Liked I booked Shilla Mill for our family summer holiday after seeing excellent reviews on Pitchup and Tripadvisor. The description — “set at the end of a private lane surrounded by greenery… spacious camping pitches with picnic benches and firepits” — sounded perfect. At first, we were pleased with our pitch. However, we discovered on arrival that the site is a pop-up campsite, something not mentioned on Pitchup or in previous Tripadvisor reviews. Facilities listed online (onsite café/restaurant/takeaway and shop) simply did not exist. The owners said they hoped to open a small café but hadn't managed to source an electrician yet to do the work. These facilities should not be advertised if unavailable. The toilets and showers (two each) were spotless, but limited capacity meant occasionally having to wait (may be an issue if you have young children needing the toilet). Washing-up facilities were good, with hot water, washing up liquid and sponges provided.

Disliked The real problems began towards the end of our stay. A family who had booked in advance were unhappy that there was no overflow car park as told by the owners and politely raised this with the male owner. The male owner responded by shouting, “You’re horrible people, horrible people! Get off my land! I'm the owner of Shilla Mill” and refused them a refund. The next day, a similar dispute occurred with another family, who ended up calling the police before leaving. Both incidents were played out in full view of all campers. Immediately after the second incident the male owner later approached me whilst I was sat in the porch of my tent to discuss the dispute, despite me clearly stating I did not want to get involved. This was unprofessional and uncomfortable. In reality, tents were squeezed in tightly, with little space between them and no safe area for children to play. Noise late at night from people returning from Polzeath pubs and restaurants was also an issue as there is a footpath next to the campsite and tents. On departure, when I mentioned the unpleasant atmosphere of the last few days, the lady owner replied, “For us too!” — a response showing no accountability. For the high price we paid, the experience fell far short of expectations. We won’t be returning.

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Liked The ensuite toilet and shower were modern, clean and the water was hot! Having the smart TV was a real bonus - kept my 12 year old entertained. The patio with the table and chairs were perfect and the view was beautiful. Everything was very clean.

Disliked Microwave tricky to figure out. The crockery wasn't stored very well in the cupboard - you had to dig around for what you wanted.

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Liked The staff were really friendly and helpful and the pitches were generous. The Pizza Stone van made really good pizza and was there on both Saturday and Sunday night.

Disliked The toilet and laundry facilities whilst clean were looking a bit tired - could do with a fresh lick of paint! We didn't realise that it was first come, first served regarding a flat pitch - as we'd booked we thought we'd been allocated a pitch but whilst we had booked a pitch, it was what they had left when we arrived.

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Liked The layout of the site was very good with each camper family having their own mown space on the site. Toilets were very clean - didn't try the shower as we were only there 2 nights and used the facilities at Alton Towers Waterpark. Great to have the use of a fridge, freezer and microwave and the washing up area was kept immaculate. Not a large site so didn't have to queue for toilets/shower. Each camping area has a fire pit already there so you only have to purchase the wood from the owners. One of my tent poles snapped and David, the owner, kindly brought down some tape to mend it - and helped secure the gazebo I had.

Disliked The only very minor annoyance was having to open and shut the gates when we went out for the day - an automatic barrier would be a great investment!

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Liked The toilet and shower facilities were excellent - thoroughly cleaned daily and showers were nice and strong and hot. Angie and Andrew (owners) were very friendly and are obviously in the right jobs - really helpful and accommodating - the perfect hosts.The site is immaculate with numerous recycling facilities and the shop was very handy for those things that you had forgotten. There was a really nice atmosphere on site and a fantastic playground for younger children - lovely families and our little boy made friends whilst we were there.

Disliked The only thing we found was that there were few public footpaths that could be accessed from the campsite which we should have researched before booking.

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Liked The site staff were all really friendly and helpful especially Danny, Kirsty and Richard. The toilets and laundry room were kept in immaculate, clean condition by being cleaned and check several times a day. The playground was a great congregating point for the children with two big fields of tents and a little woodland walk - our son felt he was on a Famous Five adventure! The picnic tables to hire for £5 a week were a brilliant bonus.And the bar was a welcome refuge on the couple of drizzly evenings we had. We will be back next year.

Disliked Nothing!

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From the manager: Hi Rosalind Thank you for the very nice review I will pass lovely comments onto the team. We are so pleased you had a fantastic holiday with your family and your son was a big adventure. we look forward to seeing you again to carry on his adventure. Thank you once again Elysian fields team.