Bearse Farm
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We found the facilities excellent (including the free wi-fi), and the site was well kept. Whilst the road was busy during the day, it fell practically silent by late evening and throughout the night so we slept very well. Lovely to see the swifts flying in and out of the stables. We enjoyed watching the dog agility classes take place, but be aware it is quite a noisy activity. The agility field was busy throughout our 3 night stay but the dogs were all gone by about 4pm. The surroundings are delightful with wonderful sunsets and there are great walks nearby including into St Briavels where there is a superb pub. We didn’t see the owners at all although we were on site quite a lot. That was disappointing but the pre-arrival emails were excellent and informative. We would definitely return
Lovely stay at Bearse Farm
We spent a delightful night at Bearse Farm. We were lucky with the weather as we had a beautiful sunset and the evening was made even more mellow by the house martins flying to and fro. The pitches are larger than average and well maintained. We had our own tap and grey water and hook up; and the toilet disposal is easy to use and clean. There are several handy walks from the site and dogs are easy to look after there. The area is perfect for making the most of the Forest of Dean. Yes we were by a road but the noise didn't bother us. All in all - excellent and we'd go again.
A very peaceful week
Just back from a very relaxing week at this delightful CL. The weather was extremely wet, but fortunately, we had booked the hard standing pitch and we had the whole site to ourselves all week. Made very welcome on arrival and everything explained. The site is an old farm that is now used for stabling and dog agility, although all the dog agility was inside while we were there, probably because it was a *bit* wet.
The pitches are huge with a slight slope, so some form of levelling is likely to be necessary and all overlook a paddock where horses are grazed. There is a road to the back of the pitches, so some road noise is inevitable, but it isn't that intrusive and only local traffic with the odd tractor.
TV signal is a bit intermittant; phone signal is non-existant - but there is fast and free WiFi available if you want to use the phone or watch TV.The location is ideally placed, being in the centre of a triangle between Chepstow, Monmouth and Lydney and there is plenty to do within easy reach. A day trip into Bristol or Cardiff is a possibility and we easily found things to do every day, despite it beng mid March and really out of season.
Overall, it is a very good CL with friendly, helpful owners, in a location where good sites especially with serviced pitches are few and far between and provides easy access to all the attractions of the ancient Forest of Dean.
One helpful suggestion - the roads are quite rough in places, especially on the obvious route from Chepstow, which also has a couple of narrow points. It's a bit further, but an easier journey via Lydney, especially if towing a twin axle caravan as it makes the approach into the site a little easier
Lovely site
Have just spent ten days here and enjoyed every moment. The owners are very pleasant and helpful and the serviced pitches are very big and well tended. There are lovely walks across the fields and through woodlands, which was excellent for our dog. It was also entertaining to watch the dog training on site!
You can walk to the nearby village of St Briavels where there are the remains of a 12th Century castle, a pub, a community shop and two cafés. There is also a small but very good farmer’s market on the first Saturday in the month.
Will we be back next year? Absolutely!
Another wonderful stay
We have stayed at Bearse Farm three times now and we really love it there. The owners are really helpful and welcoming and maintain the site to a high standard. We were lucky to be able to watch the deers first thing in the morning in the adjacent cornfield, and being able to explore the woods is wonderful. Personally we have never found the road noise to be too much, there's a few cars during your general commuting hour but it's not persistent and there's only the odd car in evenings and over night. We have a reactive rescue dog and I have always found the dog training groups to be respectful of this, they will always give you the space if it's needed and we've never had any problems with them. This place is really worth a visit.
Lovely, well placed site
We had the pleasure of staying for 2 nights Saturday to Monday and enjoyed a lovely couple of days. One of the friendly owners Richard checked on us to ensure all was good and whether we needed anything which we didn’t. The site is well set out and clean, EHU etc organised and accessible. The site does slope so levelling is necessary and there is some road noise but the site is ideally situated for walking, sightseeing etc. We had a fantastic walk up to the Devil’s Pulpit before enjoying a brilliant late lunch at The George in St Brievals. Came back to Bearse Farm to sit and watch the House Martins in full flight and horses grazing peacefully for a couple of hours before retiring into the can to watch the sunset. Thanks to Richard
Not peaceful or relaxing
We can wholeheartedly agree with the review by Trelownan regarding Bearse Farm. We arrived at soon after 1.00 on a Monday and whilst setting up we were warned by the people next door about the road noise and the noise from the dog agility.
The whole site is on a slope which if you are in a Motorhome it is not so much of a problem than in a caravan. We pitched the normal way round and found that the front of the caravan was quite literally about 3’ in the air. That was with the corner steadies fully extended and on 3 blocks! The awning didn’t really come to the ground so was useless. Eventually someone walked by with a dog and after enquiring where they had come from they told us they were the owners of the site. That is the only contact we had the owners on site. It was suggested to us to turn the van around 90 degrees which we did. Trouble is the water pipe didn’t reach the Aquaroll and the waste pipe was running up hill to reach the drain. The awning fitted but was facing the road which was extremely noisy day and night. We had stayed at the Club site in Newport and that was much quieter and more peaceful than this site even when Newport was full.
The gate was never locked in the 4 days we were there. We got told off by the dog agility person for getting too close and upsetting the dogs on the course. People waiting to do the agility courses were waiting at he back of the empty pitches so it wasn’t private. When we booked we looked at the agility calendar there was only one session but when we were on site and checked the whole of our time we were there was booked up with agility courses. If we were staying any longer we would have moved from here to another site.
The directions to the site ought to be changed so that you approach from the Lydney direction as opposed to the St.Briavels direction. It’s a much better route and not so narrow and windy.
The area is beautiful and we will go back but not on Bearse Farm.
IF YOU LIKE A PEACEFUL SITE, BEARSE FARM IS NOT FOR YOU.
We arrived after a long journey and the first thing that hit us was the road noise. I had phoned before booking, to ask about the road, as the site was very close to it. I was told it's a B road and it varies. It was actually terrible, like pitching next to the A1!
The dog agility was also taking place in the field, just a few yards in front of the caravan. Road behind, and constant barking dogs and screeching owners in front of us. The noise from the road was continuous, from bad to horrendous, starting about 5.00 am until after midnight. It even kept us awake through the night. The noise from the road and barking dogs, went on for the whole of our stay. The owners of the dogs, at times, were outside the agility field, in front of our caravan, just letting their dogs bark. We have a dog but tell her not to bark. In the T&C's they ask us caravanners to be considerate to others, the dog owners were anything but considerate to us. We had booked for 12 nights, but left after 11 nights, we had had enough. We gave a 1 for peace and tranquility as no option for 0. Also a 2 for arrival/welcome as we never met the owners. Someone opened the gate for us one day, but they didn't introduce themselves. Once we got away from the site we enjoyed the many wonderful places and scenery, with lots of dog walks. We will visit the area again but this site is not for us unfortunately.
Trelowenan
Reviewed on 13/07/2023 23:00
Excellent site, lovely stay
We have stayed at a number of CL sites all over the country and this rates as one of the best. From the moment of booking the whole stay was excellent. Easy booking, well laid out emails telling you what you have booked. There was an excellent leaflet attached which gave you every detail you could possibly need to make your stay stress free. It was not difficult to find and the roads were easy to drive. Each pitch is fully serviced which means no filling water rollers and emptying waste water, which my husband really enjoyed. Waste disposal and rubbish bin are close to hand and you can have a lovely cuddle with the horses at the same time. The site is very clean and well-maintained. The owners were very welcoming and pleasant throughout the stay.
Lovely walks straight from the site, perfect if you have dogs. There is even dog training going on to keep you entertained. I would very much recommend this site and most definitely be returning.
Little Gem of a place. We will be back...many times
Had a wonderful welcome to the site, which is our first CL as we've always gone for bigger sites with lots of amenities (with the kids etc) but this time no kids so no need. The site is very well situated for the Forrest of Dean and all that it has to offer. Go Ape, Puzzlewood etc. On site there are 5 grass and 1 hardstanding and I have to say they are all huge pitches, all with leccie and fully serviced water. All the pitches overlook fields and a small wood where you can see and hear deer, owls, birds galore. One of the fields is used for dog agility classes and it's fun to watch them belting around and up and down the equipment. Love this site. Will defo be coming back often.
Thanks to Richard and Emily for the very useful emails prior to arrival that made getting here easy.