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We are regular campers and with the children, try to find sites with good sized pitches and clean 'facilities' alas I think we are in the minority (present company excepted of course !).

I have just sent in a review of Hidden Valley in North Devon. On the face of it, this site should fit our bill but due to a change of owner things have slipped and the standards that made this site so well known have gone. Pitch cost £301 for 9 nights (2 adults, 3 kids, 1 tent, EHU)

The worst was the toilet block for tents (57 or so pitches) 3 showers each for men and women with orange and black grout, unclean floor, dirty basen and hairs in the sink, horrid. The block was cleaned by one person once a day but not at a set time. We complained as did others but the attitude of the manager was that he checked the block and they were clean. He also said the orange was body fat and that they cant use bleach due to their 5* environmental status and their own cesspit - bleach kills the bacteria.

The caravan field has a refurbed toilet black with dark blue showers (not tiles) but I just wonder if this dark colour will make it hard for the 'cleaner' to see the dirt ! Apparently the tenter's block will be refurbed at the end of 2006. I don't mind old - old can be clean just as much as new !

The pitches are very large and the site is laid out well but no lighting down the long path from the reception / bar to the tent field with one side being a steep drop to a brook.

So poor standards on a site that must be at the very top end of the price range

Also in the past a warden lived on the tent field to preserve the site standards (keep the noise down after 10.30 !) but during our visit the warden left with his caravan and due to the large number of multi pitch groups (6 adults 12 kids etc) we faced increasing loud and animated (with the wine??) outbursts well past 12am to 1am.

I am not a killjoy - when i camp with friends we also enjoy chatting n a group but I like to think we respect the many others who are tucked up in bed.

So we looked at several other sites in the Croyde and Woolacombe area and sadly although the showers may be clean/cleaned several times a day, yo are faced with pitching on a field with minimal distance between tents (2metres) which is too close to my neighbour for me.

Am i asking too much for a bit of space and clean facilities ?

Maybe I am !

Thats a shame, been there once a couple of years ago and it was lovely.

Good job you didn't go to Sandford Park in Poole.  I haven't put my review in yet because it will take a while and I'm waiting til i've got some time to myself. 

damage barton farm, near woolacombe has both caravan club and camping and caravanning club sites large pitches emaculate toilets as standard but you have to be members

stu

How much???? Were the pitch pegs gold plated or something?

We've just come back from the Hillhead CC site. It was the busiest week of the year and I paid £124 for 5 nights with EHU and every facility you could wish for. They even had a designated tent area as well. This is one of the reasons why I joined the caravan club as the majority of sites are a high standard at a fair price. With regards to having a chat etc after the sprogs have finally joined the sleepy express - couldn't agree with you more!  we joined our local caravan club centre and go on lots of rallies were everyone keeps an eye on the sprogs and we often have a good chat with friends until alte at night. I sincerely hope that your £309 was a typo otherwise join the caravan club and get value for money!

 Sorry melliejd we have just come back from Sandford Park and had a lovely time,Alan and Tracey couldnt do enough to help.

It sounds disgusting if you ask me!!! We've just come back from Mannor Farm holiday Center in Charmouth. Oh my god, what a site. We have never experienced anything like it before. 375 pitches it boasts. How many showers?? I think we counted 9. The block nearest us was appaling, we would'nt shower just in case we caught something. There is a new block which is what you expect standards to be like anywhere. It does'nt say anything in the advert about being a stones throw from the A35, relaxing i think not!!!

We all like to get the little ones into bed and have a drink and a chat but the noise from the road over the hedge was a huge distraction. We had to walk under the bypass to get to our field and there was chunks of concrete dumped there and large rather worrying cables of some sort just hanging out of the bridge. Next year we are joining the camping and caravaning club. There were ladies in the loos even complaing to each other about the place. So be warned!!!!

We've just come back from the Trotting Mare at Overton which I know has been used for rallies/meets on this site in the past and the reviews looked OK. I've put my review in too.

There was one little toilet block with two toilets and two showers for each sex. One toilet had toilet paper from about mid morning to tea time and the other toilet didn't even have a toilet roll holder. There was no sanitary bin in the ladies, just a flip top kitchen bin, which I didn't think was very hygienic. One toilet had a broken seat and the other didn't have a lid - OK, doesn't stop it being used but a bit tatty. There was one small hand basin, no soap and no hand drying facilities. When I complained about the toilet roll, the girl in the pub just shrugged and said if I had any complaints I should write to "this man" and gave me a business card with the owner's name on it. It was £16.50 a night, which we thought excessive but accepted it being last minute and bank holiday weekend. Apparently they charge £4 per child as well.

We walked off a site at Fishguard last summer because the showers were absolutely disgusting and the ladies loo stank. The owner reckoned he'd just cleaned it as well!

I agree about old, though - you don't need state of the art so long as they're clean and serviceable.

Nora