Grate Farm
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Pleasant site that does the job
Please don’t read the negative reviews - Lovely Working Farm Site, run by lovely people!
Our visit to their Working Farm
Big disappointment
Just arrived back from this site a day early!!! The views from this site are beautiful, there is traffic noise but you know that when you book and the water tap on your pitch was very handy…but that’s where the good points end. The entrance to the site is tight and is long and very uneven and bumpy, that easily could be put right if they filled some of the holes. There is a feeding station next to the drive, up to the site, which made it very difficult to get through because the sheep gather there to feed and stand on the uneven path so you can’t get round my husband had to get out on a couple of occasions to move them (The feeding station could easily be moved to another area). Two gates to get through which are narrow and very hard to open owing to one of them not fitting into the connection and a piece of chain attached that is supposed to help (not if you are an average size woman) Hard standing, well only just! Thick mud everywhere, grass not cut. We asked if they could possibly cut the grass, we were told they didn’t have time! and they didn’t bother to follow up this request in the time we were there. The Elsan point is behind the house which is a long distance and muddy walk to get to. Rubbish emptying is through the two big gates, another very muddy walk, when a bin could have easily been put on the 5 van field. No welcome whatsoever, ( which can be appreciated and isn’t the issue here as they appeared to be in the middle of a busy lambing period), but if you haven’t time to run a CL to a good standard, don’t open till there is time!!! The site was £20 per night which certainly does not reflect the standard of this site at all. We do wonder if the Caravan Club, which we pay for, bother to go out and vet the standard of their sites. Having said all that when sat in your caravan you have a beautiful view and the area around is outstanding. We have never done a review before but felt compelled this time to give our opinion, CL sites are getting far to expensive when they are not up to a good standard.
Comment from the Club
Many thanks for your review. Our CL Adviser for the area has been in touch and would like to advise the following to address your concerns, which we take very seriously at the Club. First of all we would like to assure you that our CL Sites are inspected regularly by our CL Advisers. This CL Site is a working farm and our CL Adviser has inspected the lane and would like to assure you that the lane is not particularly uneven and bumpy, although in very wet weather it can be muddy as expected on a country farm lane.
The two gates from the area in front of the farm house to the CL are 12 feet wide and can be approached straight on, not at an angle. The CL Site has had no other complaints that the gates are difficult to open so we are sorry that you found this an issue and the CL Owner is aware of your concerns regarding this.
Unfortunately the grass could not be cut because of the terrible weather. It had been, and still was when you visited, particularly wet. If grass cutting had been attempted it could have damaged machinery and would have also made an awful mess.
The elsan emptying is behind the house, 200 metres away. The CL owners have looked at ways of relocating it to the CL but it would appear that this is not possible due to the terrain. The dustbins are at the end of the first field, a distance of approximately 100 metres.
As a working farm the CL owner can't always be there to welcome each member but is always happy to help so if any issues arise please contact them. We hope this helps address your concerns and thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback.
oscardog5
Reviewed on 12/04/2023 09:33
What a shame
Perfect location for either a single night stop off when venturing further or a base to explore the southern lakes. Access for large units is very tight and care is needed going through the gates and farmyard. You will need a mover on your caravan as the roadway is too narrow to reverse on to the pitch, also if you want to make use of the 'super pitch' facilities you need to be facing forward. Blocks are also needed as the pitches slope. We went during lambing season so the owners were busy backwards and forwards on and off the fields which created excess mud on the roadway, couple that with the bad weather made the access very muddy.....slop!! Due to location there is nowhere to exercise your dog and the elsan point is a fair walk All that said the view was good and seeing the sheep and lambs brightened our short stay Personally think the nightly fee of £20 is a little high for this site
Comment from the Club
Many thanks for your review. Our CL Adviser for the area has been in touch and would like to advise that the reason why members face forwards on the super pitch is so that you can get the most out of the spectacular views. As with many countryside Campsites and CLs, levelling blocks are needed. We are glad you enjoyed the location and hope that on your next visit the weather is better.
Overnight stay
Enjoyed return to using a CL site
August 2022
Highly recommend
Ben Duffy
Reviewed on 17/10/2021 20:32