Alderford Lake

A aimé Was great, kids loved it - gutted we couldn’t use the fire but that’s not their fault, deffo be returning

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Réponse du gestionnaire : Thank you so much for the lovely review! We’re really pleased to hear you had a great stay and that the kids loved it.

We know it was disappointing not being able to have a fire, but with the exceptionally dry conditions and recent wildfires, we had to put the restriction in place to keep everyone and the surrounding area safe. We really appreciate your understanding and look forward to welcoming you back to Alderford again soon!

A aimé Pitches are a decent size.
The showers are hot.
The bell tents looked pretty nice.
Whitchurch is beautiful.
The lake and activities are excellent 👌and as guests you get 20% discount!

N'a pas aimé The toilets and showers look like a temporary fixture, portaloo style.
There are not enough facilities for all the pitches.
Most of the pitches are not very flat, you'll be rolling to the corner of the tent (ours were fine though in the far corner to be fair).
The road noise is going all night long, hard to sleep.
There was also loud music from a wedding party at the lake until 12:30/1am.

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Réponse du gestionnaire : Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We’re really pleased you enjoyed the lake and activities, and that you found the pitches spacious and the showers hot. It’s also great to hear you made use of the 20% camper discount!

We appreciate your feedback regarding the camping facilities. Our campsite is still a relatively new and developing part of Alderford, and we recognise that there are areas we would like to improve as it grows. Our current toilet and shower facilities are temporary units, but they are regularly serviced and maintained throughout the season. More permanent facilities are something we are looking at as part of our future plans for the campsite.

Unfortunately, being located close to the A41 does mean that some road noise is unavoidable, although we appreciate this can affect guests differently.

We’re also sorry to hear that you were disturbed by music during your stay. While we do occasionally host private events at Alderford, we appreciate that noise late into the evening can impact our campers and this is something we will take into consideration when planning and managing future events.

Thank you again for the constructive feedback. We’re delighted that the lake itself was a highlight of your visit and hope we can welcome you back to Alderford again.

A aimé 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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Réponse du gestionnaire : Thank you for taking the time to leave such detailed feedback, Sarah. We’re really pleased to hear that you enjoyed the beautiful setting of the lake and, most importantly, had a great weekend together as a group.

We completely appreciate some of your comments regarding the campsite facilities. Our campsite is still a relatively new and developing part of Alderford, and improving the facilities available to our overnight guests is something we are actively looking at as we plan for future seasons.

Just to clarify a couple of points, our showers do provide hot water and good pressure, and while our toilets are temporary units rather than a permanent amenity block, they are serviced and maintained regularly throughout the season. We do, however, understand that guests would welcome more permanent facilities as the campsite develops.

Our standard opening hours do currently finish at 4.30pm, although campers are still able to enjoy the campsite and wider setting after this time. For health and safety reasons, access to the lake and certain activity areas is only permitted during our operational hours when the appropriate staff and safety provisions are in place. Lake activities and swimming are separately ticketed as they require dedicated lifeguard cover and additional operational resources, which is why these aren't automatically included within the cost of a camping or glamping stay.

We really appreciate the constructive feedback. There are certainly areas we want to continue improving, and comments like yours are genuinely useful as we develop the camping experience at Alderford. We hope we can welcome you back in the future so you can see some of those improvements for yourself.

A aimé The amount of amenities around the site.

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Réponse du gestionnaire : 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!

A aimé Excellent proximity to the lake and its facilities

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Réponse du gestionnaire : Thank you so much for your review, Stephen!

We look forward to welcoming you again soon!

A aimé Can't think of anything

N'a pas aimé 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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Réponse du gestionnaire : 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.

A aimé 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.

N'a pas aimé 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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Réponse du gestionnaire : 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!

A aimé 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.

N'a pas aimé 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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Réponse du gestionnaire : 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!

A aimé Large pitches, location to lake, discount on lake activities,

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Réponse du gestionnaire : Thank you so much for your lovely review, Lee!

We hope to welcome you back to Alderford, soon.

A aimé Clean and pleasant, easy check in process and good camping facilities

N'a pas aimé 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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Réponse du gestionnaire : 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.