vehicle access on 3 sides, right on top of the dustbins, part of which was a muddy quagmire. When we said that it was impossible to pitch 3 tents on such a small area, they just said "Oh you'll be alright" and left us to it, they could not have cared less. With a great deal of manoeuvrability we managed to pitch the small tent under a tree, so naturally it became covered in droppings - and one of the 6-man tents, being directly under overhead cables where wood pigeons sat, was likewise covered in droppings - the size of cowpats! It is appreciated that the bad weather was not their fault, but it was blatantly obvious, even in dry weather, they did not have room for us. Their camping field was at the opposite end of the site, tents packed in nose to tail. Our 'spot' was in an area mainly taken up by permanently based caravans. On the plus side the toilets/showers were free, clean, with plenty of hot water. There was one washing-up sink, and a hairdryer, washing machine and drier for which there was a charge. There was a small playground for young children, but no area for ball games and when asked we were told there was a recreation ground 3/4 mile down the road.! The clubhouse was OK, but the food mediocre and expensive for what you got. Opening/closing times seemed to depend mostly on staff mood. The shop, when it was open, catered mostly for fishermen, with a few convenience foods (93p for a bog standard loaf of sliced bread). When we asked for directions to the nearest supermarket, we were directed to the camp shop. We explained that we needed more than the shop could provide and were grudgingly directed to a Co-op and told there was a Tesco, but we would never find it. We did find it, easy, peasy. This camping experience was not for the faint hearted, not least because of the appalling weather, but the couldn't care less attitude and lack of space. We were not the only family with bored youngsters desperate for a bit of space in which to kick a ball around. They were rebuked for being noisy, accused of causing damage by kicking a ball too close to one of the permanently based caravans, although no damage was detected I am amazed this site has a 4* tourist board rating and 4 Pennant AA rating, their inspectors have obviously never visited on a busy bank holiday weekend.
The following response has been received from the campsite: In reply to the review about our campsite by Pat Szalai we feel obliged to answer her points of complaint in the following way: - When Pat Szalai telephoned us to make a booking for our site, alarm bells should have rang out loud and clear - unfortunately we are often blinded by our faith in people. Never before have we had a person make a booking with us to come camping and at the same time state that they are not prepared to sleep over night in the tent! What is the point of buying a tent and paying to pitch it on a campsite if you are not going to stay in it? We were asked if we knew of a local guesthouse that we could put her in contact with, so as she could book with that as well. This we duly did - we even received a letter thanking us for our ‘kind assistance’ - not bad for a campsite with a ‘couldn’t care less attitude’. May bank holiday was indeed very wet - something that all campsites fear but most people understand that no one can control the weather. Likewise with birds - no one can ensure that a bird will never ever make droppings on a tent. I feel sure that if during her stay Pat Szalai had never saw a bird or any other wildlife she would have complained about that. With regard to her comments on the measurements of the tents being lost this is a complete figment of her imagination. All three tents were paid for fully in advance of her arrival - and as all tents are priced subject to their size we obviously would have known the respective sizes in order to be able to charge for them. What she would have been asked on arrival was to confirm that the tents were still the same size as those that were booked, because sometimes people arrive with different or new ones to what they originally planned to bring with them. The pitches that she was allocated were in the quieter long stay part of our site, near to the start of the raised dog walk - ideal as the booking included a dog. The tents were pitched on grass at the end of a gravel roadway (with no through traffic) so as their cars would be able to be near them and not on the soggy grass. I am amazed that she was disappointed in the pitches as these ones are very sought after and only become available when long-term campers go off site as part of their rent conditions. All other comments made in the review can also be completely rejected out of hand - the shop and clubhouse opening times are clearly displayed - perhaps someone should just have read the signs. The shop is open from 8am until 6pm daily and the clubhouse is open 6pm until midnight and Sunday lunchtimes 12 noon until 3pm fairly regular set hours I would have thought. Directions to Tesco - left out of the entrance, 2nd right, left, right at the 2nd roundabout - most campers visit there at some point during their stay. Likewise with regard to her bored youngsters - they were told when booking that if they wanted to play football then the village had a full size football pitch, all weather tennis court and recreational field that would be more appropriate to use than the campsite as it was after all a bank holiday, very busy and unsuitable because of the very small children of other campers. People fishing the lake reprimanded the same youngsters, because they were crashing through the bushes and messing around. We also received complaints from others campers about the conduct of the party. Not once either on arrival (when she could have been offered alternative pitches) or during her stay were we made aware of any problems. Even after her departure we are still to receive a written or verbal complaint - something I would have expected if her experience as claimed was indeed so dreadful. Perhaps Pat Szalai would have done better to choose something else to do with her bank holiday other than to go camping in a tent she wouldn’t stay in.
Readers are invited to make their own judgement on the above. I have presented both sides of the story, in an endeavour to be fair to all. I do not intend to prolong the argument on this website, but if Pat and the campsite can reach an amicable agreement, I’d be happy to replace the above.
|
