The Old Vicarage

Positiv Love the river running through the site - my boys loved floating on a lilo and catching little fish.
The gentleman at check-in was very kind and helpful.

Negativ Unfortunately the toilets and showers are a complete turn-off. There aren’t enough for the amount of people there and are a bit grotty to be honest.
If the site were to build a proper shower/toilet block, then the site would be perfect for families - with changes, I would recommend and stay again.

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Positiv The river running through the site is beautiful. It is mid-thigh deep at the deepest point, and ankle-deep at others, so if perfect for children to play in. I imagine is managed better, the site could be really quite beautiful.

Negativ Sadly we won’t be returning as the facilities and management just weren’t up to the standard expected.

Upon arrival reception seemed to have little clue where we were to pitch, it became evident they don’t mark out their pitches, or allocate an exact pitch - just an areas. This had led to people not going exactly where expected, meaning tents were all over the place. This didn’t make best use of the space, but also meant some people had pitched over what should be walk ways, were very close together, and getting access onto and off the pitches with vehicles to set up or take down was near impossible. I am happy to keep a vehicle off-site, but if that is the plan then trollies or wheelbarrows should be provided to allow people to unload/load, and they should be informed beforehand. This would also have been difficult as parking was very limited in the “parking area”.

The toilet and shower block was disgusting. It wasn’t cleaned frequently enough. Sanitary bins were very smelly (it was a very hot bank holiday weekend so they would need changing more frequently than normal). There were two women’s showers, and one men’s, and there must have been a couple of hundred people on site. The floors were muddy, the shower curtains didn’t hang into the trays so there was water all over the floor. In five days I had 2 hot showers, and even then it fluctuated between scolding and freezing which isn’t great when you’re showering children. The toilet paper ran out and wasn’t replaced for a day.

There was only one washing up sink for the entire site and there was never any hot water. There was food and rubbish around the sink, and no bin in the area to avoid this.

The main bins at the top of the site were badly overflowing, suggesting that there aren’t enough bins to last between collections, or that that site had been overfilled.

There is constant road noise, although luckily little acceleration and deceleration so it is steady and easy to ignore. You also can’t hear it during the day as there is lots of general family noise.

Whilst there was WiFi, we were able to use it. I suspect this was due to the sheer number of people onsite. There was however EE phone reception.

I later found out that people can come onsite for day visits, and I wonder how this is managed and if people are turned away during maximum occupancy periods - I suspect not, and this certainly explains they the site felt even more cramped and crowded.

Several times I tried to visit reception but it wasn’t open. The staff were polite enough but not over helpful, and I don’t think it professional for employees to be drinking alcohol whilst working.

It is such a shame as the site could be beautiful, but it was badly overfilled and the staff and facilities just couldn’t hold up.

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Positiv The location was great, perfect for a trip to nearby attractions such as Sherwood Forest. Having the river run the site was great, nice to see so many people enjoy it during an extremely hot bank holiday. There was a nice little bar built into the cave which also hosted daily activities during our stay. Not sure how often but a pizza truck came while we were there, as did the ice cream truck and both were excellent. All the issues I mentioned to the staff were dealt with and seemed willing to help whenever asked.

Negativ The facilities have to improve, this site could be absolutely 10/10 if this was addressed. 5 toilets and 2 showers split between the whole site, particularly dirty, occasional blocking which although I sympathise this isn't always the sites fault, limiting the number of tents would potentially help. We went out for a day and came back to dozens of extra tents, thankfully we had plenty of room our side of the river but unfortunately there was very cramped conditions on the other. Where we have stayed previous has set pitches for fire regs etc? The reception was run down, just a table set up in what i can only describe as a storage room for old furniture. There was also only 1 washing up sink for the whole site, which had no bins and people's waste all over the sink.

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Positiv This is by far my favourite campsite!
We pitched right up in front of the stream and we all spent the whole weekend on site in the stream, playing in a rubber dinghy and the ropes swings.
Really good for the kids.
They had entertainment on also which we didn’t go too but did join in for the duck race which was really fun.

We didn’t feel the need to leave the site either

Negativ The things that slightly let the site down for us were the shower and toilet facilities. There were only two toilets and one small shower, and the temperature fluctuated very quickly from very hot to cold.

I found it quite stressful trying to shower my three children and myself, as the shower room was small and it was difficult to get us all washed and dried in there comfortably. It would be much better if there were more showers, or at least a larger family shower/bathroom available.

The toilet door and entrance door were also a little awkward when entering, especially if somebody was coming out at the same time.

I also feel an onsite shop selling essentials such as milk, bread, ice creams and other food items would work really well and probably bring in extra income, as we definitely would have purchased items there instead of walking to the nearest shop.

There was only one pot wash area too, so I often found myself queuing to wash pots. The ceiling could also have done with a clean or hoover, as there were quite a lot of spider webs, and there was also a large group of spiders around the fridge area.

Lastly, on the day of checkout at around 10am, I tried contacting somebody on both phone numbers provided multiple times but received no answer. Reception was also locked, and another camper mentioned they had also been unable to get hold of anyone. This was frustrating as we had to wait around in order to return something we had hired.

However, none of the above changed how much we loved the site overall. It is such a lovely place for children to just be children and we had a fantastic time. I only mention these points because constructive criticism helps places improve, and with a few small changes this site could be even better.

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Positiv Beautiful location. Idillic stream running through the campsite with lots of swings and zip wires for kids to play on. Great cave bar.

Negativ Dirty shower blocks. Not enough toilets and showers for the amount of people.
No bins around. Lacking a lot basic facilities. Loud campers past 11. I called and asked the owners to deal with it but they didn’t.

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Positiv The additional activities over the bank holiday were a nice addition.
The bar on site was good and was a nice change that we haven't seen at other campsites

The stream provided lots of hours of fun for the kids and was a great addition on a hot summers day.

Having fridge and freezers available was great along with washing up facilities.

Negativ Small number of toilets and showers. Often then we're out of order which caused queues on the toilets but staff did there best to resolve the toilet issues.
The pitch parameters was non existant. There was no clear way of knowing what space was allocated to who, to allow appropriate privacy. Clear boundaries may help campers to remain in there designated area.

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Positiv Fantastic site. Lots of nature, stream running through with little fish, rope swings and stepping stones. Like something out of a fairy tale.

Check in was easy and we were provided with a grass protector for our Firepit.

We didn’t leave the site for the full 48 hours. Was bliss! Already looking at another booking!

Negativ The shower and toilet facilities in the hut blocked easily, the toilet next to the cave bar was much better.

That said we’ll be visiting again!

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Positiv Absolutely gorgeous campsite, we were lucky enough to have the site to ourselves. ( midweek) the setting is exceptional especially if you like wildlife and birds.
We were two adults but it would be great for children too especially in the warmer months. It's lovely. Will definately go back.

Negativ If I had to critique, which I don't like to do, would be the wooden toilet block would benefit from updating or brightening up. Also cleaning prior to guests arriving even if there is only two guests due. This however wasn't bad at all but I guess it's the little touches that makes the biggest impact.

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Positiv The stream that runs through is stunning, &the kids loved splashing in it.
Our first day was lovely, it really felt like you was in a completely different place & was so peaceful.

Negativ The site became very busy and felt very cramped with tents absolutely everywhere. Due to this we left on our second day after having paid for 3 nights. There was also a group of women behind us who were very loud and did not quieten down until around 2AM, even though quiet time was supposed to be from 22:30.
There was also no hot water in the showers during our stay.
Overall, it is a lovely little site, would have just been better if it hadn’t been so over booked and if it was managed better. e.g. walk rounds at quiet time to ensure guests aren’t loud, do not over book, manage where people are placing their tents.

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Positiv Beautiful scenery spacious pitch with the river running through it's very peaceful

Negativ Facilities.....very basic and disappointed with toilet facilities, we were there 2 nights and toilets were never cleaned while we were there bins overflowing in toilets, wouldn't even contemplate using the shower as no hot water anyhow.
Washing up facilities just one sink for the size of the site.
Describes a bar in pitch up description but it's not really a bar as it's not stocked. Also describes walking trails but u have to drive as there is nothing in the area.

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Vom Platzbetreiber: Hi Paul
I am so sorry you feel this way
Yes there was an issue with no hot water in the showers and once a guest informed us it was recified straight away. You should have popped over to reception if you had any issues whilst you were here, so they could have been recitfied, most guests if they have a problem let us know. We have a walking trail guide book in reception. If you had asked I would have given you it. All from the site and no driving involved. Sorry you found fault with our bar and did not see the activies we held over the weekend. We had a chrildrens disco, bingo, quiz and the duck race down the river. So I believe there was plenty of activities to engage in on site.