So very disappointing
We spend a lot of time choosing the right CL for us and the reviews of other caravanners are part of this process. This CL has glowing reports and the bonus of having won an award. Ed, the owner, was very helpful in changing our ferry booking when we were delayed by a day. He met us when we arrived and helped with local information and maps. He also brought everyone a gift of home grown runner beans. Which was very kind of him, as was allowing us to run our dogs in his fields opposite the caravans. The pitches are fully serviced with two water taps and each pitch is terraced into one side of the site backing immediately onto a thick hedge which surrounds two sides of the site. The pitches are also level, although the awning area is rough and bumpy and quite small - caravan, awning and car is a tight fit even with a two berth 'van. There is good and free wifi. However, this is not a lawned site. It is a fairly rough, quite sloping field, albeit it is reasonably closely and regularly mown. The ground is uneven and tussocky and moles have been at work. We were rather taken aback when we drove onto the field; the site may well have looked different when first opened but to us it looked basic, scruffy and badly in need of some TLC. It wasn't quite our idea of an award winning site. There are major road works in Newport meaning that a great deal of local traffic is using Whitehouse Lane as a rat run. Thus the lane, a few metres away on the other side of the hedge, has become a very noisy main road for a good 12 hours each day. As someone on an adjoining pitch pointed out, 'I'm sure there is lovely bird song from this hedge, but the traffic is so loud I can't hear it'. The heavy traffic is likely to last for at least the rest of this year. Which was bad enough. When combined with the loud noise from the field directly behind the hedge to the rear of the pitches – which transpires to be a very large junk yard/tip, the owner of which runs a tracked digger as well as other loud machinery, it became like staying in the lorry park of a motorway service station. Ed told us he has no control over what happens in this yard, the noise from which, on one day, ran from 8.45am to past midnight, starting again at 8.30am the following morning. After five days we had had enough but were extremely fortunate to find another CL that had just had a cancellation and so, in the middle of pouring rain and for the very first time in all our years of caravanning, we packed up and fled. Although initially Ed had been sympathetic, we felt we left under a cloud and it was all very unhappy and uncomfortable. I have no idea why description and reality don't seem to match but in all conscience I simply cannot recommend this site. It's always sad to leave a less than glowing review and I accept that other people may disagree with me, but an award winning site? I'm afraid I don't get that.
Comment from the Club
The CL Owner has been in touch to address your concerns as they work so hard to make sure their site is well maintained and that their guests have the best possible experience when staying with them.
The CL Owner wants to clear up any misunderstanding and address your concerns. Please be assured his neighbour is not a scrap yard. On one occasion during your stay the neighbour had over-enthusiastically worked late into the night and kept people awake. The CL owner spoke to him and he agreed to stop when asked and also apologised. When the CL owner informed you of this he also offered you a refund.
It is worth noting when staying in rural areas that farmers may work late into the night with tractors, bringing in harvests. Farms are centres of activity and as such there can be associated noises.
Grass pitches can be vulnerable to the weather and other factors. Maintenance is carried out every year to the grass pitches to repair damages caused by hot weather, heavy vehicles and impermeable awning mats. This year the virus and associated lockdown played a role in blocking supplies of fertilisers and grass seed.
With regards to the roadworks, these are completely out of the CL Owners hands and are due to be completed by the end of the year.
We are sorry that you did not enjoy your stay at this lovely site but please be assured the CL Owner works very hard and has received wonderful recent feedback from members who have found their stay to be peaceful, with a number of reviews being featured on their Facebook Page which you can see here: https://www.facebook.com/RodgebrookFarm/?ref=page_internal
