Durham Leys Farm

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

A hidden gem

Wanting to take our newly-repaired caravan for a local check-out stay before venturing further afield, we came across Ron's site in Marsh Baldon, and were utterly charmed. It's well-kept grass, delightfully flat, and set in some of Oxfordshire's most beautiful and quiet countryside. If you are walkers like us, you will enjoy the Shakespeare's Way footpath down to Chiselhampton, with its pub and very scenic old bridge. If you are looking to explore Oxford, it's only a short drive away. Marsh Baldon itself is full of ancient buildings, and a leisurely sight-seeing stroll around the very sizeable village green is worth finishing at the Seven Stars, where the food and service we found to be excellent. For those following satnavs to get to the site, it’s worth reinforcing the official site directions – turn left as you enter the village and follow the road around the green, rather than carry straight on past the Seven Stars onto the narrow, unmade road with sharp bends. Save that road for your walk to the pub later!

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Geoff Palmer

Reviewed on 27/08/2021 14:24

1 review

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Rated 4 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

July heatwave visit

We'd done our homework regarding the directions to the site from the village. It really is quite easy to find, but could be a little daunting to some as you wind your way down the lane to a seemingly dead end. There is a sign on the telegraph post and also a sign adjacent to the gateway. The site is flat open and well drained. We didn't need a single levelling block for either orientation, which must be a first. We stayed in very hot weather, which was wonderful, but be aware the site faces due south and is an excellent sun trap with trees behind. Take your parasol if the forecast is good. We used the park and ride when we visited Oxford, which was a few miles down the road and easy to use. The surrounding countryside is beautiful, although it was too hot to venture far on foot, but there were numerous footpaths nearby including right behind the site which would make an excellent dog walk. Local pubs were excellent, with two within walking distance ( about 1/4 mile & 1 1/2 mile) Ron drove by most days, in various forms of transport to check all was well & we stayed an extra couple of days as we enjoyed it so much. Very minor criticisms ( it wouldn't be a review without!) The waste bins and toilet disposal areas could have done with a bit of a strim but that is all i could think of. Highly recommended. We will probably return in future.

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Zueller

Caravanner from South Yorkshire

Reviewed on 17/08/2021 18:59

9 reviews

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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

Beautiful site

This site was absolutely beautiful. We arrived on the Sunday later afternoon. The site was very easy to find with the directions given from the owner when booking and paying was made very easy leaving the money in the postbox on site. The scenery from the site is very nice with a lovely bridleway right behind you for long walks. We took along our 2 labs but unfortunately due to the weather being extremely hot they weren't dealing so well with it so left for home early, but shall definitely return again in the future. If you enjoy peace and quiet with lovely views and walks we would highly recommend staying and also if you like the sun and want a good tan definitely stay here it has the sun from morning to evening.

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shellyb79

Reviewed on 14/06/2021 23:37

2 reviews

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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

A+ for this CL site.

A nice, well kept flat site in a lovely rural setting. Met the owner Ron briefly and he was a delight. Central to visiting the local area and the pub 400 yrs away (short walk) was very nice. Highly recommended.

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Chris Webb 1954

Reviewed on 14/06/2021 13:22

1 review

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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 4 of 5

Ease of arrival/welcome

Super cl

Lovely site, lovely village, just beautiful

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Ros Cooper

Reviewed on 07/06/2021 20:14

6 reviews

1 Helpful note

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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

Peace Itself

This was our first time staying at Durham Leys. We stayed for four nights and loved it. Marsh Baldon is a lovely village and the CL is situated just off the back of the enormous village green. Following the directions given in the Club site book we easily found it. A short track leads to a wide entrance, no problem at all getting in. We pulled on, picked our pitch on the flat well mown grass and had the kettle on in no time. Pitches are clearly marked and have plenty of space for the addition of an awning. A short while later the owner Ron popped over to welcome us, told us about the walks and the pubs and left us to it. Lovely outlook over the next field where we often saw deer grazing and were entertained by the flying antics of the Kites. Only interruption to the tranquility being the call of various birds. Immediately next to the CL is a bridle way which takes you up to the next village about a half hour walk, there is a pub there which unfortunately was closed throughout our stay. From here you can pick up various other footpaths to walk in all directions. In Marsh Baldon itself, in the opposite corner of the village green is a Community owned pub The Seven Stars, which took no more than four minutes to walk to from the caravan. Here we sampled some local ale, the pub does food which looked lovely although we didn’t indulge on this occasion. If you have a dog the walks are endless, the village green is more like a large common with plenty of room for dogs to run about. There is no shop in the village itself but a ten minute drive took us to a Tesco Superstore on the edge of Oxford. Park and Rides are available if you wanted to go into the centre of Oxford to see the sights. Definitely at the top of our favourites list.

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Roadstar17

Reviewed on 06/05/2021 23:55

1 review

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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

Fantastic hideaway

Great site.....everything I was looking for: flat grass pitches; sun trap (very sheltered and all pitches face south; very tranquil (no passing roads); great walking with footpaths direct from site; lovely village pub within 5 minutes walk; muntjac deer, green woodpeckers and red kites all spotted from pitch. Very easy to find following club site directions (I checked the route in advance on google earth so knew exactly where to go). As a novice tower travelling alone I was a little concerned about the access based on one of the reviews, but there was no reason for concern......very wide gated access to site with plenty of space to pull in and stop to open the gate. A delightful site to which I shall definitely return.

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Scs165

Caravanner

Reviewed on 26/09/2020 12:48

1 review

2 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

Peace and quiet guaranteed.

We have just spent 8 lovely nights at this gem of a site. Very well kept with short grass, 16 amp hook up and lovely views over the fields with red kites flying close by. The site is very secluded with walks straight from the site. There are park and ride facilities for Oxford and Abingdon nearby. Also 2 lovely Country Pubs, our favourite was The Mole. Ron the owner is very attentive and likes to stop for a quick chat when he is passing. We were also able to purchase some free range eggs from a farm close to the entrance. We found the site easily following the Clubs directions and not sat nav. Also despite other comments the access was easy and we have a big twin axle caravan. I cannot recommend this site enough. We will definitely return.

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Kath1161

Caravanner

Reviewed on 20/09/2020 18:51

1 review

1 Helpful note

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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 3 of 5

Ease of arrival/welcome

A cracker of a CL

We did have difficulty in finding the CL as we didn't spot the CAMC sign until it was too late and the coordinates in the Club handbook are of the old site . Please use the following coords instead: N 51 - 41 - 28, W 001 - 10- 52 The photo shown above is off the old location and does a disservice to the amazing CL that it is today. New photos have been sent to the CAMC for inclusion but who knows when they will get around to posting them. Once you know where you are going, access is fine if taken slowly. The Club CL sign is approx 10ft high on a telegraph pole. The CL is level, plenty of space for 5 vans and the grass is kept short by Ron and his daughter. Ideally located for Oxford, the Park and Ride is only a few miles away. Only a short walk to the local pub. Super welcome from Ron and he is always around for a chat. Lovely bloke, a real character even made us his assistant wardens for the day!

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mazdamiss

Reviewed on 10/08/2020 20:21

11 reviews

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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

A JEM in the Oxfordshire countryside

This is my second stay with Ron at Durham Leys, the site is always spick and span and Ron is a lovely friendly host. The site is well drained and level on the 5 pitches, access is easy, whatever your skills and the map provided by the local pub is a great help. There is no road noise at all and the outlook is exceptional looking onto open fields. The 5 spacious pitches have power and shared access to drinking water and chemical toilet emptying facilities. For the walkers among you there are miles of footpaths just outside the gate, with the village green a few paces away, i would also recommend the Seven Stars community pub again just a short walk away. I struggle to understand what more you could want from a site. Don't understand the review by JohnWebster regarding access and having to use his motor mover and can only assume he is an inexperienced tower, while i was there i saw several twin axel vans and none seemed to have an issue.

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DaveHunneyball

Caravanner

Reviewed on 10/08/2020 13:59

2 reviews

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