Billing Aquadrome

Liked The location is (or could be) amazing. The facilities for kids are brilliant.

Disliked Litter everywhere, river behind our pitch had got loads of plastic bottles and a discarded caravan water carrier in it. Saw a swan with fishing line in its mouth. The site don’t look after the waterways or the wildlife that are being impacted by its guests.
It’s chav central, caravans crammed in like a travellers site, loads of kids whizzing round on electric bikes/scooters/mini motorbikes/buggies FAST! (Site rules said they’re not allowed), loads of bbqs being used despite the site rules saying none allowed during hot weather. An abundance of signwritten work vans which people were sleeping in the back of, again, sure rules say they’re not allowed on site.
Showers smelt funny, weren’t clean and were cold on Saturday evening, I didn’t use them but my partner did and said a few dads in there were effing loudly at their kids to get showered.
It was a cross between the worst council estate and a travellers site. Witnessed a drunk guy throw a glass beer bottle off the decking at the pub, at a swan. Not sure if the pub is part of the site but from their loud conversation about ‘getting more Stella to drink outside their caravan’, I’m guessing they were off the site. Wanted to say something but he and his group of mates were tanked up so didn’t risk it. We were only there for one night and seriously contemplated leaving before bedtime but we’d had a drink so couldn’t. Literally got up next morning and drove away. Never ever to return…….

The site could be beautiful but we think is attracting the wrong clientele possibly due to there being absolutely no rules. Absolute free for all… great for people who don’t like rules that stop them negatively affecting other guests.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Liked Great place lots to do

Disliked Electric bikes whizzing past , and need more cleaning swimming pool and showers ,
Plus slides anc jacuzzi broken whole time there

Recommend to friends Visit again

Liked The distractions, there is plenty of space for bike rides.

Disliked The staff is unhelpful, no personal space while camping, dirty pitches, dirty toilets and showers, the view and the organisation of the territory is not good as well. We stayed for 2 night and we didn't like, we will never return again.

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Liked Leaving

Disliked Everything, the place is an absolute S hole, full of people you don’t want to mix with. Allocated pitch was taken up by someone else, we were told to find another by the staff, we experienced domestic violence near our camp with their children screaming help as they smacked each other about, kids handbrake turning cars about and many rough people. Our kids cried most of the night as they were scared, good job as we were awake and could make sure nothing got nicked.

If you are a genuine hard working family looking for a good little break with your kids, avoid this place and book somewhere else. We didn’t even do any activities, we just got out of there. I could go way deeper on more but you get the idea.

Only good thing is we got refunded for the 2nd night without hassle.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Liked Love the place

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thank you for the lovely feedback!

We’re so pleased you love Billing Aquadrome.

We hope to see you back again soon it’s in our nature!

Liked We appreciated that there were a wide range of activities available for the children, which would have helped to keep them engaged and entertained throughout our stay. However, the inability to book these activities meant they didn't get to do much.

Disliked Upon arrival, we were allocated a pitch number; however, when we reached the designated location, the pitch was already occupied. The surrounding area also appeared to be a hub for late‑night parties, which was wholly unsuitable for a family with young children. When we reported this issue, we were simply advised to “just find another pitch.” While we did relocate, this left us feeling uncertain and uncomfortable throughout our stay, as we had no reassurance that the pitch we chose was legitimately available. Travelling with four children, this lack of clarity and organisation was far from acceptable.

The pitch we selected was situated next to the main road. Although this initially seemed convenient, the situation changed significantly during the evening. A number of fast driving vehicles seemingly boy racers, repeatedly sped past, creating a genuinely unsafe environment. Their unpredictable behaviour meant we could not allow our children to play freely, as the risk posed by the speeding vehicles was considerable.
During the nights, loud partying continued into the early hours of the morning. The strong smell of cannabis was present in the air, and on one occasion individuals appeared to be engaging in drug‑related activity directly outside our awning. This made us feel extremely uncomfortable and raised serious concerns about safety and site supervision.

We also attempted to book swimming sessions for our children but were unable to do so. After speaking with reception, we were assured that someone would contact us to resolve the issue. No one ever called back, and the matter remained unresolved for the duration of our stay.

We were disappointed by the general standard of cleanliness across the site. The toilet facilities were consistently unclean throughout our stay, which was unacceptable for a family‑oriented campsite. Also, the facilities at the Venue were also below an acceptable standard in terms of cleanliness.

Despite our best efforts to shield the children from the stress of these issues, my wife and I felt uncomfortable for the entirety of our stay. The combination of unclear pitch allocation, unsafe road activity, persistent late‑night disturbances, and visible drug‑related behaviour created an environment in which we never felt settled or secure. Ultimately, we made the decision to leave a day earlier than planned. The overall experience did not justify the cost of our stay, nor did it reflect a family friendly environment.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thank you for taking the time to provide such detailed feedback. We’re sorry to hear that your stay did not meet your expectations, particularly when visiting with your family.

We’re pleased to hear that you recognised the wide range of activities available for children. We’re sorry you were unable to secure the sessions you wanted and appreciate how disappointing this would have been. Activities can be booked two weeks in advance, and we communicate this information through our emails, social media platforms and website to help guests plan their activities ahead of their stay.

Regarding the touring pitch, we’re sorry for the confusion you experienced on arrival. We understand how important it is to feel confident that your allocated pitch is secure, particularly when travelling with children. We will share your comments with the relevant touring team.

We have park rules in place requiring low noise from 10pm, and our security teams are there to monitor the park and respond to reports of antisocial behaviour. We would always encourage guests to contact the team while on park so that concerns can be addressed as quickly as possible.

We’re disappointed to hear about the cleanliness of the facilities. Our teams are working hard from early morning until late into the evening to ensure the toilet and shower blocks are cleaned and maintained throughout the day. We genuinely wish that all guests treated our facilities with the same care and respect as our park teams, as unfortunately this can have a significant impact on cleanliness between scheduled cleans.

We appreciate your comments and understand why the combination of these issues affected your overall experience. It’s in our nature to listen and do better, and your feedback helps us identify where we need to continue improving.

Liked Friendly staff
Plenty of activities for families and kids

Disliked Noisy campers till 1.30 am then woken at 6.30 by workmen.
Lots of cars and e -bikes wizzing around some very very fast between plots and roads.
Unkept and dirty smelly toilet blocks, large bins overflowing with rubbish.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Liked Well located relative to many places in the area/region.
Good mobile signal throughout.
Many many kids activities.
Camping area appears to have had recent investment.

We need to stress.

It's clear the owners have put some money into it. Our little ones had a fantastic time, and we worked hard to hide our stress and the issues with the place from them in spite of that.

Staff throughout were lovely but clearly overwhelmed and overworked.

The combined toilet/shower rooms are close to the best I've been in - but treated disgustingly.

The tribe facilities were great and had a lovely first night watching Forever Jackson with a fresh pizza, for example.

Disliked * Disgusting state of toilets throughout. *
From the bar within the venue to the toilet/shower blocks at the top of our field, despite regular cleaning, people consistently were leaving urine and faeces within toilets, floors, and lack of flushing by those and others leading to regular blocking of facilities. We did observe cleaners on the field blocks but it wasn't enough to keep up with the demand.


* Free-for-all pitching despite assigned spots. *
We arrived to find our assigned pitch to be occupied by another family. We were told by the check-in booth that as long as we stayed within the row we could in fact take another pitch. The following day, another family arrives at our pitch and after discussing what we'd encountered, they went away and came back saying the same check-in booth told them "that wouldn't happen" and we were accused of pinching their spot as a result.

* The clientele *
For the first two nights we had to put up with groups staying up til 3am with loud music, noise and smoking of cannabis. This is in spite of a security booth located at the top of field 1. After these groups left, it was a lovely family friendly community.

On Tuesday night, a group of Irish Travellers appeared to have had a fight judging by the noise in the middle of the night?

The areas around the bridge and on-site shop were plagued by youths on e-bikes riding dangerously.

Large amounts of litter left by these people in the main areas, and one group inexplicably left a fridge on our field?!

I really do hate leaving such reviews. Clearly to be the premier family site it wants to be it needs to be better at policing it's own rules, putting a stop to disgusting/anti-social behaviour and dissuade such people like that from visiting.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thank you for taking the time to leave such detailed feedback. We’re pleased to hear that your little ones had a fantastic time, enjoyed the activities and that you loved the Tribe facilities and entertainment.

We’re sorry to hear about the issues you experienced during your stay. Our teams work hard to keep our facilities clean and maintained, and we genuinely wish that all guests treated them with the same care and respect that our teams do. Unfortunately, where facilities are being left in an unacceptable state by guests, our cleaning teams can struggle to keep up, particularly during busy periods.

We’re also sorry to hear about the noise and antisocial behaviour you experienced. We do have park rules requiring low noise from 10pm, and our security teams are there to help monitor and manage these issues. We would always encourage guests to report concerns while on park so our teams can respond as quickly as possible.

Regarding the touring pitches, we’re sorry for the confusion you experienced on arrival. Assigned pitches should be respected, and we will ensure your feedback is shared with the relevant team.

We’re pleased to hear your kind words about our team. It’s in our nature to have the best park teams, and we appreciate you recognising how hard they work, particularly during busy periods.

Thank you again for your honest feedback. We are continually investing in the park and working to improve the experience for all our guests.

Liked The entertainment the splash zone and the circus was excrllent

Disliked The bouse in the early hours if the morning ie 3am

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thank you for your lovely feedback. We’re delighted you enjoyed the entertainment, Splash Zone and circus. We’re sorry to hear about the noise in the early hours. We do have park rules regarding keeping noise to a minimum from 10pm, and we appreciate you bringing this to our attention.

It’s in our nature to keep improving, and we hope to welcome you back again soon.

Liked After booking Billing Aquadrome, I wanted to amend our booking to add another person to our group, so I attempted to do so through the online booking from Meadow Bay. That didn’t work, so I phoned the site directly. I explained what I wanted to do and the person I was speaking to said that he couldn’t do that as he didn’t have access to the booking system. He said that he would pass the request on to the appropriate department and they would phone me back. They NEVER DID! That was the first indication of the attitude this company has towards their clients.
To qualify our experience, I will explain that I had initially booked for three adults and an infant. I tried to amend this to four adults and an infant both online and by phone. Neither system worked. I will also point out that one of the adults was post-surgery and another is heavily pregnant. The trip was for two reasons:
1, convalescence for one of the party, and for her to spend time with our daughter and granddaughter
2, one of us (myself) to go to the MotoGP race day on the Sunday at Silverstone Circuit.
I tried to book a Fully-serviced “Super Pitch” (with awning) for three nights (Fri 7th Aug, Sat 8th Aug & Sun 9th Aug), however, the pitch wasn’t available for the Friday. So I booked the same pitch (with awning) for the Saturday and Sunday nights.
Now, due to the fact that I had booked a Fully-serviced Super Pitch, I kitted out our caravan appropriately - no aqua roll, no grey waste.
Arriving at the campsite, we were “kind of” directed to where we needed to go - the instructions were very vague. However, we found our way to the check-in cabin to be met by a nice young man. He took my name and handed me the booking/pitch pass and wristbands (Pitch number 20). As he handed it to me, he realised that I had booked a Super Pitch and stopped me. He checked something and said that there are no Super Pitches left. I confirmed that I had booked the Super Pitch. He then contacted his manager, who told him that the group currently on the pitch shouldn’t be there and to tell them to move. The staff member approached the pitch, only to find the caravan empty.
The caravan on the pitch was fully set up, including their awning and awning furniture laid out. They hadn’t just arrived - they’d been there for some time. Even if they were able to move, it would have taken a long time.
At this point, another member of staff approached, and over the course of the conversation, both staff members said that this happens all the time. Billing’s staff finish their shifts at 8 pm; the gate staff (who apparently work for an agency) just let people in without direction, allowing people to just pitch up wherever they like. (This seems consistent with our experience of the gate staff). The staff said that the caravan must have been let in on the Friday evening, after they had finished their shift and no one was there to prevent them setting up. I asked how that was even possible, as I had tried to book it for Friday, but it wasn’t available. They couldn’t answer.
After contacting his manager again, the staff member was directed to offer us a “Hardstanding” pitch for the Saturday night and then they “might” be able to get the original pitch cleared for us on the Sunday, and we’d be given a partial refund.
CONTINUED IN DISLIKED

Disliked After consideration, I explained that this option is not viable for several reasons.
1 - I would need to put the awning up overnight to empty the caravan for us to sleep in - then I’d have to take it down again, re-pack the caravan and move pitches and put it all up again. I wouldn’t even be on-site on Sunday, as I’d be at Silverstone. The other two adults were not capable of doing it, as one is heavily pregnant and the other has just had surgery on her shoulder.
2 - because we have an infant in our party, we need access to water - we hadn’t brought an aqua roll because I had booked “Fully-serviced”
3 - even if I could get an aqua roll for water, we had no grey waste container, as again, I had booked “Fully-serviced”, which included drainage. Meaning that our contaminated wastewater would drain into their ground. The staff seemed unconcerned, and it was clear they were apathetic because this is a regular problem.
It is ironic that Billings has a “Get Back To Nature” slogan when they allow caravans to dump their contaminated grey waste onto their pitches rather than deal with what is clearly a recurring problem and poor systems.
This process took around an hour. After which, I decided that these were NOT acceptable conditions and made my way to the site reception.
As I waited in line at the reception (yes, there was a line of people complaining), I couldn’t help but overhear the person in front of me talking to the receptionist, and it was clear that the person had arrived to find herself in a similar situation to myself - the pitch she had booked had been taken by another caravan, and she was being downgraded. Now, the difference between her situation and my own is her original pitch was Hardstanding EHU only, so she had brought her water containers. She was being downgraded to Grass EHU.
Speaking to the receptionist, it was obvious that she was extremely stressed due to the amount of complaints she had been dealing with, and like my attitude towards the original staff members, I reassured her that I felt no malice towards her and that she can take her time. She seemed concerned what we were going to do for the night - I told her I had no option but to drive home. She seemed disgusted at the situation and angry that the company had put her in this position again. I explained what had happened and that due to the fact that there was NO VIABLE option, I wanted a full refund. She agreed. She even told me that this was happening “all the time”.
As part of the process, I had to fill in a refund form that requires banking details; however, I had left my wallet in the car by Shelduck 3. I went and retrieved my bank details, and when I arrived back at reception, the receptionist told me that she had spoken to her manager, who had told her that I probably wouldn’t get a refund at all because Billings had offered me another pitch! The receptionist also told me that her manager will phone me regarding the problem and the refund situation. However, the manager never did!As angry as I was, I did understand that none of this was down to the staff members and conveyed that to her. However, I would make a formal complaint with the company.
So, in summary:I couldn’t amend the booking online or by phone. They didn’t even have the decency to call me back. They allowed another caravan to take the pitch that I had paid for. They downgraded us, knowing we didn’t have the equipment for that pitch type they were putting us on.They expected us to set up on a downgraded pitch, then pack it down, move, then put it all back up again.They were happy for us to contaminate their ground with wastewater - while “enjoying nature”. They told me, openly, this problem happens all the time.Yet the management will not deal with the issue.They told me I would get a full refund, then retract it five minutes later.They told me that the manager will call me regarding the refund/problem and DID NOT BOTHER! I drove a 5-hour round trip and used £50 worth of fuel

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thank you for taking the time to provide such detailed feedback regarding your experience. We are sorry to hear how disappointed you were with the service and the issues you encountered on arrival.

We appreciate that you attempted to amend your booking and that you were expecting a response from the relevant team. We are sorry that you did not receive the call back you were expecting.

You should have been allocated the Fully Serviced Super Pitch that you booked, and we sincerely apologise that this was not the case on your arrival. We understand how frustrating this would have been, particularly as you had prepared for your stay based on the facilities included with your booked pitch. We are continually reviewing our pitch allocation and arrival processes and looking at ways we can improve this for our holiday guests, to help prevent situations like this from happening in the future.

We have also noted your concerns regarding the information you were given about the refund and the lack of follow-up from management. Refunds are subject to the applicable booking terms and the circumstances of each individual booking, and any refund entitlement would need to be reviewed and confirmed by the appropriate team.

We are sorry that you were unable to stay and that you felt there was no suitable alternative available to you at the time. We appreciate the time and expense involved in travelling to the park, and we understand your frustration at the circumstances you have described.

We do listen to our holiday guests and care a great deal about the experience we provide. It’s in our nature to listen, learn and continually look for ways to improve. We are genuinely sorry that you were unable to have a positive experience on this occasion, as this is certainly not what we aim for.

Your feedback has been noted in full and will be shared with the relevant teams so the booking, pitch allocation and communication issues can be reviewed. Thank you again for taking the time to raise your concerns with us.