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Date of Visit: August 2024
Unit: Other
Reviewer: Webmaster
Please note we have been advised that this site is now permanently closed, and no longer offers camping, motorhome or caravanning pitches. If you know that this situation has changed in the future, please could you let us know. Many thanks
We have stayed here a number of years as it is a beautiful site on the river Wye.
It is a steep drive down but you soon get used to going down and up. I love how we can use the facilities in the hostel so we tend to cook and store our food in the well appointed kitchen and eat on the tables outside overlooking the river and valley.
The kids tend to make friends quickly and roam around with them, playing. We love to hire kayaks and several times we have hired a raft (two canoes tied together) so this year all the children and the dog went with us.
In the past we have also mountain biked in the Forest of Dean, which has family to skilled levels of rides and a nice café afterwards.
There are some pretty towns to visit and we can recommend the Butterfly zoo to see some stunning butterflies flying around you.
My son and I stayed at this site on more than occasion. Very close to the wye which is great for canoeing. They alow fires which is a bonus. The hostel offers showers, cooking facilities, food, a bar and great helpful staff. A magical site that is great for families and singles who enjoy cycling, walking and canoeing.
This is indeed a beautifully-situated campsite on the banks of the River Wye. It is in the grounds of the Welsh Bicknor YHA so one has the advantage of being able to use the facilities of the hostel such as the toilets, showers, self-catering kitchen and small dining area. You can also have a cooked breakfast in the hostel and they will provide a packed lunch, too. In theory one should also be able to use the two lounges but there was a huge family party in when we stayed in September so they did rather take these over.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that the campsite is actually 300 yards down a hill away from a hostel so it’s a long trek up to the facilities. Fortunately they also provide two portaloos at the campsite – not ideal but better than nothing.
There is also a nice open fire area with low-level benches and fencing around. Sensible to stop people lighting their own fires but also an encouragement to large, noisy drinking parties. This happened to our group returned one evening to find one such group enjoying bountiful bottles of alcohol and playing loud music. They would no doubt have been there till the small hours but there is a notice saying that noise must stop at 11. 00 and giving a number to call in the case of unsociable behaviour; We gave up at midnight, called the number and spoke to the duty warden who duly came down and thankfully disbanded the party. In fact the hostel staff were very helpful and pleasant throughout our stay.
Canoeists use the hostel as a stopping off point but canoe hire companies will not deliver canoes to Welsh Bicknor because access with a trailer by road is impossible. In fact the only way to get a canoe to the camping ground by motor is to put a canoe on your car roof. This is because of the challenging access to the hostel and camp site.
Welsh Bicknor YHA (Wye Valley)is at the bottom of a very steep escarpment and the only access is by a half-mile long and very rough narrow drive which has a hazardous stone wall on the uphill side and steep, tree-lined drop the other. Furthermore it has a hairpin bend two-thirds of the way down which you cannot do in one turn – it means backing up in a two point turn to get down to the hostel so there’s no hope of taking a caravan down to the campsite, nor a big campervan.
I was going back to the campsite in the dark one night and had the misfortune to meet two taxis coming uphill. They were about fifty yards up from the hairpin bend. I stopped and walked down to speak to the first driver, a women, and asked if they could back down. She absolutely refused saying “There are two of us and there’s a hairpin bend. We can’t go back down”. I said “But I think there is a bridleway off the hairpin you could back into” but the answer was still no. So I gave in and said I’d back up as long as they didn’t follow me closely as people often do when you have to reverse, which is incredibly pressurising. She agreed so, reluctantly, I went back to my car and started to reverse with my passenger keeping a watch on the stone wall six inches away while I kept an eye on the drop six inches away on the other side. Such fun! Fortunately, a party of people walked by on their way up and a very nice lady volunteered to guide me back since I only had a rather ineffective reversing light to illuminate the ascent in the pitch darkness. We managed about 100 yards of stop-start when the woman taxi driver appeared 50 yards away, looked at us and then walked away again. We assumed that she was fed up with waiting and was coming to check how we were doing.
Anyway, there was a lot more painfully-slow uphill reversing until we got to the only house on the route, which had a narrow lay-by just beyond it.
Then the second taxi appeared driven by a man who stopped and said “Didn’t my colleague tell you that we had backed down to the hairpin?” “No” I replied “She didn’t come anywhere near us or wave us forward. Just looked at us and walked away. So we assumed she’d only come up to check on our progress. Anyway, he phoned his colleague and repeated what I had said. She drove by a couple of minutes later without stopping or acknowledgement - presumably not happy that she had been delayed. Well, with a little more common sense, that could have been avoided!
My advice to anyone coming up or down the drive to the hostel or campsite would be to send a scout ahead to make sure the route is clear otherwise you may also end up with a horrendous experience like mine. Good luck.
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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
No Tents 
No Caravans 
No Motorhomes 
No 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 
No Toilets 
No Showers 
No Washing Up Area 
No Bathroom 
No Baby Changing 
No Laundry 
No Drinking Water 
Disabled Friendly 
No Chemical Disposal 
No Battery Charging 
No Gas Exchange 
No Recycling Facilities 
No Kitchen Facilities 
No Freezer / Fridge 
No Motorhome Point 
No Wifi Access 
No Shop 
No Bar 
No Restaurant 
No Playground 
No TV Room 
No Games Room 
No Evening Ents 
No Fishing 
No Wild Swimming 
No Indoor Pool 
No Outdoor Pool 
No Horse Riding 
No Cycle Hire 
No Golf 
No Tennis 
No Beach 
No Watersports 
No Boat Launch 
No Sea Views 
Not Working Farm 
No Campfires Allowed 
No Waterside Pitches 
Public Transport 
No Dog Walk 
Please note we have been advised that this site is now permanently closed, and no longer offers camping, motorhome or caravanning pitches. If you know that this situation has changed in the future, 
