I shall start with the positive. A lovely medium sized site in a quiet location, situated above a picturesque lake. The pool complex is clean and a good size, with water slides. There is also a really nice indoor pool for those colder days. The shower blocks were immaculate and there was never any shortage of hot water. Take away was adequate, but not great cuisine, however the site is a fair drive from a decent town so it's good if you want a break from cooking.

Now for the down points. We went at the back end of the summer holidays, and despite there still being a fair few campers they closed down our nearest shower block. If we had been in September maybe, but to close it when we weren't even out of August seemed a bit much. Our main gripe however was there inspection of the tent before we left.

When we "moved" in although clean there was grass and dust on the floor, we accepted this it was a tent after all. However when we went to leave we were made to reclean for less. Our friend had even washed her floor and they still weren't satisfied saying they couldn't let new guests move in. We think it was the French attitude towards the English as people in mobile homes had been treated to the same. It unfortunately spoilt what had been a good holiday. Ironically the tents were being taken down as people vacated them!!

Nice site, but wouldn't return.

Pam

As you will see from the title Nick this topic is for camp site reviews only Briar

Did I miss something Briar or have the names of the sites just been added recently If I missed them I apologise
If they have just been added it does make things clearer

A timely warning to fellow caravanners. This adults only site has impressive well landscaped, nicely spaced pitches (pebbles make the van difficult to maneovre though). Noise from a nearby road, the toilets/showers are dated and tired but nevertheless clean, so all OK so far.

Saturday evening 10pm our caravan started throbbing - lo and behold a rave in a neighbouring field that went on until 6am without any let up at all. We rang the site at 4am as we were unsure where the noise was coming from. They failed to answer as "we have been getting a lot of crank calls lately", so emergencies are definitely out of the equation.

In the morning we were chatting to locals and understood that this was not the first time there had been a rave on the field. My husband went to get a Sunday paper from the site shop and mentioned the noise to a member of staff who replied "so you were the jerk who rang me at 4am!" He then embarked on a vitriolic, very personal attack and finished up saying "if you don't like it "f*** off", which was just what we did. To be fair however, they were kindness personified when we arrived and they took our money.

We have just returned from an idyllic 2 weeks at this site. The touring caravan and tent section is on a small field right next to the beach, and I MEAN right next to it! The views and sunsets from here are sensational, plus being able to see seals lying on a ridge of rocks just off shore was great, we also saw dolphins on one of our days there.
As for facilities, the toilets are in 2 porta cabin type buildings, but are kept very clean, everyone staying there is given a code for access. There are 2 drinking water taps, plus waste water disposal point and chemical toilet disposal point.
This isn`t the place for you if you want bright lights and loud music, but for a lovely, peaceful holiday it can`t be beaten. The site owners, Alison and Adrian, live just across the road, where they also let out 8 static caravans and an apartment, and they are very nice helpful people. There is a local shop which has a very good selection of beers, wines and spirits, and the nearest pub is about 3 or 4 miles down the road at Tayinloan. It`s called The Macdonald Arms, it`s not posh by any means, but I can highly recommend the meals there. Tayinloan is also where the ferry to the island of Gigha leaves from, a trip there is recommended, it only takes 20 minutes.
Muasdale is perfect for people with young children, the beach is soft sand, and the sea is very shallow, hardly ever any waves, just ripples! Wish I was back there!

Just returned from this site and it was beautiful. Well landscaped, wild rabbits and ducks walk freely amongst the caravans. Childs play area large and very safe.Most caravans faced west so got the sun most of the day. We stayed in one of the privately owned caravans ( my cousins) but Haven own a few to let out at the rear of the site.The gym and pool are brand new. Access to the site via a coded gate so you don't get people driving round just for a look!

Word of warning, if your expecting a"Hi De Hi" "Butlin" type holiday with a club house, amusements and swimming pool with toys and slides DO NOT come here! It's not that sort of caravan park, thank god.
If you want peace and quiet and to relax in beautiful surroundings this is the place to be

I`m so glad that you enjoyed Seafield. It`s about 5 years since we were last there, before they had the leisure centre and pool, but we loved it even then. We had the coded access to the site and toilet/shower block back then, and it`s so much better knowing that only people who are staying on site can get on there and drive round. We really must go again, although the cost has gone up a heck of a lot since the updating of the site.

Hi, am looking at camping in france next may with my 2 sons aged 16 and 11. we want to take our own tent etc and would like to know if anyone has any recommendations. preferably coastal and not too far from the ports,not too fussy which port, it;s just the driving and directions i'm trying to avoid!

Donna

Well ive seen early season & peak season here at Haven Golden Sands site & can honestly say where we are located (im a caravan owner) its quiet whatever season.
I realise on a large site if you go near the main complex or are located in the fleet vans you will hear noise & the hubbub of peak season guests till late evening which is why i chose to have my van located on the edge of site overlooking the fields/dunes but still within minutes of the complex if i require anything.
Each to our own in what we want out of a holiday, ive done the worldwide holidays & been places before they became popular with the masses.
I now want weekends or week breaks to relax & experience the slower way of life that son offer in Lincolnshire.
I did venture down the coast to Ingoldmells/Skegness just to experience what some people love for a holiday busy busy busy.
I can see the attraction in why people visit this site year on year & make good friends with fellow holidaymakers &/or owners.
The beach is wonderful, miles of Golden sands (hence where the name of the site comes from), a pub that offers family food & a fantastic seal sanctuary on the doorstep.
Im back home now in the busy south & looking forward to another break mid september

Elm Cottage Chester Lane, Little Budworth,
Nr. Winsford, Cheshire CW7 2QJ
Telephone 01829 760544


This is a great family site, well maintained with toilet and showerblock on the main site. Dish washing facilities and washing machines are also available. There is also a large rally field next to the main site. All pitches on the main site have electric and are reasonably spaced.
A short walk from the site will bring you to the local pub serving excelent food and local ales. Would recommend a visit. 1.5 miles from Oulton Park racing circuit if you want to visit the race track.

We visited Seashore Haven Holiday Park in Great Yarmouth just over two years ago and found this site extremely disappointing.

Great Yarmouth is really a lovely town, but the part of the beach just a short walk across the road from the actual park was filthy - fag ends, bottles, crisp papers etc. The beach is a lot nicer and cleaner in the actual town.

We paid well over the odds for a Rory caravan, bedding was ripped and stained, and toilet was stained with the obvious from the previous visitors and had obviously been missed by the cleaners before our arrival. Fridge freezer had been turned off resulting in a nice puddle on floor.

Food is expensive on site and if you like eating chips with burgers, chips with sausage, chips with chips (you get the idea) you'll be fine.

If you're travelling by car you'd be better off going to the local Tesco and do a little shop for essentials, you'll save a small fortune.

Pool was small, cold and full of hair, not a lot to do in the day apart from your children wanting to spend all your money on grabber machines, entertainment at night wasn't varied enough either, bingo and a band in one bar or Rory and co doing the same stuff until 9pm at night in another.

All the children loved this but by the time 'adult' entertainment came on, our children became tired and so had to leave. I think it would have been better if Rory and co had finished earlier each night say 8pm so parents could at least have some kind of 'night out' whilst on holiday.

It can get a bit tedious watching and listening to the same character songs and routines night after night.

Overall the Park is very over hyped in the glossy brochures, very disappointed and has actually put us off staying in Haven caravan parks for life.

I must add the only reason we booked Seashore was because it had a beach closer to it than Vauxhall Holiday Park, but I wish I would have stayed there instead, don't be put off by Vauxhall's distance like I was actually only 5-10 minutes' walk away from town centre and closer to the nicer part of the beach.

Visited this site in April with Keycamps, rather disappointed with the site itself (accommodation was fine). Central area with restaurant, take-away phones etc rather small for size of site and in peak season would be very congested.

Biggest problem was the 2 bars which did not open until 7.30pm and were both up a flight of stairs with no outdoor seating area and very inconvenient for anyone with buggies or walking difficulties.
Nowhere could parents have a quiet drink whilst children played within sight before taking them off to bed.

Not a site we would return to.

Patka

Visited this site in April with Keycamps, rather disappointed with the site itself (accommodation was fine). Central area with restaurant, take-away phones etc rather small for size of site and in peak season would be very congested.

Biggest problem was the 2 bars which did not open until 7.30pm and were both up a flight of stairs with no outdoor seating area and very inconvenient for anyone with buggies or walking difficulties.
Nowhere could parents have a quiet drink whilst children played within sight before taking them off to bed.

Not a site we would return to.

Patka

Camping Haliotis
50170
Pontorson
Normandy
France
Tel(33) 02 33 68 11 59 -

Fax(33) 02 33 58 95 36

http://www.camping-haliotis-mont-saint-michel.com/

We stayed here for 2 nights in 2007 as Steph wanted to visit Mont Saint Michel

The Actual address gives a street name of Chemin du Soupiers but the entrance is not on that road anymore it is on the Rue du General Patton (D19)

Staff are friendly and speak good English

The site is well laid out the toilets / showers are very clean and bright and well maintained

Electricity is Reverse Polarity on standard plugs

The pool / bar/ restaurant /reception is new and a very nice relaxing area with FREE WiFi

The pitches are large enough for some pretty big Motor Homes although some have a raised edge (kerb height but not concrete) on the grass ones behind reception

Water is local to most pitches as is grey waste disposal and chemical toilets have an identified clean area to be emptied at.



Fishing is available in the river behind the site and Mont Saint Michel is just 9km away.

If you have problems walking the mount is quite steep but there are so many little cafes to rest in it's worth the climb although I do begrudge paying to visit a church so did not go in the Abbey at the top

Camping La Valde Trie
Moyenville
80870
France
We did this site Early May 2007 for two nights

The site is hidden in a valley full of trees, (no mobile phone signal at
all) and is easily accessed by following your Sat Nav rather than the
directions in the Camping cheques book !!

We found the site unkempt and in poor maintainance despite it have reviews
and awards as being eco friendly we though it was simply dirty. The
roadways are quite narrow and I would not like to take a twin axle there our
van was scrapping the hedges as it is

Site details

Electric-depending on which socket you plug your lead into you can get
normal wiring /live earth reverse /neutral /earth reverse so a tester is an
absolute must.
The toilet blocks (one in low season two open in high season) are cleaned
twice a day

There are 2 childrens unsupervised play areas

There is an open-air pool-which was shut whilst we were there

All rubbish must be separated for recycling (as it now seems to be
EVERYWHERE in France)

They have a bar and food area also a TV lounge with UK/Dutch programs a shop and games area

They advertise farm visits for kids too

You can get bread delivered to your pitch at 8am every morning if you like a bagette leaving on your car bonnet without any wrapping ! (unless it's
raining)

Twin Lakes
Soumeras
17130
Charente Maritime
France

Well finally got here May 2007

Site details Pictures here

10 amp electric Reverse Polarity

Good size pitches with grassy area for tents and overspill field too.
Pitches divided the usual French way with hedges and trees. There is a BBQ built and free to use but Gas grills are allowed no BBQ on pitch

Water close by most pitches-waste water goes in drain at sanitary block

Chemical toilets can NOT be emptied as site only has Fosse Septique (but if you use soap powder instead of chemicals this is acceptable - works well
too)

Bar and Snacks available usually until 11pm in season


FISHING FREE TO CAMPERS also no licence needed as it's private water

We planned to stop here 5-7 days on our way through France towards Spain and thanks to the friendliness of Sandra and Gary we ended up going no further South at all staying 14 days.

During this time we felt like locals (thanks to the locals who regularly use
the site bar) and family the site was that way organised, regular lunches
and coffee mornings, high Teas all French Style and Sunday Lunch takes at least 3 hours to eat properly.

Fishing

This is what I was here for Gary has some wonderful Carp in his two lakes and I went for them

Baits were simple Bread Crust, Sweetcorn, Cat Food, Dog biscuit. If you use maggots all you get are Pumpkinseeds.

Les Ecureuils is a small campsite in St Hilaire de Riez and in reality is just around the corner from Sites such as Acapulco and Clarys plage. It has direct easy access to a pleasant beach and this is it's main advantage.
There is a small shop at the entrance which I felt was expensive.There was a super u within 1 km which was much more reasonably priced.
The take away was very good and catered for most tastes, ranging from full seafood platters, roast chicken, to basic pizza and chips.
There is a laundry facility with washers,driers and an ironing board/iron.
The bar overlooked the pool area and was compact but very good and there was always some evening entertainment for children.
The water park was great for small children,easy to monitor them from all angles around the pool area, there was a great lazy river which was a huge hit with my seven year old and it was heated.However the waterslides had some sharp edges and my husband and kids always seemed to have some cuts and bumps when emerging from the pool.
There were some aspects which detracted from an otherwise enjoyable experience.
The play area and tennis court are located at the back of the site and were far removed from the main areas and the bar.
There were no green areas for children to play in, no football or volleyball areas and space was obviously at a premium.
Most pitches seemed smallish and didn't have as much privacy as I would have liked.There were immature hedging planted between mobile homes but will not give any major degree of privacy for another few years.
I could not see any evidence of security patrolling the site, and almost every night we were disturbed by revellers returning from the nearby nightclub, sometimes as late as 2.45 a.m.
Despite there being a notice banning BB guns from the site, we were annoyed by kids shooting at each other while we tried to relax out of doors.
Most sadly of all, my children were subjected to disgraceful anti Irish abuse by a small group of English children who didn't know any better.This was the first time this has happened in six years of French campsites as usually French campsites are wonderful multicultural experiences.
Sins

Ty Nadan is set in a rural area of Brittany about 8 Km from Quimperle.
It's a magnificent site, set in acre upon acre of ash and oak forest, divided by the slow moving river elle.
The pitches are medium to large, with hedging between pitches and you can choose from sunny to very sheltered,depending on your preference.
Fabulous waterpark,great slides and plenty of swimming space and an impressive indoor pool area.
This campsite suits active families, with organised kayaking, canoeing, adventure park style treetop assault course, rock climbing,paintballing and horseriding and pretty much all located right on site.
Fine bar and restaurant complex and all facilities like launderette exactly as you would expect on a good site.It is definitely well thought out and creatively designed.There is a huge football and beach volleyball area and so much green space to relax and enjoy nature.
It's big, it's noisy and a haven for teenagers who seemed to be enjoying every moment of their holidays there.It had a very vibrant and friendly atmosphere and there was great social interaction between all ages and nationalities.
Of course nothing is so good that it can't be made better.My only concern was the safety aspect of the on site activities.One of my children was injured on one of the adventure park activities and suffered a deep cut to the arm. However the supervisor was not authorised to offer any first aid and my husband was on hand to lead her away and look after her. Had he not been there, I have no idea how she would have been dealt with or how we would have been contacted.
The Bouncy castle is huge and obviously great fun but is loacted on solid slabs of paving stone and day after day I saw small children falling off and bumping heads and knees on the hard stone ground. Surely some matting to absorb the impact wouldn't cost a fortune and may prevent potential broken limbs and concussions.
Overall though, a top class site and one of the best in terms of facilities and location.
Sins

Probably shouldn't be shouting too loudly about this one, or the competition to get in will become even more fierce!! However this is a lovely quiet site, just a hop, skip and jump from the beach. Walk one way and you are a very short walk to the harbour and the little rowing boat ferry to Walberswick, turn the other way and it's a lovely walk down the beach into Southwold.
If I had one down point and it is a minor one, the shower block could do with a revamp, but it is perfectly adequate.
We went for the weekend as a group of 3 families, children ranging in age from 3 to 14 and we all had a great time, it was just a shame we couldn't have stayed longer.

Pam