Liked The rating seems a little harsh because this is actually a very good campsite but I can only judge based on our experience. We camped at Cedar Lawn and found it spacious and pretty. They could easily add far more pitches down the middle but have chosen not to do so, credit to them for that, and the result was a lovely open area for people to enjoy. The Base Camp area is up with the very best central facilities I have ever seen - it is smart, comfortable both inside and out, well laid out and covers a lot of bases in terms of needs, shifting roles well from breakfast to daytime cafe to evening restaurant and bar. The mini golf looked like fun. Overall the park is nicely laid out, well thought out and (mostly) very well maintained.

Disliked So if it's that good, why the low rating? Well.... Electric points are so far apart that we had to return to reception and ask to be moved to a different pitch, which they did (despite having booked electric). The toilet block at the top of Cedar is probably the worst I've ever come across on a campsite for reasons too numerous to list - though fortunately on Day 2 we found a far better one adjacent to Pine Woods. Even so, the ill fitting units had such large gaps in some places that my 8 year old was on full view whilst sat doing his business. Not really acceptable. My wife took the kids to the park but came back shortly after saying there was basically nothing there - perhaps there were some better ones elsewhere that we missed? There were some tennis courts behind us but in a state of disrepair, mixture of mud and long grass with no lines though we did manage to play some ball games on the generous space in the middle of Cedar Lawn. Base Camp was overrun in the evenings. We booked a table for dinner and it was extremely busy and loud, which distressed our autistic son. Worse, a band was doing some sound checks so we had to scoff dinner (which was a bit meh anyway) and get out before they started playing. That started around 19:00 and we heard literally every word they sang for the next 4 hours from our tent at the very top of the site. Base Camp was effectively off limits in the evenings because of the hoards and noise so the next night we went to nearby Lion Inn Thurne for much better food and overall experience. When we returned we were treated to another evening of live music whilst sat outside our tent. Have to say the bands were good and, had it not been for the kids, I might have gone for a closer look. The mini golf looked great but would have cost nearly £20 for a family of four so we skipped that one but as a daytime cafe it was definitely smart, comfortable and served some tasty treats. It was not the experience we were hoping for whilst family camping with our SEN kids but it would not deter me from coming back, though we might do a few things differently.

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Liked If they cleared this site they could easily have 20 pitches and make way more money. Instead they've only got 5 (standard tent pitches), with large, wild borders between them ensuring privacy and lots of nature. Credit to the owners they've chosen this path and instead created something virtually unique. The shower and toilet facilities are good, as are washing up facilities, plus there is a nice little kitchen provided with a fridge, microwave, electric kettle plus a variety of honesty shop items you can purchase. Overall it's a perfect combination of nature with a bit of luxury thrown in. It's also the first time I've given 10 to any site - even the best sites normally have something they could improve but without being deliberately nitpicky, I can't really think of anything here.

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Liked This was my second stay and this time for a whole 8 nights. If anything it was even better than last year. Owners were very friendly (as were their chickens!). Even discovered a lovely lake behind the woods that overlook the site. There is a folder full of walk suggestions in the laundry room that are worth checking out.

Disliked No dislikes - though there were some issues with the showers in that the button had to be pushed again about every 10 secs or the water went off which is a bit annoying.

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Liked Good campsite with a nice layout, good play areas for children and a great covered games area with giant chess, giant Connect4 etc - a really nice touch. The unisex shower rooms were excellent. Overall a really nice experience.

Disliked Stingy pitch sizes - our standard 4 person tunnel tent was apparently too big (never has been anywhere else). We were forced to upgrade to an XL pitch on which you could have put a marquee. Water taps were located on people's pitches making us reluctant to use any where the pitch was occupied, never found any washing up facilities either - there was the odd sink in a laundry room.

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From the manager: Thank you for your feedback. We’re really pleased you enjoyed the campsite layout, play areas, games space, and shower facilities. We’re sorry to hear about your experience with pitch sizing and the need to upgrade, and we’ll review how we communicate pitch suitability more clearly. We also understand your concerns about the location of the water taps — there are 7 taps in Laurel Meadow serving around 40 pitches, but we appreciate these may not always feel accessible. Regarding washing-up facilities, we’re currently looking into adding additional sinks in Laurel Meadow. Thank you again for your comments, and we hope to welcome you back in the future. The Applewood Team 🍎🌳

Liked Good facilities, sensible layout of the camping pitches and generous space for each, the team were helpful but also laid back. The site was well generally maintained and fairly smart. There were multiple drinking water taps along the camping field which were also convenient. Amenities slightly better than some others I've been with washing machines, driers, hair driers and a coffee machine. Some essential supplies were also available from the tiny reception. Would definitely come back again - in fact already planning to.

Disliked Didn't really dislike anything - though I'd caution that there must be around 100 pitches here and if they were full I think wash block would prove rather too small. However, wasn't busy when I was there so it was no issue.

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Liked Beautiful location. High quality toilet / shower facilities. Manager (Chris) and owner (Aled) both very friendly and helpful. Place always spotlessly clean. The power supply for my electric grass pitch also had a drinking water tap - very convenient.

Disliked It was a very basic site - a pitch and a shower block is all that's there. Travelling off season there was almost no-one there. At busier times of year I would worry that the shower block facilities would be quickly overrun (toilet, washing and shower facilities all in single integrated units - only 2 x male, 2 x female serving whole site). Also no reception, though it was easy to get hold of Chris by text message and he was always great. Remote location and lack of onsite amenities might make it less suited for families with young children. But reality is, the good outweighs the less good many times over, so these are just cautionary comments.

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Liked Comprehensive range of facilities. Swimming pools high quality, good range of family activities, main entertainment / bar / food complex was nice. Shower / toilet facilities were very good, washing up areas for campers also decent. We didn't need to leave the park as there was plenty to do onsite.

Disliked Not really one park but two, with quite a distance between them. Facilities split over two sites (indoor pool at one, outdoor at the other). Some facilities tired / require investment (mini golf, cart tracks etc). Pools under utilised (too few sessions, often sat empty for hours despite hot weather). Pitches not well defined plus we had to clear litter and obstacles from ours before pitching. Ours was down the end of an empty field. One group of campers making noise and shouting at each other until gone 0100 - no attempt to resolve from the park. Staff at the bar rushed off their feet whilst others elsewhere just bored. Whole placed lacked atmosphere / vibe, but suspect that was down to the time of year and lack of punters - hopefully summer time with more people it would feel more alive as there is so much potential here with such a well equipped site.

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