Tarset Tor Bunkhouse and Bothy Holidays

A aimé Great location close to Kielder Water and a fantastic place to watch the night sky given how little light pollution there is.

N'a pas aimé We stayed in our camper van on the hard standing pitch with access to a single outside toilet and shower.

The information available when booking the pitch was not at all clear about how basic the facilities would be and how far they were from the pitches (a long drop toilet about 50 metres away and an outdoor shower down the hill near the entrance). In addition, the booking page implied that fire pits would be available, when in fact the only pits available were located next to the bothies, for their use.

The fact that the facilities are so basic may be OK as long as it is made clear so people can decide if they are comfortable with it, but it simply is not made clear on the website. Surely it would not be hard to be transparent about it if there was the will.

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Réponse du gestionnaire : Hello Anonymous Reviewer,

You are correct we only have 1 long drop Shelf flushing eco toilet built on a spring and plumbed in to the sewer so that after heavy rain the level raises and clears everything! This is why the loo is about 50 metres from the only 3 bays we have!
However you are 'wrong' about there being only 1 shower, there are in fact 2 one hot one that is sited on the back of the Bunkhouse next to the double washing up sinks (see photos) it says shower in green letters on it, and another outside the sauna that is cold because a cold shower is what you have when you have had one. I think that somehow you missed the 'hot' one and also missed the fire pits and BBQ area that is in the woods, a common area that any of our guests can use. This is plainly clear to see on our website as is the football/netball court the walks around the site and the kids play ground. The toilet and shower are cleaned daily we are value for money at £35 and would have had more than a 3 rating that you gave for facilitates if you had bothered to look! also we have very strong WiFi you just have to put the code in, all this information come in a welcome e-mail that is sent to every booking before arrival. We only at this time advertise with pitch up our website is for the Bunkhouse bothy & cabin business the camping is overspill or whole site bookings.
I keep telling people what we are and what we provide, there is nothing to hide, We have an amazing location and there is some value in that as you have noted.
We have improved our facility as the year has gone by we are only a year into providing campervan hook-ups . that said you can't please all the people all the time.

A aimé The great views over the valley and quite

N'a pas aimé A outdoor toilet that a normal human male could fit in , and running water near the camper section .

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A aimé Lovely location, nice views, owner(s) very welcoming and accommodating of a special request which was very much appreciated. Hookup worked fine and pitch did what I needed. It was cold so I was jealous of the bothy's and bunkouse which looked really lovely and cosy. I'd look to book those if I came again.

N'a pas aimé All good for me. The much reviewed toilet is a rustic long drop. I prefer that to a portaloo, personally. But be aware, it's not a big air conditioned, heated shower and toilet block, so if you're expecting that you'll be disappointed.

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A aimé The view. I'm sure staying at the bothies would be lovely with their integrated facilities

N'a pas aimé The very primative long drop toilet allocated for campervans (the public toilet in Bellingham is luxurious by comparison).

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Réponse du gestionnaire : It is a difficult one to answer politely, a came & had a chap with you, Told you about our facilities, which included a Sauna a woodland bar a wildlife pond 5 Acres of glorious Northumberland National Park scenery.
I also explained about the Toilet which is I agree a long drop, but also explained the reason for this was because it is built over a natural water spring and therefore when there is heavy rain the water level raises & it self flushes into the local sewage works via a drain that is set into the wall. As far as i am aware this is the only self flushing eco toilet that is have heard of. I am proud of it because i built it myself! It is cleaned daily has a hand sanitiser and does the job. I understand that we are not a glitzy camper van park, but our location and the fact that you will have a maximum of only 2 neighbours in vans surely makes up for this? and what about the views down the North Tyne Valley that have been described as some of the best in England?
FYI our WiFi works perfectly the code is in the welcome e-mail that is sent to all arrivals, or you could ask for it. Also for readers of this response we have up graded the shower in the last week.

A aimé The location is very scenic

N'a pas aimé This is a Campervan review, the bunkhouses may be nice inside.

The campervan spaces are parking slots with an electric hookup but that is all.

The single eco toilet was clean but the lock on the door was broken and no hand washing facilities, not even a handsan on the wall.

We were told that the lads in the bunkhouse knew we would be sharing their showers but looking at the heaps of cans etc outside we decided not to.

There is WiFi but the signal did not reach the campervan bays.

For £35 you can get proper facilities at other sites. Maybe for £20 it would be worth a stop-go overnight but I would look elsewhere.

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Réponse du gestionnaire : Clearly we are marmite from reading the reviews.
for information of readers....
The Bunkhouse shower unit is NOT for use of campervaners. The shower for your use is around the back of the building, While you were here there were a group of young mountain bikers from Ilkley (my home town) staying I know most of there Parents and they were on there 5th visit. Sole use of the Bunkhouse is between £395 & £650 per night and a hook up pitch is £35. I think they have a right to have exclusive use don;t they, but some of you think it is OK just to walk in!
Also it is OK for persons to have a few drinks outside the Bunkhouse on the veranda or picnic bench, but that said i do encourage it to be kept tidyish, it was windy that day and i did pick up a few bits and bats that had blown about.
it is not true the WiFi does not work or the lock is broken and there is a hand sanitiser in to toilet.(look at the photos)
if anyone wants to give me £20 for a night i would take it if you were not using showers, plugging in or filling your water tanks. in fact I Woulds probably be better off.with the cost of power & water.
Please don't come here if you expect a all singing all dancing caravan park, we are not that.

A aimé Location - excellent for cycling in and around the Kielder area minus the midges (in my limited experience). Lovely pub a quick bike ride away in Greenhaugh (Holly Bush Inn).

The owners warn visitors the site is very basic and they aren't exaggerating. The pitches are flat but viewless and the facilities are minimal but do function.

If you are self contained the lack of facilities is not an issue.

N'a pas aimé Maybe a tad expensive for the facilities provided but what isn't expensive at the moment?

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A aimé The setting was rural and quiet. Lovely dark sky.

N'a pas aimé We were in a campervan so needed to use the 'eco' toilet and shower. These were primitive and a bit intimidating. I have never had a shower with shoes on before. Shower adjacent to bramble patch. Our pitch was surrounded by jaggy thistles.

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A aimé It is a beautiful site, the location and views are wonderful.

N'a pas aimé We were booked in for two nights, we stayed in the campervan park up. The gravelled area was fine, although a little more space would have been nice so we could sit outside the van. Whilst billed as basic, the toilet and shower facilities need significant improvement to live up to the the standard of the rest of the site. As a result we left after our first night.

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Réponse du gestionnaire : Sorry about this. We have just made further improvements to the showers and have just posted new photos one the pitch up page. (Sept 26)

This is our first year doing the hooks ups, we have been working to make the 'bays' the best we can with landscaping, but we do not pretend that we are anything but basic & clean.

The location and the vibe make up for these short fallings.

A aimé View

N'a pas aimé Toilet

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Réponse du gestionnaire : It is the only self flushing eco-toilet is the world! look at the photos and you decide if it is your thing or not, but don;t come here complaining if you haven't done your homework.
We are basic but the trade off is the views & location. Also we have 5 Bothies & Cabins and a large Bunkhouse and only 3 hook-ups so the mainstay of our business is persons paying good money for accommodation.
We have:
1 loo, 1 hot shower, 1 cold shower, 1 sauna, 1 bike wash facility, 1 football/netball court, 1 wildlife pond, 1 woodland bar. 1 kids play area & only 3 bays for outdoorsey type campervaners! Not bad for you 35 quid me thinks!

A aimé Beautiful location and peaceful

N'a pas aimé The shower was unbelievably too hot. I’m sure it was my personal preference but struggled to change the temperature.

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