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This was our second camping trip (couple in early thirties) and this is not a camp site we would recommend. The field we were in was ram packed, with tents & caravans pretty much on top of each other. There were no walkways between pitches so people were continuously walking through your pitch. Rules around noise late at night were neither observed or enforced and it was very difficult to sleep with loud music going on well past midnight. Showers were lovely and warm both morning and evening, however they were very dirty and I had to keep flip flops on while showering. Shop was well stocked and reasonably priced.
We went for the weekend at the end of July with four other families and were happily able to get pitched next to each other and our friend who's van is sited here. So top marks for accommodating a group, even better marks for us getting the pitch which was closest to the entrance for the fishing lakes
At the heigh of summer the site was pretty much booked everywhere you looked, but I never felt it was overcrowded, in fact the it was generally always a pleasant environment with the friendliness of everyone around and kids making friends left right and centre.
The shower/toilet facilities were great, plentiful and clean, no complaints there.
The pool, which my friend had assured me was nice and warm, flipping well wasn't. But as always is fine once acclimatised.
You can take a short walk to the beach, where you can let your dog off lead and get exercised in the grassy fields and paths to it.
The clubhouse was good, kids loved having a dance / sing on the karaoke while we sat and relaxed.
The restaurant too was good food also. There is a really well stocked shop that will sell you all the toys, sweets, food, fishing gear that yuo could need and was reasonably priced.
On the Sunday there is a bootsale at the top of the site which was a good morning spent, the kids loved seeing what they could get, mum loved the cakes.
Myself and friend spent one of the days fishing all day on the first lake (nearest to the lake entrance) reportedly has carp to 18lb, the biggest we pulled out was 13lb, but that said, we fished it from 7am to 7pm and caught 34 fish between us totalling 250lb, that's some good fishing.
Amazingly there were others pulling fish out but not in the droves that we did (off the nearest end bank) I think someone took a 16lb out along the right side. It was some pretty mental fishing, the lakes have agitators on them, which went off at set times, this did seem to affect the timing of bites, being we would get more when they were active.
Myself and friend went back there just in March this year (2011) for a days fishing, we chose the top lake which they say has the 20lb'ers in it, biggest of the day was my PB of 15lb 9oz, and considering it was a cool March day, we fished from about 8am to 6pm and caught 16 fish to total 120lb, which was another good day. There were only 3 others fishing the top lake and we saw 2 other fish pulled out. Tip.Do the basics right and you'll be fine. Luncheon meat, they love it. Also, on talking to folk fishing the first lake (there were 6 or 7 of them) they had nothing out of it. Me and my fiend will be going back at the end of June for another crack at it to see if we can better the 250lb haul.
The only drawback I can think of for this site is that the playground is right next to the clubhouse, fine on an evening, but if you like to be able to pitch up next to a play area, then you cannot do that here, in fact you can't even see the play area unless you are at the clubhouse. Fine if you have teenagers who can wander off and play on the allweather football pitch but for littlies, too far to let them just go.
In the evening there were some overly loud campers who were planning to go on into the early hours, camp security took care of this as they patrol the site in the evenings, very re-assuring.
Also, for things to do off-site, go crabbing off the jetty at the south of the island, great fun with lots of crabs, no matter the novice at crabbing in you, you will catch a bucket load.
We have just returned from a weekend break at Waldegraves with a 3 year old and a teenager, and had picked Waldegraves for the excellent facilities it had to offer. It's right on the beach, it has an open air pool that's heated with a lovely terrace and loungers, and has entertainment, parks, a restaurant with a pool terrace and a well stocked shop.
We were in the touring field, not too far from the toilet and shower block. I felt we were all very close together but we had enough room on our pitch for a campervan and a large tent.
The toilets were very dirty when we arrived on Friday at about 4. 30pm and didn't appear to be cleaned until later the next day. The campsite was very busy - we've been to sites where you seem to bump into a cleaner every time you go!
There is only one block of about 7 (female) toilets for a very large campsite. We had no problem with hot water, the showers were good and powerful.
The pool is lovely and clean, well manned with 2 lifeguards constantly on duty - we had one of the hottest weekends so far this year and we felt like we could have been abroad!
We used the takeaway van one night which offers really good value for money (the Chilli is delicious!) and we had breakfast in the restaurant which was also very good. We spent the evening in the bar where there was entertainment which we thought was a bit lacklustre but our 3 year old enjoyed himself! Even if he was terrified by Sammy the Seagull. !
We were looking to go back for a week in July but due to an incident on the site on the Saturday night, I'm so sorry to say we won't be going back. We read in the initial booking literature that noise curfew was 11pm - once we'd checked in, that paperwork said it was midnight. A row broke out between a couple at around 1. 00am that went on for an hour and a half. The woman was swearing, shouting and screaming. There was no security on site and the police were eventually called by another camper to deal with it. Incidents like this can happen, we accept that, but what we don't accept was the apparant lack of reaction from the site owners and their lack of a security team, that concerned us.
It is a lovely campsite but unfortunately there were some people camping this weekend who cared little for the people around them, showed little consideration for others and who didn't know how to behave on a family campsite. And were not dealt with effectively by the campsite.
Sorry, Waldegraves, we liked you very much but we feel you let us down.
A good family site with all facilities expected for the modern camper. Great location adjacent to beach. Pitces on EHU are a little cramped but can facilitate a large tent. Showers good but poor pressure. Bar good and entertainment is not Butlins, but does the trick. Shop has more than enough but ASDA and Tesco's are only a short drive into Colchester to save penny's. Pool very cold even on hot days. Night time! I am personally used to rowdy behaviour being in the police. But even with on site security I had to step in and challenge some teens about their behaviour during two stays in 2009 out of a total of four stays. Security is very important for a site this size and I think a review needs to be addressed to encourage me to go back.
Taking this into account, I would recommend to others to try out. Thats the beauty of camping at the end of the day. One other thing. Gated access to camping fields controlled by barrier. I did notice cars moving around after 10pm, I think this should be restricted to no moving vehicles on site after this time to prevent injuries to kids and prevent on site drink driving.
We are a family of 2 adults & 3 children (who are under the age of 6). We had a good pitch with a view of the sea. The pitches were nicely spaced apart. The site had good facilities.
The children loved the 2 play areas. We didn't get a chance to test out the outdoor swimming pool due to the bad weather! The evening entertainment was good, too.
Our only complaint would be the lack of hot water - 3 times when we attempted to have a shower & once when we washed up.
The facilities were generally clean but not enough for the number of campers. Hot water ran out in shower room at 10 am on Sunday. No hot water in evening for washing up.
There is some building work going on
Lots of kids hanging around toilet blocks drinking and messing around, boy racers in the car park. A bit like a sink estate after dark.
However- staff are very helpful and friendly.
Shop is well stocked and reasonably priced. Excellent eat in and take away food. Pub menu and quality was fantastic.
Week-ends full of fun, fishing, spotless showers & loos, friendly staff and campers,
Our return was to one of their statics ! well we're a bit older and wanted a bit more comfort-
And by golly we got it. The caravan was spotless and even had a welcome pack. Sachets of sugar, coffee, tea, t-towel, loo roll, etc,
We took a look around and it was as spotless as we remembered, However the greasy-spoon cafe has gone and been replaced with a lovely bar / restaurant (not too expensive), we will be going back again soon
Only one criticism, they have 'just altered the fishing lake'. So no fishing at the moment, and I preferred it old way with plants & trees & grass all around the sides, very bare now.
Spent 9 nights at waldegraves over the August Bank holiday.
When we booked I didn't like the location of our allocated pitch, so a quick telephone call and we was all sorted with no problems at all.
We was in touring field 1 on pitch 86. A great pitch, as it is close to the showers, toilets and laundry and a reasonable walk to the main complex / shop & pool. There was plenty of space in front of our pitch for the boys to play rugby, tennis and fly their kite.
On arrival checked in and everything explained quickly and pleasantly. You do need a £10 refundable deposit for the barrier card to get the car in and out, this is explained before arrival too.
Pitch was plenty big enough for our tent, 7.5m x 3.5m, space to move around too. Each pitch in our area had own EHU and water stand. And as previously stated lots of space in front of pitch to play. The non ehu pitches are nearest the sea, and it's a pitch where you like policy. There are about 3 areas to pitch 2 are further from the toilets than the main one. The main one has a duck pond as well.
Showers and toilets were ok. Clean but dated. Sited in wooden sheds, and the toilets are in a separate one to the showers. Could've done with slightly more pressure in the showers too.
Two washing up facilities, one in a small room with four sinks and one round the back of the toilet block. We preferred the ones round the back as the hot taps in small room didn't seem to get very hot at all, luke warm / tepid at most.
Laundry on site 5 machine and 3 dryers plus 2 ironing boards. Also in the laundry is a huge chest freezer where you can freeze your ice blocks.
We did use the club most nights and enjoyed ourselves. Normal expensive prices, but the shop outside sold the same kids drinks so purchased from there and saved money. Bingo played every night, and for once the kids can play although an adult must make the claim. Amused my lot to be able to play.
The pool was lovely but freezing even in August the lifeguard stated they didn't know what the problem was but both heaters were on full. The older couple who were lifeguards very pleasant and watchful, a couple not all of younger lads were more interested in chatting. Another customer who was a static owner said there was plans to get or make the current pool into an indoor pool. I think this would be a great idea for waldegraves.
Waldegraves also has two fishing lakes, we didn't use these but took a walk round them. They appear very new, but there was several fishermen using them on different occasions, so obviously popular.
We visited the beach on several occasions and found it wasn't really a swimming beach, more an exploring beach or for fishing. We discovered a pitch and putt along the sea front (past the next site) that was much cheaper although smaller, than the on site one which we didn't use due to the cost.
On site shop held plenty of stock, and not too unreasonably priced.
There was also a car boot held on the Sunday and on the Wens. Sunday was bit busy but Wens was disappointing as it only had about 4 stalls.
We did visit Colchester castle which was nice, and you can obtain discount vouchers from the tourist office just over the road from the castle.
We also visited Clacton a drive up the coast.
When we visited my husband had to return to work, for part of the time, thus taking the car, this left us stranded. There is a bus service to Colchester, from nearby but the cost was very expensive and this prevented us from really leaving the site. As there wasn't really enough to amuse us on site, I doubt we'll return for a long holiday only short breaks and when we have use of the car.
We stayed on this campsite for 2 nights in July and enjoyed the short visit.
The pitch originally allocated to us was at the entrance to the field so we asked to move as we have young children. This was no problem and the staff were very accommodating. The pitch we had was lovely, plenty big enough for our 7mx5m tent and car and loads of space in front for the children to play and even fly a kite.
The playgrounds were great but busy and not perfect for very small children. The pool looked lovely but was freezing so the children did not stay in long.
The toilet and shower facilities were warm and clean and not too busy.
The shop was well stocked and we used the restaurant which serves lovely pub food. The staff were really friendly and helpful. As one morning was particularly wet we used the kids club which just about entertained our 2 children for a couple of hours but a few more 'party' games would have been nice.
This is a massive site and was very busy and noisy. There is not too much to do outside of the park so I would be reluctant to stay here for more than a couple of nights. We visited the company shed for seafood which I would highly recommend.
A good site for a short stay and if the weather is good.
Just returned from a four day stay at this site. First time camper with 3 boys aged 6, 7 and 8.
The staff at Waldergraves were very organised and friendly on arrival.
Allocated a good size pitch which catered for our 12 person tent (Pitch 14 corner pitch) Water tap available on your pitch, extremely practical! Good quantity of toilets, showers and washing up facilities, all clean.
Lots of space and facilities for children including modern multi-purpose court which caters for football, basketball etc, playareas and outdoor swimming pool which operates on a session basis during busy periods.
On site shop had a good selection of items, from groceries to camping equipment for sale although a few items that I wished to purchase were out of stock. Reasonably priced.
Didn't use the entertainment facilities or restaurant much so won't comment. Little bit disappointed that they stop doing takeaways when the restaurant was busy!
Overall an excellent site and myself and the boys would certainly visit again!
This was our first camping trip and the site was recommended by several friends and having checked it out via this site we gave it a go. We went with a large 10 man tent, 2 adults 2 tots and 3 dogs and would definitely return.
The individual water points were right outside the tent with the electric hook up which made it very convenient. We stayed 2 nights and the first was a little noisy as this is a busy site but it did not go on too late as this is monitored and controlled by staff after curfew. The second night - sunday was as quiet as anything as most had gone home. We were one of only 2 on our field, so if you want peace and quiet choose non peak and out of season. We used the pool and the shop and found both most satisfactory. There is a designated dog walking field & walks along the beach really made the trip as both children and dogs loved it. It was not crowded at all. There is also a lovely picturesque lake that you can boat on if you have a small boat and a slipway into the sea for the larger boats. There are also several fishing lakes which appear to be under improvement currently and will I am sure be a big draw for fishing types.
We did not use the entertainment areas other than the 2 children's play areas which are very nice with a good climbing complex but no swings. The dog bins are well sited, easy to find and not intrusive to other non doggy campers and for the most part owners respected the bag it and bin it rule. It was nice to find a site that allowed more than 2 dogs per unit! The bins, toilets & washing up areas are well maintained signed and sited. We did not use the showers or laundry areas as we were only there 2 nights so cannot comment on them, or the night time entertainment. There were 2 bars/ restaurants with a take away menu at one, however as it was fathers day they were not doing the take away menu. This could have been awkward if we had not taken our own food to cook as there is only one area to eat outside one of the restaurants where dogs are allowed, with picnic style benches alongside the path and had it been busy this would have made it stressful to sit in an overcrowded through way whilst trying to eat. This is our only negative and is far outweighed by the positives. In all an excellent site that we will definitely return to, off peak.
We have just returned from a short adventure to Waldergraves we wanted something close to home to have a trial run of our new Vango Amazon 800 before we set off on our summer holls. The site is lovely our pitch wasn't great but that was our fault for leaving it till the last minute to book, the swimming pool was great lots of lifeguards keeping a wathcful eye on the teenagers which was good , showers and toilets, and washing up areas all lovely and clean. Nice to have a well stocked shop, and a choice of pubs/bars/restaurants/playgrounds. Will def be going back with our Tent although other members of my family would prefer to rent an on site caravan so everyone is happy.
Have just spent a long weekend here, (thurs-sun) and overall we were very impressed. We chose to stay on the boating lake field as we did not require an electric hook-up. Plenty of space although the site does get very busy during peak times. The toilet block I found to be clean, but the showers were not that hot. Excellent fishing, although they were working on one of the lakes which was out of action, and they way they have left the area around the lakes looks terrible- (less a lake bank more like a roadside).I gather this is so they can squeeze more fishermen in!
The only problem we had was with the noise on Saturday night, when there was several teenagers using the children's playground near our tent at gone midnight and also numerous drunken people could be heard swearing around the site until the early hours.
We would return again, but would avoid Saturday nights.
We had our very first camping experience with friends at Waldergrave in May 2009 (Bank Holiday) the weather was great for most of the weekend, but cold at night, which came as bit of a shock to us, never having camped before lol.
However, on the back of this weekend trip we have now been out and bought ourselves an 8 berth tent and all the bits needed to get us started.
The site we found to be very nice indeed. Not too busy, but then it was May, can imagine by June to August it will get much busier ! Very clean and tidy, and the staff very welcoming and helpful. The facilities were great, pitch size ample with electrical hook up and water. Remember if you want electric and water let the staff know when you are booking as some of the pitches do not have this.
The toilets and showers were very clean although busy first thing and around early evening when people getting ready to go out on the town. The take away was a great idea when you first arrive and need something to settle your tummy but it did tend to be a lot of chips but the food was of a high quality.
The site shop was well stocked and not too badly priced. The local Co-op however (a car drive away) did tend to be expensive so pack as much food to take with you as you can, especially fresh fruit and vegetables.
The outdoor swimming pool looked nice although we did not venture (It was May)! But we intend to make up for that in July when we go back.
It seemed there was a lot of play areas for the children and Golf Course and Pitch and Putt, a great boot sale on a Sunday morning and excellent fishing lakes for the keen fisherman, also only a stones through from a private beach. We did not go into the clubhouse but it seemed they did have a varied entertainment programme especially for the kids.
Only one very small problem and that was with the showers, they are push button and only last a couple of seconds, but still managed to keep clean, just stand with your back to the button or if that's too painful, wash with one hand. I am told that the showers vary from block to block, so explore lol.
So all in all a good experience for our first time.
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Common Questions
Is Waldegraves Holiday And Leisure Park child friendly? YES, it accepts children & has a playground View all facilities
Does Waldegraves Holiday And Leisure Park have a swimming pool? YES, there is a pool on site View all facilities
Where is the nearest shop to Waldegraves Holiday And Leisure Park? There is a shop on site View all facilities
Is Waldegraves Holiday And Leisure Park dog friendly? YES 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 
Holiday Homes for Hire 
Holiday Homes for Sale 
Seasonal Pitches 
Electric Hookups 
Hardstanding Pitches 
No Fully Serviced Pitches 
Families Welcome 
Not Members Only 
Rallies Welcome 
Not Naturist Site 
Dogs Welcome 
No Dogs Allowed 
Groups Welcome 
Motorbikers Welcome 
Toilet Facilities 
Hot Showers 
Washing Up 
No Bathroom 
Baby Changing Facilities 
Laundry On Site 
Drinking Water 
Disabled Friendly 
Chemical Disposal 
No Battery Charging 
Gas Exchange 
Recycling Facilities 
No Kitchen Facilities 
Freezer / Fridge 
Motorhome Point 
Wifi Access 
Shop On Site 
Bar On Site 
Restaurant or Cafe or Takeaway On Site 
Kids Playground 
No TV Room 
Games Room 
Evening Entertainment 
Fishing On Site 
Wild Swimming <1 mile 
No Indoor Pool 
Outdoor Pool On Site 
Horse Riding <5 miles 
Cycle Hire On Site 
Golf On Site 
Tennis <5 miles 
Beach On Site 
Watersports <1 mile 
Boat Launch / Mooring On Site 
Sea Views 
Not Working Farm 
No Campfires Allowed 
Lakeside Pitches 
Public Transport <1 mile
Offroad Dog Walk On Site or Direct Access 
Electric Car Charging Point
This was our second camping trip (couple in early thirties) and this is not a camp site we would recommend. The field we were in was ram packed, with tents & caravans pretty much on top of each other. There were no walkways between pitches so people were continuously walking through your pitch. Rules around noise late at night were neither observed or enforced and it was very difficult to sleep with loud music going on well past midnight. Showers were lovely and warm both morning and evening, however they were very dirty and I had to keep flip flops on while showering. Shop was well stocked and reasonably priced. 
