Gate Farm
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Before reviewing the CL I thought I would let those people who are regulars know that Tom, one half of the ownership, has unfortunately passed away.
This was our first visit and I have to say that in all my years using CLs I have never been given more comprehensive instructions for arrival or for that matter information about the CL itself. Very professionally done and received with much gratitude. No need for me to expand of arrivals etc. Just read the documents sent to you upon booking. We paid a 1 night deposit and the balance 2-3 weeks before arrival. Your pitch number is allocated but all pitches are fine. Mostly flat with shale and stone as a base core with grass between pitches. Good room between them as well. All pitches are fully serviced, including an individual drain. No M/Home drive over grid that I could see. WiFi is included in the price. You'll have to log on each day. Fairly good signal, as was the phones for EE and Smarty. Electric is 16A but there is some metering. 12kw per day is allowed within your daily allowance but charged above that at the going rate for the farm, currently £0.50 per kw above the 12 allowed. Your meter is zeroed at the start of your stay and you fill in a form at the end showing your final reading. In Summer we used just over 5kw per day. Recycling bins. Elsan is at ground level into drains.
The site has a lovely rural vista and is generally a quiet place with one caveat. Namely the flight path for planes for Birmingham Airport. There is no escaping the fact that in Summer the frequency of them is greatly increased and disruption for light sleepers is inevitable. There are large parts of the day when no activity takes place at all. The CL was handy for getting to Coventry, Kenilworth, Warwick and we were also able to walk into Balsall Common from site. The owner provides walks and information with dog walks on as well. These also from site. A small information hut contains details. Unfortunately it seems the local "stop outside the CL" bus timetables are being altered at the end of August '23. These will now be just rush hour. Excellently placed for the NEC, there is a train station at local Berkswell for those not wishing to drive.
All in all a well run CL.
Lovely location
Great base for exploring the area. There is so much to do, we will definitely be back. The site is well maintained. We found a welcome pack on our arrival with all the information we needed.
Enjoyed our stay dispute the rotten weather.
We'll be back.
We have just had our second stay at Gate Farm, Tom always welcomes us upon arrival. This CL site is clean and tidy with level pitches which are fully serviced. Excellent value.
Good location for walks, pub food, and Oakes Farm Shop and tea room is within a reasonable walking distance. Several National Trust properties are within easy reach as is the NEC. The site is in the flight path of the local airport, but was not problematic.
Lovely site and location
The website and booking process was super easy to navigate (and you can still call to book the old fashioned way). The website is also full of detail of driving directions, local walking routes and attractions and services nearby. The main entrance to the farm is by automatic gate (for which out of hours you need the provided fob) this is a working farm and so it might not be the tidiest when driving the farm, although when you arrive at the seperate gated CL you are a whole world away with views over the valley and a field of grazing sheep next door! Lovely little information room with details of local events and travel etc as well a charity book stall and limited toiletries for sale incase you've forgotten anything. The family weren't going to be in when I arrived, so they text with details of where to find my welcome pack and saying that I could call if there were any problems. All the pitches here are hardstanding and fully serviced with electric, water and grey waste although I believe when the weather allows, you can request the single grass pitch. The electric allowance of 12kw/night (additional chargeable at their cost (and reasonable) 35p/kw at time of writing) was fine for us even with using a bit of heating as we were visiting in autumn. The site was lovely and tidy and well maintained --and the family members running the farm we met were friendly and helpful. As other reviewers have noted, there is some overhead noise from aeroplanes, however the owners do mention this on the website and we still managed to get off to sleep (with roof-ligts open) and it does stop after around 10.30/11.00pm. We really hope to return to Gate Farm Soon as it's local to us,is a lovely get-away break and is a credit to the owners' hard work.
Good location for exploring the local area
Gate Farm has its own website that is easily navigated. It includes a booking system, which was very easy to use. The directions provided were very accurate. All the pitches are fully serviced with EHU, water and a drain for grey water. The pitches are a combination of hardstanding and grass. The owners ask for car and caravan on hardstanding and awning on the grass. There is the option of an all grass pitch if requested and weather conditions allow.
The approach to the CL is through the farm. Don’t be put off by the approach. As it’s a working farm there’s family accommodation and barns on the way to the CL. The CL is gated and as you drive through the farm, which has a fob operated gate between the hours of 7 pm and 7 am, with CCTV, it feels very secure. There is a welcome leaflet on arrival with a gate fob and your meter reading and allowance, which is 12 units per day. Anything above that is charged at 35p per unit. We did not exceed our allowance during our stay of seven nights. On leaving you read the meter, note the reading on the form and post that and the key fob in the plastic wallet, in the post box next to the gate.
The site was clean and tidy. Yes, there is some overhead noise from planes, because it’s under a Birmingham airport flight path. We didn’t notice the noise after day one. TBH if you fly anywhere, you can’t really complain about the noise if others doing the same. It didn’t spoil our stay and we would definitely go back to Gate Farm.
We didn’t see the owners during our stay, but it is a working farm and we had contact details if we needed any help.
Good location
Booking process very easy and request to arrive early accommodated. Site easy to find and good sized serviced pitches. Nice greeting from owner with welcome pack.
Site gives easy access to Leamington, Warwick and Stratford on avon. Some noice from planes as previously mentioned but not a problem to us. Would definitely return to this site.
Very helpful
Tom and Susie were very helpful with my booking and were concerned to make sure I had a good experience and were happy as a result. We usually attend the National Quilt Show and Gate Farm is convenient for the NEC and also offers handstanding which is important to us. Some other sites are only grass. We hope to use this site in the future,
Peaceful site
Warm welcome received from Tom upon arrival.
Pitch sizes are good and complete with all services.
Easy access through the farm with beautiful views over the countryside.
Country walks close by with one to the local village and the Saracens Head pub.
Overhead flights as mentioned by others not an issue.
Great location for BEC
We stayed here for the Caravan show at the NEC and extended our stay for 5 nights to get a feel for the area.
The NEC is 20mins away, Kenilworth is slightly closer and the Bull Ring is 35 mins away so perfect for us. Also there are good walks direct from the site. Takeaways good pubs and a lovely farm shop are also close by.
The only slight niggle could be the aircraft but that didn’t disturb us at all.
Recently they have had to change the charges so that the pitch fee includes 12 units of electricity with any extra charged at 25p. That seemed very reasonable to me with a 5 night stay in February costing an extra £3.
The owners were very welcoming and I’m sure we’ll be back one October or February.
Disappointed
We were looking forward to our stay to combine a break without pets and convenient for the NEC. WiFi was intermittent as their server needed updating. The EHU is metered at 12Kwh per day included in the pitch fee, as we were merely a couple using EHU for heating and microwave we exceeded a 4 day break by the equivalent of £17.50 albeit we had been out for 2 of the days. Walking was good (2.3 miles) using the Heart of England footpath into Balsall Common. Local buses are virtually non-existent and do not now pass-by at weekends. Aircraft noise from the flightpath was noticeable but fortunately I am a keen aircraft spotter.I can't say that were will have a return visit.