Liked I used this site as a stop off as a 1 night stay before heading to Tittesworth Lake for water sports. I had my backpacking tent, and although the weather marred it a little, the stay was great. The site itself offers a good sheltered spot on the hillside from the wind and being on a hillside ensures water drains away from the tents during rain (I can attest to that). The site: Set expectations and know what you're booking. This site doesn't pretend to offer luxurious camping, massive washing up areas, play areas and a clubhouse. It offers a place to camp with all the basics you need, and does that well. Water is close by to the tent, as is the toilet, and the facilities are well kept. The ground for camping on is flat and the area is peaceful. The outhouse style toilet is actually really cool in the way it's decorated. Love the style, sort of steam punkish. Price wise, it is slightly more than other sites in the area so I had no choice to give a slightly lower rating but I want to make clear that the trade off of facilities is that this is a much quieter site and you'll likely sleep far better and have a more relaxing time. It's not bad value for money at all - it's priced about right I'd say. The facilities/activities/location: I've covered the facilities above so I won't repeat, but where this really shines is activities. For anyone with outdoors hobbies, this is an ideal stopping place. Nearby are Lakes (Tittesworth and Rudyard) with Tittesworth offering SUP and Kayaking activities with safety boats on standby. And they are very helpful. Then for hikers there's Roaches, Ludds Church, Churnet Valley and many, MANY more very close by. For Climbers/Boulderers, it will go without saying that Roaches is nearby, as is Ramshaw rocks and a short drive away is the likes of Harpur Hill for some of that limestone sport action. Paragliders, not far away is the often overlooked (but very enjoyable to fly) Shining Tor and Cats Tor. In short - the area is packed with things to do. Customer Service: Is better than any other site I've ever stopped at. I had frequent communication from Lauren who was really happy to help and really cared about people enjoying their time. Was ready to go the extra mile, and that's a rare thing. Truly appreciated that personal touch. Wifi - There was none so I can't rate it highly but... C'Mon, if you want Wifi that badly, camping probably isn't that high up your priority list. What I will say though, is that if you really need the connectivity, on the mobile network I was on (Three I think it is) signal is fantastic. I had a solid 4G connection.

Disliked I really liked the site. If I HAD to pick something, having a sink for washing up would be nice, but that's purely a nicety. Only other things are things that the owner couldn't possibly address so isn't a negative - but I'll mention it incase anyone else wonders what I did. If you are a hammock camper: The trees on the site and those that you can see from the road (google maps). Only 2 of them are in any kind of position to hang a hammock and those are pretty close to the rented barn accommodation so it would be pretty rude to hang the hammock there if the Barn is rented out. Many that are visible on google street view actually sit just the other side of the stone wall to the pitching area. The 2 trees in the area are also just a little close together which might make it a squeeze. I took my hammock just in case, but used the tent (I didn't ask ahead of time whether it was suitable - I was expecting to use the tent but thought it would be nice to hammock on the off chance it seemed feasible). As I say, not a dislike - just for informational purposes, but it didn't fit in the "Liked" area.

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From the manager: Hi Jon, Thanks for that great review, we maybe need to show more about what surrounds us and how lucky we are to have all these activities on our doorstep!!! Noted about the washing up station, definitely something to think about in the near future.... Thanks again for choosing us and we look forward to welcoming you back soon, Safe Travels Lauren @ Archies Barn :)

Liked Basic but clean facilities. Everything you need is done well. Area is very very pleasant and the owners were nice too. Cars are kept away from the camping field after being unpacked. Peaceful.

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Liked It has a natural 'wild' camping feel to the site. They don't try to go luxury and that's actually great. It sits toward the wild camping site feel to me, but with conveniences that make taking a family and longer stays easy. Oaklands offers the amenities you need - and does so extremely well. Clean, maintained and functional toilets/water/washing up sinks (cold water, heat your own if you want warm washing water). The way everything is done makes the site feel more natural which suits the surroundings perfectly. Laid back atmosphere. The owners of the site are extremely friendly and incredibly accommodating. We stayed in the forest and while we were not far from other campers, it felt very private and away from anyone else. We were chilled out on our pitch and happily just lazing about. When we did need some food from town though, just a 10 minute drive away is Church Stretton which is equipped with an outdoor shop catering for some camping needs, supermarket and a few DIY stores too. Activities are also available from Fishing to Quadbiking (electric), and even a wild swimming lake. We tried our hand on the air rifle range, which was good fun. There are costs involved here as you'd expect but the prices are fair. Children are very well accommodated and ours particularly enjoyed the rope swing by one of the fishing lakes. Camp fires were permitted with an honesty box for the wood making evenings that little more cosy too. It's fairly obvious but parts of this site are in woodlands with water nearby, or by lakes. It's a beautiful area and site but bring bug repellent. They weren't excessive when we went (May during hot weather) but there were of course going to be slightly more. If you're particularly bothered by bugs, maybe choose a meadow pitch which are slightly further from the water/woodlands. We'll be back!

Disliked Having to go back home. Joking aside, legitimately one of the best places I've stayed. I didn't dislike this personally. It doesn't bother me. But I will mention it for the sake of others who might be irritated by it. Tree Sap. It's not something that occurred to me until I went to put a hammock up between the trees. The trees are quite 'sappy' in the forest where we pitched. Not just on things that touch the tree trunks but the tent had small specs over it from sap falling from above too. It's not an issue to me - my tent's to be used and abused - but if you're tent proud or are trying to keep it pristine, perhaps consider taking a meadow or lakeside pitch. There's nothing the owners could do about this because, well, nature - and it shouldn't detract. I mention this ONLY to help better inform people of the pitch type they might want to book here, not to seek a different site (you will miss out if you pass this place by!)

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