Balkenna Caravan Park

Liked The facilities. The customer service. The farm animals. The view. Access to other locations.

Disliked The noise from the road and a large, noisy, thoughtless group. I camp every weekend this time of year and this was by far the noisest campsite I've been to.

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From the manager: Thank you for your fair comments and for rating our facilities, cleanliness and customer service so highly. We are very sorry that the road noise and, especially, the neighbouring group's behaviour spoiled your stay. The group was contacted after complaints, but the disturbance clearly went on too long. We have since strengthened our 11pm–8am quiet-hours wording, staff escalation and group-booking restrictions to reduce the chance of a repeat. We appreciate you raising this and are sorry we did not provide the peaceful stay you expected.

Liked Tidy and well maintained site, great tearoom, showers and toilets very clean.
Great communication on WhatsApp from owner after booking, message explained everything and even included a site map.

Disliked Noisy, shouty drunk people in next tent, not the fault of the site but we were annoyingly kept awake all night.

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From the manager: Thank you very much for the lovely review and for highlighting our clean, well-kept site, tearoom, facilities and WhatsApp arrival information. We’re very sorry the neighbouring guests disturbed your night. Although you kindly said it wasn’t the site’s fault, we take late-night noise seriously. The group was contacted, and we have strengthened our quiet-hours information and group-booking controls. We hope to welcome you back for the peaceful stay you should have had.

Liked Friendly fellow campers (a huge thanks to the neighbor who helped me fix the initial electric issue by trying different switches and lending us the extension cable to work out what was going on) as the staff we informed were unable to assist in fixing a fundamental issue on the pitch, so we were left to figure it out ourselves.

​The tearoom menu looked really good and tempting, though in the end, we just wanted to pack up and leave as soon as possible.

Disliked Site & Pitches:
The pitches are extremely small and far from level, requiring levelling ramps/chocks just to get comfortable.

​Poor Accessibility:
While the facilities themselves are good, accessibility is terrible. My wife fractured her ankle from a tumble during our trip, and she was completely unable to use the showers because of a huge step required just to get inside.
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Safety & Rules:
Guests were playing football right next to the vans. While our vehicle fortunately wasn't hit, several surrounding tents were. On a site this small, a strict "no ball games" rule should be enforced to protect equipment and personal space.

​Sleep Quality:
Sleep was severely disrupted. While the heavy road noise early in the morning is down to location, the constant barking dogs throughout the night were completely unacceptable and should have been managed by site management.

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From the manager: Thank you for explaining what affected your stay. We are very sorry that the shower entrance was not manageable while your wife had a fractured ankle, and that noise, football and barking dogs disturbed your visit. Our pitches vary in size and level, and many guests describe them as spacious and level, although we recognise that your allocated pitch did not suit your needs. Our staff checked the electrical hookup and found the site supply working; the information available to us indicated that the issue was within the guest equipment or lead rather than the hookup. We are nevertheless sorry that the team could not help you reach a quick solution. We have followed up the disturbance and reinforced our 11pm–8am quiet hours and the need for ball games not to affect neighbouring pitches. We appreciate your positive cleanliness score and kind words about fellow campers, and are sorry your overall experience fell short.

Liked Was a lovely campsite staff where so welcoming , facilities were spotless

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From the manager: Thank you very much for your lovely review. We’re delighted you found our staff so welcoming and the facilities spotless. We really appreciate you recommending us and hope to welcome you back to Balkenna again soon.

Liked Very nice site. Staff very friendly. Facilities were spotless

Disliked Group of 10 young people were very rowdy and partied until 3pm both nights. They then proceeded to take over the whole field playing football

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From the manager: Thank you for the kind comments about our staff and spotless facilities, and for recommending Balkenna. We are very sorry that the neighbouring group’s late noise and football disrupted both nights of your stay. The matter was raised with the lead guest, and we have reinforced our 11pm–8am quiet hours and the need for ball games not to affect other pitches. We have also followed this up with the team so that any further disturbance is acted on promptly. We appreciate your fair and balanced review and hope a future stay would show you the peaceful, friendly site we aim to provide.

Liked Used this site many times before. Lovely clean site with clean toilets and shower rooms. Small cafe for breakfast and main meals if you want to use it.

Disliked No warden onsite. No number available to contact if any problems outwith café opening hours. A group partied until 3am. They were extremely noisy the next 3 days despite owners reminding them quiet hours are between 11pm & 6pm after the first party night. This happened on our last visit too.

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From the manager: Thank you for returning to Balkenna and for your kind comments about the clean site, facilities and tearoom. We are very sorry that the neighbouring group disturbed your stay, particularly the late noise and the fact it continued after they had been reminded. We contacted the lead guest and reinforced our 11pm–8am quiet hours, but clearly the problem was not resolved quickly enough. We have now strengthened the information sent before arrival, the staff escalation process and our after-hours contact arrangements, and we are reviewing our group-booking controls to reduce the chance of this happening again. We appreciate you raising it and hope a future visit shows you the peaceful site you have usually known.

Liked Tidy site, great views.

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From the manager: Thank you for the perfect score. We’re delighted you found Balkenna tidy and enjoyed the coastal views. It’s a simple, friendly site in a lovely part of Ayrshire, and we hope to welcome you back whenever you’re passing this way.

Liked Liked the spacious plot to put the tent up on and the tearoom was excellent. A fantastic breakfast with all the usual items and lovely pancakes with maple syrup for my grandson.

Disliked Discription says beach just across the road but have no idea how you would get to it as you would have to access through a field of cows ! The road is next to the site and the lorries from Stranraer go up and down all night, take your ear plugs.

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From the manager: Thank you, Joyce. We’re delighted the roomy pitch suited your family and that breakfast in the tearoom was a highlight, especially the pancakes for your grandson. We also appreciate your excellent scores for value, facilities, service, cleanliness and Wi-Fi. Your suggestion about clearer walking directions to the beach is useful and we’ll look at making this easier for visitors. The A77 can sometimes be heard, and where space allows we’re happy to help guests choose a pitch farther from the road. Thank you for staying with us.

Liked This is our second visit to the site and we just love it, we have a large tent so they were very accommodating to us by giving us a nice large pitch which comfortably held the tent and two cars, facilities are great and if you fancy a takeaway just eat deliver to it. Or the tearoom is there if you want to sit in for some food. Shower block and toilets are immaculate, they are always clean and there is always hand towel available for drying your hands.

Disliked The noise from the traffic is a bit annoying during the night but you get used to it.

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From the manager: Thank you, Craig. It means a great deal that you chose to return to Balkenna and enjoyed it just as much the second time. We’re glad the large pitch worked well for your tent and cars, and the team will be delighted by your kind words about their help and the immaculate facilities. The A77 can be heard from parts of our compact coastal site, particularly by tent campers at night, so we appreciate the fair mention. We hope the views, tearoom and warm welcome bring you back for a third visit.

Liked This was our first stay here. The staff were very welcoming and friendly. The view we had of Ilsa Craig was amazing and the food in the cafe was lovely.
We would def come back for another weekends stay.

Disliked The only downside would be the traffic noise, but this can’t be helped, as it is a busy main road.

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From the manager: Thank you for choosing Balkenna for your first camping trip in more than 20 years. It is lovely to hear that the team made you feel welcome and that you enjoyed the view across to Ailsa Craig and the food in the tearoom. The coastal outlook is one of the things that makes the park special.

We appreciate your fair comment about the road. The A77 is convenient for reaching us and exploring the Ayrshire coast, although traffic can sometimes be heard. Where availability allows, we are always happy to help guests find a position farther from the road.

We are delighted that you would stay again and hope to welcome you back for another weekend.