Hey you, please log in! I am also at Dooyoo and Epinions, and variations of my reviews may also be f...
Hey you, please log in! I am also at Dooyoo and Epinions, and variations of my reviews may also be found there :P I am a home educating parent, as well as a freelance author. Wish me luck, I am attempting to learn Japanese! with my children
Member since:16.08.2001
Reviews:265
Members who trust:56
We recently availed ourselves of a special rate offer to camp using the facilities at Haven Wild Duck. Several associates of ours also booked camping facilities, and one arranged for a static caravan. I am going to discuss the camping xperience, as that is what we personally experienced.
The site was very easy to find using the directions from the Haven website, and it was well signed. Upon pulling in there was a spacious area in front of the office to stop for check in. The pull over area was well thought out, giving us plenty of room to do so with our tourer without causing a hassle for anyone else.
Check in was quick, efficient, and friendly, with passes included to use the facilities tucked neatly into a folder containing site information. The touring and tent fields are well laid out. Most of the pitches have electric, but a few do not, so if you wish electric, you must specify at time of booking. Well behaved and leashed dogs are welcome, and we were able to put up our awning, without it costing us extra. BBQs kept well clear of the ground are also allowed.
This was our first experience camping at a Haven site, and it was rather pleasant. The facilities were clean and up to date, fresh water and bins and whatnot spaced so as to never be far from the pitches, and a quality playground within a short walk of the camping area, placed next to the laundry (tokens only, at about £5 a washload, so bring plenty to wear!) and within an easy view of most of the pitches. The laundry was placed in the shower and toilet block, and a disabled bathroom was available. There was also a dishwashing area and freezer area for campers in the same block.
I feel I should give kudos here about the bins. There were several easy to access rubbish areas which not only had excellent facilities for getting rid of your rubbish without overflowing, but very prominently positioned OUTSIDE the general rubbish bin area were large
recycling bins that were clearly labelled. If it was recyclable at all, you could recycle it here.
To be honest, my only niggle about the facilities are to do with pitch spacing and the lack of a family bath area. The pitches were not spaced so that we were rubbing up against anyone so to speak, but were much closer together than you would get at say a Forestry, Camping and Caravanning Club, or Caravan Club site. Pretty well much this meant we could park our caravan, put up our awning, park our car, and about 18 inches away was the neighbouring pitches car, tent, etc. The pitches also were not deep, so while we WERE backed up onto a pleasant grouping of trees, we were also only about 4 feet from the dirt and gravel road. This distance was only achieved by backing right to the rear of our pitch, practically IN the woodline.
Some of the pitches were also laid on at awkward angles to trees and corners, leaving them unusable unless it was to persons with smaller tents, and even then causing them to have to break rules regarding parking on other pitches unless they were happy to use the car park area which was a shortish but not close by walk away. The car park is also not visble from many of the pitches.
Also being a family holiday site it was a bit disappointing to not have a bathing sink or tub to use for the younger children. Many small children are afraid of showers, and the showers at this site came on with vigour and quickly reached a rather hot temperature for little ones. I myself found the water got a bit on the hot side, and the timing of the water could be better...the water bursts lasted less than 5 minutes each and was rather forceful. My 4 year old son cried his eyes out, so the second night I had to sit him on the chair out of the shower tray, stand between him and the shower, and use a scrubby puff thing to wash him and then rinse him. I was not the only parent there struggling; many were sponge bathing children from the sinks. The lack of child friendly bathing options is a common niggle, but one that at the relative cost of the site that I feel should be addressed to make the facilities great rather than good, especially as Haven advertises itself as to being a great family holiday destination, with entertainments geared towards the younger set especially!
A very short walk away from the pitches and just past the sanitary block was the heart of the Haven experience: the entertainment and shop. You must show your provided passes to gain entry to these, and entry is free. Haven does not allow excess noise, so even though these were close by, evenings and late nights we could not hear patrons from the entertainments.
The live show for the kids at the Show Bar was predictably cheesy but thrilled our children, providing they were under the age of 10. The older children in the group however did not lose out, as the front of the show bar boasted a quality games arcade that kept them amused and away from the uncool stuff we grownups were doing in there with the smaller ones. Drinks and snacks were on sale and the wait at the bar was short, as it was well staffed. Cost was not horribly expensive either, being dearer than at home up north, but commiserate with local pub prices. In the folder that the passes came in was also a listing for more grown up entertainments later in the evening at the Show Bar.These included karaoke, Bingo, talent shows, and so on.
The shop next door was a convenience type store that sold food and a bit of everything else. Prices again were not horrific given the type of place, but I am glad we filled up the larder from Asda before coming. To get a general idea, a friend of ours bought a bottle of Fairy dishwashing liquid and paid about £1.50 for the privelege.
Across from the Show Bar and the shop was the indoor pool. Inside the information pack was a listing of the aquatic activities that you could embark on at the pool. These vary from family swim time, to swimming lessons, to various sporting type games. We availed ourselves of the morning family swim time, and if you forgot your kid's armbands, they had some for sale at a reasonable cost at the door.
The pool facilities were clean and well thought, with a reasonable number of changing rooms and a family sized bathroom, as well as a few benches. There was a single family sized shower to use before getting in the pool, and after if desired, as well as lockers you could rent.
Several tables and chairs were also arranged about the paddle pool and main pool area, so you could just leave your clothes and swim bag there without worry if you preferred. The tables and chairs were all highly visible from the pools, and 2 lifeguards and a first aider were always on hand watching the pools and keeping a general eye on things. The air inside was pleasantly warm, and the pools were a also warmed for comfort. I was impressed by the clarity of the water and the lack of overkill on the chlorine which is a typical public pool hazard.
The paddling pool was a delight for younger preschoolers and babies and toddlers, being quite shallow and having a fun sprayer in the centre. The main pool had clearly marked depths and was large enough that even while busy, it was not overcrowded, and we spent a few hours in there without getting splashed in the faces, knocked into, or any other irritating distractions. There was also a water slide for over5' under a certain height that was only open for a short period and supervised by a lifeguard.
Next door to the pool, separated by a glass wall, was a bar and grill restaurant. My husband sat there and enjoyed a soda in there while we swam and enjoyed watching us splash about. He did not order anything else as he said the prices were a bit high, but he said that was as much from being down south where costs are higher in general as it had to do with being on a holiday park.
We did however, walk a bit further to use the onsite fish and chips van, and the food was excellent as well as reasonable, only costing about £1.50 more for our usual than it did back home. I spent about £10 and for that got fishcakes and chips for two children, fish and chips for me, pudding and chips for huby, and a side of mushy peas. One surprise given the distance many customers come to enjoy the park from, is the fact that you cannot get gravy for your pudding and chips. This was okay though, as I had decided to mainly self cater, and had brought some Bisto gravy granules for ease along.
On the other side of the entertainment pavilion area was where the statics were and these were clean and tidy in presentation. There was also a second play area, as well maintained as the first. Our friends who rented the static were impressed enough with the accomodation they are considering purchasing one on the site.
There is also a nice outdoor pool that is open seasonally and if the weather permits. We did not visit that facility, so I cannot comment upon it. I do believe it was also more than adequate given the enthusiasm our friends' teens expressed after going.That is all I can really say about that, not having personally used the facility.
Location wise, the park is not far from the seaside where the traditional arcade seafront resides in Yarmouth, and there are also many other things to enjoy in the city. Our personal favourite pastime off the park was a drive through the outskirts, looking at the windmills on the flats. The site also had a pen by the entrance that made entertaining viewing, containing a family of llamas, with a small baby, and ducks.
All in all, it was a pleasant experience and made for a nice diversion from daily life and stresses. I would not wih to spend my entire holiday there, but would not hesitate to book another 3 days out of a week's holiday as long as we then went on to a more sedate place afterwards, like we did this time. I would, however, not be keen on paying full price and would do so only on special offer again, given the small pitches and unchildfriendly washing acilities as well as the highway robbery self service laundry costs!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
NH Hotels, the hotel chain leader in Europe, with more than 300 hotels in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Enter into our web site and find the best available tariff at all times
Jun 20th, 2007
exceptional by (10%):
very helpful by (88%):
helpful by (2%):
