Dougal's Dog Blog. Entry 20: Bourton-on-the-Water (Notgrove)

We've been busy caravanners over the summer.

One site where we swung by for a visit was Bourton-on-the-Water Club Site, formerly known as Notgrove.

It's a nice little site, no loo block or anything for the humans, which makes it a bit of an oasis within the sometimes busy Cotswolds. The Human That I Own enjoyed reading the book and looking at the pictures in the Information Room about how the site was converted from the defunct Notgrove railway station to the Club Site it is now. He loves old trains, and he loves caravans, so that was him in seventh heaven. What was interesting in the pictures was how, in the early 70s when the site was being developed, caravans were already on site during the development process! Hmm… not sure that the bare earth made for such a good view, or the diggers made for a relaxing atmosphere.

But I digress from the important business of telling you about the doggy facilities.

Oh dear. 'Adequate' is a word that springs to my mind. The official dog walk is a narrow strip alongside a section of the site. It's enough to stretch all four of your legs and do what it is us doggies need to do outside, but that's about it. For playing ball, we had to go out to the driveway down to the site, and be very careful of approaching cars.

The wardens were really, really lovely. They couldn't have been more helpful. But it appears that any walks from the site involve teetering along the edge of a fast A-road for a while. Not ideal for me, I'm scared of fast traffic.

That meant we had to use the truck for going out in the evening and finding me a hostelry. Fortunately we found a nice pub not too far away in Naunton called The Black Horse. Good honest food and a 'proper' country village pub, a refreshing change from most of the touristy places we visited in Bourton on the Water. Which, I hasten to add, is a gorgeous little town, even if it is a little busy during the summer holidays.

Overall, I'm afraid Bourton on the Water only gets a Bone Rating of 2 bones out of 5. Facilities are adequate, and if you humans prefer the no-facility sites then don't let this put you off. Just be prepared to use the car a lot.

However, as I was soon to discover, there is five-bone site just up the road…