Beechwood Park

It's such a shame this campsite is so neglected and tatty, especially right across from Elvaston Castle. It's overpriced and feels unloved, though we did see two people who seemed to care about their areas. The unisex shower blocks aren't an issue in themselves, but they're dirty, and there's nothing to clean the floors after use, so I wore Crocs in the shower. The wooden fishing pigs are falling to bits, and the water is full of green rubbish, with trees and weeds around. This place could be stunning if someone gave it attention. Everything could be so lovely.

The location is good, and we were lucky with the weather. But in our view, this is a very basic camping and caravanning site that needs investment and enthusiastic management. We've camped extensively over 50 years, and the ablution blocks being cleaned just once a day was disappointing. Once, they were only cleaned after we complained.

The site was easy to find and conveniently located for our three-night tent stay, while attending an event at nearby Elvaston Country Park, about a 5-10 minute walk away. Our large field was reasonably quiet, apart from road noise at night. The ground was fairly level and well drained, but rocks about four inches below the surface made pegging the tent difficult. We bent around eight pegs, and the ones that went all the way in had to be driven at such an angle that I wouldn't trust the tent in strong wind. Nobody was in reception when we arrived, so we called. A very pleasant gentleman came over, took payment, and showed us where to camp, but didn't explain where the toilets, bins, or other facilities were. We had to find them ourselves. The toilets and showers by reception were dated but adequate, and we saw them being cleaned. Tap pressure was low, just a trickle, and one evening we left our shower too late and got only lukewarm water. We never found the “luxury” toilet block. It's fine for putting up a tent for a night or two and getting some sleep. It isn't luxurious, but at least you're not paying the ridiculous prices some campsites charge these days.

The toilets were dirty and uncleaned, with no hand wash all weekend. The site is tiered, run down, and full of potholes. It's desperate for some TLC, which is a shame because it could be great again. Seeing vehicles worth £200k parked up makes the price jump feel even worse: it was £25 a night with electric hookup last year, and now it's £35. An absolute rip-off.