I am no great fan of the Cotswolds; far too twee and moneyed for my taste. So, my visit to Moreton was due only to meeting up with a good friend with whom I once worked – for part of the time at Sezincote, close to Moreton, and possibly another reason why I am not keen. It was only my second visit to the site and the first for many years; yet I drove past it twice a day many times a few years ago.
The site remains just as busy as I remember it and, for me, it continues to engender the same cramped feeling that comes with sites that are both very large, with many pitches, and which are heavily populated with trees and hedges and other shrubbery. The layout, disorganised and lacking order (an absence of regimentation which I know is much beloved by some), adds to the sense of clutter and confusion. It is this that causes the complaint that it can be hard to locate a pitch. Sticking intransigently to the speed limit of 5 mph it took me over five minutes to exit the site, covering almost half a mile. It is a very large site and the way out quite a trip from some pitches. Would that others stuck to the speed limit. I saw a silver Mercedes on Saturday morning that must have been doing around 25 mph and this on a roadway far from straight and with blind bends. Imagine a young child cycling along unawares. It positively scared me. But this happens everywhere, sadly. It is just that so much of the roadway at Moreton is narrow and blind because of overuse of bushes and trees. The Club are soft on speeding, just as they are on early arrivals, and it is time something was done about it.
Some of the hard standing pitches, including the one I occupied, an awning pitch, remain very old and extremely rough and care worn not to mention very much smaller than newer pitches. There was a freshly restored non-awning pitch opposite mine which was significantly bigger - even allowing for the fact that a car with caravan and awning, on my pitch, would have to use the grass strip. It made for some unusual parking and some cars close to vans on adjacent pitches, but luckily not in my case. I do not blame the Club for taking time to perform upgrades, especially after the hiatus of Covid. But I am reviewing a site, and people should know what to expect. There are still a goodly number of pitches here that are well below standard.
The site is good for motorhomers in that the town is easily reached with a very short walk and there are buses and trains to go further afield. The site’s size and popularity also mean that there are numerous fast-food outlets visiting giving pretty much total coverage of the week.
I know the site is very popular and that people love the Cotswolds. I get it totally, but it is just not for me.
