Shilla Mill

Firstly, - position. The site is in a fantastic position as many others have said. An easy 5/10min stroll to Polzeath, a fantastic spot for surfing and enjoying the beach. The site has a lot of potential and is situated nicely. When we arrived we had the whole campsite to ourselves, as school has just returned, so it felt like we had a lot of privacy. However we can imagine at peak time, as the sites are very close together, it would feel like you had very little privacy.

Secondly - facilities. There are 2 showers on site that are fantastic. The water was always very hot, with loads of pressure. Whoever has designed them has done a great job! However, no one used them in the evenings as there are no lights inside. There are also 2 toilets which work fairly well. Many have said that they dont flush properly. We realised the issue is that again, there is no lights in the toilets, and its very difficult to read the tiny sign on the cistern that says ''depress for a half flush''. Instinctively, in the dark, people hold the lever down, thinking it will flush properly, but in reality they are only getting a half flush. Once we worked this out (ie, at the end of our stay) things got easier. The lack of light situation in the loos really must be sorted out. The managers have put little LED lamps inside but these are loos that are PITCH BLACK inside with the door locked, even in the day time. Light is essential inside of them. There is one other loo available, which I found much easier to use thanks to the main light available, however it is very rustic and in an outhouse full of spiders etc.

Thirdly - parking. Super easy, can park right out front of the tent.

To sum up our reason for 3 stars only, management of this site is missing.

Firstly, we received no reminder email and then when we arrived after a 6hr drive, they weren't expecting us and couldn't find our booking, despite having transferred £600 or so.... not a good start.

We happened to camp in a mixed group of men and women during a weekend with 45knot gale winds. Such is the British weather and we are used to these circumstances arising. However the lack of management in comparison to the price paid just felt a little off.

Although Ali and her partner (whom we didn't meet) lives on site, they were pretty much unavailable to really manage the site and give it the attention it needs. Sure, you can go and knock on the door of their private home and ask for what you need, but it is very much in that order, not the other way round. Ali was very nice, but by her own admission, they are so busy managing their hair salon, the local SPAR as well as a bar (!!!). In fact, at the time we visited, they had just quit managing the local SPAR store because it was too much. All this means there is not really anyone on site giving the attention needed to the facilities and their guests.

For example, we had to ask for the lighting situation to be fixed. We were told they couldn't get batteries for the LED lamps, however this was rectified later. We had to ask for hot water to be switched on in the kitchen area, which was fixed promptly to their credit. We had to ask for water to be switched on in the ladies sinks, also fixed promptly. We had to ask for the facilities to be cleaned during our 3 day stay, which they promptly were. We had to ask for advice on where to move our tents to get out of the wind tunnel, due to the extreme weather conditions that weekend. (No one warned us, or checked on us in the morning to see if we had survived. Thankfully we are experienced campers.) We had to let them know that we had picked up the bins and all the rubbish that the storm had strewn all over the driveway during the storm. A site with an on-site manager would have checked on all of these things BEFORE their guests had to ask. Afterall, we are the ones meant to be on holiday :)

Wonderful, hard working hosts, who couldn't be more friendly and welcoming.

Compact and bijou pop-up campsite. There are only 10/11 pitches!

All pitches are flat with low fences marking their boundary.

The site is unlit, so stargazing while sitting round a campfire, is highly recommended!

The site is at the end of a track so there isn't any traffic, just the occasional dog walker. Despite being really close to the village it feels very secluded.

Flat 5 minute walk to the village where there are a handful of shops, couple of bars/restaurants, a Spar, a great ice cream parlour (Vanilla), a sandwich/pasty shop (Flo's Kitchen) and some cool beach shacks selling snacks and drinks.

Flat 10 minute walk to a huge flat beach with great waves for bodyboarding in the afternoon. The beach also has a small stream that makes building sandcastles, moats and dams brilliant fun!

The only criticism of the site is the plumbing/toilet facilities, 2 loos aren't enough for 10/11 pitches.

The pressure on the plumbing from approximately 40 people using 2 loos resulted in the effluent tank overflowing twice during our stay. This resulted in contaminated water leaking all over the walkway between the loos and showers and also onto pitch 1, which is an unacceptable health hazard.

Would highly recommend doubling the size of the effluent tank prior to the next camping season.

Small, convenient campsite. Has everything you need for a longer stay. Excellent access to the beach. Very friendly and helpful guests.

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fabulous location, walking distance to the beach as well as shops and restaurants. Hosts very friendly and helpful

As this is a new site there were a couple of teething problems relating to power supply. The electric hook up tripped regularly and the lights in the showers and toilets were not working. Not a deal breaker as long as you have a decent torch with you and I was told by the owners that they were working on get the power supply upgraded in the very near future

Good location. Host was so lovely and friendly. Wi-Fi was excellent.

Bit expensive for what it was. No light in the toilet and the shower ran cold. Difficult to find, could really do with a sign on the main road

Location, pitch, showers, bbq

NA

Location
Owners hospitality

Nothing

Beautiful quiet sheltered location, 5 minutes walk to shops and main surf beach. Welcoming and helpful hosts Ali and James. Walking tracks through forested areas to other amazing beaches. Golf course and facilities next door. Would definitely come back.

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Excellent location, under 10 minutes walk on the flat to the beach. Polzeath is a really lively place so plenty to do in the evening.
The owner is a really fantastic host, walking around checking in on people and making sure that the site was really well maintained.
Option to use a fire pit was very welcome.

As we paid a significant amount of money for our stay (compared to other sites we’ve stayed at previously), and given the site is billed as ‘luxury’ camping, we had very high expectations. That said, the facilities are more akin to what you would expect at a cheap or ‘eco’ site. One female and one male toilet for the 40+ people on site, these get blocked frequently. No toilet roll or lighting in these toilets - again, not very ‘luxury’. The alternative arrangement for toilets when these get blocked is one outside toilet with a cloth for a door.
One washing up space for the 9+ families on site.
Pitches are very squashed in together, I can see how this would be okay if it were a number of people with small tents camping for the weekend, but during our stay it was mostly people staying for over a week with multiple children and therefore had bigger tents.
Be aware - you don’t get any personal space on this site therefore.

Small friendly campsite, close to the beach whilst being quiet. BBQs provided.

Clean showers and bathrooms

Small number of showers and toilets for a number of people.