Alternative campsites to Wing

[CAMRAMan]

Foxholes is on Montgomery Road, just north of Bishop's Castle. The terrain is lumpy round there, but the really hilly stuff can be avoided.

Alternatively, there is a site in Knighton, which is what BC used to be like before the hippies took over. Also lumpy.

[cycleman]

Are we any closer to selecting a campsite for a meet in September?,as I would like to try and arrange for apollo to come 

[Wowbagger]

It's most unlikely that I will be around for dates in September. We seem suddenly to have booked three different holidays...

[Polar Bear]

Has anybody ever been to Church Farm campsite near Alcester?  May be promising.

As for September:  I would have thought that it would be sensible for a group to target White Mark Farm as a known entity.  I have no idea at all if we could make it there at the moment.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I think I might be going there at the end of September, but I'm not sure atm if it's that one or another in the area.

[Kim]

Has anybody ever been to Church Farm campsite near Alcester?

Down the road from the ford?  I've ridden past it, but not stayed there.

[Kim]

Cycleman texted me these ones yesterday evening, while I was somewhere on the M5:

Ridgeway, East Kennet near Marlborough: https://www.ridgewaycampsite.com/

Interesting one this, as it caters to groups only.  Up to 20 people, £395/night.  FIRE and TEA included.


Cross Keys, Pulloxhill, Bedfordshire  https://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/sites/details.asp?revid=5925

Standard field-behind-a-pub arrangement.  No showers or toilets.


ETA: And another:

Westmoor Farm, Bampton, Oxfordshire: https://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/sites/details.asp?revid=9257

Not a million miles away from where we had an ALC AGM a few years ago.  Good cycling country.  Price per tent looks expensive if you're a solo camper.

[JenM]

Cross Keys, Pulloxhill, Bedfordshire  https://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/sites/details.asp?revid=5925

Standard field-behind-a-pub arrangement.  No showers or toilets.

Discount that one then.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Ridgeway, East Kennet near Marlborough: https://www.ridgewaycampsite.com/

Interesting one this, as it caters to groups only.  Up to 20 people, £395/night.  FIRE and TEA included.

Looks wonderful in an eco-glamping, Tom and Barbara*, style, but as £20 a night has been too expensive upthread and this would require 20 people to bring the price down to that, it's probably too expensive.

It also seems to be near Britchcombe Farm, where we've been before and which I think is now open again.

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good_Life_(1975_TV_series)

[cycleman]

When I looked for britchcoombe farm on  campsite UK it shows as closed. I'm not sure if that's up to date though 🤔

[Kim]

Sounds like the owner died.  Is it under new management?  (Presumably if so they've yet to discover the internet...)

[Canardly]

Is it time to approach the new landlord at long Itch and see how the land now lies?

[Cudzoziemiec]

It was sold a year or two ago. I don't know if that was the result of the previous owner dying. Last I checked, the website promised opening under new management in, IIRC, late 2021.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Yes, found a Facebook page saying the owner of the farm died in 2019. Can't find any actual campsite website now, so presumably the new owner has closed it down to concentrate on farming? 142 and a third acres, apparently.

[Kim]

Another suggestion from cycleman:

Etherley Farm, near Dorking https://www.campsites.co.uk/search/campsites-in-surrey/dorking/etherley-farm

Simple farm site, with facilities.  Allows FIRE.  Understands what a backpacker is.

Looks promising.  In the Surrey Hills, where there are BEARS.

[Cudzoziemiec]

And where there are bears, there must be honey.

[andrewc]

The site of a famous battle!  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Battle_of_Dorking

[Wowbagger]

And where there are bears, there must be honey.

But, given that the Surrey Hills are largely wooded, look out for...

[Cudzoziemiec]

The site of a famous battle!  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Battle_of_Dorking

Also presenting a wonderful opportunity for a comparative study of dorking, geeking and nerding.

[Cudzoziemiec]

And where there are bears, there must be honey.

But, given that the Surrey Hills are largely wooded, look out for...

...Pooh and Tigger?

[Polar Bear]

And there is a railway station close by although it's three changes to Rugby.

[cycleman]

Dorking has 2 stations. One from London and one from Reading. The location might attract more members from the south to come out camping. There are both hilly and flatter options for rides in the vicinity  .

[Polar Bear]

Emily's Cut

Would require a bit of herding but could be interesting.

[Polar Bear]

Looking at campsites I decided to check out the Twiteys Tipis site.

It says £35 per night for a pitch for 2 people.  Is that anywhere near what you folks paid on the last YACF outing?

Seems a bit pricey even in these inflationary and money-grabbing times.

[Kim]

Looking at campsites I decided to check out the Twiteys Tipis site.

It says £35 per night for a pitch for 2 people.  Is that anywhere near what you folks paid on the last YACF outing?

Seems a bit pricey even in these inflationary and money-grabbing times.

I can't remember what the fee was (probably something in the £20 range?), but my email correspondence shows that £6 was refunded on arrival for those not bring a car.  We also got given vouchers that would go towards a subset of the items in the shop (mostly tins of beans and firewood).

I thought it was a little pricey given the quality of the facilities (gloomy porta-showers and no hot water for handwashing), but the camping field was lovely, and they were extremely helpful.