Alderford Lake

Liked We stayed at Alderford Lake for three nights over the weekend in one of the glamping tents. There are definitely some lovely aspects to the site. The lake itself is beautiful and the overall setting is really attractive. We had a great time as a group and there is lots of potential for this to be a fantastic place to stay.

However, there were a number of things that really let the experience down.

Firstly, the road noise is quite significant. The site is right next to the A41 and there is a steady flow of traffic, including heavy vehicles. When you are staying somewhere surrounded by countryside and a beautiful lake, you expect a degree of peace and tranquillity, and unfortunately the road noise does spoil that.

I was also surprised that, despite paying to stay on the campsite, access to the lake itself wasn’t included. I completely understand paying separately for additional activities and equipment, but given that staying at Alderford Lake isn’t particularly cheap, I think basic access to the lake should be included for overnight guests.

Another disappointment is that when the lake closes at 4.30pm, the other facilities close too, including the café and children’s play area. For people actually staying on site, particularly families, 4.30pm is incredibly early. It would make a big difference if campers could continue to access some of these facilities into the evening.

The camping facilities themselves also need considerable improvement. There is no permanent amenity block and the washing facilities are extremely limited. There was just one sink available for the whole campsite to wash dishes. The site was virtually empty during our stay, so it wasn’t a major problem and I only had to queue once, but I can’t imagine how this would work when the campsite is full.

The biggest issue for me, though, was the toilets. There are six toilets in total – three for men and three for women – and they are essentially festival-style port-a-loos. For a campsite charging these prices, and particularly one offering glamping, I don’t think this is acceptable. Proper permanent toilets, showers and washing facilities should really be a basic expectation.

Alderford Lake is in a beautiful location and we did enjoy our weekend, but the facilities don’t currently match the price or the impression of a glamping experience. With proper toilet and shower blocks, better facilities for campers, later access to the café/play area and lake access included for overnight guests, it could be so much better.

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Liked The amount of amenities around the site.

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From the manager: Thank you so much for your review, Benjamin!

We are glad to hear that you enjoyed your stay. We hope to welcome you back soon!

Liked Excellent proximity to the lake and its facilities

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From the manager: Thank you so much for your review, Stephen!

We look forward to welcoming you again soon!

Liked Can't think of anything

Disliked Staff attitude
Tents were dirty
Staff didn't have access codes available, left waiting in the baking hear for hours for then to book in and access a tent

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From the manager: We are disappointed to read this review as unfortunately it does not provide an accurate or complete account of what took place during your stay.

On your original arrival date, our team went above and beyond to assist with the booking and get your party checked in, despite the circumstances falling outside our usual booking policy.

We would also like to clarify that you were not personally present for the interactions with our team that you have described in this review. You had left the site, with your partner and child remaining, and despite numerous attempts by our team to contact you directly, we were unable to reach you.

During the stay, there were also clear breaches of our accommodation rules, including smoking inside the bell tent, which is strictly prohibited. When the tent was subsequently inspected, blood staining was found on the mattress which had not been present when the accommodation was checked prior to your arrival.

Following serious issues during the stay, management made the decision that your party needed to leave the site. This request was not complied with and the situation escalated to the point where we had no alternative but to involve the police. Your belongings subsequently had to be removed from the accommodation by our team.

We would also like to clarify the comment regarding access codes. Following the incident involving your party, access codes were changed as a precautionary measure to protect the safety and security of our staff, other customers and the site. This was a deliberate management decision, rather than staff simply not having access to the correct codes.

We will always listen to genuine feedback and take concerns regarding our staff seriously. However, describing our team as "lazy students with bad attitudes" is both unfair and inappropriate, particularly when you were not personally present for the interactions you are referring to.

Management were present throughout and dealt with the situation directly alongside our team. The decision to ask your party to leave the site was made by management, and when this request was not complied with, management made the decision to involve the police.

We fully support the professionalism shown by our staff in what became a very difficult situation, and we do not accept the characterisation of them within this review.

For the privacy of those involved, we will not go into any further detail regarding the incident publicly.

Liked We had an absolute ball for my son's first camping trip. The site had everything we needed to make full use of the activities at the lake. Yes there is road noise which I had seen people moaning about online but I wasn't going for a week of relaxation. Our aim was adventure so we got what we paid for. All the staff are lovely and work really hard. It was lovely to see so many families pitching up at the lakeside for the day. Good old fashioned fun and no tablets in sight.

Disliked Toilets a bit smelly as they are essentially posh portaloos but it didn't spoil anything. If you want luxury toilet blocks, go elsewhere and stop moaning

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From the manager: What a brilliant review – thank you! We absolutely love hearing that your son’s first camping trip was such a success and that you came for an adventure and made the most of everything Alderford has to offer.

“Good old fashioned fun and no tablets in sight” might just be one of our favourite descriptions! It’s exactly what we love seeing too – families enjoying the lake, getting outdoors and spending proper time together.

Thank you as well for the lovely comments about our team. They work incredibly hard, particularly during the busy summer months, so we’ll be sure to pass this on.

We appreciate the feedback on the toilets too. They are serviced regularly throughout the day, but we know they’re not quite the same as a permanent campsite toilet block and this is something we’re continually looking to improve.

We hope your son has caught the camping bug now and that we’ll see you all back for another adventure soon!

Liked We had a great weekend, pitches are huge we got a 3 man and 5 man tent on our pitch plus a car.
No charge for an extra car which was good.
Great time around the fire pit area, took our bbq and roasted marshmallows on the fire.
Great game of football by the bel tents.
20% discount off all activities.
The new aqua park is great fun.
Can take your own SUP with a small fee for all day.
Lots of supermarkets within close by, tesco, lidl, b and m Morrisons local, pubs too, all approx a mile away from the site.
Everyone was nice and friendly.
Very clean and tidy place.

Disliked The fact you have to pay each day for admission into the lake, even with 20% off works out expensive for 6 people if you choose to go in every day.
Changing/ shower cubicle small space and shower wets your stuff.

A communal fridge would be a good idea

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From the manager: ew! It’s great to hear you had a fantastic weekend with us and made the most of everything on offer. We’re especially pleased you enjoyed the generous pitch sizes, fire pit area, Aqua Park and getting out on your own SUP.

Our camper discount is there to help make activities more affordable during your stay, although we completely appreciate that costs can add up for a larger family wanting to use the lake across multiple days. Your feedback on this is really useful as we continue to review our camping offering.

Thank you also for your comments regarding the shower cubicles and the suggestion of a communal fridge – both are helpful points for us to consider as we look at ways to improve our facilities for campers.

Most importantly, we’re really pleased you found the site clean and tidy and our team friendly. We hope to welcome all six of you back for another weekend at Alderford!

Liked Large pitches, location to lake, discount on lake activities,

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From the manager: Thank you so much for your lovely review, Lee!

We hope to welcome you back to Alderford, soon.

Liked Clean and pleasant, easy check in process and good camping facilities

Disliked High cost for swimming and activities, high cost for food and drinks. No facilities for campers to access after 4:30
It was a shame my dog wasn’t able to swim but that can’t be helped as the blue green algae was present

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From the manager: Thank you for your feedback. It’s great to hear you found the site clean and pleasant, enjoyed the camping facilities and found the check-in process easy.

We appreciate your comments regarding pricing. Our activity prices include day admission to the lake, allowing guests to enjoy the site for the full day alongside their booked activity.

Our Café currently closes at 4:30pm, although campers are welcome to continue enjoying the campsite and designated areas after this time. We appreciate that additional evening facilities would be a welcome addition and this is something we continue to review as our camping offering develops.

Unfortunately, during your stay we did have restrictions in place due to the presence of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), which meant dogs could not enter the water. We know this was disappointing, but their safety had to come first.

Thank you for choosing to stay with us and for taking the time to leave a review.

Liked Liked the clean toilets and showers

Disliked Fire pit per stand would be good or a fire brick per site

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From the manager: Thank you for such a lovely review! We’re so pleased to hear you absolutely loved your stay and enjoyed the lake and activities, as well as finding our toilets and showers clean.

Thank you also for the suggestion regarding fire pits or fire bricks for individual pitches. It’s always useful to hear ideas from our campers and is certainly something we can consider as we continue to develop the campsite.

We hope to welcome you back to Alderford again soon!

Liked Everything

Disliked The eating facilities closed at 4

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From the manager: Thank you so much for your lovely review, Marinha!

We hope to welcome you again soon!