Liked Great little site with well spaced pitches. Friendly warden. Showers and toilets clean, with plenty of hot water. Free showers easy to use. Small playpark for children, with squeaky swing :-), football posts, room to play.

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Liked We don't normally use large sites for the two of us, but our daughter found this one and thought it would be ideal for our camping trip of two nights with her and the grandchildren. It certainly was. Although it was fairly busy on Saturday we managed to find a flat pitch together. It was a change not to have a fixed size pitch and it worked well. I imagine it can get a bit crowded on busy weekends though. (Tip, arrive Sunday!) We loved the pool and although it was extra it was well worth the unlimited time in there. Our two loved the slides and it was really warm when we went in. They also made good use of the playground which had plenty of variety for younger & older children. Fish & chips were good, and the children's entertainment on Sunday night. Grandad made use of the bar for a decent pint and stopped for a game of pool with grandson :-). We caught the bus into Scarborough, with the stop at the bottom of the site it was great to get as far as the North Beach & Peasholme Park in one journey. Toilets were cleaned daily and were spotless at 7.30 when the ladies finished. They must have had an early start - thank you! It might be an idea to have a separate bin for nappies to save people filling the sanitary bins? There was little a bit of rubbish about, but there were lots of Biffa bins about for people to use. Would use the site again, with or without grandchildren.

Disliked Dogs, or rather people with dogs who seemed unable to use the exercise field provided! Nothing the site owners can do, just one of our bugbears!

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From the manager: Thank you for your lovely review, Janice. We are really pleased to hear Crows Nest worked so well for your family trip and that you enjoyed the location, facilities and views. It is great to know you found a suitable pitch, even during a busy weekend, and that the pool, slides, play park, fish and chips, children’s entertainment and bar all added to your stay. We are especially glad the bus stop at the bottom of the site made it easy to visit Scarborough without needing to drive. Thank you for your kind comments about the cleaning team too. They do work hard from early in the morning to keep the facilities clean and well maintained. We appreciate your comments regarding sanitary bins, litter and dog owners not always using the dog exercise field or cleaning up properly. There are plenty of bins around the park, but unfortunately a small number of guests do not always use them as they should. Thank you for recommending us, and we hope to welcome you back to Crows Nest again soon.

Liked Basic little site tucked away behind the community hall. Flat field, park where you like and no set pitch size. Lovely just to listen to all the birds . Very clean, lots of hot water, although no feed through to the washing up sink.

Disliked The showers need an update. Others had used the gents showers, but as previously stated no bucket to wring out the mop in the gents so it was left in a mess. Hubbie tried his best. We would still have used except didn't have the required 20p :-(

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Liked Spacious pitches and didn't feel too cramped although there were a lot of van/motorhomes. Fairly level, we didn't use levellers although I noticed some vans had. Location ideal for exploring Dumfries and Galloway. We didn't use the swimming pool/café etc so can't comment on those. The playpark was very popular with children, looked a good site for families. 11 pm quiet rule adhered to when we were there. Site was clean. Laird's Inn was very busy on the Saturday night, 5 stars to the staff who worked there and kept everything running smoothly. Food good, as was the beer. You do need to book online as it was fully booked when we were there. (Simple process!) Rules on website said no gazebos/awnings/pup tents but there were quite a few in use. Would possibly use again as a one night stop . We do prefer smaller sites, but size hasn't put us off (see dislikes).

Disliked Oh dear, the toilets/showers! The "ensuite" idea does not seem to be working, more like a very wet/dirty room. Showers weren't fully enclosed and cloakroom sized hand wash basins meant water leaked onto the floor, out of the cubicle and into the corridor where it mixed with footprints from people's shoes. There was a notice to asking people to mop up the floor after using. We did, BEFORE use, to try to get into a cubicle without getting too wet/dirty! No sign that over a busy weekend these were ever cleaned. Foot prints (dog prints?) left in the actual showers. We gave up trying to find a clean one and thankfully we were only there a couple of nights so gave the showers a miss.

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Liked Although the camping field was busy, the pitches were well spaced, so didn't feel cramped. There was enough room between pitches for children to kick a football around without disturbing others. Nice and level, although due to the dry summer the ground was very hard. For a pop up campsite, facilities were adequate. We only stopped the one night as this was first time camping with our grandchildren and daughter. Nothing has put them off, although we would probably use somewhere with more to do on site for the children . Great location for Runswick Bay, although as others have said, if you can, take the car down to the beach - it is a VERY steep walk back up. The bottom car park does get busy so need to get down early. Also good for the other seaside locations along the coast. Campsite easy to find , check-in easy with friendly receptionist. Understand the cash only situation if only open for a few weeks in summer.

Disliked Dogs! It's a pity people can't take their pooches elsewhere to walk and poop, especially where children are likely to be playing. Nothing the campsite owners can do I'm afraid. There was a problem with the hot water when we were there which meant we didn't use the showers or were able to wash up using hot water, unless we boiled the kettle. The person cleaning apologised and said the plumber was coming out after the weekend. The toilet area was clean when we got there, although there was a lack of toilet rolls at first. My daughter commented that when she used the shower to wash the children's feet off she had to hold the control all the time which was a pain.

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Liked Lovely little site on A84, ideal for our stopover back home, although there was plenty to do in the surrounding area for anyone wanting a longer stop. Clean facilities, friendly owner. Nice walk into Doune for food at the hotel. There is a footpath but the road is quite busy so care needed if walking with children.

Disliked Road noise could be a problem for some

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Liked Great facilities, the staff were friendly and helpful, the village is a 2 minute walk away with a couple of restaurants / hotels. We actually chose the site as a reviewer complained the hotel doesn't allow dogs in the restaurant! Lovely walks near the site. Activities on the river if you are stopping longer. There were a few children on the site and they looked to be having a great time on their bikes. We needed a stopover on our way to Skye and this site fit the bill, especially as we used the Tourist Route to Pitlochry to get off the A9. Would probably use again if travelling this way.

Disliked Key code on the showers/toilets as well as the gate. We assume there has been a problem in the past with people not staying sneaking in to use facilities. Could do with a bigger sign if approaching from Aberfeldy.

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Liked Great little campsite, which I would describe as camping as it used to be but with much better facilities. Escape from the mobile phone, internet, tv signal. There is site Wi-Fi but a bit hit and miss for us. Clean toilet and shower block, just a little chilly in late April, but hey we are camping! Lovely well stocked shop for those forgotten essentials. We missed out on pizza night, but good idea, as is the undercover picnic table and table football. The pub mentioned is a 45 minutes walk up hill and down, so not handy for us. (10 minute drive for good food and beer, zero options available.)

Disliked Not exactly a dislike, but be aware that it is a narrow road to the site, so if you're in a van you may need to reverse to find the passing place. Although nice & quiet when we were there, the site was full the weekend before (Easter) and I can imagine could feel fairly cramped. I can see why no movement after 8pm, but as we wanted to use the pub and were in a campervan if felt a bit odd having to make arrangement beforehand.

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Liked Lovely spacious campsite, lots of room between pitches which left plenty of room for children to run around without disturbing anyone. Loved the way the grass was allowed to grow longer between pitches. Wow, the new showers look fantastic! Separate roomy cubicles, double shower tray and chair. Didn't need to use them, but I was told there was plenty of hot water. Washing up area certainly did. Toilets had plenty of hand wash and hand cream, but the hot water was a little hit and miss. Ladies was fine but husband said not in the gents. Barn a good idea, with fridge, kettle, microwave, children's games/toys, fresh eggs. There was an outside socket for those not on hook up for charging phones etc. Site easy enough to find with what3words, although maybe a sign on both sides of the entrance may help others. Keypad out of sight, but I should have read the email properly, but a quick phone call solved that, sorry Carole! Didn't use Wi-Fi, so not given it a star.

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From the manager: Thanks for the feedback Janice, Ive managed to get a sign up at the entrance but the hedgerow does mean you need to be quite close to see it :(

Liked Lovely flat site, well kept and clean. The site is behind the bistro so didn't have any bother with road noise. We were disappointed that the bistro wasn't open on a Monday as it was one of the reasons we booked it. Pitchup site doesn't seem to mention it but it is on the owners website. They do intend to open Bank Holiday Mondays. Showers and toilets are basic, but kept very clean. I did manage a nice hot shower, only a matter of being gentle with the controls! Fan heater was welcome. Somewhere to sit on in the larger one (where there is room) to save balancing on one leg to get dressed would be nice. A good summer time stop over - no heating in toilets and a bit drafty.

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Liked Just had a 2 night stay at Bolam Lake Camping Paddock in our campervan. Great little campsite, lovely hardworking couple who run it. Slightly sloping, so used the levellers for the first time, but could have coped without them. This is our first year of camping so usually use sites with a few more facilities but have found we prefer the smaller sites, although this was a first with nothing but portaloos! We need not have worried, as they were cleaned at least twice a day, had water for hand washing, liquid soap, hand sanitiser and paper towels. We liked being able to choose where we could set up camp and each pitch was clearly marked. David appeared periodically to check people in and offer help if needed as well as hiring out the fire pits. Although we didn't use one, these were very popular and our neighbour said everything was provided and were very easy to light. They were also a good idea for people with disposable BBQ's to stop the grass getting burned. Plenty of grass area for the children to let off steam, as the pitches were against the two fences leaving a large area in between. Would use again if staying in the area, choice of pubs for meals, places to visit nearby.

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From the manager: Thanks so much for sharing such a detailed review - the information is all so helpful to us to make sure that campers have everything they need and to potential guests who want to find out as much as possible about our little site before booking. We are a Wanderlust certified campsite so we offer simple camping in a lovely location - we offer basic facilities but clean facilities and spacious pitches are important to us. Thanks so much and it was lovely to meet you - we hope that you visit the area again soon.