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Reviews of Forest Holidays Cropton

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Forest Holidays Cropton
Cropton
Pickering
North Yorkshire (Browse area)

Pitches:

Rating:

8/10 from 155 Reviews

No Tents	No Caravans	No Motorhomes	No Campervans
No Glamping Units	No Statics for Hire	No Statics for Sale	No Seasonal Pitches
No Electric Hookups	No Hardstandings	No Fully Serviced Pitches	Show Full Facilities

Who's it for
Families Welcome	Not Members Only	No Rallies	Not Naturist Site
Dogs Welcome	No Dogs Allowed	Groups Welcome
Facilities
No Toilets	No Showers	No Washing Up Area	No Bathroom
No Baby Changing	No Laundry	No Drinking Water	Disabled Friendly
No Chemical Disposal	No Battery Charging	No Gas Exchange	No Recycling Facilities
No Kitchen Facilities	No Freezer / Fridge	No Motorhome Point	No Wifi Access
No Shop	No Bar	No Restaurant
Activities
No Playground	No TV Room	No Games Room	No Evening Ents
No Fishing	No Wild Swimming	No Indoor Pool	No Outdoor Pool
No Horse Riding	No Cycle Hire	No Golf	No Tennis
No Beach	No Watersports	No Boat Launch
Other Features
No Sea Views	Not Working Farm	No Campfires Allowed
No Waterside Pitches	Public Transport	No Dog Walk

Reviews: 155 in total, now showing 11 to 20 Previous 10 Next 10

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Date of Visit: February 2013

Unit: Campervan

Reviewer: VWSaffy

7 reviews from this member

Very large corporate feel site with surrounding woodland run in conjunction with the forestry commission. Lots of pitches for touring caravans and motorhomes. Clean. Very large toilet and shower blocks which were heated at all times which was very welcome in February when we visited. Pot wash room was closed due to poor weather and we had to use the laundry room. Level large pitches but lacked character we thought. Imagine it would be very in the Summer months. £26 for a night electric hook up which we thought was expensive.

Date of Visit: February 2013

Unit: Campervan

Reviewer: Jrayner

14 reviews from this member

This was our third visit to this campsite, which we used to love. We love the setting in the forest etc etc, the facilities are all fine etc etc, but on this occasion, the obvious lack of attention to cleaning and maintenance made for a very disappointing visit. The bathrooms were not cleaned AT ALL for the four days of our visit, and became filthy by the time we left. The toilets, in particular, were filthy - some of them unusable. There was no sign that any cleaning at all was going on. There was a single mop and bucket for use in all the showers, but the mop was absolutely filthy and there was no water in the bucket, so people eventually gave over using it. The drain in at least one of the showers was completely blocked, fluorescent light bulbs had blown or were on their way out and had not been replaced etc etc.

The washing-up facility had a note on the door saying it was closed and to please use the sinks in the laundry. However, the laundry is freezing and badly lit, while the washing up room is warm and well-lit. There was no apparent reason why the washing-up room should have been closed, other than that it hadn't been cleaned, so of course people were still using it. The bin (containing food waste) had clearly not been emptied for weeks. The floor was strewn with masses of dead leaves and some of the sinks were full of soil. The other sinks were in use, however, and people were generally cleaning up after themselves. We concluded that the only reason for the room to be closed was that staff just couldn't be bothered to clean it. They clearly hadn't bothered cleaning anything else.

The main bin on site near the shower block was overflowing and only finally got emptied when people started placing bags of rubbish on the floor next to it.

The drinking water area was full of dead and rotting leaves and had a large recycling bin pushed into it.

The chemical waste facility was dirty and smelly.

I could go on.

I eventually went to ask them to clean the bathrooms, and was told by the disinterested young man on reception that he would get someone to do it - but they never did. The place hadn't been touched in at least four days (probably longer).

The decline in cleanliness and maintenance of this otherwise fabulous site means that we are unlikely to return until we read reviews saying that the issues have been resolved. I will be making both Forest Holidays and the Camping and Caravanning Club aware, so hopefully, things will be sorted. It really is a super place when it's being looked after!

Date of Visit: September 2012

Unit: Motorhome

Reviewer: Madhouse007

11 reviews from this member

Spiers House came highly recommended by caravanning friends of ours and for the first few hours, we couldn't understand why it was one of their favourite sites. After a 3 night stay, now we do.

This site is everything the outdoor life should be about. The staff are not at all condescending (as some can be!). Mobile phone reception is almost non-existent and there's no rowdy club house or kids playground.

The little shop is very well stocked, and the hand pulled pint an added extra as the pub is quite a trek away.

Toilets and showers are immaculately clean and modern and I never saw another person in there.

Pitches are (almost) level and you can pick your own when you get there, which is great.

The best thing of all is the forest setting. Miles and miles of marked walks, streams for kids to be kids in and as an added bonus on the Saturday of our stay, a few hours of rally cars screaming through the forest. Totally unexpected but added a lovely twist to the weekend!

The HUGE open skies are simply stunning - no light pollution here, unless you count the full moon which was beautiful.

All in all, our kids rate this as one of the best we've stayed on and we will definitely be back, regularly! The boys at 15 & 11 can be hard to please, but not here, dams in the streams and rally cars made for double thumbs up.

Thanks for a great weekend.

Date of Visit: August 2012

Unit: Tent

Reviewer: Samb1

2 reviews from this member

We had a fabulous three days here. The staff and checking in service are fabulous very easy and very quick and helpful. The shower blocks are free and very clean.

The shop is only small but has the things you usually run out of or need. Wonderful walks and if you walk to keldy forest log cabins they do great pizzas for lunch and even a chocolate and marshmallow one much to the enjoyment and amusement of the children!

I would recommend this campsite to people who love camping and walking and no noise. Very respectful fellow campers. The staff do seem to be on top of this and go round checking and keeping noise to a minimum.

There is no park this was not a problem as the children played around the forest and everybody said it has been our best camping trip. Please don't build a park it doesn't need one its fab as it is.

Date of Visit: August 2012

Unit: Tent

Reviewer: Team H+B

1 review from this member

Just returned from a fantastic holiday at Spiers house - 2 adults, 2 children (age 9 and 10) and a dog. We camped in the non electric pitches for 4 nights. To find the site, head through Pickering and follow the signs for Cropton. When you pass the New Inn Pub, keep to the left, do not follow signs for Cropton Village. You will pass a small sign on your left for North York Moors forest before passing over a small hump back bridge. Continue on this road until you see Spiers House sign posted as a right turn.

Staff on site are very friendly and we found the facilities more than suited our needs. The shop is very basic, but Pickering is only about a twenty minute drive away if you need to stock up. £1. 30 to park for an hour in Co-op car park.

I saw people buying beer from the shop, but we don't drink so was not something I really looked into. The shop also sells croissants, hot dogs and pizzas. Pizzas cost £7 for a 12' cheese and tomato with extra toppings charged at 50p. Last time to order is approx 5pm, but we were told if we wanted one to order early on in the day. We didn't indulge during our stay so not able to offer a review on these.

Showers (which are free) are great - very hot, and if everyone mops up after themselves, they are very clean. I only had one short wait for a shower during our stay and that was the bank holiday weekend. I saw a hair dryer - 20p, but never used it. Toilets are clean and never ran out of paper. Facilities get cleaned at approx midday and are closed for an hour, during which time you can use the disabled toilet and shower if required.

There is a freezer on site that can be used to re-freeze packs at no cost. There are vending machines with drinks 70p and chocolate (?). Were not fully stocked during our stay.

I saw signs for a mobile newspaper and cigarette vendor on Saturday morning, but we did not make use of this.

We enjoyed the Forest Survival activity with the ranger - even the dog came along. We enjoyed building a den as a family and learned more about the forest and the wildlife to be found there. It was a bit pricey - £28 for a family of four, but I had done the maths before our holiday so I had budgeted this in as an activity.

Friday night, 7. 30pm, a fish and chip van came to the site - start queuing early as it is popular. Reasonably priced and kids meals offered at £2.

The location was wonderful and we enjoyed lots of fabulous forest walks with our dog. Dogs are very welcome at the site and well catered for with a 'dog parking' area located outside reception.

We did not use the bike hire as we took the kids bikes and they enjoyed riding through the forest on these.

We did not see any children's play area, but really was not necessary for our kids who had a wonderful time, getting very muddy in the forest! The site is not over booked - even during busy bank holiday weekend and so the kids enjoyed having lots of space to play football and other games with their newly found friends in the middle of the field.

The midgies are rife at this campsite. I came away completely unscathed, but unfortunately my other half did not! He has in excess of 30 bites just on his head! So do go prepared - we had repellent sprays, wipes and wrist bands, but he will wear a hat next time!

We had a bbq every night - a cracking buy from Asda £12. 50. After the food was cooked, we enjoyed marshmallows and crumpets around the fire. There is no wood to be burned at all on the site, so go prepared with your charcoal - they are very strict about the wood burning and will come and check - in a polite way.

I did not want to leave this site as I enjoyed it so much. I cannot wait to return and would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys lovely forest walks.

There are lots of things to do in the area too. We enjoyed going on the North Yorkshire Moors Steam Train to Whitby as a day out. I wanted to visit Goathland to see the set of Heartbeat and also because the station was used in the first Harry Potter film. So we decided to drive to Goathland, park there and take the train to Whitby. The dog was welcome on the train too.

We paid approx £115 for 4 nights camping without elec (inc nights during BH weekend) and it was money very well spent.

I like to be very prepared before setting out on a new adventure and as money isn't free-flowing, I like to be able to plan ahead and not have any hidden surprises. Therefore, I have included as much detail as possible for anyone out there who is like me. I hope this review helps others thinking of going to Spiers House and I hope you enjoy as lovely a holiday as we did.

Date of Visit: August 2012

Unit: Tent

Reviewer: AGJRichardson99

1 review from this member

What a fab find! Spiers House gave us a great welcome back to camping after a 10 year break. Debbie, Zac and co. Were really helpful and friendly and we couldn't ask for more.

When we arrived, we were directed to our pitch by Zac only to find it wasn't quite big enough for our tent (very large 8 berth family tent with extension). Went to the office, told Debbie and within moments we were being led to a larger premium pitch for no extra cost. Kudos all round.

Facilities are good, lovely hot showers (essential after a day biking in the forest in the rain), plenty of loos, and private wash stations. The shop has a basic range of camping essentials and local produce and fantastic coffee (not the usual brown water you normally get).

The site was starting to get busier in the run up to the bank holiday weekend but it still didn't feel crowded, and the staff were keeping up with cleaning and recycling which made us happy campers!

The site itself is great for kids, they can be left to roam as they wish in total safety - our 8 year old thought it was great that he could cycle anywhere on site and made lots of new friends.

Date of Visit: August 2012

Unit: Tent

Reviewer: Shazzmattaz

2 reviews from this member

We went Friday to Sunday and ended up extending the stay until Tuesday as we all enjoyed it so much. As people have pointed out though, the site is rife with midgies, take long sleeves, hats and spray!

Well tended pitches, we got an electric hook up right next to the shower block, these were warm and well cleaned, although could have been cleaned more than once a day with the amount of people on site! The staff were incredible helpful and friendly, advising on pitch and surrounding area. The shop is okay, expensive but reasonably stocked. We found the ranger activities very expensive however, especially as adults must attend with children and are therefore charged! For my 13 year old I found this unnecessary!

What we loved most was the location, beautiful surroundings and walks and the stream which the kids loved, all the children congregated here to play. It is a bit expensive compared to other sites with better facilities, but I expect this is due to the location. We would return, but maybe not in peak season.

Date of Visit: June 2012

Unit: Touring Caravan

Reviewer: WSMPIRATE

3 reviews from this member

Firstly a quick word of praise for Zac and Chris in reception who are great ambassadors for this site and the C & C Club as a whole. Warm welcome on arrival after our 5 hour trip from Somerset even though I messed my booking up it was handled brilliantly so a big thank you especially to Zac who sorted it all without any bother. Great customer service.

The site itself is in a great location and the nature astounding, pheasants, squirrels rabbits a multitude of birds and to cap it all even Deer where regular visitors to the site and regular callers to many of the seasonally sited or longer stay caravans. This was real treat.

On the subject of longer stay and seasonal sited touring caravans these seemed to take up a large number of the premium hard standing/electric hook up pitches which left only about 6 or so pitches to choose from on our arrival. We finally selected the only one vacant opposite the Motor Home service point as it was nice and level and the surrounding ground not as muddy as other pitches.

Like a few other reviewers have commented the 6 mtr rule is a little lax and on the Friday and Saturday of our stay the tenters arrived with the youngsters and this rule seemed to go out of the window as did the noise control outside of normal hours.

Toilet and shower facilities more than adequate during our stay. I think in the mens they comprised of 8 showers, 4 urinals, plenty of loo's as well 3 private washrooms and plenty of basins. So no problems and kept reasonably clean considering the wet weather that prevailed during our week long stay. Ladies must have been fine as my Wife indicated she was happy and at no time did either of us have to wait.

Downside is that from some points/pitches on the site its a hell of a trek, so I feel that the site really warrants another smaller block down the lower end (maybe the lodge cabins wouldn't appreciate this and perhaps that is why it has yet to happen). Only one chemical toilet disposal point which was located at the Motor Home service area, this could be a push in high season.

Recycling was limited in as much as it is only mixed glass that was binned for recycling which surprised me, nothing for paper/card or tin cans and plastics. Not really good from an Eco point on a Forest partnered Club Site

The shop provided a very small range of provisions which seemed expensive 1 pint milk 80p, another example of a purchase of 6 eggs, 1 bottle beer and a small bottle HP Sauce at £7. 20 meant I didn’t visit again.

Nice idea with the Draft local lager in the reception which tasted great and around £3. 50 pint right price.

Plenty of Ranger lead activities for the youngsters was good, what was not pleasant was the number of A4 sized posters stuck up around the loo, Washroom, Laundry and Rubbish Bin areas done by Kids telling you what to do and where to stick your rubbish in order to create and maintain a tidy environment.

So back to site amenities Small laundry room with washers and driers and a small information center, good sized washroom (needs to have hotter water for washing up), public telephone (Mobile reception on 02 very hit and miss, Fish and Chip Van visits on Monday and Friday great Fish but frozen not fresh chips, but well priced so no problem just prefer me chips to be from fresh spuds. S

So overall great location, plenty of walks from site as well as attractions and days out by car. Great Flora and Fauna on a nice site.

Date of Visit: June 2012

Unit: Touring Caravan

Reviewer: Jain

3 reviews from this member

Just returned from a week at Spiers.

Sooooo disappointed! The last time we were there the site was very well run by the Camping & Caravan club. Now it lacks rules, 3-6 meter rule for safety and space was severely lacking.

The facilities were not adequate for the huge volume of adults/children on site and another amenity block should be a priority! The showers/toilets were dirty and littered from the volume of people using them ( and the weather conditions). However we went to visit another site close by that had both tents/caravans and the same weather conditions - yet it was spotless. Maybe their choice not to overfill their site, and regular supervision was the reason it remained clean and tidy.

Recycling was chaos and messy.

The caravan pitches were small, uneven and unkempt yet the prices are high!)

Few facilities for young children although it seems some found amusement throwing pop bottles into the only chemical disposal point!

Staff were rarely seen on site but were pleasant enough in the reception.

Spiers has/had so many great points. The close proximity to the forest and walks etc. and the beautiful moors and coast makes it an idylic location. However, I hope the Forest Commission either delivers better value for money or revamps the site.

Most of us were eaten alive with midges but we should all be aware to take protection in the summer.

Will we return, no thank you unless the site returns to the standards it once had.

Date of Visit: June 2012

Unit: Motorhome

Reviewer: LaneFamily

1 review from this member

Just returned from a brilliant Jubilee weekend at Spiers House. We're new to our Motorhome so this was a bit of a trial run for us, and it couldn't have gone better. Although the site was very busy, it didn't feel overcrowded. All the staff on the site were friendly, helpful and couldn't do more for us.

We were escorted to our Premium Grass Pitch, which was very spacious. There is plastic grid matting under the grass to prevent it being chewed up by heavy motorhomes. We hooked up and settled in.

There were ample stations for water, chemical waste disposal, plenty of bins, the washing facilities were all very clean, the showers had loads of very hot water. The reception sold hot drinks, local beers, food and pastries, and a newsagent visited the site every morning to sell papers and magazines.

The Ranger activities for the kids were brilliant and reasonably priced. The site is in the middle of the forest and there were loads of bike and walking trails, suitable for kids and the more experienced riders.

A local bus calls at the site regularly, which goes to various local villages and towns. There's a great pub in Cropton (a short drive away) called The New Inn - everyone was very friendly, the beer was great and the food was fantastic. They have a large car park round the back which we parked the motorhome in easily.

Pickering is just over 7 miles away, great for the North Yorkshire Moors Railway to Whitby. If you're taking a motorhome into Pickering there's a great car park with coach spaces just off the main roundabout, which was £5. 40 for all day parking (and you can pay by card if you don't have any cash).

All in all we had a fantastic time at Spiers House and would certainly return, and we would definitely recommend it to others. Our kids (5 year old twins) absolutely loved it and didn't want to leave.

A few people have complained about the cost of this campsite. We paid £95 for 3 days but I thought this was fine.

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