We spent two nights at this site in our motorhome during the heat wave in July 2013. This was the start of a week spent touring the entire length of the Cumbrian coastline.
The site is situated on a farm on a quiet, rural road leading out of Longtown. It has 5 pitches, all hardstandings, which are spaced around a large central, grassed area, itself surrounded by a hard surfaced roadway with a sensible one way system signed. The entrance to the site is straight of the road so you should have no problems getting to your pitch even if it is raining. All pitches have electric hook up and water laid on.
There is only one (combined) toilet / shower room but this is, by any standards, a superb facility. It appears to be a converted wooden summer house. It has good, clean and modern facilities which are maintained to a very high standard. The room is cleaned spotless and towels and mats are changed on a daily basis.
There is a full complement of waste disposal facilities allowing different types of recyclable waste to be disposed of separately. There is also another summer house which contains a good range of local guides and tourist information etc.
We were warmly greeted by Mrs Taylor who told us all about the site and gave advice on the local area. In the evening Mr Taylor visited, and chatted with, everyone on site and presented every family with six new laid eggs produced by their own chickens. As a tip, take some corn or other suitable bird food with you and you will make friends for life with the numerous chickens and ducks on the farm (they will probably be waiting outside your van in the morning!). Even the cockerels seemed well trained as we were not woken at dawn by them on either morning.
Longtown is around a mile’s walk or drive away and has an interesting mix of local shops. There is a choice of eating places in the town. We had a very good and reasonably priced dinner in the Sycamore café.
We visited Carlisle, a city we had never been to before and had a pleasant half day exploring the centre with its good range of shops, eating places and historical attractions.
We are birders and so visited the RSPB reserve at Campfield Marsh which is around half an hour’s drive away. In its lovable way, the RSPB seems determined to disguise the presence of the reserve. If you take the coast road out of Bowness on Solway you may be lucky enough to spot the road leading to the reserve on your left. It looks like there may be a visitor centre under construction, in which case the RSPB will, hopefully, improve its signage. There are a number of pull ins on the coast road where you can view the birdlife on the shore.
This was, by far, the best of the four sites we stayed at on our tour. It is probably the best we have ever stayed at. For us this site is a “must” if you want to explore the English and / or Scottish side of this, relatively unspoiled, western border area.
John & Sue Edwards, Nottingham
