(CAMC Members 5 pitch site only)
Terrington St John, Wisbech, Norfolk
Date of Visit: February 2025
Overall View
This is a members only site in the parish of Terrington St John, midway between Wisbech and Kings Lynn. Access is good, please see ARRIVAL VIDEO here. The site is predominantly level, although we were on a hard standing pitch (no. 7) and a ramp was required on one side of the van. This did not cause any major issues.
The site is divided into roughly two halves. It has 3 pitches which are hard standing and are used during winter months. Drainage is good. The whole site is surrounded by mature hedging which affords you privacy whilst not taking away the views of the local Grade I listed St John’s Church. During the summer months, there are 5 grass pitches available in the other half of the field.
The site is fairly close to the A47; however we found the road noise was not invasive and certainly not outside of rush hour or overnight.
Facilities
Each pitch has its own EHU 16amps unmetered; fresh water tap and grey water drainage under the hedge. Essentially a fully serviced pitch which we found very useful indeed, particularly in the colder months.
Each pitch will take a car, caravan and an awning.
The site is gated although no padlock is used.
By the entrance to the site, there is the service area which has recycling bin, black waste bin, dog poop bin. In addition, there is the CDP emptying point, and a small information cubicle.
A particularly good draw, for the CL site, is that they have an enclosed, secure dog exercise field. This is at the end of the grassed area of the CL pitches, a dog poop bin is also provided along with a wooden picnic table with benches to use in warmer months! My two dogs really appreciated the freedom that this offered and made good use of it. If you are a dog owner, this is certainly worth taking a look at.
There is also an exclusive use shower and WC to the rear of the farmhouse. It is not disabled accessible but is spotlessly clean, tidy and there is an electric wall heater to take the chill off.
All in all, the facilities are the same as sites much bigger. There is a local village shop and pub a five minute car drive away in Terrington St Johns.
On site we found EE 5G mobile signal very good, both in and out of doors. Lycamobile, which uses the EE system, was good as well, particularly in streaming on the TV. TV signal on terrestrial was also good.
Review of Site Pitch
The hard standing pitch was free draining and using awning pegs was not problematical. The tap and waste pipe are not too far away from the van, so no extension pipes were required.
We opted to put the caravan face in, so as to make the most of the views and also to watch the site owners’ horse, sheep etc.
Around and about
The site is ideally placed to access north Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and slightly further afield South Lincolnshire. In particular the North Norfolk coasts and beaches are within half an hour’s drive from the site.
The Brothers in Arms pub, with an interesting history, offers a very good Sunday lunch with attentive service in very pleasant surroundings. It is very family friendly, accessible and welcomes dogs very happily. It has the added advantage of a Farm Shop to one side and we can certainly recommend their homemade Pork and Apple sausages. www.samuelsfarmshop.co.uk These are both located in Walpole St Andrew.
Palmers Ale House & Kitchen at Long Sutton is less than twenty minutes’ drive away, up to and west along the A17. Dog friendly, good food, ales and atmosphere. It was very cosy on a chilly night.
A trip to Downham Market, again about 20 minutes’ drive finds you in a pleasant market town. There are plenty of little shops, cafes as well as a Morrisons Supermarket. The clock tower, near the centre of the town is particularly noteworthy. Free parking is available but quite limited, to the side of Morrisons Supermarket which is a short stroll uphill to the centre of town and the clock tower. www.visitwestnorfolk.com
There are National Rail Services at Kings Lyn and Downham Market which connect with mainline services in Cambridge and on towards London. www.nationalrail.co.uk
Bus services are available on the main road in Terrington St John, a 25 minute walk from the site. www.lynxbus.co.uk
The nearest caravan dealer/workshop/accessories shop is John Wicks Caravan Sales – about a 20 minute drive from the site and a slight detour from the main Kings Lynn to Hunstanton road. They stock all the main consumables. www.johnwickscaravans.com
Fuel is readily available in either Wisbech or Kings Lynn where all the main supermarkets have fuel stations. On travelling around the area, we noted that there were several pence per litre differences between the various suppliers and it may well be worth your while spending a couple of minutes price checking on line before setting out. The site being pretty equidistant between the two towns, it pays to shop around.
In Wisbech there is Elgood Brewery situated alongside the River Ouse. There is a small shop where souvenirs and bottled beer can be obtained It may well be possible to organise a brewery tour and there are gardens which are open in summer months.
About ¾ hour drive from the site up the North Norfolk coast are the towns of Hunstanton, Wells Next the Sea. On the way to Hunstanton you will pass Norfolk Lavendar Centre on the right hand side. It is home to the National Lavendar collection. It has a farm shop, café, gift shop, toilets and plenty of gardens to walk round. Tours are available. Please see www.norfolk-lavender.co.uk for further details. Everywhere is fully accessible and dogs are allowed in the café and gift shop.
Both are well worth a day’s visit. Hunstanton is a traditional seaside town, split into two halves old and new with beautiful gardens along the promenade at the front. Parking is limited and everyone has to pay. However, there is on road parking further out of the main centre. The new section has many caravan sites overlooking the coast. www.visitwestnorfolk.com
A further 35 minute drive past some beautiful and sympathetically built houses in small villages – a pleasant drive, brings you to Wells Next the Sea – a picturesque seaside resort and also a small working port. At the time of our visit there was a tall ship moored on the main quay. A very quaint high street, Staithes Street offers some cafes, charity shops, butchers and deli. There are also a couple of hardware shops selling all manner of homeware good with stalls outside selling very reasonable priced goods to tempt you. There are a number of cafes which openly welcome dogs which was most appreciated on a cold February day. At the top of the street is a local Co-Op. www.wellsguide.com
A very historic market town, Swaffham is again about 15-20 minutes from the site. It is centred around the market place where free parking is available for everyone. There are a number of antiques shops and some very old buildings with plenty of history. The town’s bandstand, to one side of the market place, has a roman statue on top – Cedres, god of the harvest. Very apt given the agricultural land surrounding it. Lord Nelson lived here at one time and it is said that his wife lodged in one of the big houses on the square when Lord Nelson was at sea. It was also a centre for medieval blood sports, hare coursing, badger baiting – long since disappeared but Swaffham hosted the landed gentry of the era afterwards and there are a good number of pubs and inn as a result. Finally, there is an Assembly Rooms – built in the 1800s and of very fine architecture. Its claim to fame was the fine ballroom where regular events were held during the various seasons.
The main purpose of our stay was to visit Kings Lynn Mart, which marks the traditional opening of the travelling fun fair season. Rides and stalls occupy the historic Tuesday Market Place for approximately two weeks, coinciding with the half-term holiday.
Summary
A very pleasant CL, competitively priced, in a very convenient location. The owners were very pleasant and welcoming. It is a site we would definitely consider returning to. The dog exercise field and toilet/shower being particularly noteworthy for a CL site.