Orchard Views B&B

This is our regular CL pitch, a lovely bolt hole just 20 minutes down the road. We enjoy every visit, and the pitches suit our 6.5 m motorhome without needing level blocks. You can walk to a small petrol station, Morrisons and a pub. There are nice walks along the green lane beside the site, though just relaxing and watching the donkeys is pleasant too. Fill up at the water tap at the bottom when you arrive; on longer stays we top up with water bottles. There are no MH dump facilities, so we run a long hose into the nearby hedge and carry a Wastemaster to move it away. The toilet waste goes into a large container suitable for Thetfords and similar. I'm almost reluctant to rate the place in case it gets busier.

The site is handy for the motorway and was quiet, except for cars racing along the narrow single-track road. More than once I expected one to come through the hedge. The pitches are small, hard standing and the site itself is small. We have a single axle but had to put part of the caravan on the grass to make room for the car and awning. When the site is full, there's no room to turn around without using the grass. The grounds were unkempt, with long grass. The Elson is a plastic tub with a small funnel opening, awkward to reach and painful for me to use with a bad back. The owner was hostile, unfriendly and unwelcoming. We were charged extra site fees because the advertised price from our booking wasn't honoured. We also paid an extra £50 for charging our EV. Charging was limited to 1.5 kW, so the car used less electricity than a 2 kW caravan heater. It was through a 3-pin plug and our caravan, using our own 10 amp trip, even though the site allows 16 amps per pitch. We used about £20 worth of electricity, but the owner still demanded more, expecting us to cover the whole site's usage. The meter showed 52 units in 12 hours across five caravans and motorhomes, under one unit per vehicle per hour, yet we were told we had used all of it. That seems physically impossible with a 10 amp trip that can take only 3 kW total. The owner apparently claimed the others used no electricity despite being plugged in the whole time, and despite having things like battery chargers, fridges, heating or lights. We were even accused of charging our fully diesel-fuelled car, which is impossible, and told to pay for that too. There were no signs saying electricity was limited or monitored, but be warned: if the owner decides you're using too much, you may also be asked to pay more. The owner seemed biased against EVs. I'd advise all EV users to avoid the site.

It's a lovely self contained place, and I liked having a kitchenette. The hosts were friendly and very helpful. Though it's on a quiet country lane, you can get to Lutterworth and the road network easily, and an evening walk makes it feel far from the main towns.

We stopped here for three nights on our way to Cambridgeshire. Electric hook-up and water were on hand, but the pitches are so uneven that we struggled with the awning. There are two ponies and a horse on the farm, which was a bonus. I'd definitely stay again.