New House Organic Farm

Liked: The campsite was so lovely, very big so lots of space to pitch up without being too close to another group, and different fields to choose from if you wanted a quieter area. The facilities were good, onside toilets with plenty of toilet roll and sanitizer. The pitches come with a fire pit and benches, firewood and local produce can be purchased from the farm which was noce, and a lovely little local pub which served great food too. The lady running it was so so lovely and helpful, will definitely recommend and be heading back !

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Liked: Very nice views.

Disliked: Grass wasn't cut, cockorals didn't stop from 4am every morning and the toilets were horrible. Won't be returning.

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From the manager: Hello I'm very sorry that your expectations weren't met. We are a working farm and try to make it very clear that the camping is 'back to basics' or 'almost wild camping' as increasing numbers of people are describing it. We don't mow the fields specifically for campers; never have and never will. You camp in fields that were hay meadows earlier in the year, we're mown for hay, and then the grass grows slowly until Autumn when the camping seasons ends and animals return to graze on the land. Like many farms we have chickens and cockerels too, and they do indeed crow from around 4am at this time of year. This doesn't tend to disturb campers as the chickens are a field or 2 away from where people camp, but on a still morning the sound does travel. I'm also very sorry that the compost loos were not to your liking. Many people love them, but they are a bit like marmite it would seem. I'll happily refund your booking. Many thanks, Emma & Luke

Liked: I was met by an informative and friendly host who said I could go anywhere but the field with sheep grazing as I was with my dog. I found a peaceful pitch that was quiet, flat enough to sleep well and it was pretty close to wild camping which I is the whole point for me. The price is per person which again was good because it was just me :)

Disliked: I think the site is perfect as it is but I would have LOVED even a cold shower or even a privacy cubicle with a cold tap.

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From the manager: We're glad you enjoyed your stay Laura. We've been toying with the idea of adding showers. If and when we install them I'll let you know! Hope to see you again soon Emma

Liked: We came here as they would allow bigger tents, and it was within driving distance of Alton Towers.

Disliked: Firstly, before I say all this, I live in the countryside and I love festivals even with the portaloos and I vote Green party, so it's not like I'm not familiar with this lifestyle and rough/basic camping, but there's rough and there's ROUGH. I think the worst thing about our stay here was that we came home from our day out to find someone had taken all the tent pegs out of our porch and one side of the tent, and it had collapsed knocking all our stuff all over the field, wetting our beds and causing 2 tent pegs to snap. We had to pack up after a big day out in the dark and rain with 2 tired hungry kids and drive the 2.5 hours home at night instead, so we only stayed one night out of the 2 that we booked. This wasn't the only thing that ruined our trip this weekend. I wouldn't say this was a campsite, I'd say this was a farm that has certain values (that appeared to be the same as mine, but now I really don't know!) that they let you come and stay on. The camp site was a field were animals were, there was cow pats absolutely everywhere and there were sheep wandering about the camping field in between the tents. Because of our problem with the tent peg thief and our stuff getting ruined, this meant a lot of our things have been rolling in fresh cow dung, including all our cooking stuff which was in the porch. I would reflect what someone else has said about the toilets - it's a composting toilet, but the design means you can't crouch over it, you have to sit in the pee and sawdust. The one we were nearest to was not dug downwards either, it was just a pile of everyone's poops with a shed built around it. We also saw another pile of human manure just next to the toilets, just sitting there not even part of the main compost pile. I would also reflect what other reviews have said, in that we heard music until midnight. There was also someone flying a drone around the site that kept pausing for quite a while over our tent, so it wasn't even particularly peaceful. I know that given the other positive reviews this probably sounds like I'm embellishing as a disgruntled guest who just needs a different hobby, but I'm really not and I'm saying some of the same things as other reviewers. I've given lots of other 10/10 reviews on here, this is not my usual thing to go and complain this bitterly at all, especially not about a place that seems to fit with my values so much. I am really disappointed, we just wanted to get out of there and not come back.

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From the manager: Hello. I’m so sorry that you had such a horrible experience. I know how disappointing it is when a holiday goes wrong, especially with children. If I may, I’ll respond to all of the points you’ve raised. I’m shocked to hear that someone stole some of your tent pegs. That’s totally out of order and goes against the laid back and trusting ethos of the farm. If we’d have been able to identify the culprits I would have asked them to leave. People often forget pegs and we have spares we give to people. You are absolutely correct that we are not a commercial campsite. We are a working organic farm which allows campers for a set number of days per year. We try our hardest to make this clear and set expectations so that guests are aware and happy with our basic facilities (compost loos and a cold water tap) before booking. We reiterate this in the body of our confirmation email and the pdf attachment. Our ‘back to basics’ or ‘almost wild camping’ in amongst the farming and sometimes some friendly sheep (providing you don’t have a dog) is precisely what most guests love about the farm. We have a variety of fields available for people to choose from, and we ask all guests to call us on the specified camping mobile phone number on arrival so that we can explain the options and guests can choose which field suits them most. August bank holiday weekend is the busiest weekend of the year, so we moved our cattle and opened an extra field. We explained to all guests that field was an option, only if you were happy to navigate some cow pats. If that wasn’t communicated to you I’m very sorry. You drove through our main 2 fields camping fields (hay meadows) without cow pats to get to that field. We do not allow drones on the farm and were not aware anybody had one. They really scare the livestock and can be dangerous for them, especially horses. If someone had made us aware of a drone we would have found the guests and asked them to stop immediately. We go around the fields every day to service the compost loos and do a 10.30pm – 11pm walk around to ask any groups that still have a small speaker playing to turn it off (as per our rules), and if a group if still talking/laughing loudly we ask them to keep it down and be mindful of their neighbours. We did that every night this weekend and when I left the fields around 11pm there was no music on and just the gentle chatter of people having a good time. We rely on people respecting the rules and/or on people reporting unwanted behaviours to us on the camping mobile phone (which we keep on loud throughout the night on busy weekends – just in case!) I took a call from someone at midnight on Saturday night asking where the toilets were(!!) but nothing else was reported all weekend. Our compost toilets are basic, yes. They have all been built out of recycled wood and wooden sheds have been built around them. We have two designs on the farm including long-drops, and another design where you do not dig a deep hole, and instead you empty them from the back. We hope and trust that people don’t pee on the seat, and that if they spill sawdust they wipe this down afterwards. I will make some signs that specify this and hopefully that will help. We really are sorry that your trip was ruined and we try our hardest to make sure everyone has a good time. Please make contact for your refund.

Liked: Lovely campsite, lots of open space. Fire pits were great.

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From the manager: Hello We're glad you enjoyed your stay. Hopefully see you again soon, Thanks Emma & Luke

Liked: Possibility to camp in a more remote place - or a traditional field.

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Liked: Back to basics, proper freedom and sustainable camping, with stunning views.

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Liked: The size of the plot and the gorgeous animals. Great pub walkable too.

Disliked: The god awful noise til 3am. Curfew was completely ignored. I did not sleep. The wooden toilet that had no seat. On more than one occasion I arrived to urine-soaked wood. Gross, normally you’d just crouch and hover over the toilet but the design is such that it makes this impossible.

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From the manager: Hi Julie, I'm so sorry to hear about the noise and the toilet seat. Re noise, we reiterate our 10.30pm curfew to all groups on arrival, and I also do a 10.30pm walk around and ask any groups still have a small speaker playing to turn it off and keep voices down. I did that both nights the weekend you stayed and everyone seemed to be respecting those rules, but obviously some people must get noisier after I've done that. I'm sorry this was the case on your trip and it disturbed you. Re the toilet seat we were also made aware that weekend that it had broken, and it has since been fixed.

Liked: The vibe is very friendly and easygoing. Logs on site are a bargain. Farm shop is great. Lots of space.

Disliked: No showers for everywhere except the tipi tents

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Liked: Lovely big pitches and superb views from the site. A peaceful, simple site, with friendly and welcoming staff.

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