Old Hartley Club Campsite

Rated 5 of 5

Overall rating

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 4 of 5

Good for families

close panel

Log in to write a review

Rated 4 of 5

Rated 3 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 3 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 3 of 5

Good for families

Takes the prize for the worse laid out site we've ever stayed on.

The views are amazing, the staff are very nice and facilities very clean. But, inadequate amount of facilities when the site is full, which is most of the time, especially when one of the showers in the women's only runs slightly warm. Approach to each pitch is a nightmare. The site is on a hill and the approach road from the entrance is short and ends abruptly and then you need to drive your motorhome or pull your caravan down hill over the grass and then try to manoeuvre it onto your pitch. Obviously when it has been raining or it's wet because of the dew, the vehicles churn up all the grass around the pitches, making it really muddy with great tyre skid ruts, in the dark dangerous to walk from your pitch to the facilities. On leaving your pitch, there is no exit road either, this doesn't start until half way up the hill on the other side. So leaving your pitch and getting to the exit route is a challenge. Again another lot of churned up muddy grass. Such a shame, it's one site which needs to be closed so the facilities can be updated. But more importantly so it can be properly laid out with gravelled access to each pitch. On the plus side the bus stop is a short walk away from the site, plus great walks to the light house and along the beach. I personally would be reluctant to go back.

Nutkin

Reviewed on 11/10/2017 20:37

1 review

0 Helpful notes

Report this reviewer

Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 3 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 3 of 5

Good for families

Aside Without Potential

We spent three nights at the Old Hartley Site at the end of September/ beginning of October with this being our first visit. On arrival the wardens gave us a warm welcome and a site plan with the spare pitches highlighted but the appearance didn't look like the club standard that I have become familiar with. It consisted of very small hardstandings dotted around the sloping grass site quite close to each other and with none having direct access from the tarmac road. We chose a pitch right at the front with a commanding view of the seascape and St Marys island which was very impresive. The site plan showed a service point (SP) close by at the front south east corner of the site but this was not the case. There are only bins and a fire point at this location meaning a long drag up the bumpy hill to the toilet block for water and emptying. Very heavy going with a full wastehog. I would have chosen a different pitch had I know the site plan was incorrect and the only service points were at the top of the site. Be aware. This is a site with all 59 pitches rated as hardstanding without awning but they not much bigger than a snooker table and all slope by varying amounts. The wardens help by providing leveling blocks on the steeper pitches with some caravans looking like they are ready to be launched into space. Ours wasn't too bad with the back legs barely down and the front at full extension. Like many others, our caravan overhung the hardstanding at both ends and only had the axle actualy on the pitch. Access to and from the pitches involved driving or walking over the grass which became rutted and muddy following some heavy rain on our first day. OK for hippos but not not my expectation of a hardstanding pitch were you would think you could keep your caravan mud free. However, the sun and wind did dry the ground out quickly on the following day. The toilet block has a pleasant stone built appearance and is kept clean and tidy by the wardens. Surprisingly it has very large toilet cubicals but really small showers. Perhaps the builder had the plans upside down. . . The fittings in the mens are showing their age though with corroding chrome on the shower pipes and the single wash basin cracked which was noted by a reviewer in April. That's 6 months ago! This needs only simple basic maintenance to put right, I can't think why it appears to have been neglected. So far I may appear critical but this was my first impression. The site has lovely views from most pitches and some great walks along the cliff paths. It is in a prime location with a lot of attractions around. With the club making some massive investments and improvements to some sites (twice at Bridlington and Knaresborough) why has this site with so much potential been overlooked and even routine refurbishment not applied Would I stay here again? As it is, no. If given some TLC, yes.

Bartonians

Caravanner from Lincolnshire

Reviewed on 07/10/2017 03:03

27 reviews

0 Helpful notes

Report this reviewer

Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 4 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 4 of 5

Location

Rated 2 of 5

Good for families

needs a make over

lovely view out to sea and the lighthouse but the site was very sloping and not all pitches were reachable off the access road and the site was very boggy. not much fun manouvering a 2'5 ton motorhome in mud the road system needs a re think. no awnings allowed on the site. gents was a little grubby and the whole toilet block was due an upgrade. friendly wardens as always and a lovely coastal walk. expensive for location and facililities

john and tinadawn

Motorhomer

Reviewed on 22/08/2017 12:56

8 reviews

0 Helpful notes

Report this reviewer

Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 5 of 5

Good for families

Beautiful location

My husband and I have just spent 5 days on Old Hartley having spent 4 days at Chatsworth which was excellent. The views at Old Hartley were spectacular, the facilities were very clean and tidy a credit to the lovely wardens who look after it. We are now at Berwick which again a beautiful site again with excellent views. This site is also clean and tidy and the wardens are lovely. We are here for 5 days then homeward bound calling at Thirsk. We are enjoying our tour and each site have been excellent which is a credit to the Caravan Club

peacefulcaravaner

Reviewed on 11/08/2017 20:34

3 reviews

0 Helpful notes

Report this reviewer

Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 2 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 1 of 5

Good for families

Great views but site a little 'tired'

Wonderful views make this site special. The facilities are kept spotless by wardens but cracked tiles and pitted chrome pipework are not up to usual CC standard - for this reason alone I have marked down the facilities. Pitches are arranged to make most of views but, again, hard standings are not of usual CC standard. Take care when using motor mover to vacate pitch as larger stones can be picked up by tyres and damage rollers on mover. Some pitches have quite a slope on them but warden has a good selection of blocks and chocks to assist getting a level van. Good walks along coastal path to Whitley Bay and Seaton Sluice, both a pleasant stroll distance. Would recommend a visit to Northumberlandia, interesting concept with many footpaths to walk around the prostrate figure.

magsem

Reviewed on 01/08/2017 07:04

19 reviews

0 Helpful notes

Report this reviewer

Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 4 of 5

Good for families

Fabulous sea views

Old Hartley is a lovely site with great views of the sea and St. Mary's lighthouse. There is a good footpath in both directions from site. The site has a fairly steep slope and leveling ramps will be needed on a lot of pitches. All pitches are hardstanding non awning that need to be accessed by driving accross the grass. Some slope to such an extent that they would be unusable by motorhomes. The toilet block is clean but the showers are small. Water and waste points are at the top of the site and it's a long drag with a heavy wastemaster or toilet cassette. We only had a couple of nights, so not long to explore the area. We walked to Whitley Bay which we felt was very run down and tired. We were told Tynemouth is far better but didn't have the time to find out. Buses run very frequently with the bus stop just a short walk from the site. We felt the site could do with a little investment to sort out the pitches and refurbish the toilet block. Over all a very nice site that we would happily use again.

JD6620

Motorhomer from Essex

Reviewed on 12/07/2017 08:42

4 reviews

0 Helpful notes

Report this reviewer

Rated 4 of 5

Rated 4 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 4 of 5

Good for families

Lovely site with a beautiful sea view.

We visited this site for the first time as we wished to explore this part of the country. Lovely sloping site with terraced pitches with beautiful sea views. We did not require levelling blocks for our motorhome but a lot did. The staff were very friendly and helpful and the facilities were very clean. The motorhome service point had the old drain type where you need to remove the drain covers which we find difficult for our motorhome. Some sites are being converted to the "cattle grid" type which are much easier to use from our point of view.

BarryPWB

Motorhomer from East Sussex

Reviewed on 03/07/2017 13:56

13 reviews

0 Helpful notes

Report this reviewer

Rated 4 of 5

Rated 4 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 3 of 5

Good for families

Sea Views

Visited in late May....Lost our dog shortly after, so this review is tinged with sadness, but while we were there, he had a great time. Facilities good, and pitches are traditionally laid out. Local walks into the town, and frequent buses also give this site a great boost. One thing i would change would be to plant slow growing, flowering hedging on the lower boundary that, although it would need managing for height, would break up the prison camp look of the fencing. I take the point that the view of the sea is preferred, but the constant cliff walkers do not give privacy

Reviewed on 25/06/2017 15:07

15 reviews

0 Helpful notes

Report this reviewer

Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 4 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 4 of 5

Good for families

Old Hartley

This was our second visit to Old Hartley, we chose it as it is close to Newcastle where our son is at University. It's about a 30 min drive, or buses and Metro are easily accessible if you don't want to drive. The view is amazing, we were lucky enough to get a hardstanding pitch right at the top of the site where the views are uninterrupted and outstanding. The site is on the side of the cliff so blocks are needed and I imagine it could be difficult to get on and off in wet weather. The toilet block has 3 showers which are a little on the small side but clean and tidy as you would expect on a CC site. It's an easy 20 min walk to St Mary's lighthouse and the causeway is surrounded by rockpools with a small sandy beach too. The grey seals rest on the rocks behind the lighthouse and can be watched from a distance (although not everybody seems to realise they need to be left alone and we even saw people trying to get 'selfies' with them!) The footpath runs in both directions from the site and is great for walkers, runners and dogs. I can highly recommend The Beehive for excellent food, we even had to return another night as it was so good - the best steak pie I have ever had. We found it by accident on the shortcut out of Old Hartley, straight across the roundabout which avoids the seafront. All in all - a lovely, quiet site with beautiful views.

1 review

0 Helpful notes

Report this reviewer

Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 3 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 4 of 5

Good for families

Love it here.

Supa views of St Mary's lighthouse, site slopes a bit down hill and sum pitches will require levelling blocks (The site has a few of these to borrow from recrption). We've stayed a few time and once we had a pitch towards the bottom of the site which got quite boggy after a heavy down pour, probably because of the clay cliffs not really much of a problem just annoying. The toilet block is clean but shower cubicles are small. If your trying to shower kids at the same time it's a bit of squeeze. There isn't anything on site for children but beaches are only a short drive away. (Blyth and longsands at tynemouth are worth a visit). Ridley park in Blyth is great, it has water fountains and a nice cafe plus slides etc. Gills chip shop in the village is probably one of the best in the area also the Waterford arms is well known for its "whale and chips". The boat house in Blyth serves really nice seafood and has real ale on draft. There is also a new small co op in the village, handy for papers milk etc. All in all we love it here it's a great base to get out and about. If your traveling from the south try and avoid the silverlink roundabout just after the Tyne tunnel. There are road works which are scheduled till 2019 and its busy and slow. We generally turn off for north shields and follow the coast up to the site through tynemouth and whitley bay.

gary756

Reviewed on 06/06/2017 13:11

4 reviews

1 Helpful note

Report this reviewer