I have just returned from Craig Tara today, 27/06/07 after 2 days of a 4 day break,i thought it best i get down my experiances whilst they are still fresh in the mind.I'll start at the beginning,as my Maths teacher always told me 'its a good place to start!'.

For Half-Board bookings there are 2 accomodation 'offerings',Luxury Silver and Standard Bronze.The photos of the Silver Chalet looked fine and I appreciated the lack of a lounge,but requested a chalet with a bath as we had 2 young children,and a Microwave oven to heat up some milk for their bedtimes,not an overly ambitious request for a Family Friendly Company i hope you would agree.

We set off in high spirits from Perthshire on Monday morning,aiming to be there for the 2.30 check in.A lovely 2 hour drive acrss some beautiful countryside was a great start.On arriving,there was a small gathering of maybe 20 people checking in,and within 15 mins we were checked in by a very smiley lady and handed a small folder with all site information and chalet key.

My wife and i looked at each other gob-smacked.The children,to their credit,were not concerned atall and began climbing up and down the Vintage Bunk Beds.

No Bath,No Soap,No Hand Towel,No Microwave and no damn Chairs!

We made our way,hesitantly, to 'Turnberry Gardens',the site 'Restaurant' for some much needed fuel.The site that greeted us was like something out of 'One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest'.I will not dwell,but needless to say,the food was mass produced junk and trying to get 3 plates of food that we wanted with accompanying utencils and condiments,along with a free,clean table was a feat in itself.

We all slept fairly well,and like we do most mornings,we started with a positive attitude to make it a good day.We made it to Breakfast,which was acceptable,then decided to try out the swimming pool.No problem getting in,it was Free too! The Family Changing Rooms were far too small,it was like being in a car park,waiting for someone to open the door to a cubicle,there would be people running to get in. The pool itself was actually quite impressive,except it was freezing cold.We managed half hour of fun and went back to the changing rooms.Why have the entrance,the token machine,the baby changing facilities and the lockers all in the same vicinity? It was mayhem.I started to get the 'If you can't beat them join them' feeling and managed to barge my way past a a couple to gain access to the Holy Grail of a Free Cubicle.

We had to get off the site,this was starting to get to us.We made a short 15 Minute drive into the pleasant town of Ayr.We managed to find a Morrisons and 'Mum' treated us all to a fantastic picnic,that we served up inside the car in front of the lovely sandy beach at Ayr Sea Front.

We realised we would have to return to 'there' at some point.We made the turn into 'that place' this time and had a quick wash and set off for the Fun Fair so the kids could spend the £30 given to them from their Nonna,Gwanny and Fanty. There were 4 rides,2 Bouncy Castles and a Crazy Golf,which had clearly seen better days.The kids enjoyed a couple of rides in particular and used the bouncy castle to good effect,although the 5 minute limit made me laugh,there was not exactly a queue.£10 worth of tokens got them 4 rides,they enjoyed them and that was the main thing.We had a wander around the Entertainment Complex,had a beer for £2.75,lost a fiver on the gambits and played an atrocious game of pool.It was OK,but i really did not think i was on holiday.

Wednesday morning was a rush to get everything into the car and get away.My wife gave in the key and gave the staff some choiced words,she really could not be bothered to 'see anybody' as nobody seemed to care.