After deciding to book 2 holidays (one in April to Tenby and one to Spain in October) we decided that we'd spend summer at home enjoying the garden. However, after the endless rain that seems to have dominated this summer, we decided enough was enough and looked around for a last minute deal.
We've booked with Haven loads of times before and I'd remembered that I'd seen a report on "Wish You Were Here" some years back for Haggerston Castle In Northumberland. It looked pretty good and is five star rated, so I searched the Haven site for this park.
I ended up booking a 3 star caravan (Aug 11th - 18th 2007) as this was the cheapest option. It cost £349 for the full week with all passes for the 4 of us included. I thought this was quite reasonable for 4 people in the height of summer, but I was a little wary as we usually book gold (sometimes silver) accomodation. These options were a heck of a lot dearer though (approx £200 more!!!)

The first thing I noticed was that the carpet was filthy. However, it was hardly surprising as the heavy rain had created a lot of mud! We'd literally only just stepped into the van when there was a knock on the door. One of the housekeeping team had been instructed to clean the carpets! Happy Days! (We'd been stuck in traffic due to a bad accident on the motorway and had phoned ahead to let them know we'd be later than expected so I think they left us 'til last)
Anyway, when he'd finished, the carpet looked much better!
So, the caravan itself had a living/dining area, a kitchen with microwave, 2 bedrooms and a bathroom. The fabric and furnishings were quite modern and it's pretty much what I'd have expected with a 3 star caravan to be honest. The metal plate on the caravan chassis stated it was a 2003 model.

Anyway, on to the site itself. It's very big.......but I can honestly say I've been to slightly smaller sites that had bigger entertainment/leisure areas (Hafan Y Mor and Presthaven Sands in Wales and Craig Tara in Scotland) The website boasts of a beautiful Italian Walled Garden, but most of it was being remodelled and was actually in bits (bet it will be nice when it's finished though) There's a stables on the site which my daughter loved, as she rides every week. It cost us £40 for her to go out on a 2 and a half hour hack and beach ride (as riding goes, that price is quite reasonable believe it or not!!) She loved it and spent ages racing on the beach with a new found friend. For inexperienced or less experienced/younger riders, there's the option for a 20 minute ride around the park for £8 (£10 with professional photo)
The boating lake is very nice and there are some gorgeous, extremely well maintained (private) caravans around the waters edge. There's the option of hiring a pedal boat for half an hour. It seats 2 adults and 3 small children at a cost of £6 per boat. I have to say, I get ever so slightly hacked off with Haven when they charge extra for things on their site!!! It really gets my goat! However, with some negociation, hubby and myself and the kids (aged 18 and 12) all got in one boat (there was no way I was paying £12!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

There's an indoor and outdoor swimming pool. I didn't go in the pools (they've outlawed whaling!) but hubby and daughter did. Must say the outdoor pool area is quite nice and has loungers around it. The restaurant on the site overlooks the pool and it has an outside decked area with seating/tables. Son and I enjoyed watching them swim while we enjoyed a drink (£3 for house doubles!!! Yay!) When the sun is shining and it's hot (sort of) it almost feels like you are abroad!........almost!
This restaurant serves a good variety of meals and I think is very reasonably priced. We enjoyed it when we ate there anyway!

There's also a Burger King and chippy on site. Burger King is the usual bog standard (in my opinion) the chippy was HORRIBLE!! The chips were just about edible and the fish was just awful, well overcooked. Don't bother unless you are liable to die of starvation (and lets face it, that shouldn't be possible!!)

On to the entertainment (and I'm specifically referring to the Show Bar here) which.........I have to say, I found a bit naff. It all felt very dated, cheesy and bog standard. To quote Simon Cowell (who I'm pretty sure has never stayed at a Haven site in his life, bless him!) it was "distinctly average". However, I defy anyone to not go back to their caravan singing or miming the party dances to "Big Fish, Little Fish, Cardboard Box" or "Sexy Eyes"!!!!!!!!!
The staff (on the whole, who are now know as FunStars and not Haven Mates) are very gregarious and upbeat. We did, however, find one or two quite aggressive in their "we're having fun and you should be too" mentality. One, who shall remain nameless, even got quite arsey when he noticed that not everyone was getting up to join in the usual "we're on holiday and so therefore will behave like complete arses" frolics! He said.......and I quote........ that "people who have no personality and sit there with faces like slapped backsides should stay in their caravans and not spoil other people's holidays".
Have to say, I didn't see anyone's holiday being ruined by the "quiter" set. They were far too hammered on the house doubles to give a sh*t!!!!!!!!!!!!