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Pub is beautiful, lovely food etc. Shame that they do't put more effort into the campsite attached as it is awful.
Says refurbished shower blocks - they have basically put a wooden hut sort of effect around the outside of the facilities that have been there for years. The inside are just disgusting. Never any soap or toilet roll. Two toilets in the mens and the same for the womens with one shower each. £1 for 5 minutes of shower which I wouldn't have been bothered about if they worked! The womens shower was broken and the mens gave up the ghost and stopped working too, which meant having a freezing shower half way through washing. When I reported this to the pub they told me that it was because it was being over used?! I did say that maybe they could look at updating them to which the lady replied that she had told the manager this but that he wouldn't do it.
The grass was stupidly long which meant trudging to the toilets was annoying as the bottom of your pants were always wet from the extra long grass. Just plain lazy to not cut it to be honest. We stayed as part of a group of 3 families for 3 nights over the bank holiday.
The toilets and showers were not cleaned the whole time which we couldn't believe! The floor was awful! Think twice before staying!
Just returned from Shady Oak, we checked in at the pub as requested, to say we were impressed by the surroundings of the pub, clean, modern oldie world type public house overlooking beautiful views of the canal. After a couple of minutes we receiving a warm welcome from a member of the staff, paying the £20 per night fee, a little steep but thought if the campsite was as nice as the pub it would be worth every penny. From here things started to go down hill, firstly the lady asked 'would we want to purchase any shower tokens at a £1 each' a bit surprised by her comment ' I replied that we were unaware that the showers were not included in the nightly £20 fee, this was not mentioned in their advert' she seemed a little surprised by this and asked which website I had seen the site advertised, I had seen Shady Oak on a few different websites with no mention of additional fee for showers, her reply was its mentioned on their Facebook page, I explained personally I don't use Facebook. At this I declined the offer to buy tokens saying we would use our own caravan shower. Returning to our car and van we drove onto the site to find our allocated pitch. We were a little surprised to find only 2 other vans on an approx 15 van site, maybe some of the reasons for this is the grass hadn't been cut in months, a dog running around fowling the grass, the supposedly toilets and showers were located in an old prefab type cold shed, in much need of a good clean, green moss on the walls of the shower, looked like they hadn't been used in a while. At this time it was getting late in the day so decided to set up and make the most of our stay, however about an hour later a man appeared opposite producing a garden lawnmower from his van, we laughed and said surly he isn't going to start and cut the grass with a garden mower, this would take him days, well after struggling for an half hour he managed to cut a large square and then packed up and drove off. We were puzzled by this action but not for long after 2 cars pulled on and erected two small pup tents, ah ah mystery explained, rather them than us it was cold and raining heavy by this time.
Now for the plus side of Shady Oak, we ventured into the pub a few times, eating their twice, a good menu selection, reasonably priced for both food and drinks, a nice cosy atmosphere, with lovely views of the canal. We think its such a shame their campsite does not live up to the standards of the pub, all it will take is a bit of time spent and TLC to make this a gem of a site, which I an convinced will dramatically improve their bookings.
We have just come home from a weekend stay at this site. We were a mixed group of 3 tents, adults, children and 2 dogs. We loved this site. The location is perfect, a field behind a country pub, right on the canal. Toilet/shower block was basic but clean and was reflected in the price of £15 per night per tent. I love the flat fee idea too, £15 all in. No extras for more people, dogs or cars. The grass was cut and our pitch was flat, easy to find and a decent space. The staff in the pub were very friendly and helpful. The pub itself was lovely, newly decorated and dog friendly. We ate in there on Friday night and were very impressed with the quality and price of food. On the Saturday we went over and bought nice coffees from them and brought them back to the tent- very handy. Electric hook up was only £5 per day and very easy to use. The play area was out of action which is a shame but there was lots of space for children to play and walks along the canal were very interesting. We all loved this site and will definitely be back sooner rather than later.
Only camped here for one night but really liked the place. The pitches are numbered and allocated by the staff. We had a slight problem that the people to our left had nicked half our pitch, luckily the group of ladies to our right hadn't used all their space so our two man tent still had room. The staff were very helpful down at the pub but wasn't worth bothering them over our pitch problem. The toilets are basic but clean and better than some sites I have paid more money to stay at. There is no loo roll provided so take your own. Most of the pitches are flat and level and the view and location are brilliant The pub is really nice now, didn't have any food but saw some which looked great and staff are all friendly. We found ourselves short of a mobile phone on returning home and phoned site to ask if one had turned up. They immediately sent one of the staff to scour our pitch and toilets but couldn't find it and rang back to let us know. Thought this was really good service. The phone turned up in the luggage after all back at home
In conclusion I will definitely be visiting this site soon.
Stayed for one night, great location with great views. This is a basic site but that's the way I prefer it, the pub was reasonably priced and the staff were friendly and welcoming. The canal next to the pub is ideal for a morning stroll or if you fancy going further afield Beeston or Tarporley are only a couple of miles away. Toilets are basic but adequate, .
This is a lovely area, nice walks along the canal and into Beeston. Very basic site, toilet block in poor state of repair, grass not cut.
The pub, when we arrived the outside of the pub was being re painted its a pity they did not think about the inside, very shaby inside the pub, no need to ask where the toilets are you can smell them.
In my view great area, this could be a perfect campsite with a little tlc.
Not been here for a while so thought we'd give it another whirl. Canalside location is beautiful but the sight of the algae ridden caravan at the top of the car park just in front of the touring field remains an eyesore. The hanging baskets which adorn the beer garden were dead at a time of year when they should be spectacular.
Beer was fine & not badly priced.
In all our years touring I have yet to come across a pub where you have to buy loo rolls if you've forgotten them, although this is specified in their blurb.
Previous reviewer pointed out this is just a basic campsite which is true, to be charged £19 a night for 'basic' is OTT in my opinion.
Things like pressure washing a caravan & watering hanging baskets take little effort. Sadly this site has not improved, such a pity.
Just returned from a very pleasant weekend at The Shady Oak. This was our second visit to this site and we will continue to return. There is no doubt that due to the financial situation the owners have with the Brewery, they have very little sway over how much can be done re the toilet/shower.
However, having said that, this year the toilet/shower units have been improved. There is still a problem with the water if someone flushes the loo whilst you're in the shower but personally a little cold water never hurt!
The main problem is that certain 'users' seem to think that they can drop toilet paper on the floor, wee around the WC and that they have no onus to clean up after themselves - I very much doubt they live like that at home.
On both our visits the grass had recently been cut and there was no sign of other campers debris (other than in the toilet/showers over the weekend!)
Whatever some may feel this site lacks in amenities it more than makes up for in its fabulous location on the banks of the 'Shroppie' and 600 mtrs from The Sandstone Trail, great food and beer & always a great welcome.
Folks, this is a basic site, so accept it for what it is - if you want 4 star+ stay in a hotel - otherwise just turn up and do what you came to do - enjoy yourselves! Steve Simcox.
Disappointed with this site, the grass was long and the ground very uneven, I was very concerned at the small pitches. Only 1 metre between each unit. The toilets have supposedly been refurbished ? but are still very basic with no soap or handwash liquid, only 3 empty containers. The pub is shabby with cobwebs everywhere, the food is basic but of reasonable quality. Note, this pub only accepts cash, no cards. Its a shame as the location at the side of the canal is perfect for walkers. The landlady seems quite proud of the number of complaints about the site as she frequently broadcasts her opinions about her reviews to all and sundry in the pub. The overall impression is maximum profit for minimum effort on the part of the owners, they never visited the site once during our stay. We will not be returning and cannot recommend this site.
Stayed at Shady Oak for two nights and what a pleasant one, plenty of pitches as it was early march, but we were told gets busy later on. Toilets clean and instant hot water, lovely walks along the canal to beeston. Landlady was very friendly and because the site wasn't busy she said we could stay longer on the Sunday which was great, also there were no stupid little extra charges that you get at other sites. We will definitely return.
What can I say. What a lovely basic site. Food great in the pub great couple who run and own the site will do anything for you. Pitches good size toilet block was getting a major face lift so can't wait to visit again. Views out of this world great walks by the canal and for the price great value. Very dog friendly can't wait to visit soon
We have just returned from a very enjoyable 2 night weekend break at The Shady Oak. We were the first to arrive on the site on Friday afternoon so it was quite pleasant having the place to ourselves for a while! Obviously it is the back end of the season and children back at school so it suited us! We met the landlady of the pub and found her very friendly, she sat chatting with us for over 30 minutes.
As all the previous reviewers have said, the site is located in a lovely area alongside The Shropshire Union Canal with views of Beeston Castle & Peckforton Castle. Fortunately the weather was fine and on Saturday we had a lovely walk along the canal into Beeston (about 2 miles). We had lunch and a welcome drink at a café that was just across the road from where we came up off the canal, followed by a visit to the market area where there was a horse auction going on which was very interesting.
The landlady's brother is a DJ and on Friday evening he entertained us in the pub playing 60s, 70s & 80s music. On Saturday evening we had a lovely, reasonably priced meal, which was followed by a live band playing tunes from the same era, which was right up our street! Lots of singing & toe tapping stuff bringing back lots of memories from our youth. It was a wonderful evening, albeit a little too loud. My ears were ringing when I came out! That might be a sign of old age! Meals are served up to 8.30pm and the band came on around 9.30pm. The pub is dog and child friendly. There is no pub curfew for children but I expect that if they stay they must be well behaved! I'm not sure if this entertainment is on every weekend.
Onto the facilities. We came to this site 2 years ago and the toilets were in a terrible state, every toilet was blocked and unflushable. When we complained they locked the portakabin up and we were told to use the toilets in the pub. Fortunately we had our own facilities in the motorhome so we were ok. When we arrived this time the toilets were much improved. They were clean, well stocked with toilet rolls and no mess on the floor. We find it's usually the clientèle that make the mess in the toilets, leaving toilet paper on the floor and blocking the sinks and toilets with hand towels! I'm sure they wouldn't do it at home so why do it when they're away and expect someone else to clear it up! It annoys me. There were quite a lot of daddy long legs in there but it is the countryside and the owners can't be blamed for that. They won't hurt you. The new tenants have done what they can to improve the toilet block but are unable to do anything major without permission from the brewery. They are aware about the problems. At the end of the season the block is to be gutted so they should be a lot better next year.
The landlady keeps chickens that sometimes run around the site. She has lost some in the past to dogs running loose, so keep them on leads. Before you leave buy some fresh eggs, at the time of writing £1.50 for 6. They are really tasty and much nicer than shop bought.
Overall we had an excellent weekend and we will be going again. See you next time!
Hi I am Netty, myself and Chris run the shady oak pub & campsite!
I am writing this as I am disappointed in the poor reviews that we have had recently! I'm sorry if you think we don't care ! as we do ! and we are trying to get things right. Chris is the head chef as well as maintenance man and grass cutter and we run the pub and site and together run a very popular establishment, but as we have been extremely busy with the lovely weather some jobs have been difficult to get done!
Yes the toilet block is old and tired but we did as much as funds would allow us to do at the end of last season! and they do get cleaned every day! and 16 toilet rolls a day go in them! but I do say to campers if they run out please come to the pub and tell me ! I'm not perfect! but you can talk to me as I am approachable!
But you will all be happy to know that at the end of the season this year, they are being gutted! and totally re-fitted ready for next season! We cannot replace the building as we don't own them as we are only tenants but we will be spending good money to improve them, for your benefit !
We needed a site that was canal based as we were meeting our friends for the weekend - the shady oak came up again - having stayed here 3 years ago we said we would never go back. But having read new reviews (earlier on in the year) and communication with the new owners we decided that maybe it deserved a second chance.
What can I say, the site is situated on the canal with beautiful views of Beeston castle - it could be perfect - could be. I believe the new owners 'hands are tied' with the facilities, but they haven't changed in 3 years. They are filthy, and it's not just how they were left by other users. We didn't once see them being cleaned, they are just old, tired, smelly - dirty wooden floors, the shower as other reviews have said, just awful - it's a rip off to be charged 50p when it would be cleaner to use the canal (that's not an exaggeration). They might not be able to alter them but keeping them well maintained and clean isn't difficult. Webhad friends with us who usually use a camper van and they couldn't believe that people were expected to use them. The sight is left grubby, but this is due to the other campers, rubbish dumped in the hedges, dog foul, there's just no need.
It's such a shame as the pub was brilliant, good food, good entertainment but I think this is what is more important to them.
I wouldn't recommend this sight unless you intended to use your own facilities - will I be giving the shady oak another chance? No, sorry 2 bad experiences were bad enough.
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Common Questions
Is The Shady Oak child friendly? YES, it accepts children View all facilities
Where is the nearest shop to The Shady Oak? There is a shop within 1 mile View all facilities
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
All reviews and comments are the personal opinion of the review author only , and as such do not represent the view of the UK Camp Site.co.uk.
The facilities shown on this website are a guide only, and you should check with the campsite direct before making any booking. The UKCampsite.co.uk will not be held responsible for any errors or omissions
Tent Pitches 
Caravan Pitches 
Motorhome Pitches 
Small Campervans 
No Glamping Units 
No Statics for Hire 
No Statics for Sale 
Seasonal Pitches 
Electric Hookups 
Hardstanding Pitches 
No Fully Serviced Pitches 
Families Welcome 
Not Members Only 
No Rallies 
Not Naturist Site 
Dogs Welcome 
No Dogs Allowed 
Groups Welcome 
Toilet Facilities 
Hot Showers 
No Washing Up Area 
No Bathroom 
No Baby Changing 
No Laundry 
Drinking Water 
Disabled Friendly 
Chemical Disposal 
No Battery Charging 
No Gas Exchange 
No Recycling Facilities 
No Kitchen Facilities 
No Freezer / Fridge 
No Motorhome Point 
No Wifi Access 
Shop <1 mile 
Bar On Site 
Restaurant or Cafe or Takeaway On Site 
No Playground 
No TV Room 
No Games Room 
No Evening Ents 
Fishing On Site 
No Wild Swimming 
No Indoor Pool 
No Outdoor Pool 
No Horse Riding 
No Cycle Hire 
No Golf 
No Tennis 
No Beach 
No Watersports 
Boat Launch / Mooring <5 miles 
No Sea Views 
Not Working Farm 
No Campfires Allowed 
Canalside Pitches 
Public Transport <5 miles
Offroad Dog Walk On Site or Direct Access 
Pub is beautiful, lovely food etc. Shame that they do't put more effort into the campsite attached as it is awful. 
