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These are some sites my friends and I have visited over the years and either like or dislike

These are not adverts for sites you cannot book them via this website

You can, however, use the links provided or telephone the sites direct

You may not like these caravan sites as everyone's personal preferences are not the same. So please check them out yourself and don’t just take our word for it for them

Have you got a site that you think everyone should know about please E-mail me

Gray@madcaravanner.co.uk

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fishing

Blackland Lakes---
Calne
Wiltshire
SN11 0NQ

 

Tel: 01249 813 672
Direct Booking: 01249 810 943
Fax: 01249 811 346

 

E-mail: blacklandlakes.info@btconnect.com
Web site: www.blacklandlakes.co.uk

 

We've stayed at this place a few times and on each of the last two occasions we vowed never to go back. The only reason we booked in there last time, which was in August of 2002, was that the other locations in Wiltshire (which seems to have a dearth of good quality sites) were fully booked over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

 

The site is located on the outskirts of Calne and consists of a number of paddocks with a couple of fishing lakes and a leisure centre (swimming pool and health club). A few years back the pool was open to campers but no longer. Unless you want to pay the prohibitively expensive short-term membership fee you are made to feel a bit like a second-class citizen with various notices prohibiting you from going into the leisure centre (although they are quite happy to sell you alcohol? just as long as you don't drink it in the club).

 

We ended up on a super-pitch as it was all that was available, although I think it would be misleading to call these pitches "super". They consisted of a rather bumpy gravel hardstanding, somewhat overgrown alongside the usual service point. I had to use levelling blocks under one wheel, so you can get some idea of their state. The TV aerial point didn't work and since there was poor reception in the area for our Status aerial, this was another so-called service we were paying for but didn't get.

 

There are two shower blocks ? a small block near the entrance and a larger one adjacent to the lakes. The showers are unisex in the latter and at least you don't have to pay for the hot water, but of course if you went at the wrong time of day, there was NO hot water. The showers themselves were generally poorly kept. Lots of dust and cobwebs and of course lots of muddy footprints. I overheard one chap describing it as the "worst showering experience" of his life!!

The warden was not much in evidence, occasionally zipping around in a little four-wheel-drive. You felt that he was avoiding walking around the place. Most of the time he seemed to tuck himself away somewhere, ignoring his customers.

All in all, a poor commercial site that needs a lot of investment and some decent management. A shame really as its in an excellent location in a part of the country not exactly overflowing with sites.

 

 

Ron Miller. Internet.

gray@madcaravanner.co.uk