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Sea Barn Farm / Camping Park (England)
by GoFigure After having searched online for the UK's best camping parks, having learned from previous mistakes (Rectory Farm Fishing & Camping), our selection fell on a tasty few, mainly in Cornwall, Dorset and Devon. Deciding on the closest park because in was situated on the Jurassic Coast, a coastline which supposedly abounded ... with fossils and the like, we promptly reserved a tent pitch at Sea Barn Farm Camping Park situated in Dorset. Their website claimed to have brand new toilet blocks (definitely an issue since our nightmare stay at the Rectory Farm - see review), and boasted spectacular sea views, access to Fleet Lagoon - an internationally protected nature reserve and wildfowl haven that inspired J Meade Faulkner to write the smuggling novel 'Moonfleet' (which can be purchased in the small shop located within the camp site), and easy access to the Jurassic Coast walk which stretches 96 miles across Dorset and East Devon's coast. Along with the stunning views supposedly came some decently sized pitches available with or without electric hook-ups... we opted for the 'with' and forked over £14.00/per night for the pitch with electrical hook-up, and an additional £1.00/per night for the dog... total coming to £15.00/per night (off-season rate). They had a special going (still available) that gives you a free night if you book for 7 nights. Therefore, book 7 and pay for 6... which we did. Total cost £90.00 for our September 6 - 12 camping trip. On site facilities - the laundry room with 2 enormous industrial washers and dryers, free iron and ironing board - family toilets with bath, shower and loo - toilet blocks. You have two toilet blocks to choose from, the old and the new. The new block, situated near the camp entrance, possesses large shower cubicles, toilets, sink cubicles, aromatherapy hand soap and hair dryers. There is no charge for showers or hair dryers. The old block, situated towards the centre of the park, possesses toilets and showers. Although both toilets are kept immaculately clean (I do not exaggerate), the new block is the better option. Also on site; a small shop containing a pretty amazing selection of camping stuff such as tent pegs, clothes lines, frying pans, and a good assortment of snacks, books and grocery items including bug sprays, sun tan lotion, after sun ointments and creams, medicine, candles, etc... There is also a play area for children with swings and slides, and water points throughout the park. Facilities at West Fleet Holiday Park (same owners) which is situated a fifteen minute walk away are available to those staying at Sea Barn... these facilities include a swimming pool, restaurant and bar with family entertainment during the high season (22nd May - 30th August). Sea Barn Farm Camping Park is situated on a 140-acre working farm which runs right down to the Fleet Lagoon, and is home to some beautiful race horses which you can admire as you wander down towards the Fleet Lagoon. Sometimes, if you're lucky, you can watch them racing around their own private practice track. The site is kept clean, and although the inevitable gathering of spiders in the toilet blocks at night is daunting, the toilet blocks are absolutely immaculate and there wasn't a single spider or web to be seen anywhere during the day. We went during the low season, however, much to our surprise, the park was still bustling with campers (more so during the weekend). Although we had no problems getting a shower during the week, oddly enough, there was a queue on Saturday and Sunday mornings to the women's showers in the new block. Keeping in mind that the park was NOT full - running at a less than 10% capacity - it was surprising to see queues. I can imagine that it gets pretty hectic during the 'high' season. Sea Barn Farm Camping Park is pretty spectacular, the views breathtaking, which is probably why it is so popular with campers, not to mention that the facilities are kept spotless and nearly spider/bug free, however, there are a few flaws to this site... Firstly, because the site is so popular, the grass is pretty patchy... in fact, there was no grass where we pitched, only dirt. This is fine on nice sunny days, but the few rainy days we had meant that the ground around the tent was constantly soft and muddy. We had a few extra wind breakers, therefore we laid one down from the entrance of the tent to our cooking area. Visually speaking, this ended up being an eyesore. Also, although the campsite boasts spectacular views, they aren't visible from all the pitches because of the height of the trees and shrubs surrounding the park. The sea views are available from non electrical hook-up pitches located towards the entrance of the site near the shop and new toilet block, non electric hook-up pitches located next to electric hook-up pitches #23, #24 and #25. We were camped at number #25. Needless to say that the view was only available so long as there were no camper vans parked in the non hook-up sections facing us... which occurred on our last day. Another major flaw to this site is the lack of 'close' toilets... camped at #25, it was a 4-minute walk to the old toilet block and a 7-minute walk to the new toilet block... which seems all the further when you've really 'gotta' go. Preferring the new block, as did most women staying at the park, it was a nightmare whenever I needed the loo... especially late at night. Even walking the distance to the old loo was a hassle. Which obviously explained why the majority of campers were parked towards the entrance of the park, behind the new toilet block... there is a definite need for more toilet blocks on this site. As for chemical disposal points... they seem to be nonexistent. One of the campers, who was smart enough to have purchased one of those portable loos for night time use, couldn't find a chemical disposal point and asked us (husband and I) if we'd seen one. Unfortunately for her, we hadn't. We did look for one during the course of our stay, but never found one... so not certain if there is one available on the site. Also, although it didn't affect us, other campers were plagued by blustery winds and had to put up numerous windbreakers around their tents to keep them from collapsing or being blown away. The wind, we were told, is a big problem for those wanting the sea views because these pitches are not protected by tall shrubs and trees... this wasn't a problem for us because our tent is round (SoulPad - see review), and did not catch in the wind. In fact, we hardly even noticed that it was windy. Another point of contention is that the path leading down to the Fleet Lagoon is not signposted... it is located between the old and the new toilet blocks, and isn't visible unless you are actually admiring the hedges. The path is located between the hedges, and isn't a proper path, but one created by campers who were obviously looking for a shortcut to the Fleet. This walk takes you down to the Fleet, about a 10-minute walk, and if you want to get closer to the water, then it's another few minutes... although no one would actually want to walk beside the water because it is boggy. Needless to say that you can't actually swim in the Fleet because it's too dangerous. If you want a swim, the swimming pool in West Fleet Holiday Park is your best bet, or you can drive to Chesil Beach (although it's all stone and pebbles) or Weymouth Beach, which is nice and sandy. Sea Barn Farm Camping Park is a really nice place to camp... it's dog friendly, there are some really fantastic walks available along the coastline, and the views are spectacular. It is, however, not a good site for those wishing to walk on the beach because the coastline isn't sandy, it is made up of large pebbles and stones that are difficult to walk on because you tend to sink. Our Scottish Border Terrier, Oz, was unimpressed... to say the least. We kept away from the beach walks and took the cliff walks which were beautiful but extremely windy at times... luckily it was nice and warm during our short vacation near the coast. For those thinking they'll be lucky enough to find a fossil during a coastal wander, I'll tell you now... don't hold your breath. The coastline is pebbles, stones, more pebbles... and yes... more stones. At one point we did look for a sandy beach to walk on, but the only one available that allowed dogs was in Weymouth, and even that one only allowed pets on a tiny portion of the beach. In conclusion, Sea Barn Farm Camping Park is a great place to stay, clean, well-situated for sightseers who want to visit Weymouth, Chesil, Lyme Regis, Abbotsbury and the Jurassic Coast. Sea Barn Farm Fleet Weymouth Dorset DT3 4ED Telephone: (01305) 782218 Read the complete review |
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La Bien Assise Campsite (Guines, France)
by Ljg1006 Background: We are husband and wife in our 30s, 18 month old and Grandparents in their 50s. This was our first visit to France and our first time in a 'super tent'. My parents took their own caravan and have used the site for the last few years. Location: Situtated about 20 minutes from Calais this is an ideal base for the ... North coast of France, it's easy to find and Guines is signposted from Calais. Guines itself is a smallish town, it has several bakeries (we used the one in the sq which was lovely), cafes, small corner shops and on the outskirts there is a Carrefour supermarket and a Lidl (from the site take the first exit off the roundabout and just keep going along that road, the supermarket is about a mile or so on the left). We travelled to Bologne, Lille and Brugge from the site for day trips (Bologne can be done in half a day). You are also not far from Cite Europe which is a large shopping mall (although with the current exchange rate it's not cheap). There are also lovely beaches about 15 minutes away, lovely sand although a little exposed to the elements (we were there mid Sept). Site: The site is made up of different elements, touring vans, touring tents, supertents, static caravans and chalets. We booked through Eurocamp but noticed canvas and keycamps also do holiday accommodation there. It's a nice site, well landscaped and a one way road system. The only negative is I would imagine in season when it's full the pitches are a bit close together and it could get noisy, also we were near the main road which was fine til around 5am when the trucks started rumbling along (luckily we were awake anyway thanks to our ds), there aren't many pitches near the road though. Facilities: There is a toddler childrens park with little tikes equipment in and a park for older children. The park is based near the bar area and there is outside seating so you can keep your eye on the children. The facilites were running a limited sevice as we were there the week before the site closed for the winter. The cafe was expensive, I would recommend heading to the Carrefour and getting yourself a pizza if you want an easy meal rather than going there. The food we had was adequate. The shop shelves were pretty empty, you cold pre-order bread for the next day, although we always walked in to the village in the mornings and got bread from there. The swimming pool was nice, cleaned every morning, the only thing is to get to the changing rooms you have to walk outside which was a little cold, I imagine in the summer it's lovely. They have a big pool and then a small paddling pool for children. There is also a slide which runs in to a separate small pool. Toilets/showers: These were very clean, there was one incident where someone had smeared faeces around the toilet cubicle and floor (you have to wonder about some people!) but this was cleaned up very quickly. The blocks nearest us had one heated shower room with 3 showers, 4 toilets and some sinks in, these get very busy and I found the best time was either really early in the morning or late at night, however, the other none heated shower rooms were perfectly adequate and there was never a shortage of hot water. Price: With Eurocamp for a week in a supertent including the tunnel crossing we paid £251 in Sept, we are looking to go back next year (in a caravan this time) in June and at the moment the cheapest is canvas inc tunnel which is £315. In my opinion this is a bargain when you compare the cost of a week in england in a static van (just been quoted £800 in July for Bournemouth!) I would definately recommend this site to people but only if you are confident with driving abroad as there isn't much nearby to do. A lot of people use it as a stop gap before driving further south and it's ideal for this. We're going back next year as it suits our needs (my parents can take their own van and we can stay on the same site in hired accommodation). Read the complete review |
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Wellington Country Park (Berkshire, UK)
by mattpotter10 A great place to go for a family day out in the summer. There are a variety of different things to do e.g. Assault course, lake, train rides, feeding ducks/swans and depending on the year, petting of lambs and sheep from the nearby farm. The walks on offer are extremely nice and best to do when the seasons change as the variety of ... wildlife increases. The park is ideally suited to those with young children as the activities suit those between 3-13 years old, or with big kids ;-) There are numerous activities to do, all mentioned on their website and I believe there is also a camping ground/ Caravan Park which would be ideal to stay at because of the wide range of activities on offer. The park is a little overpriced for what you actually get and some extra activities in the park require extra fees to take part in, when I believe they should all be included in the entrance price of the park. Location wise the park is around 7-8 miles from Junction 11 of the M4 (reading) located in Hampshire countryside away from traffic noise and congestion. The A33 runs almost past the park and is the feeder road from the M4 to the M3 allowing you to access the south coast. Again the location suits the park being a camping ground if you were passing this area Enroute south coast or M4. Bring your wellies if it's wet or has been raining :-) Read the complete review |
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