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On paper all sounds wonderful however the experience was a little different but don't put this all down to the owner!
The location is fabulous by the canal. The pitches are hard standing and in a circle. There is no landscaping or pretty stuff and the grass had not been cut for ages. Rubbish left around the site by thoughtless previous occupants not cleaned up however bins were overflowing and no recycling so what to do!
Couldn't get food at pub as they decided to stop taking orders early. So went elsewhere after that. Beer was good though.
Toilets are pretty unpleasant. Smelt in the heat. Human mess on the floor, no toilet roll and no brushes to clean loo with. Horrible. Didn't use them again. Didn't risk the showers either.
For £17 a night I would of thought a little more consideration would be given.
The owner is lovely and by her own admission run off her feet with the pub hence didn't see her till we went to pay before leaving 5 days later. Potentially this site will be fabulous but needs so much more input before I would return. Good luck to the owners on their project.
Excellent location adjacent to the Shropshire Union canal.
Good co located pub with weekend entertainment serving a good selection of beers. We did not try the food but overheard someone saying that they had enjoyed their meal.
Good area for cycling or walking alongside the canal.
Hardstandings for caravans and motorhomes.
Outstanding views.
The not so good.
Toilet block with shower, 2 washbasins and 2 toilets is to be honest a bit grotty though some of the blame has to go to the clientèle. Shower tokens cost 50p for 3 minutes so you have to be quick.
We thought that the fees of £17 per night were a bit steep especially as the showers were token operated
In support of the owners.
We spoke to the friendly lady running the site and as she says this is part of work in progress. Her hands are tied regarding improving the toilet block at the current time - council red tape etc. All concerned seem to work hard within the business.
We did feel sorry for whoever had to clear the site and clean the toilets as these had been left in a dirty state with copious amounts of litter and junk. Ok some of this could be blamed on the young children but adults are their to set an example!
We do wish the owners all the best with their endeavours and plans for the future as this could be an excellent site
Just came back from a two night stop at The Shady Oak, easy to find, beautiful setting, just by the canal, had access a very short walk away from the campsite. Fabulous views across the Cheshire countryside from our pitch. The owner was very friendly, their pub was very dog friendly inside and out, great entertainment both nights.
If you don’t want “glamping” you couldn’t get a better camp site! It is what it is, great welcome, friendly customer service and fab value for money! AND wonderful free range eggs. You got to try them!
Ok. Down side. Toilets and shower need attention, they know this and are working towards it, and they could do with a dog poo bin or two.
We wish we had chance to try the food from the pub, but wait was a bit long as the Chef was run of his little legs. So it must of been good !
Me and my husband have just come back from a 3 night stay here. The shady oak is excellent value for money, the camp site is clean and tidy. The toilets are shower are basic but are no way filthy. The pub is lovely with plenty of outside seating beside the canal to enjoy a drink and a meal. Food is good value for money. There is plenty to do around and the site and pub have stunning views, well worth a visit here, we will definitely be going back here again
Stayed four nights in our caravan. What a fantastic location next to the canal with fabulous views towards Beeston Castle. This really is a lovely site, BUT.
The general standard of maintenance is very poor. The pub is OK, they boast that they are not fine dining. Most things seem to come with chips. Beer is good though.
The worst part is the waste and toilet facilities on the camp site. The shower and toilet block is an old metal container which has not seen any cleaning for a very long time. We understand that the facilities will be replaced soon but that is no excuse for the present dirty conditions. Fortunately we have a nice bathroom in our caravan, felt sorry for those in tents! The disposal point for the caravan toilet waste was blocked and had been for some time by the look of it. Really disgusting.
Message to the owners: Please, please clean this place up and fix all the bits that are broken. It would then be a first rate camp site.
I really wanted to like the Shady Oak, to the point where I went back for a second stay just to see if I picked a bad weekend.
THE GOOD
Don't get me wrong, this is a lovely little site in the a beautiful location.
The toilets are fine. Yes, they're old and could do with an upgrade but I can live with that.
Having said that, certain things let the site down.
THE BAD
The site was allowed to get ridiculously busy with tents being allowed onto the site. People pitched on two sides of my tent and their guy lines crossed with mine and the lines of the tent on their other side.
Other campers commented that there was noise until quite late, but I sleep through anything so that wasn't an issue for me!
The pub was fine. Nothing special about the food but reasonable service and good beer. The dead plants and cobwebs dotted around the place could do with being removed, though, which would make it feel a lot nicer!
THE UGLY
The children's play area hadh no piece of equipment in proper working order (slide: damaged, swing rope badly frayed, see saw that falls apart, toddler rocking toys that all had cracks in, wobbly fence with bars missing). There is also an old boat on the grass right next to the play area that looks as though it is there for kids to play in - the inside has been partially ripped out with rotten wood and sharp edges everywhere and is in no way safe to be there.
To summarise: I might go back to the Shady Oak again for the location. The state of the playground detract from the appeal greatly, as does the amount of tents they let onto the field.
We have visited this site twice through out June. Its a nice friendly site but could do with a little updating ie: Toilets, Showers & Children's Play Area. We went into the pub on site on our first visit and found it quite expensive for both food & drink so didn't go in again! We didn't find the food anything special rather bland really. We had some nice walks up the canal which runs along the site. We would visit again for a quick weekend get away.
This was our first visit to this site and it won't be our last. We were made very welcome from all the staff.
The site is in a superb location alongside the canal and is easily located/accessed.
On the negative aspect the toilets and shower block leave much to be desired although there is ample hot water available the two toilets and one shower available for each sex are very very dated but we understand that planning permission for an improved amenities block is being pursued.
The children's play facilities are good and the pub itself offers a selection of cask ales and real food at sensible prices.
We have just arrived home after spending four nights camping here. We have had a wonderful time, helped by sunny weather. The location is second to none with lovely views of the canal and Beeston castle.
The campsite was very good. Yes the toilet block is rather old and tired but it proved to be adequate for the site even when it was very full over this weekend. They even supply lots of good quality toilet paper. There is plenty of hot water for the hand basins and also for the two outside washing-up sinks, which we used regularly throughout our stay.
We had two meals in the pub, which we really enjoyed. Agreed it is not fine dining but good pub grub. We did find that there were too many chips with our first meals so we asked to share one portion for our second and that proved just right for us.
They got a bit low on real ale on our second night but by the third they had three very nice ales on draft and, very importantly it was a the right temperature. A lot of pubs chill real ale which, to my taste, just ruins the flavour.
The staff, especially Netty who is a human dynamo, were really friendly, making us feel very much at home and welcome. We loved the free range chickens and had some of their eggs in an omelet for our tea one night.
If you find the lack of card payment facilities a nuisance or have other queries about the Shady Oak just talk to Netty. She will explain the pubs recent history, before she and Chris took over. You will then perhaps be a bit more understanding of their situation.
A very last minute idea to go camping for the weekend so did not want to travel too far,
We had noticed the campsite some months earlier so decided to give it a go,
On arrival it looks a bit untidy but it is in the early days of development as a camp site,
Ground was fairly flat there is a newly formed gravel road onto the field with about 10 or so hard standings for caravans/motorhomes there were lots of electrical hook up point which is unusual for a small site,
We pitched our tent and had a good look around, toilet block with shower not brilliant but did the job and very clean with lots of loo roll available,
Large double sink to wash your dishes with hot water and somewhere to empty your porta loo,
The site sits on the edge of a canal with boats up and down all day long very pleasant,
Then the pub which the site belongs to more like going into somebody's house ! dogs were welcome inside as well as children a very friendly place, night time and entertainment was put on in the pub Friday night 70s/80s disco great fun proper toe tapping stuff, then Saturday night a guitar playing singer who would of done well on x factor and he got everybody involved great night again,
The owners took the time to walk around the site chatting and nothing was to much trouble,
Would recommend this site if you want a no frills good time/rest not much for kids but ideal for couples who want some quiet with stunning views
And you definitely cant complain at the price £30.00 all weekend inc electric
This could be such a lovely site, but it is very tired and has such awful loo/shower facilities.
I booked on the basis of the reviews from last year, when the cost was £13 for a van with ehu, thinking that at that price, I did not expect the facilities to be that good. However, by the time we got there, we found that the price had risen this year to £17 per night, with no real improvement to the facilities. The owners state that the loo block has been re-painted – I would hate to have seen it before. The shower is a mess, and is operated by tokens obtainable from the pub. These tokens cost 50p and give you precisely 3 minutes of water! Take into account that it took 20-25 seconds for the water to get hot, it makes it an expensive shower.
There are two washing-up sinks outside, but only enough hot water to use one, and when the plug is removed, the dirty water floods back into the other sink.
There is a half-built (a few years ago!) chemical waste disposal point which, after a busy weekend, was overflowing rather nastily. There is no drain to empty grey water, so the bushes got well-watered!
On the positive side, an excellent location right on the Shroppie with fabulous views towards Beeston and Peckforton castles. The pub was good, but the food very ordinary but not expensive. And, as has been mentioned before, there was a ready supply of loo rolls!
All in all, very disappointing and expensive considering the state of the facilities. I will not be returning unless the price is reduced or the facilities vastly improved.
I have to admit I wasn’t too impressed with the site when we first arrived. It is a basic site with some hard standings (that are a little on the worn side) but it is in a lovely quiet location behind the pub. The site has the essentials – EHU, water, ELSAN, toilets and showers. We didn’t use the toilets/showers which are basic but clean.
TV reception using free view was fine, radio and mobile (02) reception also good too.
However, the pub itself is lovely, in a superb location right next to the Shropshire Union canal. When we checked in we were made very welcome by the landlady. The main lounge is lovely with a huge fireplace and lots of Shire horse memorabilia and brasses. Outside there is a lovely beer garden adjacent to the canal and a small children’s play area. There are ‘resident’ chickens and a Peacock who wander around the grounds after food.
Food is served all day until 8. 30 Monday to Saturday and I think 1 to 6 on a Sunday. We ate both evenings in the pub and the food is traditional, home cooked food (lovely homemade chips!) with a variety of dishes from steaks to omelettes. There was also live music both evenings.
The site is a great location to visit Beeston Castle (English Heritage) and Peckforton Castle (hotel but worth a look around), the lovely villages of Bunbury (including Bunbury Locks) and Tarporley. I would also recommend a walk or cycle down the canal both ways.
As mentioned on the site write up, take the Huxley Lane route from the A41 otherwise you will get stuck over the humpback bridge next to the pub! It’s also worth noting that the pub is a cash only venue, but there are several cash points in Tarporley together with a couple of supermarkets.
All in all, although a little on the basic side I would not hesitate to return here again.
We stumbled across this site last minute, as a place to meet up with family. It made us laugh. We would definitely stay here again, because it's a great location for visiting the area, and it's nice to have a pub to meet local friends. It has loads of potential - there was a lot of canal traffic going by.
It's very laid back - facilities for campers, despite being in portacabin, were fine. The shower was fine once it got going (get your tokens 50p from the pub the night before - I needed 2 to get a quick warm shower!), and the toilets were very clean. It's a shed in a field, so of course, its not spotless, but you can get clean. And the taps had hot running water.
The playground, which is in its own little fenced off area is fine for children, but the canal itself is interesting enough. With ducks, and loads of birds, chickens wandering around. Kids enjoyed feeding them in the morning with crumbs. I enjoyed watching the birdlife - tons going on first thing in the morning!
Decent beers in the pub, and the food was fine - it was a sunday afternoon, quite busy, and I don't think keeping the place keen and tidy is a priority. Tables weren't tidied for ages, glasses stacked up on the sink (not because there was a queue really, just because it's a chilled place!)
It's like someone's front room - I didn't see anyone rushing around getting stressed - it was just very laid back. Only one concern was when a young lad (I assumed to be the owner's son, maybe 6-7 years old?) was asked to clean the place mats - which were smothered in beans and food - he calmly used a drying up cloth and distributed the food over the place mats, having sprayed them first with cleaner. So probably not the cleanest of places to eat in. The toilet facilities in the pub were fine, though drying hands was left to a grubby little towel that looked like it had been hung there for a month.
We had a weekend here recently, the location is beautiful. The shady oak pub is set alongside a canal, you can sit in the beer garden and watch the boats go by.
There are lovely walks along the canal and you can walk to beeston castle, but please note you have to pay to get into the castle.
We had our tea at the pub one evening which was very acceptable, real homemade chips and my sons chicken nuggets were homemade too. They do say it's all homemade food at the bar. The staff were always friendly and courteous.
There is a playground by the beer garden which is great, but you can't see it from the site so if you have young children you have to go with them every time they want to go and play. I wasn't comfortable leaving my child in a play area by a car park and not being able to see where he is.
The site might benefit from a couple of swings in the centre and maybe the boat they had by the park area for the kids to play on and parents can relax knowing they can see where their children are.
I think the site could benefit from a little tidying up, I understand the site owners are in the process of doing so. But mowing the grass is easy enough.
The shower block has 2 toilets and 1 shower, the showers need tokens which the staff forgot to mention on arrival. So my brother had to knock on the pub door and disturb them as the pub doesn't open until 12, most people like a morning shower.
The floor in the ladies shower did not look safe to me, as it is wood and had become very spongy. I am not a heavy person but I was very wary about going through the floor! As you can imagine, a wooden floor is not the most sensible option for a shower room.
Despite this, I would love to go back. It has a lot of potential and really only a couple of things to sort out to make this a wonderful little site.
Brilliant site, great little pub on the edge of the canal way - which provides lovely walks, Lovely home made food and the campsite itself is great, small field with toilet block, hook ups a plenty (it seems) and even a small playground for children. W'eve been here with the kids and also without and thoroughly enjoyed it both times. Will definitely be re visiting!
The price is brilliant, they charge per unit and not per person which really helps when there is a few of you.
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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 
On paper all sounds wonderful however the experience was a little different but don't put this all down to the owner!
