Independent Campsite Reviews

This site sits in the heart of the most picturesque areas of Derbyshire and is frequented in the main by groups of hikers and DoE award candidates. It’s allegedly part of a working farm but the only animals I saw were an ostentation of incredibly noisy peacocks standing sentinel atop the farm buildings and camping barns at the centre of the site.

If you are ever stuck for a camp site with vacancies in the peak district, Barn Farm will have room because, although the majority of the site is flat or gently sloping, the slope increases on the more outlying areas and these slopes are occupied after all the flat areas have been filled. Some of the pitches slope so steeply that they will only be filled in desperation and thus, there will always be pitches available. The site itself is large and sprawls over three fields, the biggest appeared to accommodate a large group on our visit. The site facilities are basic but very clean. There are laundry facilities, tumble dryers, a games room with limited entertainment; table football, pinball machine, a TV and one of those air hockey games with a puck that floats on a cushion of air. There is also apparently, a sauna on site which is ‘bookable on request’. The toilet facilities are limited but surprisingly, despite there being well over one hundred people on site, there were no queues; even at peak times. Amenities unique to Barn Farm in my experience are communal showers, where campers can share their showering experience with friends (and strangers) - uncomfortably reminiscent of my school days. There are four individual showers for those more modest or less prone to exhibitionism, and these are free, hot and are housed in very large cubicles so clothes hung on pegs don’t also end up showered.

The site was quiet during the day but noise levels increased during the evening and did not subside until well after midnight. There were two marquees erected in the group field at the opposite end of the site from us, so I think the noise may have come from an organised function of some description. The camping fees are a bit steep - £7.50 per head - and if we hadn’t reported to reception on arrival, I’m not sure fees would have been collected on-site as we were not issued with a ‘luggage label’ to tie to our guy ropes to show we were legitimate campers.

I don’t want to sound too negative about Barn Farm; it’s just that nothing springs to mind to be positive about. We enjoyed our stay and it was ideal for our group of 25, even with the torrential rain and gales that we endured over the solstice weekend. The Red Lion pub is a short walk into the village and it serves good food and beer. The food service in the hiker’s bar is a bit erratic - they stop serving food here when all tables in the dining area are full. I advise pre-booking a table if visiting at weekends. Finally, don’t rely on satnav by post code to find Barn Farm; we were informed we had arrived at our destination in a residential cul-de-sac in the middle of Birchover. The site is located at the Eastern edge of the village, opposite the quarry.

I thought the camp site was brill.

My boyfriend and I visited the site on the 25 July 2008 for the weekend. We both had a great weekend.

The field where we pitched was very large and was as flat as a field can be, (we had to level the camp stove up a little). There are also 3 other fields, 1 dedicated to static caravans and the other 2 for tents and camper vans. These 2 fields were on a slope but if you pitch at the top of the field it was flat enough.

One block of showers were communal (male and female have separate shower block). If you are too shy to shower with others don’t fret there is another block where you can shower in a room all too your-self. I got lucky, on both days I managed to get the shower room with the sauna in it. This is a very large room with a mirror so I was able to put a little makeup on after I was dressed. (Sauna is only available upon request at reception).

The staff were helpful and friendly.

I was very impressed with the child’s play room which had pool, pinball and a football table. It also housed two large freezers which we were very grateful for as we dropped lucky with the weather. We were able to re-freeze our ice packs and keep some of our food and drink in them. (Please note everyone has access to the freezers therefore I’d recommend putting all objects in a bag with your name on. I used the cool bag).

Noise can be a problem to any campsite therefore to criticise a campsite on the noise of others would be wrong. All I can say about this is they hold a no noise policy after 11.30pm so if you are having problems with any individuals then report them to reception. Staff will issue warnings to noisy neighbours and can even kick them off the site if they don’t comply.

All in all, this campsite is worthy of a re-visit and we are planning another trip to Barn Farm at the end of August.

Nicky Hayes

Rotherham

S.Yorkshire