Widemouth Fields

The site is quiet and roomy, with lovely views and a little shop for the basics. We spent two weeks here in our caravan on a hardstanding pitch, and my sister's family camped on the grass while our parents had another hardstanding spot. There was plenty of room for the cars and caravan, plus grass beside the pitch for an awning. The grounds were kept tidy, with the grass cut as people moved on. We first came last year by chance, after heavy rain flooded the site we'd booked next door. Widemouth Fields found us a hardstanding pitch at short notice, and we liked it enough to return this year. The showers were hot and had good pressure, though a few more hooks for clothes and towels would help. The new play area was a good size and felt safe for the children, aged 8, 10 and 12. It's nice to find a clean site without a clubhouse and lots of entertainment. If you do want a pool and more to do, guests can use the sister site in Bude for free. Robyn and Will were especially welcoming and helpful. We'd definitely come back.

The staff situation was frustrating from the start. Nobody was there to welcome us, and the pitches assigned to our family group were wrong and a long way apart. We couldn't get hold of the manager or supervisor, so we switched pitches ourselves. When a relative explained it the following day, the manager blamed Pitchup. Everyone I spoke with who'd dealt with him said he was arrogant and rude, and that he blamed the former owners or Pitchup. The electrical tent pitches are old hardstanding areas made for static caravans. They are spacious, but getting tent pegs in was difficult. Building work next door brought constant noise. It may not be the site's fault, but guests should be warned if they're expecting a peaceful stay in the Cornish countryside. The toilets and showers were in poor shape. The women's toilets flooded and smelled of sewage. After someone had supposedly cleaned them, the floors were still dirty and there was nothing to clean up with. The men's toilets weren't cleaned daily; the bin overflowed, floors and sinks were dirty, and there was hair in the sinks. I saw the manager/supervisor, who was apparently also the cleaner, leave without having cleaned properly. The mirrors were clean, at least. Showers in both blocks were dangerously hot for our young children. When we raised it, the manager/supervisor said, "everybody loves a hot shower". There were no family shower rooms, despite the listing. The washing-up area stayed dirty too, with food in the sinks, a food-covered overflowing bin and dirty windows. There was no shop on site as advertised, so supplies mean driving somewhere. WiFi was supposedly available in reception, but good luck getting the password. There were also safety problems: screws stuck out of a low wooden post-and-rail divider carrying electricity to the pitches, there was barely any lighting at night, and the smoke alarm in the women's toilets kept beeping. The speed humps were so large that many cars scraped their undersides. At the entrance, the Union Jack was upside down and flying at half mast.

A lovely spot for switching off, and very dog friendly. The location is beautiful. We rented a private caravan, which was probably the better choice. There wasn't a reception or shop, and nobody replied when I asked about the launderette. Best used as a base, rather than expecting much else.

The park was quiet, which was just what we were after. We stayed three nights in a pet-friendly Platinum static caravan, and it was modern and really clean as soon as we stepped inside. It suited us perfectly, and we'd happily return and recommend it. Free WiFi would have been nice, but its absence wouldn't put us off coming back.