Reviews of Herding Hill Farm

Management response: There was a little confusion when this party arrived as we were unaware that they were 4 large families together, as we state quite clearly on our website that we do not take groups although we did agree to accommodate them with a reminder that we are a family site and do not accept noise after 11pm

Our pitches are 6m diameter and this is clearly stated on our website. We can accommodate larger tents by prior arrangement. The parties were advised to pitch their tents with the pitch number markers to the middle of each tent as this ensures that there is the required 3 metres between each unit. Three of the tents were larger than 6m and they chose to ignore this advice and pitch their tents closer together, even joining them together with windbreaks. The advice is given for a very good reason to ensure safety in the event of a fire. This group had booked the premier tent pitches which include electric hookup and are completely level. We do offer a cheaper rate for the non-electric tent pitches as they are on a slight slope which is made clear at the time of booking.

We are adding to our amenity building constantly and will no doubt add shelving and more hooks etc. But we only opened the brand new building at Easter and have undoubtedly achieved a great deal in this time. Most campsites do not offer baths with unlimited free hot water to assist families travelling with young children and it is a shame that was not received more favorably by these guests. We have welcomed thousands of visitors through our site this season and everyone seems to have managed with the number of showers and toilets provided. We can only assume that this group wanted to use the facilities all at the same time! We also have an accessible/family bathroom where mum, dad and children can use the room together to help with bathing babies and very small children. The mops are rinsed through with bleach and the water changed every day and it is standard practice to ask visitors to mop & squeegee cubicles after they have used them in order to respect other guests.

We pay a local recycling company to take all our waste to a central processing plant where it is sorted and recycled. As a result of this we are now having signs installed to let guests know about this, as recycling is key to our eco credentials.

The food in our tearoom is freshly prepared using the best local produce and is always well received. The entertainment we provided on Saturday evening was a huge success. Our local butcher prepared a beautiful hog roast and we added salads and homemade coleslaw. We booked a local singer and guitarist to play songs old and new and charged £8 for adults and £5 for children which we believe was excellent value for money for a full evenings food and entertainment.

We are 1 of only 2 campsites in Northumberland who allow firepits on site. We do not allow people to bring their own or use their own firewood which allows us to monitor who has fires and ensure that they are used safely and the actual charge is £10 for the hire which includes logs etc and extra bags can be bought at £4. 50. We have installed a site wide wifi system which covers our entire 5 acre field and it standard practice to offer complementary usage to customers eating or drinking in the tearoom.

We are sorry to read such a critical review given that we have had recent positive reviews.