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Had a fantastic time at St Ives on a lovely sunny weekend in early June 08. There were lots of large groups having a good time which allowed our group of 16 to relax and be ourselves. Groups mixed with families and the atmosphere was excellent.
The owner was extremely friendly and met us on arrival and did a walk round during the day to offer directions/suggestions for local walks.
The facilities were excellent and kept clean considering how busy the site was. Despite being so busy we still managed to get a game of rounders in on a large field at the back of the site!
Will definitely return to this site. Thanks for a lovely stay!
Stayed with a group of friends on a sunny Bank Hol weekend. Great casual site, no set pitches. Lovely on-the-ball owner (who actually asked some people to leave who were having a blazing row in the middle of the night, complete with slamming car doors), he even apologised to us for their noise! Yes the loos are basic and the gents shower didn't work on the last day, but having a fire made up for it, along with the freedom the kids had (and did I mention the friendly owner?!) The nearby tea room was not the best place to take young kids, had a feeling Victor Meldrew (see Fluffy99 review) would prefer it was adults only. Am being very diplomatic here! Nice fishing lake on site too. Walk into Hartfield across the fields took about 40 mins with 10 kids. 2 pubs and Village store (sells usual variety of goodies and can get cash back but shuts promptly at 2 on Sunday.)Definitely going back.
This is a lovely campsite for adults. It seems to be quite a party venue in the summer months (i am a regular), if you enjoy socialising with interesting people then its a great site. If you have children, particularly young ones then it may not be suitable due to a large lake and lots of evening noise. The noise can be a bit of an issue in the summer evenings, I have stayed at the site regularly over many years and to be honest the problem is townie types who have little respect for others. In June we had a bagpipe player playing till 2am. St Ives is a fantastic place to relax and find some inner peace, it is an escape from the everyday world. The toilets can be very 'glastonbury' when the site is busy, if you are a bit disturbed by bodily functions I would not reccomend a busy weekend at St ives. The local Tea room is fantastic and the man that runs it is charmingly similar to Victor Meldrew with a wicked SOH, the tearoom has a collection of tame peacocks that try very hard to steal food. I watched two ladies running off screaming as a large peacock jumped on their table and stole their teacakes. Very amusing!
Great to visit this site again. Reminder of how nice it is there, very peaceful.Regular visits everyday from owner, Mr Chapman, nice chap!
I recommend this site for doggy friendly people, loads of walks and placed to let them off, although Mr Chapman prefers them on the lead by the actual tents.
Great to be able to have a bonfire, that's what camping is all about. Take your own wood if can, or you can buy some off Mr Chapman for a couple of quid.
Toilets /shower facilities are basic but kept clean and full up with loo roll!
Don't forget your fresh water fishing gear, as the lake here is big with plenty of pitches right next to the waters edge.
Just spent 2 nights camping here with a group of us consisting of 10 tents in total . We had booked in advance and on arrival the owner had reserved a large area for us to pitch on, there was even enough room for our cars to be by our pitch.
The site was very busy as it was a beautiful sunny, dry weekend, which did mean you didn't sleep much after 7am ( take ear plugs if you like your sleep )
There is a more suitable shower head than last year in the ladies but the hose isn't long enough.
Still only cold water to wash your dishes up in, am hoping the owner will install hot water there one year, even one of those push down taps so no one can leave it running.
The tea room ( 5 min walk) was fantastic, busy with lots of hikers stopping for tea and scones, reasonably priced, about £3.50 for tea, scone, butter and jam, baguettes from £2.90.
You can walk into Hartfield to the pubs and shops, it took us about a 40 min walk across the fields ( take proper footwear, no good for flip flops) but the owner said you can do it in 25 mins if you knew where you are going.
We all had a brilliant time and are planning on staying there again next year or sooner depending on the weather.
Brilliant, love this site friendly,basic,cheap site,David the owner is great and has a laid back attitude but wont take any nonsense. We will be back again and again. Toilet block ok and washing up facilities now in place. Lovely walks to Hartfield open lake for swimming in near by. Tea rooms are good value close by if you dont fancy cooking. You can fish at this site so be careful of the lakes if you have toddlers who like to disappear! Plent5y to see and do basic camp site excellant! no entertainment,fruit machines or dancing monkeys!
After much research on campsites in the area, we ended up here. We hadn't booked and there was a sign up saying 'bookings only' as it was a bank hol weekend and v.busy. Anyway we decided to hang around and wait to see the owner who was collecting money at the time (about 1830hrs) and were given a site between the lake and the dirt track where the cars drove by. Te pitch wasn't very flat as it was lumpy where the cars had made tracks. We were a fair walk from the toilets and water so just used the nearby chemical toliets which aren't any good if you need a number two as they don't flush very well. We were allowed campfires and almost everyone took advantage of that. However there were some noisy people on the other side of the lake and they played loud music around midnight just as I was trying to sleep. This is an ok site if you are prepared to rough it. It was reasonably priced at £7 per adult. Showers 20p. But you need to be near them to want to use them, I never bothered as it was too far to walk and we only stayed for one night.
We are "CARAVAN VIRGINS" and have no idea, but I have to say how much we enjoy it on St Ives.
The yearound caravaners were REALLY HELPFUL to us and the owner of the site really is very nice. He visits frequently and I've seen him checking the toilets etc. (However, if EVERYONE had the decency to clean up after themselves then they would be a nicer place).
We also brought the fire wood which comes in a great sized bag.
The atmosphere is fantastic, it feels like you are abroad. For those of you who want to get away, and stay on a lovely relaxed site, then go for it.
Ent two nights at St Ives Farm on Fri 20th April to Sun 22nd April and me and my two friends had a really nice time. It’s a beautiful spot and a very friendly camp site with a laid back atmosphere. Saw none of the litter that was previously mentioned by another reviewer, just the odd beer can abandoned by one of the fire spots. Everyone was nicely spaced out despite there being a reasonable number of campers on site for the Saturday night (around 20-25 I would estimate) One family did insist on sharing their music quite loudly with everyone til fairly late, but as it wasn’t exactly dance music (think I heard puff the magic dragon at one point!) it didn’t really bother us and shortly after hitting the sack around 11-12pm it stopped, so couldn’t complain there even if it did disturb the tranquillity of the site in the evenings and we were out all day anyway. The facilities are the only real let down on this site, can’t comment on the ladies, but the gents had the one proper toilet and one stand up latrine and there were just two sinks, not the cleanest either, but then again, not the worst I’ve experienced. Oh, and also only the one shower. They were ok for a short stay, just not enough of them for such a popular campsite. That said, for just a couple of nights like we were there, fresh running water is pretty much all you need! The site has a nice small lake on it for fishing if you are so inclined, but the nicest thing about that is the wildlife it attracts. Of course having the real fires is a pretty big bonus too… :) We bought a couple of sacks of hardwood logs off the owner for £3.50 a bag, but a friend who lives local dropped off some much better dry wood for us from his own store and I would consider taking a sackful of your own if you have access to it, otherwise the stuff from the owner will do you fine. There isn’t much else around in the way of dead wood you can pick up without a considerable walk. We went out for a long walk around the surrounding countryside which was very scenic and quiet. Really felt like you were away from it all despite its close proximity to some quite popular villages/towns. Would highly recommend getting the Ashdown Forest Explorer OS map (number 135) if your planning on walking out of the camp and around the countryside. All in all a fantastic weekend and I would highly recommend this site for a couple of nights stay for all types of campers and will most definitely be booking again in the future. Cheers
As a regular visitor to this site I would just like to make a few comments in answer to those from previous reviewers. Yes, the site is peaceful and beautiful - but only if other campers keep it that way. Thoughtless fisherpeople and campers do not dispose of their rubbish properly and bottles, cans and plastic bags are dumped in the lakes and surrounding bushes. If you want to continue enjoying the site clear your rubbish properly - you could even try clearing some of the debris from the lake to help the fish ! The toilet/shower block is extremely basic - but adequate and clean enough if everyone takes a little care and mops the floor after showering and wipes the basins clean of hair etc after use. Not a difficult task. Be aware also that your children are not always best behaved on the site - they tend to have water fights and fail to flush ! I enjoy coming to this site many times throughout the year - it feels as if you leave worries and stress behind on arrival - so please help to keep it that way for all our sakes.
The blurb sounds great but the reality at St. Ives Farm is totally different. The setting might be quiet but when we visited there were about 75 pitches, peace was non existent due to several campers deciding to talk and play music until 6. 00am plus facilities that are totally outdated and insufficient to cater for the number of people staying. Given that we were charged £12. 00 for a night you would hope that they might spend some of their earnings on improving these - and please note, if you have any disability these facilities ARE NOT suitable. We are pretty relaxed and hardened campers but this site is really disappointing.
As a group of 4 families (8 adults, 9 children), we visited this site at the end of September. It was very wet when we arrived and the site was a bit muddy, especially the roads. However, over the next 2 days it dried out a treat and was not a problem.
This is a fantastic site and very laid back. The owner is a nice bloke who pops along regularly to check to see if everything is OK, but he is never nosey or fussy about anything. As a late break we took advantage of the open fires and had one burning away for most of our waking hours.
The toilet and washroom facilities are a bit basic and do get dirty very quickly, especially if it has been wet but for a long weekend, they suffice.
All in all, a very enjoyable break in a lovely area, recommended.
- Arrived Thursday and enjoyed heavenly peace and quiet, surrounded by beautiful countryside. - Lots of great walking in the vicinity, some nice cycle tracks too. - Stunning location, next to fields and with 2 small lakes on the site.
The Not-so-Good
-The owner doesn't actually live on site. - There are only 2 showers (one male, one female) which doesn't seem enough when site busy. - There are only supposed to be 20 tent pitches, but the weather was so lovely this weekend, that I counted roughly 35 tents - as people turned up without booking and set up tents with no one to turn them away as the owner not around. The number of people put a strain on the limited toilet/washing facilities.
My verdict -
I would definatley like to visit this site again, but think I will aim to go midweek to avoid the busy weekends and for a more peaceful break. Seems like a popular site, and I think that judging by the number of vistors, it is high time some more showers were installed.
On arriving at this hard to find farm based campsite (tiny sign in hedge) we found it to be incredibly friendly and relaxed. Set in beautiful countryside, with camping and fishing around a large lake, and several footpaths running through the site. Open fires were allowed - even encouraged with the wood being supplied for you.
The owner was very friendly and helpful, and on one night even joined one of the groups camping on the site.
The site was very busy (height of summer) and the facilities were basic, but clean.
We are planning to return in october, as it is one of the most friendly and wonderful sites we have visited.
Despite the appaling weather, we were gobsmacked by the beauty of the campsite and the fact that we were allowed to have fires. Although the facilities are basic, they were very clean and well maintained. There's now a washing up station next to the toilet block.
The farmer is a very friendly and helpful chap. The Tea Room and garden, next to the campsite is not only very charming but served very tasty lunches as well as teas.
We were wondering whether to put this review up or not, as it's so lovely, we wouldn't want too many people to start coming down to St Ives. So please disregard this notice :)
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Common Questions
Is St Ives Farm Campsite child friendly? YES, it accepts children View all facilities
Where is the nearest shop to St Ives Farm Campsite? There is a shop within 5 miles View all facilities
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
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 
No Seasonal Pitches 
No Electric Hookups 
No Hardstandings 
No Fully Serviced Pitches 
Families Welcome 
Not Members Only 
No Rallies 
Not Naturist Site 
Dogs Welcome 
No Dogs Allowed 
Groups Welcome 
Motorbikers Welcome 
Toilet Facilities 
Hot Showers 
Washing Up 
No Bathroom 
No Baby Changing 
Laundry On Site 
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 <5 miles 
Bar <5 miles 
Restaurant or Cafe or Takeaway <5 miles 
No Playground 
No TV Room 
No Games Room 
No Evening Ents 
Fishing On Site 
No Wild Swimming 
No Indoor Pool 
No Outdoor Pool 
Horse Riding <5 miles 
Cycle Hire <10 miles 
Golf <5 miles 
No Tennis 
No Beach 
No Watersports 
No Boat Launch 
No Sea Views 
Working Farm 
Campfires Allowed 
Lakeside Pitches 
Public Transport <5 miles
Offroad Dog Walk On Site or Direct Access 
Had a fantastic time at St Ives on a lovely sunny weekend in early June 08. There were lots of large groups having a good time which allowed our group of 16 to relax and be ourselves. Groups mixed with families and the atmosphere was excellent.
