Darling Buds Of May CL Site

Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and tranquility

Rated 5 of 5

Access to local places of interest

Rated 1 of 5

Beauty of surroundings and scenery

Rated 4 of 5

Ease of arrival/welcome

- No - and certainly not for us either! -

At this time of the year, when the scenery is looking beautiful, green fields and wild flowers, looking forward to sitting outside the caravan to enjoy a view and perhaps the smell of freshly mown grass....... and then you arrive at 'Darling Buds of May'! A bit of a 'shock' to say the least - a huge 'yard' which can only be described as such. A small patch of grass at one end of the Site, but full of dog mess so I was told by some other Visitors. Completely fenced off, no view, and really, very baron' with a massive area of grit/hardstanding. This Site is utterly 'soul less'. Difficult to erect an awning in all probability too. It 'boasts' a Toilet and Shower - (thankfully we use our own facilities anyway) but just one look inside of each was sufficient to put anyone off using either, frankly. I understand that there is another Site (Hyde Park - affiliated to the 'Darling Buds of May' Site) which is, apparently in a Field, but this was NOT opening until July for whatever reason. We visit Newbury on a regular basis to visit Family. Unfortunately our 'usual' CL was full during the period we would have liked - sadly, this was a very poor substitution, compared. For £16.50 a night to stay in such a place is total rip-off. Never again..........

1 reply

VAG6S

Caravanner from Devon

Reviewed on 16/06/2021 13:39

13 reviews

4 Helpful notes

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and tranquility

Rated 5 of 5

Access to local places of interest

Rated 5 of 5

Beauty of surroundings and scenery

Rated 5 of 5

Ease of arrival/welcome

Great weeks holiday April 2019 good rest and relaxing site.

We were met on arrival and directed to the CL site. 2 units on site, but there was plenty of room to site exactly wherever you desired. Waste disposal could do with some upgrading as rather basic but adequate. Gentle walks along the banks of the river also shopping was close by. All the staff we met were pleasant and willing to help wherever they could. Will return to this CL if we are anywhere nearby.. Good experience all round.

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bwhybrow

Reviewed on 30/04/2019 21:04

1 review

0 Helpful notes

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 2 of 5

Peace and tranquility

Rated 2 of 5

Access to local places of interest

Rated 2 of 5

Beauty of surroundings and scenery

Rated 3 of 5

Ease of arrival/welcome

regular visitor

The site is local to Newbury and within easy reach of A 339 & M4. May not be to everybodys liking but is better than many others in the area. It has on site shower/wc, fishing & walking, however shopping and parking close to shops is limited and requires a 5 minute drive to nearest shopping precinct.

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Ronald Green

Motorhomer

Reviewed on 30/12/2017 10:32

1 review

0 Helpful notes

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 2 of 5

Peace and tranquility

Rated 3 of 5

Access to local places of interest

Rated 2 of 5

Beauty of surroundings and scenery

Rated 3 of 5

Ease of arrival/welcome

NOT FOR ME

Appears to be a strange set up. Garden Centre run down. Long grass. Appears to be quite a few long term residents in very old units who tend to walk their dogs all round the site at unusual hours. Very expensive for what you get!! Traffic noise a nuisance. Wont be staying again.

0 replies

argos

Reviewed on 26/06/2017 12:56

3 reviews

0 Helpful notes

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 1 of 5

Peace and tranquility

Rated 2 of 5

Access to local places of interest

Rated 1 of 5

Beauty of surroundings and scenery

Rated 1 of 5

Ease of arrival/welcome

Not good

Just stayed for 2 nights on route to Oxford,give it a miss run down ,grass long,no welcome at all,we won't be back

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badgerwestsussex

Caravanner

Reviewed on 14/06/2016 15:03

15 reviews

0 Helpful notes

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 3 of 5

Peace and tranquility

Rated 3 of 5

Access to local places of interest

Rated 3 of 5

Beauty of surroundings and scenery

Rated 2 of 5

Ease of arrival/welcome

Pleasant

We stayed here for 2 nights to attend the Newbury Motorhome Show which was 9 miles approx in distance. We had seen the reviews but still booked as it was easy access from show and provided shower /toilet facilities and electric. Our impression of the site is better than previous reviews. There are 2 toilets and 1 shower. Both are clean with hand washing facilities provided and a short stroll away from the pitches. There is also a heater for the shower block. The grass had been mowed but could have been shorter. The goats are located in a penned area and occasionally roam around a long grassy area but are quite nervous and did not venture near the units. It was very quiet & peaceful - some road noise but nothing too disturbing. We met one of the owners - a lady who was very polite and amenable who explained that they took over the nursery 2 years ago and are gradually implementing changes. There are many walks in the local area and buses into Newbury which is a historic market town and worth visiting. There are also pubs nearby. We have stayed on far worse sites and feel that this was overall quite pleasant and relaxing.

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wallies2

Reviewed on 12/06/2014 21:57

3 reviews

0 Helpful notes

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 1 of 5

Peace and tranquility

Rated 2 of 5

Access to local places of interest

Rated 1 of 5

Beauty of surroundings and scenery

Rated 1 of 5

Ease of arrival/welcome

horrendous

We arrived at this site at the same time as another member. We had both booked on the site with showers. We were both told that this site had been booked out for weeks although we had both pre-booked. We were offered another site with no shower only a toilet. The site we were given was a rough field with a toilet a good walk away. There was a goat pen in the field which was not a problem other than it had an an electric fence. We were told to take a longer route to the toilet as the dogs would be loose on the direct path. Thank goodness we had no children with us. It is questionable as to whether this site is operating as a garden centre as there were literally one or two plants plants and the farm shop/cafe had virtually no stock and had obviously not been used for some time. We felt that the site we had booked onto was being used as a permanent base for a group of people and the offer of this site was being used to attract members to the dual site. Forftunately we were only using this as a stopover and were able to leave the next day. We have not had such a bad experience at a CL before. We will not be returning.

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gypsycat

Reviewed on 16/09/2013 12:25

3 reviews

0 Helpful notes

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 2 of 5

Peace and tranquility

Rated 4 of 5

Access to local places of interest

Rated 2 of 5

Beauty of surroundings and scenery

Rated 1 of 5

Ease of arrival/welcome

Mixed

Stayed here to attend Battle proms at Highclere- 'Downton'. The access is poorly signed and overgrown so the gateposts and CL sign are almost invisible - and quite a tight turn if you have a long outfit. The whole area has an unkempt and uncared for feel. The field is roughly mown and whilst there is plenty of room, the pitches are ranged around what appears to be an overgrown and neglected market garden field. Reception- at 2pm- appeared unmanned until someone appeared stubbing out a cigarette and said 'I hope you have cash the machine isn't working'. There was no evidence of any takeaway and ice cream was sold out. In any case, the general grubbiness of the place did not encourage a search for food. No evidence of any facilities and the loo emptying point was narrow and difficult. Some traffic noise although this did not disturb us. Perhaps the owners are new and inexperienced, or old and trying to give up but the whole place needed a makeover and some TLC- and very expensive at £15 a night!

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TwoJays

Caravanner

Reviewed on 05/08/2013 19:38

9 reviews

0 Helpful notes

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and tranquility

Rated 4 of 5

Access to local places of interest

Rated 5 of 5

Beauty of surroundings and scenery

Rated 5 of 5

Ease of arrival/welcome

peaceful

We stayed for just a night as a stopover between Brighton and Worcester on thev 16th June. The site is very quiet and peaceful with no traffic noise. The toilet facilities are good. There are adequate means of disposing of rubbish but no means of getting rid of grey water except onto the grass. Cannot give any information about the locality in this review but we would stay again for a longer visit next time

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Brian Mitchell

Motorhomer from Merseyside

Reviewed on 24/06/2013 12:47

1 review

0 Helpful notes

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 3 of 5

Peace and tranquility

Rated 5 of 5

Access to local places of interest

Rated 5 of 5

Beauty of surroundings and scenery

Rated 5 of 5

Ease of arrival/welcome

June weekend 2013

Nice large site by well screen river, convenient for Highclere Castle “Downton Abbey” but check its open first! Spoilt by nearby residents using the field as a dog walk and not giving campers privacy! (The Right of way footpath should be clearly defined to stop conflict) Field grass which could do with some TLC. A little road noise. Excellent toilet waste disposal, no rubbish recycling. Will stay again.

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adhple

Motorhomer from Dorset

Reviewed on 11/06/2013 09:53

15 reviews

0 Helpful notes

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