Stonyford Cottage Gardens and Nursery

This site rejoined the network a couple of years ago, hence the small number of reviews, having been one for many years and then used to paddock horses. The price guide in the S.D. book shows £14 pn. The website shows £16, so that is what I expected to pay. Due to an unfortunate timing, my wife answered a phone call from the owners son (who was looking after the CL in the absence of his parents) and paid for the stay by Credit Card, thinking a price had already been agreed. I was rather shocked some time later to see that it was costing £18 p.n. Due to Covid19 the gardens, toilet and tea rooms are closed. Now I know CLs and sites have lost income but the site simply doesn't justify this price tag. It's a round spacious paddock where units can breathe away from any neighbours. It is all grass though and had just been cut with all of the cuttings left to be trampled in to caravan and car. It undulates, not excessively so but sufficient to need levelling or a bit of luck. The Elsan is basic but I've seen worse. Water tap is away from Elsan so that is good and there are 2 black bins for rubbish. A sign says owner recycles so I assume they sort it out. The owners have left a Swift Corniche on the CL and it is becoming rather unsightly. It would be easy to move it to behind the wooden hay barn. The CL is surrounded by mature trees so no view but plenty of shelter. The Son did mention to my wife that they have had quite a few problems with heavy Motorhomes getting stuck as the ground in certain parts can get quite boggy and they are considering STOPPING ACCEPTING them. Noise? The train line from Manchester to Chester passes alongside the CL but to be honest this isn't a problem. Trains run about 1 every hour both ways. Light sleepers might be woken by a freight engine going through during the middle of the night. More troublesome are the barking dogs. Not on site but not far away. Again any light sleeper might find themselves silently cursing them at 2 in the morning. The road outside isn't a problem for noise, neither is the nearby quarry (no blasting as it's sand that is being quarried). The entrance might worry a few. Approaching from the A556 the entrance drive is immediately after the railway bridge and the turn in is sharp.Traffic is often light so you should be able to swing around easily enough. We arrived on a Sunday and in view of present C19 trading the garden centre is closed on that day (and only accepting clip and collect on weekdays) so you have to open a metal barrier rather quickly as the outfit will protrude into the road. Once through the drive then the CL is through a wooden gate after the car park. You can walk to Delamere along the Oakmere Way just up the road from the CL and to the Whitegate Way the other way. Arley Hall is nearby as is Dunham Massey NT. There are more reasonable CLs in the area so we would probably use somewhere else next time.

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This is an attractive CL forming part of a garden, nursery and tea rooms, there is paid access to the gardens where there are nicely laid out plantings, paths and ponds to enjoy. The nursery has lots of interesting plants and the tea rooms are set amongst the trees and plants. We enjoyed having lunch there and also chatting about the gardens with the owners. The CL is on grass with plenty of pitching choices and is in a separate area. Access might be slightly awkward for some along side a railway bridge (small commuter trains use the track) but the site mentions this in the description. Easy access to Delamere Forest and other nearby places. We enjoyed our stay, thank you!

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After ringing almost every site in Chester for availability and not having much joy as everyone was booked up, perhaps due to the Carfest in Chester, stumbled across this site and i am so glad i did. Arrrived early on the friday, no one around so jusst set up pitch, lovely peaceful site secluded, yet next door to garden centre and tea rooms, serving snacks, cakes etc. Was the only van on site on the friday and it was just perfect, there is no shower facilities here, just toilets, which were clean. We didnt mind no showers as we used our own. Met the owner late friday evening who was very friendly and advised us off the cycle routes close by, we was right by Delemere Forest which again was perfect for us as we are keen cyclist. Overall a lovely pleasant stay and cant beleive this site wasnt booked up like some of the others. We will definately use this site again.

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This is our second visit to this peaceful and relaxing site. Big field, with easy access to clean loos and lovely tea rooms and beautiful gardens to look round. Access can be a little tight but no big deal with a little care turning off the main road. Friendly owners too.

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