Coldstream Holiday Park (not recommended)

Have you made a complaint to the owners of the site, and the environmental dept of the relevant local council, left reviews on the likes of UK Campsite, Trip Advisor and everywhere else you can think of? 

Talking to the site owners was our first course of action. Unfortunately nobody in authority was present during our stay, only the shellshocked receptionist, who had no idea about the incident. And nobody from management came round to even inquire about my wife's health. That would have gone a long way to mitigate things. And I think most people would consider that to be common courtesy.

So in the absence of any kind of site owner engagement, I'm now looking at other avenues to report the deficiencies of this site. HSE don't investigate this type of problem, so I've been referred to the Scottish Borders Council. I've also made the organisation awarding them 4 star quality rating aware of the situation.

I'm also looking at every possible review site to leave negative reviews. And they will get multiple, as every member of our family will leave one.

Appalling way to run a business!

Sounds like the sort of site I would drive in, look round, drive out, and go elsewhere. Did you actually stay? 

Seems you’re doing all you can to bring the matter to attention, Andy.

Thanks for the heads up and I hope your wife is OK now.

Terrible to hear and about your wife's fall, hope she is OK. Also to what has been suggested above was the accident reported in the accident log? At work any accident involving a call or visit to A&E had to be reported and/or recorded and even if details are not sent to somewhere probably to H&S. I know this is not much consolation to you and your wife but it may cause something to happen and maybe it won't happen to anyone else.

But yes very poor all round.

Thanks. I think people should be aware more than anything else, about the nature of the pitches on this site. Normally there's no height difference between grass and hard standing, to avoid precisely this type of accident. Especially as most people put down a carpet, which obscures any holes or dips in the ground. My wife's foot literally rolled under the caravan as she stepped down on to the ground. We heard a very audible crack, and I feared a very bad injury had happened. In the end it was a severe foot sprain, but it meant waiting 5 hours in A&E, and of course none of us had any sleep, so we were wrecked the next day, and wife was on crutches for the next few days. In fact we cut short our holiday and came home early.

The construction of the pitch had been just to dig out the hard standing and cover with gravel. No attempt made to create a level surface over the whole pitch. Poor beyond belief, and dangerous.

Yes, with hindsight we should have demanded our money back and left, but there was nowhere else to go as this was a planned stop in a tour of Scotland. Lesson learned, if the site is that new, then beware. But honestly you wouldn't expect something to be built this badly.

I really don't expect the site to do anything about this situation, judging by their lack of response, and I don't believe they understand that it's actually dangerous. Not just our view, the people on the adjacent pitch also had concerns. They were wonderful people, and came immediately to our assistance when they heard my wife screaming.

On the plus side, Coldstream itself is a lovely place.

Yup, exactly what I would do, had I seen the state of the place before booking.

You've got to laugh at the incompetence of how they run the place. Normally there's a pattern to pitches i.e. caravan goes in one way, and all adjacent vans are in the same orientation. But they'd allowed one campervan further along to back in. Meaning we'd have to back in too next to them. Downhill. Hmm isn't it obvious how this would never work for levelling the van? Anyone with a slight bit of experience with caravans would know this.

Then the people in the camervan started getting pissed off because they were being told to move, after they'd pitched their awning, and initially requested to set up in the adjacent flat field used for tents, but were denied.

Total and utter incompetence.

Interesting🤔 We stayed in a holiday cottage nearby last year, and watched this place under construction. We said at the time what a fantastic location it was, lovely views, and quite close to Coldstream. Looks like the prime provision is glamping pods and statics. Doesn’t sound like they have given as much thought to the touring area though. Will keep an eye on reviews for next few months, see if a pattern emerges.

Not a good experience for you though AJF, I hope your OH has no lasting injury problems.👍

Link to PitchUp for anyone interested. Have to say, it does look nice. Most of negative points raised are about there only being three loos and showers for those without facilities. https://www.pitchup.com/campsites/Scotland/Scotland/Scottish_Borders/coldstream/coldstream-holiday-park/

Yes I didn't even mention the limited shower facilities, which for the size of site are inadequate. Low pressure showers are also criticised.

You are absolutely right, this is a prime location for a caravan site. They do have a variety of things there, such as static caravans and the pods. These are likely very nice. However I really don't think they've got the touring side of things at all right.

Thanks for the link.

I see what you mean about the horrible shale ground covering.