Carry on Camping at Widemouth Bay (John Fowler Holiday Parks)

Member Name: S.Davies

Product:	John Fowler Holiday Parks
Date:	04/09/09 (21 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Location, Clubhouse

Disadvantages: Shower & Toilet facilities, Overcrowding

We spent the end of August in a tourer at Widemouth Bay so review is mainly relevant for tourers and campers.

Pros:
The location of the site is great as you are very close to Widemouth Bay beach and Bude. If you're an active person who likes cycling, walking or surfing there is plenty for you around here. Our pitch had nice views across the valley and you can actually get a view of the sea as well. This would have been great had the weather been OK.
Site also seemed to cater mainly for families so didn't see any rowdy drunken gangs of youths.
I thought the clubhouse was OK, free WiFi and internet access points are useful plus I thought the entertainments team and staff were pretty cheerful and had a good rapport with people (certainly a big improvement on my previous experiences over the years at Perran View and St Ives). The place was often crammed though so we had to wait for a seat on a few occasions. Best to go in before kids entertainment starts or once it finishes.

Cons:
Basic shower and toilet facilities are refugee camp standard and are absolutely APPALLING!. They are completely inadequate for the number of people they have to support. I counted 2 shower blocks. A main block with 4 shower cubicles & 4 toilets and a sub block down the hill with 2 showers and 3 toilets. The main block has lockable cubicles where you can hang your towels and dry clothes (not so in the sub-block). However, it is heavily used and very dirty as a result. The showers were push button operated and stopped almost as soon as you took your hand off the button. There was always a queue for the showers and sometimes for the toilets. The toilets were disgusting and frequently without loo roll. I am amazed at how difficult it is for some people to lift a toilet seat or use a urinal instead. On one occasion I entered a cubicle to find excrement smeared down the wall. The handprint suggested it was a made by a small child. It was there for 2 days!!! These basic facilities are the worst aspect of the site and completely let it down. They are the main reason why I gave this only 1 star. It would have got 3 or 4 otherwise.

The site is very steep with no flat pitches. It can be quite a trek down to the clubhouse facilities. Tourers are located at the top of the hill is not too bad but tent dwellers are much worse off as most are located on a non-pitched field of grass on a steep gradient. This can be a real problem during rain. During my stay I saw staff use a tractor to pull 4 cars out of the muddy field. Due to its coastal loaction it can also be very windy. On the last day we had gales as a result of the remnants of Hurricane Bill. The tractor was busy again, this time pulling trailer loads of tent debris too and from the bins. I overhead one of the site staff say that over 20 tents had been destroyed during the night.

Campers beware!

Summary: They should change their name to Fouler Holiday Parks.