Family camping summer 2015?

sadie06

Interesting feedback from all. Whelzer you sure got around last year. Any feedback on the sites you visited? I looked at Hidden Valley for this year, but was put off by reviews on Tripadvisor that said they were cramming people in, bins overflowing, site not coping etc, basically being greedy.

Just back from Morriscastle. The kids absolutely loved it. The beach, games-room, loads of other kids to play with. It wouldn't be for us, but that's just personal taste. It's unbelievably busy, literally guy-line to guy-line! The site facilities cope very well, and staff were excellent at all times, but it's too busy for me to get any sense of relaxation.

We had to pack the tent away wet for the first time ever also…a total pain, so dealing with that now.

Roll on Clifden in two weeks. Schtinggg, if you ever consider going on-site again, Clifden Eco-Camping may be for you. It's a happy medium between wild and on-site camping! We love it.

whelzer

Hidden Valley was ok for 2 days, kids had a ball but its not really camping (I wouldn't go back, didn't find it dirty, just not cup our of tea...

Silver Strand is the total opposite, very basic, but in a lovely location and the beach - simply stunning.

Eagle Point was great - we had booked 5 nights but stayed 8, (this is the most, it is humanly possible to stay in a tent!). We were right on the shoreline, bit windy at times and it rained but there is lots and lots to do both on site and nearby. Fishing, boat trips, history sites, a local pub runs a bus to and from the site which meant we got a few hours out and a "proper" meal one night!

If you go to eagle point, I can not recommend Ewe Gardens enough, it is one of the most magical places I have ever been. In fact it alone was worth the drive from Dublin!

Nore Valley is very nice, the smallies got to feed all the farm animals and there is a lovely river walk...

Planning on doing Lough Ramor in Cavan this weekend if the weather improves at all. It is amazing how "good" you get at camping, thinking back on last year, the first few trips were mental, we have packing the car, pitching the tent, etc down to a fine art at this stage....

sadie06

Thanks for all of that Whelzer. Some great tips. I'll be googling...

You are right…you get better as you go along. Both of our families think we are cracked! Nobody else is into camping, but for us it is the ultimate downtime.

We are staying in a city campsite for the first time in August to do Belfast for two nights. It should be interesting and a totally different experience again as it is tiny and basically unmanned but apparently very secure. I'll report back on it afterwards.

Anyone not from Dublin thinking of a city break should consider Camac Valley Park. It's right beside Corkagh Park (one of my favourite parks in Dublin) so perfect if you have children/dogs. Although there is traffic noise from the N7 it's in a great location and is really well kept. I took a walk around out of nosiness! :-) I was intrigued and looked up the Tripadvisor reviews, which are favourable.

markc2951

I done tramore 2 weeks ago and what a dive of a campsite.not naming names but it's in tramore..no facilities and found kids from the travelling community interfering with my tent.left after one night and went to hidden valley in wicklow.

Awesome spot great for kids and plenty to do

iggy

Booked our first camping trip to River Valley this Fri and Saturday.
Never camped before so looking forward to it and dreading it at the same time. Two adults and two kids aged 6 and 4 so hoping it'll be good.
Is river valley similar to hidden valley? I was told hidden valley is too cramped where with river valley you have your pitch and bushes separate you from next campers?

markc2951

iggy wrote:

Booked our first camping trip to River Valley this Fri and Saturday. Never camped before so looking forward to it and dreading it at the same time. Two adults and two kids aged 6 and 4 so hoping it'll be good. Is river valley similar to hidden valley? I was told hidden valley is too cramped where with river valley you have your pitch and bushes separate you from next campers?

Report back on how you get on.hidden valley was grand when I was there

iggy

markc2951 wrote: »

Report back on how you get on.hidden valley was grand when I was there

Came back from River valley yesterday after our first camping trip ever. We stayed two nights.
We all enjoyed it. Two kids aged 6 and 4 had a ball.
The pitch space was a good size.
It was very busy and by Friday evening it was packed.
Mickey Finns pub on site and we ate there on Saturday afternoon. Food was lovely.
I don't have anywhere else to compare it too so not sure how it rates.
Kids did archery, football golf , pedal cars and a little train that goes twice a day around the site.
So now we want to try somewhere else so am looking for suggestions. Not too far from Dublin. Thinking of Caseys in Dungarvan?
The Vango Farnham 500 I bought was great. Plenty of room but I had to pack it up on Sunday morning in the pissings of rain.

markc2951

iggy wrote:

Came back from River valley yesterday after our first camping trip ever. We stayed two nights. We all enjoyed it. Two kids aged 6 and 4 had a ball. The pitch space was a good size. It was very busy and by Friday evening it was packed. Mickey Finns pub on site and we ate there on Saturday afternoon. Food was lovely. I don't have anywhere else to compare it too so not sure how it rates. Kids did archery, football golf , pedal cars and a little train that goes twice a day around the site. So now we want to try somewhere else so am looking for suggestions. Not too far from Dublin. Thinking of Caseys in Dungarvan? The Vango Farnham 500 I bought was great. Plenty of room but I had to pack it up on Sunday morning in the pissings of rain.

Sounds like a good spot..bin to a good few campsites and majority are great with loads of activities..Some of them go a long way to keep you there when you arrive eg food on site..playground..archery..waters ports etc

tessat

I've been off for a while just checking in to see all the new posts of people off to different parts of the country.

I loved Caseys, right on the beach and good clean facilities, plenty to keep the kids busy, great playground. You can't book it though and it does get very busy.

I'm terrified to try Hidden Valley, I've heard you can't bring your car to your pitch and that doesn't sit well with me, we have so much equipment that it would be impossible to carry it is we were any distance from the car park, can anyone confirm?

We went to River Valley for the first time earlier this year and really liked it. We did feel like we were always putting our hands in our pocket for activities but still a lovely site, plenty to do and nice and clean. Didn't like the lack of Fridge/Freezer.

I've mixed feelings on Morriscastle, we spend a good bit of time there as the facilities are good and kids can run off up the sand dunes, but I felt like we were an inconvenience this year. I'm reluctant to go back but in saying that, we go with a group every year and I have found many sites aren't taking groups anymore but Morriscastle do. We have a mix of ages of kids (under 1 to 14) and don't make a mess or much noise, bed early with the little ones, don't want to travel too far from Dublin so any suggestions for next year would be appreciated.

Hoping to get one more trip in before the end of the summer

markc2951

tessat wrote:

I'm terrified to try Hidden Valley, I've heard you can't bring your car to your pitch and that doesn't sit well with me, we have so much equipment that it would be impossible to carry it is we were any distance from the car park, can anyone confirm?

The car park is right next to the pitching area.I parked close to where I was pitching.I mean close by about 10 car lengths away.Im not certain but I think you can camp at a bay where there is electric and pull on right beside your tent.

Hidden valley is hands down the best one I've bin to yet

tessat

Thanks for that Mark, to be honest 10 car lengths is too far, if it was very busy we could be even further, our tent is 75kg, and traipsing back and forth with kitchen, fridge, heater, tables, beds and all the rest just does not appeal at all, I'd rather do a day trip and enjoy the facilities.

We do need electricity, does the camping field not have any points? Our tent is too big to fit on the grass part of a hard stand.
I think I should just take a trip up and have a look around and see if it is suitable.

EDit

Interesting to see the comments on River Valley as we really didn't like the place (went about 2 weeks ago). In fact, it is the only time we came home early from a camping trip. In fairness, they have some good facilities (although you do have to pay for everything), but we just felt very crammed in...it was very busy and the pitches were small IMO. We are a bit more use to the "open-plan" set up like you get at Doolin or Camac Valley.

Another annoyance is that they advertise themselves as "family-friendly" with all these notes about being quiet after 11pm and no bicycles after 8pm, but we had kids cycling around outside the tents until midnight and noise from groups having parties went on until at least 2 or 3am. Now don't get me wrong, we aren't fuddy-duddies and we have had our share of trips away with such party groups, it mores the fact that they seem to pride themselves on these rules that are clearly not enforced.

tessat

EDit, as you go in the gates of the camp site in River Valley there is a strip of sites in front of you, we pitched there (you've to drive down as far as the toilets and head back up)
It was lovely and quiet. We had tonnes of space (we need it) It was also very close to the little animal enclosure so the youngest could head up there and remain within view.
I did find there was no security keeping the noise down on site on the Friday and was very annoyed, but it was much better on Saturday after we mentioned it to reception.

markc2951

tessat wrote:

Thanks for that Mark, to be honest 10 car lengths is too far, if it was very busy we could be even further, our tent is 75kg, and traipsing back and forth with kitchen, fridge, heater, tables, beds and all the rest just does not appeal at all, I'd rather do a day trip and enjoy the facilities.

tessat wrote:

We do need electricity, does the camping field not have any points? Our tent is too big to fit on the grass part of a hard stand. I think I should just take a trip up and have a look around and see if it is suitable.

Jesus that's some tent 75 kg...you could get lucky and get a space beside the grass and just haul it across the footpath.

I'm not sure about points on the camping site of it I didn't need any..my setup is more based around hiking and lightweight so I can put all my stuff into a rucksack..tent,pillows,sleeping bag etc..

I wouldn't rule it out as it's top notch for me anyway..as you said take a day trip down and see

guil

It's a good bit away but I can't recommend woodlands park in Tralee enough. This is our second year down there. Last year ourselves and another family of 5 went and this year another 2 families went with us.

There is plenty of space for a car and trailer and we had 2 gazebos between the 4 tents and a small tent for the kids to mess in and they didn't mind at all.

tessat

Guil, it's been on my list for the past 3 years and we still haven't made it. Delighted to hear a review of it. Maybe next year.......

markc2951

guil wrote:

It's a good bit away but I can't recommend woodlands park in Tralee enough. This is our second year down there. Last year ourselves and another family of 5 went and this year another 2 families went with us.

guil wrote:

There is plenty of space for a car and trailer and we had 2 gazebos between the 4 tents and a small tent for the kids to mess in and they didn't mind at all.

I've stayed there loads of times..not a bad spot but I was there 2 years ago at rose of tralee and 2 tents were asked to leave due to noise..which is understandable.

You can also pull your car right up to your campsite

Family run business wife husband and daughter..nice people

silverharp

Took junior on a 5 day canoe trip down the Barrow , from Athy down to Gregnamanagh,wild camping along side the river. Compared to normal wild camping was able to bring more stuff but on the downside lighting fires wasnt normally an option as the banks were either paths or impossible to land. Great experience though

EDit

tessat wrote: »

EDit, as you go in the gates of the camp site in River Valley there is a strip of sites in front of you, we pitched there (you've to drive down as far as the toilets and head back up)
It was lovely and quiet. We had tonnes of space (we need it) It was also very close to the little animal enclosure so the youngest could head up there and remain within view.
I did find there was no security keeping the noise down on site on the Friday and was very annoyed, but it was much better on Saturday after we mentioned it to reception.

Thanks tessat, yeah we saw that area and it did look like you could effectively create your own plot and also didn't look suitable for large groups (as its a long thin strip), but by the time we arrived it was full (got stuck in traffic on N11). If we did ever go again, I think we'd try to get down earlier on the Friday and probably avoid high season.

whelzer

We had two nights in Nore Valley - weekend just gone.

3 adults and 6 kids in an Atlanta 8 (getting such a big tent finally justified itself!).

It was our second time there - kids had a ball, was quite busy on the Saturday but emptied very quickly on Sunday morning...Could not find fault with the place!


For update purposes...we also did two nights in the Trading Post "near" Enniscorthy - around 3 weeks ago.
It was fine - google maps did not inspire me as it was right on the old road btn Wexford and Gorey but it did not bother us that much.
Not a whole lot for the kids but it is spacious, clean and very handy for off-site activities.
Like ourselves a lot of people tried Morriscastle first but it was full!

whelzer

silverharp wrote: »

Took junior on a 5 day canoe trip down the Barrow , from Athy down to Gregnamanagh,wild camping along side the river. Compared to normal wild camping was able to bring more stuff but on the downside lighting fires wasnt normally an option as the banks were either paths or impossible to land. Great experience though

Would love to take my eldest on such a trip.. any issues from landowners/farmers on pitching the tent?

silverharp

whelzer wrote: »

Would love to take my eldest on such a trip.. any issues from landowners/farmers on pitching the tent?

no , the river is a ghost town, there are no houses facing the river. you might hit the odd km where banks are too high or overgrown to either get the canoe out or find a nice place to pitch but otherwise there is normally a track on one side so technically you are not even on anybody's land. One night we camped at a lock gate so apart from a couple of adventurous joggers it was all good.

tessat

Silverharp that sounds amazing. The barrow is a great river for that sort of camping. Im in awe of you both, would love to have the skill and drive to do something similar.

silverharp

tessat wrote: »

Silverharp that sounds amazing. The barrow is a great river for that sort of camping. Im in awe of you both, would love to have the skill and drive to do something similar.

thanks!, no skill involved I had never been in a canoe before. I got the idea from a thread on Boards a couple of years ago and it lodged in the back of my head , my son is going on for 11 so thought he was the prefect age to do it.
The only thing that took a bit of getting used to was the weirs, otherwise the river is gentle enough, there were some very minor "rapids" but we only hit them in the last 2 days so confidence had grown by then.

jennyhayes123

We also did 2 nights in Nore Valley. Highly recommend it. Our 2,4 & 10 year old had a ball. They absolutely loved holding and feeding the animals. Can't believe how reasonable it was. Absolutely can't wait to go back. We were very lucky with the weather. Was very busy Saturday where as Sunday and Monday lovely and quiet. We stayed till 7pm Monday before heading home. No one trying to send us off home.

iggy

Going to head off Fri morning. Thinking of heading to Caseys in Dungarvan. I know they don't take bookings and wondering will I get a pitch if I arrive?
Can anyone that's been to caseys tell me can u Park your car next to your tent and what's the pitches like?
Cheers. Hoping the weather is half decent.

tessat

Caseys is a great spot, right on the beach and lovely pitches. I've never had a problem getting a pitch there, yes you can park beside your tent.

If you look on tripadviser you will find very very mixed reviews, I've never experienced any aggression from the owner and found the girls on reception very polite and friendly, but that is not the experience that seems to be had by everyone.

The toilet block is clean and there is a big playground.

Don't be late leaving or you will be charged.

Bring cash as they don't take cards and you will need to pay a deposit for the toilet key.

If it is busy, there is an overflow but I don't think it has electricity. You should at the very least get a spot in the overflow, depending on what time you arrive, make it early enough.

Any other questions let me know.

iggy

tessat wrote: »

Caseys is a great spot, right on the beach and lovely pitches. I've never had a problem getting a pitch there, yes you can park beside your tent.

If you look on tripadviser you will find very very mixed reviews, I've never experienced any aggression from the owner and found the girls on reception very polite and friendly, but that is not the experience that seems to be had by everyone.

The toilet block is clean and there is a big playground.

Don't be late leaving or you will be charged.

Bring cash as they don't take cards and you will need to pay a deposit for the toilet key.

If it is busy, there is an overflow but I don't think it has electricity. You should at the very least get a spot in the overflow, depending on what time you arrive, make it early enough.

Any other questions let me know.

Cheers for that. I hope to be at caseys for 11am so hopefully get a good pitch. Thanks for the info

BorderGap

Just back from 5 nights camping at Westport House. Camping facilities are poor and dated and they allowed way to many tents into the camping field. It had also rained heavily in the days before our arrival and the camping field had cut-up pretty badly with car tyre marks which made the site look even worse.

The caravanning field seemed must cleaner and modernised and well laid out.

There is lots to do at Westport House and in Westport in general, its such a shame the camping field at the site was not modernised and better kept.

utyh2ikcq9z76b

[QUOTE=EDit;96427945

Another annoyance is that they advertise themselves as "family-friendly" with all these notes about being quiet after 11pm and no bicycles after 8pm, but we had kids cycling around outside the tents until midnight and noise from groups having parties went on until at least 2 or 3am. Now don't get me wrong, we aren't fuddy-duddies and we have had our share of trips away with such party groups, it mores the fact that they seem to pride themselves on these rules that are clearly not enforced.[/QUOTE]
I was there a few weeks ago and found the 11pm rule was strictly enforced,place dies at 11,they go round telling everyone to put any fires out, even a group behind us I didn't even notice until I heard the guy telling them to keep it down