Date of Visit: December 2024
Overall View
This is a Camping and Caravan Club site in Winchcombe in the North of the Cotswolds, near Tewkesbury to the West and Evesham and Broadway to the East.
Access is straightforward, either from the A46 or the M5, Junction 9 – please have a look at the Site Arrival Video.
The site is level, surrounding a deep, fishing lake in the middle of the site, there is a fence round half of the lake but care will be required with little ones and your pets. There is a path to walk round and there are fishing bays.
Facilities
This is a full facilities, members only site, offering a range of pitch types, both hardstanding, grass and electric hookup and non-electric hookups numbering a total of 80 pitches. There are no fully serviced pitches.
It is usually open from March to January.
There is a Reception, stocking the basics including caravan consumable supplies. There is a laundry and well stocked information room in this block by the entrance. At the time of writing, the one washing machine and one dryer cost £4.50 for a full load and £1 per 20 minutes drying time. There are sinks and an ironing board and iron costing 20p per use, We found the facility to be of a very good standard indeed. The information room was very well stocked and contained all the local information you might want.
The site is secured using a rising barrier and passcode. It is locked between 11pm and 7am each night, however, there is a large car park in which to park if you return outside of these times.
In the other block, adjacent to the Reception block is an amenities facility. Here you will find a resident’s lounge with a pool table, a range of board games for you to borrow or play there. There is a TV as well. There are plenty of comfy seats to sit in if you wish.
Alongside this are the toilet, shower and dishwashing facilities. There are toilets/showers for men, women, family room and accessible room, RADAR key required. These comprise the usual facilities but should be noted that there are no shower curtains in any of the rooms. In the men and women rooms, the showers are of the push button, time limited variety. This is not the case in both the family room and accessible room where a normal shower is available. Cleaning times are between the hours of roughly 10:30am and 12 noon. During that time it is not allowed to use the accessible and family room other than for toilet usage only. They were kept immaculately clean at all times.
There is also a semi open aired dishwashing area with the sole CDP at the end in an enclosed room, access is completely separate. Again, all kept to a very high standard indeed.
There are water filling up points dotted around the site and these also include grey waste water disposal points. The sole rubbish disposal point is to the side of the CDP and rubbish is not required to be separated for recycling. There are a number of dog waste points around the site.
There is a main dog walking area but as it is not secure, leads are required at all times. Unfortunately, during our stay it was not safe to use this area due to the very deep mud area leading up to and just inside the entrance.
There is also a public footpath which runs to the site and the bottom of the site which is clearly waymarked.
Finally, there is a separate area which comprises lodges, either privately owned or available for hire. There is an additional rising barrier and passcode required.
Review of Site Pitch
The site is predominantly level and the pitches are well drained covered in Cotswold stone. Most hard standings will permit either a caravan, motorhome and an awning. There are car parking areas spread around the site for people to use if they are unable to park on their pitch.
As we were pitched overlooking the lake, we were allowed to pitch front in and we had a lovely view as a result. The pool is oxygenated each day from about 10am to 4pm. It is not very noisy and we did not find it at all disturbing.
The site is alongside the B4077 – this can be busy during the day but not overly intrusive.
There is free Wi-Fi on site, provided by the club. Good enough for emails, general browsing and social media. Mobile wise EE was particularly strong up to 5G inside and out. Three offered 4G but struggled to stream video, Vodafone indicated good 4G indoors and out, as did O2.
TV reception was reasonable with some deterioration depending on the weather conditions and was worse at night.
Out and About
There nearest bus stop is over a mile away, the nearest train station is in Cheltenham.
Vets – there is a comprehensive list in the Information room
For groceries there is a Budgens at Toddington, approximately 2.5 miles away. Additionally there is a Lidl and Co-op at Bishops Cleeve, just under 8 miles away. Bigger supermarkets can be found in Cheltenham.
For fuel the best price locally was Morrisons and Gulf, on the way to Tewksbury after crossing the M5. Plenty of options in Cheltenham too.
Do and See
Winchcombe site benefits from good access and is well placed for the North of the Cotswolds, Vale of Evesham and over to Tewkesbury and slightly further afield to Gloucester.
This website is a general one for the whole of the Cotswold area and further to the South of the Cotswold and is a good starting point.
https://www.visittewkesbury.info
https://www.visitgloucester.co.uk
https://www.visitevesham.co.uk
There is a particularly pleasant, fully accessible walk along the River Avon in Tewkesbury. It starts in Victoria Gardens where there is a car park, with free accessible parking, toilet facilities and winds its way along the River – there are historical boards along the way explaining what you are seeing. It is also possible to cross a small bridge onto an island – this is not accessible, nor is the route advised after point No. 6. However, turning right up the alleyway brings you onto the High Street and turning right will bring to a coffee shop – No.7. It comes highly recommended, accessible with facilities and allows dogs in too – especially welcome on a very cold Boxing Day morning. One note of caution though, the area floods regularly and at certain times of the year, it is recommended that you check before setting off. Wellingtons are a must if you go after a flood as it can be quite muddy on the pavements afterwards.
https://www.victoriagardenstewkesbury.co.uk
In terms of food, there are a couple of places we visited which we enjoyed. The first and probably the nearest is Ye Olde Hobnails Inn dating from 1492.
The other pub is in Cheltenham itself, plenty of free accessible parking throughout the town centre and clearly marked. The Old Courthouse is a Brunning and Price pub/restaurant in stunning surroundings. The Everyman Theatre is but a stones throw away if you wish to combine the two. The pub is totally dog friendly, as are all their pubs. Superb food, ambience and service.
In terms of Winchcombe and nearby Toddington – these are both stations on the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Steam Railway. Both have cafes and visitors are welcome whether you use the trains or not.
Another place to spend a day for all the family, including a rainy day, is the Cotswold Farm Park run by Adam Henson of BBC Countryfile fame. There are both indoor and outdoor activities, a cafe, shop and full facilities. In wet weather, sensible footwear is advised.
Summary
We were staying over the Christmas and New Year fortnight. Whilst it was quiet over the Christmas Day, the site is now virtually full until after New Years Day when it closes on 3 January 2025 until the spring. The Wardens were always very friendly, approachable, and willing to help where requested. It was our first time staying on a full site – we have found their offering to be very acceptable indeed and we would both return to this site in warmer weather and consider other CCC sites in the future.
A very tidy and well kept site which is a credit to the Wardens.