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Reviews of Castlewellan Forest Park
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Castlewellan Forest Park
The Grange
Castlewellan
County Down (Browse area)
BT31 9BU
Tel: 0330 137 4046
Visit their website Check Digital TV coverage See Weather Forecast
   
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Pitches:
Open: 14/04/2024 to 31/10/2024
14/04/2025 to 31/10/2025
Rating: 
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 Tent Pitches |
 Caravan Pitches |
 Motorhome Pitches |
 Small Campervans |
 No Glamping Units |
 No Statics for Hire |
 No Statics for Sale |
 No Seasonal Pitches |
 Electric Hookups |
 Hardstanding Pitches |
 No Fully Serviced Pitches |
 Show Full Facilities |
| Who's it for |
 Families Welcome |
 Not Members Only |
 Rallies Welcome |
 Not Naturist Site |
 Dogs Welcome |
 No Dogs Allowed |
 Groups Welcome |
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| Facilities |
 Toilet Facilities |
 No Showers |
 No Washing Up Area |
 No Bathroom |
 No Baby Changing |
 Laundry On Site |
 Drinking Water |
 Disabled Friendly |
 Chemical Disposal |
 No Battery Charging |
 No Gas Exchange |
 No Recycling Facilities |
 No Kitchen Facilities |
 No Freezer / Fridge |
 No Motorhome Point |
 No Wifi Access |
 Shop <5 miles |
 Bar <5 miles |
 Restaurant or Cafe or Takeaway <5 miles |
| Activities |
 No Playground |
 No TV Room |
 No Games Room |
 No Evening Ents |
 Fishing On Site |
 Wild Swimming On Site |
 No Indoor Pool |
 No Outdoor Pool |
 Horse Riding On Site |
 No Cycle Hire |
 No Golf |
 No Tennis |
 No Beach |
 No Watersports |
 Boat Launch / Mooring On Site |
| Other Features |
 No Sea Views |
 Not Working Farm |
 No Campfires Allowed |
 Open All Year |
 Lakeside Pitches |
 Public Transport <5 miles |
 Offroad Dog Walk On Site or Direct Access |
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Reviews:
25 in total, now showing 11 to 20
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| Date of Visit: September 2017 |
Unit: Touring Caravan |
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| Reviewer: SterlingMan |
1 review from this member |
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 Excellent campsite in a fantastic location. Interesting grounds, forest, lakes, gardens and lots of activities.
It was quite difficult to book as the Forest Ranger does not man the phones. It is best to ring from 9. 30am to 11. 30am.
The pitches are very narrow surrounding by very soft ground. Its impossible not to drive on the soft grass due to the narrow pitches an narrow roads.
The fellow caravanners were all quiet and respectful.
There is also a courtyard area which is great during wet periods as its a hard tarmacked surface. Lots of motorhomes use this area.
Nice flat routes for cycling for young kids as well as hillier routes for walking.
The Peace Maze is an excellent challenge and took us almost an hour to solve.
The kids park is fantastic with sculpted wooden climbing frames, shapes, animals etc.
The facilities are good with clean (but old) block. Cafe on site. Good local stores nearby.
The pitches are not fully serviced as water and wastewater points are shared.
Every pitch has a EHU though as you would expect.
To conclude, an excellent site with incredible grounds in a interesting town. Well worth a visit. 
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| Date of Visit: April 2016 |
Unit: Touring Caravan |
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| Reviewer: Baddon |
7 reviews from this member |
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Just back from first visit to Castlewellan.
We booked three more weekends before the summer holidays mainly due to the services on offer.
Positives:- Good site, well laid out in little circles with green areas in middle, plenty of trees to give shelter for the awnings if wind picks up.
Walking trails of various lengths and grades.
Mountain bike trails of varying difficulty from suitable for all kids/families on the main walk round lake to black sections. (we did 3 different trails over the weekend)
Canoe, Sit on top Kayak, mountain bike electric mountain bikes, Tow behind bikes & buggies for kids all available to hire.
Other activities payable locally are Archery & Climbing (tower wall for kids)
Great lake with Castle, fantastic walled gardens and arboretum, well worth a dander round.
Massive peace maze (took us well over half an hour from going in to getting back out)
Younger kids play area, very cleverly done with a forest theme.
Many picnic areas and tables
Proximity to local village with its usual services (massive NISA at exit to park) and a few chippies, pubs and other eateries. Can we recommend The Oaks for chippy food, its on main street about top of hill near lights. Try their onion rings. YUM YUM
EHU is 16Amp so plenty for most. But bring a decent length cable as not all plots have their own post.
Water ans waste water are in various spots round site.
Friendly staff who were able to fill us in on the what to do's, and what not to do's as well as try this try info.
Down sides:-
Ground was still very soft, it is N. Ireland and its been wet for about last 4 months.
Tarmac pitches were VERY narrow (JUST. The width of caravan)
It was near impossible to reverse on or tow off the van without marking the grass with wheels of van or stearing wheels.
SHOWERS & TOILET block. 5 out of ten. Needs attention as per other posts.
Booking system. Its a throw back from another era. No deposit so if someone is not coming after managing to make a booking then there is no penalty for not cancelling. As such wardens were telling me on any BOOKED UP weekend or week there are usually up to 5 pitches left free. They will turn many away on phone as booked up.
Getting a booking by phone. Good luck- as they only answer the phone for two hrs a day, I think 9:30-10:30 & 2:30 -3:30. At all other times it just rings out.
For us, this weekend, it was just the two of us, it was a total joy to de-stress in such stunning surroundings with so many outdoor options to enjoy.
With the 3 kids (10, 5 & 2) they will have a ball on all the activities available.
So looking forward to getting back again soon.
NOTES:-
They also have a massive field for camping in as well.
A stoned courtyard with EHU for Camper vans/caravans BUT there is no awnings allowed in this area, its next toilet block, so good for older people or ones with very young kids as will be quieter.
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| Date of Visit: July 2014 |
Unit: Tent |
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| Reviewer: Perry44 |
3 reviews from this member |
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We returned to Castlewellan, as mentioned in our previous review, and we did indeed stay in the central section of the campsite, which was actually rather good.
We had plenty of space around us, and we pitched our tent in a nice position with generous views of the castle. We even took a windbreak, which allowed us to extend our pitch (top tip).
The ablutions facilities still require a lick of paint, but we still were able to comfortably avail of all the facilities therein.
We took our Barbecue and although one person did comment on the amount of smoke it produced, it was a tremendous success.
Further into our stay (we stayed for a little over a week), more and more campers arrived, each creating their own 'community' jovial celebrations ensued, but as they had children with them, the noise did die down fairly early, about 22:00 infact.
We purchased a Halfords plastic folding picnic table which was good, until it collapsed during a game of Monopoly, many of our fellow campers may have heard a grown man fall flat on his backside during that, so apologies if you did.
Overall we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, with the children saying things like, 'Thank you daddy, when can we come back?' and 'We had a super time'
We will return here I fancy next year. I can't recommend this site enough.
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| Date of Visit: August 2013 |
Unit: Tent |
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| Reviewer: Perry44 |
3 reviews from this member |
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Decided to choose Castlewellan for our first camping holiday.
The camping section of the park was well laid out, with a large central section, a gravel road around, with additional pitches on the other side of the road.
We pitched under some trees in a quiet corner, the pegs went in the ground well, however due to heavy rainfall, the ground became saturated, but it did not dampen our spirits!
There are 2 toilet blocks, one older than the other, we used the newer one, as it seemed cleaner.
There is a 'cafe' which just about serves a decent breakfast, however a dog walked through the dining area as we were about to enjoy our lunch.
We have booked the site for a holiday in July 2014, and will most likely use the central section this time. The kids will be taking their mountain bikes, as they will enjoy the many mountain bike trails.
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| Date of Visit: August 2013 |
Unit: Tent |
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| Reviewer: Flossi |
3 reviews from this member |
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Had a one night stay.
Positives
- stunning natural forest & lake
- hours of fun for kids climbing and running up and down banks
- has a flat well maintained path around lake for prams etc
- lots of mountain bike paths
- on site cafe for breakfast snacks
- ten mins walk to large garage / supermarket stocked with most stuff.
- 15 min walk or 2 min drive to chip shop, pizza shop cafes, pubs.
- tent area seems to be mostly very flat and huge. Just pitch where you like.
- it was quite noisy with dance music and chatting. But was fine as it did get quiet by midnight. I didn't hear any noise the rest of the night which surprised me as it was a Saturday.
- other people have remarked about safety which made me nervous. But I felt completely safe, I saw a van which I presume was security at the entrance to the site at 9pm. They also drive around a couple of times. Don't know if they stay the whole night.
Negatives
- ehu area seems quite dark with lots of trees. Also quite tight together
- biggest problem for me is shower block. Looked as well cleaned as it could be but was just very tired with lots of back mould.
- fair bit of rubbish left behind by others but this was lifted first thing in the morning.
- I know it's a forest and therefore a bit rougher than a commercial site but I just wasn't really fussed overall. It was just all a bit too grubby for me.
Overall it's probably somewhere I will keep for day trips for the lake and walks. It really is stunning but I don't think I would particularly choose here again for camping.
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| Date of Visit: August 2012 |
Unit: Touring Caravan |
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| Reviewer: MONTFORD |
7 reviews from this member |
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Just back from a 3 night stay in the caravan site.
Good points:
Washroom facilities, very clean, (dated but good) though hand soap would be nice!
Park well laid out, plenty of space.
Forest park great walks.
Cafe very good.
Bad points:
The most un-level hard stands I have ever come accross! Not even the level chock would do, had to use the jack from the car to get a nearly level van!
Site has suffered from the rain, like a mud bath if your off the tarmac, muddy ruts from cars getting stuck, awnings have left bare patches. No attempt to repair any damage done.
Just felt and looked very tired!
No Children facilities.
With a little investment, this site could easily be much much better!
Hasn't put us off, but would not be on the top of the list!
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| Date of Visit: June 2011 |
Unit: Tent |
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| Reviewer: Krross |
2 reviews from this member |
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Wonderful!
Castlewellan is a lovely place to camp. It has beautiful scenery--a small lake and charming castle. It takes about an hour to walk around the little lake.
Close to towns but with the feeling that you are remote from it all.
You can choose where to set up your tent in a big field.
The wardens were very nice and checked in to make sure things were okay.
Not too noisy when we were there.
There is a little cafe where you can get breakfast or a little lunch.
Absolutely a great spot!
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| Date of Visit: April 2011 |
Unit: Tent |
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| Reviewer: Victoria1 |
8 reviews from this member |
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There is an electric hook up (EHU) section of the campsite at Castlewellan and a non EHU section, which broadly means that there is are mostly caravans and motorhomes in the EHU section and mostly tents in the non-ehu section. Both are separated by a short road which has a centrally placed amenity block to one side of the road way. It's a great arrangement, it really is on the face of it a good site. The non-ehu section has an uninterrupted view of the Scottish Baronial style castle, and from the caravan section there are glimpses of the castle through the mature trees. The Amenity block is a little dated but in good order. The forest park is a popular area for day time visitors who make extensive use of the forest and lakeside walks, the maze and the formal gardens.
This park would greatly benefit from some night time security, there is none at all, the gates are left open and on my visit there was a rave in the corner of the camping field. After speaking to regular users of the park (dog walkers) I believe this is a regular occurrence. The following morning the party was still in full swing, and I witnessed a car being driven at speed, and a hand brake turn performed which was just a few inches from colliding with a family tent.
I myself was subjected to a torrent of abuse when I asked my neighbours to keep the noise down, and was threatened personally. Until they start providing a night time warden, or even an on call number to ring, then it will continue to be a problem.
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| Date of Visit: August 2009 |
Unit: Tent |
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| Reviewer: Dmull |
1 review from this member |
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Lovely place and enjoyed my stay. The site is well set out with lovely walks around the lake,castle and walled gardens
the toilet/showers are pretty clean considering the usage they get with plenty of hot water. Hair drying and washing block opened in the morning by the ranger. Nice family orientated site with a five minute stroll into Castlewellan town and 15minute drive to Newcastle.
Dogs are allowed and must be kept on leads which is understandable.The peace maze is a nice way to spend 15 minutes depending on your sense of direction with the backdrop of the Mourne mountains in the distance.
There was one instance of loud music being played after hours but the forest ranger moved the culprits on early the next morning. Would recommend this site and will be returning shorty when its not booked out
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| Date of Visit: June 2010 |
Unit: Tent |
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| Reviewer: Glemar |
4 reviews from this member |
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We spent a long weekend on this site. It was quite crowded when we go there, but managed to get a nice wee plot near the fence which wasn't too bad, even though it was next to the road into the site. Over the weekend the site was very very noisy, with loud music and singing until about 3am and there didn't seem to be anyone patrolling to keep the noise down. Fortunately, they all went home on the sunday night and we had a peaceful time for our remaining days.
We had our 2 dogs with us and had been told they had to be kept under control, which I would expect, but there were dogs running all over the site and again there didn't seem to be anyone telling folk to do otherwise.
On the positive side, the facilities were clean and nearby, the scenery and walks beautiful.
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Common Questions
Is Castlewellan Forest Park child friendly? YES, it accepts children View all facilities
Where is the nearest shop to Castlewellan Forest Park? There is a shop within 5 miles View all facilities
Is Castlewellan Forest Park dog friendly? YES View all facilities
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