The Racecourse Retreat

Liked *Honest family review*

We stayed here for 3x nights as a family of 4 (2 kids aged 5 and 7).

Location- We chose due to close proximity to local walks and Matlock, definitely lots of things to do within reasonable driving distance. Loads of space, amazing views and easy to find with what 3 words.

Facilities- We had read before that some people had moaned about the lack of toilets and showers. Yes they are quite limited for the number of people, however we never waited long for anything during what I imagine was a pretty busy weekend in the summer holidays. Sometimes the showers were temperamental, but again no major issues and to be expected when essentially you are in a huge farmers field! Everything was clean and well maintained though and fridge/freezers to store stuff if needed which was handy for our freezer blocks.

The bar was a nice touch, with darts and table tennis inside. Also pizzas and other food served here over the weekend which was nice.

The sandpit and football goal were ideal for us and kept both of ours entertained a lot of the time. There is loads of space here for kids to do stuff and lots of families had brought their own activities with them (cricket, rounders, football etc).

Small shop near the entrance if you were desperate for something.

Staff- Really helpful and pleasant to deal with. We had no issues but I got the impression that if you did they would be more than happy to help.

On speaking to the staff this is not a full time campsite, hence the reasons for not having the facilities of somewhere that was. This is completely reasonable. If they were to make any improvements in the future (hopefully because they are doing well and progressing) then obviously a few more toilets and showers would be helpful and maybe a kids play area/park as these always seem to be a hit with kids (put it near to the bar to draw in the parents!).

Would we return? Yes without a doubt. When we next want to visit the area we will definitely look to re book for a stay here and would recommend it to others.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Liked Great campsite, really nice owners, good bar area, clean toilets

Disliked Nothing

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From the manager: Hi Mick
Thank you for your review.
We are pleased to hear you enjoyed your stay with us and hope to see you back soon.

Liked There was lots of space to each pitch and the field wasn’t too crowded. It was also good that they had a bar and some food on site and offered free fire pits to use. The facilities were also well cleaned (toilets, showers, washing up station). Staff were really friendly!

Disliked There were not a lot of showers for the amount of people and most days in the morning the water in the showers was not working - whether that was because too many people had used it or there was an issue I don’t know.

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Liked LOVED this camp site.
The best faculties I've ever seen. Everything was clean, and kept on top of. Plenty of space to choose and pitch up. We will be returning. On site bar just topped it off nicely.

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Liked I loved everything about this camping site. I loved the onside bar and food. The toilets, showers and cleaning facilities was great. All the staff were amazingly friendly and helpful. Its absolutely stunning and definitely would come back! Thank you so much for such a lovely experience.

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Liked Really good location with stunning views. Watching the sunset was a highlight.
Nice clean toilets and good showers. Super friendly staff and very welcoming. We will certainly return

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Liked Great site. It is very BIG - four huge fields on top of a hill overlooking glorious Derbyshire rolling hills.
The toilets and showers are clean and gents have a special treat with urinals made out of beer kegs.
Summer Fridays and Saturdays there is a bar and hot food served.
We had a little trouble with another camper. Owners dealt with it swiftly and effectively - no complaints.
Communal fridge and freezer and excellent washing up area.

Disliked On the busiest day there were queues for the toilets and showers, but I appreciate that by the Monday there were a handful of campers remaining and so another toilet block for the odd busy day is a tough decision for the owners.
On the busiest day, hot water was a bit patchy, but not a major problem.

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Liked Peace and quiet. Views were amazing ! Space, there were only 3 pitches taken on our whole field. Ladies toilets clean and even had toiletries in which was a lovely touch.
We had a lovely down hill walk to the village where there were several lovely pubs (there is a route across the fields) however it’s a long long way back up up up hill !
On site marquee/bar looked great gutted was closed when we there mid week !

Disliked Showers although very clean you have to push to keep on every few seconds which I get to save water but maybe a little extra time in between pressing (coming from someone either long hair rinsing shampoo off was difficult!) but great for quick freshen up !
Extra charge for dogs

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Liked Amazing setting, really well maintained, clean toilets, friendly staff.

Disliked Not enough toilets/showers for the size of the site (I did overhear them saying this would be changing in the coming years)

There were a few large groups on site which were noisy (rectified when they were spoken to by site owners)

Recommend to friends Visit again

Liked Lovely large site with stunning views. Very friendly and helpful family running it. Showers and toilets cleaned regularly throughout day and very good for pop up site.
Large dog exercise area also provided.
A real jem of a site.
Pleasant footpath walk down into Wirksworth itself.

Disliked Nothing.

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From the manager: Hi Michelle
Thank you for your review.
We are really pleased you enjoyed your stay with us.
The dog exercise area is new for this year and it certainly seems to be a hit with out 4 legged visitors.
The walk down to Wirksworth is lovely isn't it, a stones throw from the site and lots of lovely little places to visit when you reach the bottom of the footpath.