Tuesday 11 October 2011

The Ratings are in:

Every campsite had it's different qualities so I've decided to grade them - primarily to make it easier for me to select which campsite to return to in the future.  Bearing in mind that my top requirements are: off lead walks for Skye and dog friendly pub close by!

My scores are out of 10:

Drumshademuir, Glamis (Aug 2011):
Facilities: 6 acceptable but only 2 showers
Friendliness of staff: 7
Scenery: 3
Atmosphere: 3 (this is the one where J was told off for playing with a ball)
Mobile signal: Yes
Off lead dog walks: 2 (Strictly on leads at all times)
Skye's tail: 5
Close to town/pub: No
Overall: a very average 5

Findhorn Sands, (Aug & Sept 2011):
Facilities: 7.5
Friendliness of staff: 7
Scenery: 8
Atmosphere: 8
Mobile signal: Yes
Off lead dog walks: 9 (the beach is within walking distance)
Skye's tail: 9
Close to town/pub: Yes
Overall: 9 (already been there twice)

Banff Campsite (Sept 2011):
Facilities: 4 (toilets clean but the shower was pathetic - one of those ones you have to push a button to get hot water and the water only stays on for 20 seconds - I timed it)
Friendliness of staff: 6
Scenery: 7
Atmosphere: 7
Mobile signal: Yes
Off lead dog walks: 7 (walk to neighbouring towns)
Skye's tail: 7
Close to town/pub: Not really
Overall: 7

Portsoy Campsite (Sept 2011):
Facilities: 6 (funny smell in the toilet block and only one shower but not the push-button shower like Banff has)
Friendliness of staff: 8
Scenery: 8
Atmosphere: 7
Mobile signal: No but wi-fi
Off lead dog walks: 7 (beach)
Skye's tail: 9
Close to town/pub: Yes
Overall: 8.5

Old Hartley Caravan Club site, Whitley Bay (Sept 2011):
Facilities: 5 (funny smell)
Friendliness of staff: 5
Scenery: 6.5
Atmosphere: 4 (the other campers were not chatty)
Mobile signal: Yes (but the WiFi was £5 for 5 hours - unbelievable)
Off lead dog walks: 6 (strictly lead walks on site but good walks along the cliffs)
Skye's tail: 5
Close to town/pub: Yes but not very welcoming
Overall: 5

Wagtail Country Park, Grantham (Sept 2011):
Facilities: 7 (very new and tidy)
Friendliness of staff: 8
Scenery: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Mobile signal: Yes (but no wi-fi)
Off lead dog walks: 6 (there was a dog walk around site but it only took 10 mins)
Skye's tail: 5
Close to town/pub: No
Overall: 6

Kelvedon Hatch Camping and Caravan Club site, Brentwood (Sept 2011):
Facilities: 5
Friendliness of staff: 7
Scenery: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Mobile signal: Yes (Wifi was £2 per day)
Off lead dog walks: 5
Skye's tail: 5
Close to town/pub: No
Overall: 5.5

Folkestone Camping and Caravan Clus site (Sept 2011):
Facilities: 6
Friendliness of staff: 6 (mix up at the start - they had my booking for the wrong day!)
Scenery: 8
Atmosphere: 7
Mobile signal: Yes
Off lead dog walks: 9
Skye's tail: 8.5
Close to town/pub: No
Overall: 7

Lytton Lawn, New Forest (Sept 2011):
Facilities: 2 (push button shower, the water went everywhere, grass cuttings on my shoes dragged into the shower and the campervan!)
Friendliness of staff: 4 (a smile at reception would have gone a long way)
Scenery: 4 (what scenery?)
Atmosphere: 1 (road noise)
Mobile signal: Yes (but no wi-fi)
Off lead dog walks: 3 (strictly lead walks and no walks nearby)
Skye's tail: 0
Close to town/pub: No
Overall: 1

Ridge Farm, Wareham (Sept 2011):
Facilities: 3 (very old and full of mossies)
Friendliness of staff: 4
Scenery: 4
Atmosphere: 4
Mobile signal: Yes (but no wi-fi)
Off lead dog walks: 5 (walks round the nearby streets were ok as the roads were quiet)
Skye's tail: 4
Close to town/pub: No
Overall: 4

Slapton Sands Camping and Caravan Clus site, Devon (Oct 2011):
Facilities: 5
Friendliness of staff: 6
Scenery: 7.5
Atmosphere: 5
Mobile signal: Yes (Wifi was £2 per day)
Off lead dog walks: 6 (beach nearby but that was the day of the sore foot so couldn't walk Skye very far)
Skye's tail: 6
Close to town/pub: Yes
Overall: 6.5

Padstow Touring Park, Cornwall (Oct 2011):
Facilities: 9 (had my own shower room! would have been a 10 but there was no lighting near my pitch so needed a torch to run to loos)
Friendliness of staff: 8
Scenery: 7.5
Atmosphere: 6 (was too quiet and I wasn't close to other campers)
Mobile signal: Yes (Wifi was £6 for 48 hrs)
Off lead dog walks: 7 (farmland walk to Padstow nearby)
Skye's tail: 7
Close to town/pub: 1 mile away
Overall: 7

Cheddar Camping and Caravan Clus site, Somerset (Oct 2011):
Facilities: 8
Friendliness of staff: 8
Scenery: 7.5
Atmosphere: 6
Mobile signal: Yes (Wifi was £2 per day)
Off lead dog walks: 7 (walk to village 0.75 miles and dog friendly pubs)
Skye's tail: 6.5
Close to town/pub: Yes
Overall: 7.5

Clent Hills Camping and Caravan Clus site, Birmingham (Oct 2011):
Facilities: 6.5
Friendliness of staff: 6
Scenery: 6
Atmosphere: 6
Mobile signal: Yes (Wifi was £2 per day)
Off lead dog walks: 5 (just walks round the site)
Skye's tail: 5
Close to town/pub: No
Overall: 5

Moffat Camping and Caravan Clus site (Oct 2011):
Facilities: 7 (bit retro with orange walls in toilet block)
Friendliness of staff: 6
Scenery: 6
Atmosphere: 7.5
Mobile signal: Yes (Wifi was £2 per day)
Off lead dog walks: 6.5 (park close by)
Skye's tail: 7.5
Close to town/pub: Yes
Overall: 7.5

And the winner is: Findhorn Sands!  Closely followed by Portsoy campsite. Next year, I need to see more of West Scotland and hopefully venture over to Ireland.

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