The Racecourse Retreat

Liked Pretty view facing one direction
Easy to book via pitchup

Disliked A quick disclaimer before we begin: we are a young couple with a dog who genuinely love camping and are experienced campers. We have camped all over the UK and Europe and regularly use local campsites. We are used to busy campsites when that is what we have chosen to book, and have no issue with families, groups or a more social atmosphere when that is what is advertised.

We chose Racecourse Retreat because of how it was advertised on Pitchup. It was described as a smaller, peaceful, remote campsite with 25 to 50 pitches, with no bar, clubhouse, evening entertainment, games room, children's clubs or play areas. This sounded exactly like the quieter rural camping experience we were looking for.

Unfortunately, this did not match our experience.

On arrival, the site felt much larger and busier than expected, with three camping fields. The electric pitch field had a large central football area which was used daily throughout our stay, as well as a sandpit area. There is nothing wrong with families enjoying these facilities, but this felt much more like a busy family campsite than the peaceful rural stay we believed we were booking.

The main disappointment was the facilities. The toilet and shower facilities are housed within a small trailer rather than a traditional toilet block. The toilets are chemical toilets rather than plumbed toilets, and there was a strong sewage smell around the area throughout our stay. The trailer moved and shook as people walked through it, and the cubicle doors had gaps around the edges which affected privacy. The showers were located within the same enclosed space as the toilets, meaning you could hear conversations, toilet use and showers from other cubicles, and smells travelled throughout the space. I personally chose not to use the showers during our stay as I felt the facilities appeared unhygienic due to the smells and overall condition.

There were seven toilet cubicles serving the three camping fields, and two washing-up stations, each with one sink and a small drying rack. For the number of campers using the site, this felt limited.

We specifically requested a quieter pitch, but were placed very close to neighbouring campers throughout our stay. At one point, the neighbouring tent was less than 1.5 metres from ours. During our stay, we noticed a significant number of unused electric pitches remaining empty nearby, while campers were concentrated closely together in one area of the field. We would have appreciated more consideration being given to spacing and privacy, particularly given our request for a quieter pitch. Our booking confirmation stated that "pitch size is unlimited", which gave us the expectation of more flexibility with spacing.

We also did not have particularly pleasant interactions with staff during our stay. We had two visitors arrive briefly to see our tent and have lunch before we went for a walk. We later realised we had overlooked the visitor registration and fee information within the Pitchup terms and conditions, which we accept was our mistake. However, the way this was communicated by the gentleman in the Land Rover felt intimidating, with someone arriving directly at our pitch while we were eating lunch and demanding payment. This interaction negatively affected our impression of the campsite and made us less comfortable approaching reception with concerns.

The location itself is beautiful, but overall this was not the peaceful rural camping experience we were looking for and it is not somewhere we would choose to return to.

We appreciate that many reviews are positive and this campsite may suit those looking for a busier, more social camping experience. However, for anyone looking for the peaceful rural stay advertised, this was not our experience.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Liked Great veiws, spacious site, plenty of space between pitches. they had a bar, woodfired pizzas wand a singer on Saturday night. not too noisey if you didn't want to attend. (we did). Table tennis.

Disliked Not many showers

Recommend to friends Visit again

Liked Stunning views
Lots of open space
Clean facilities
Saturday night entertainment

Disliked Water pressure in the showers wasn't great, but I believe that they are in the process of building new facilities.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Liked Spacious plots
On site bar and pizza van
Entertainment
Great views
Quiet and relaxed

Disliked Nothing

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Liked our second stay in 2weeks, lovely place. beautiful views and a great location

Recommend to friends Visit again

Liked The views are fabulous. The staff are friendly, helpful and were very welcoming. Loved the rustic charm of the loo block and showers

Recommend to friends Visit again

Liked Lovley campsite big pitches, we went with some friends and managed to all pitch up next to each other.
Friendly staff who work on the campsite.
We really liked it and would book again

Disliked I wouldn't say these are dislikes more things that could be worked on

Could do with a few more toilet and showers but we managed.

The washing up area has no hot water that was a pain when trying to clean up oily pots and the pressure of the water coming out was no good very slow.

My partner said there was some nails sticking out in the men's toilet.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Liked Very friendly! Toilets and showers were very clean. Great atmosphere on the camp. Dog friendly. Easy access to places for walking and visiting

Recommend to friends Visit again

Liked Friendly staff couldn’t have been more helpful .
Lovely views and lots of space .
Bar and pizzas were great and the live music was.

Disliked Bit more hot water but will be excellent when the new facilities are complete .

Recommend to friends Visit again

Liked Really enjoyed our first family camping session in years. Lovely site, lovely staff and lovely facilities. The kids loved it had so much space to play. The views all around were stunning, don’t think I’d ever get bored looking out over the fields. We live only a 40min drive from site, but it was so nice to be out in the open and so close to some of our favourite places (Carsington Water and Matlock Bath). Has certainly given us the camping buzz again and can’t wait to come back.

Disliked We wish we stayed longer!

Recommend to friends Visit again