A newly opened site, just at the back end of last year was my choice for this weekend, namely Bonners Lodge. We enjoyed some fine weather as we made our way Westward past Consett, down the A68 and then onto the single lane track that is Longedge Lane. This is about 1.5 miles long, you can’t see far ahead, but it does mostly have places where two vehicles can (squeeze) past each other. We got to the end of the lane and then headed for the caravan park. This is located at the side of a B+B, again at the end of a single track lane, but you can see all the way up this, so you can spot any oncoming traffic.
We arrived and were warmly greeted by Ken and Michelle. We could take any pitch we wanted and once set up, Ken offered to take me on a ‘tour’ of the site to see where all the facilities are. We took a pitch which backed onto a field opposite, so was very open and spacious. There is hardstanding for the ‘van, and enough to get in and out, so a plus when it’s a bit wet! We duly set-up and then I was shown around the site. Following this we enjoyed some glorious weather and relaxed for the rest of the day. There was one caravan already on-site when we arrived. This housed ‘treeman’, namely Tommy Craggs who was working on some commissions for the site in return for some camping space. He was busy working on a fantastic Red Kite sculpture in the middle of the field, check out the pictures below! Another two units arrived later on, one a small camper van and the other a converted horse box, or at least it looked like one! This housed a family with 4 kids, who made short work of playing around and using the playground. The animals around the site also were viable entertainment.
Sunday and following breakfast we headed out to stretch the legs a little. There is plenty of walking to be done here, the Waskerley Way Route is accessible by a public footpath, running from the B+B itself, so perfect if you want to use that. We opted for a more minor route around the farm itself and then back to base. We caught Ken again and stopped for a chat. Back on site, 2 other units were departing leaving us and ‘treeman’. Sunday came and went and before we knew it, it was Monday morning and time to pack up.
We were just about to hitch up when Michelle came for a chat. Firstly apologising about the boiler (and lack of hot water). They had offered the use of another building and its shower unit, which was very generous. Following our chat we departed and headed back to storage. A great site, deserves to do well and has very friendly owners, the kind of people you remember and want to return to see.
The site has hardstanding pitches, EHU is 10A. The washblock is excellent, very well done. Each separate male/female section has a toilet, 2 sinks and a shower. There’s a hair dryer in the female section along with electric hand dryers in both. A games room is also provided which has seating, a pool table, microwave and sink. Very useful for campers on a rainy day. Bins, CDP all very tidy. Horses are held in the fields and to top it all a rather great looking playground for the kids, although we didn’t test this obviously!
- Date: 12th May 2018
- Nights: 2
- Pitch #: Barker’s Bay
- GPS: 54.801119, -1.896905
- A68 > Longedge Lane