Spend the weekend in a barn? Don't mind if I do…read more It was a little late in the day when my friends and I put together our annual camping trip and before we knew it we were stuck with only the first weekend in September. Camping in September? Well it's worth a try, we'll just need plenty of warm stuff and a strong constitution won't we? It was then that I remembered something from back in my Girl Guiding days - you can camp in barns! Camping barns are pretty much just tents made out of stone, with a roof, with a flushing toilet and a sink if you're lucky (and yes, Alstonefield is a lucky barn). The ground floor of this one has one big communal room with wooden picnic benches and a cooking platform and the whole upstairs is for sleeping. No beds, just a wooden platform. Luxury it is not, but utterly beautiful, rustic, quiet and homely (in its way) it sure is. The barn is literally in the middle of nowhere (though there is still some phone signal), with nothing much around for miles barring the farmhouse at the other end of the dirt track and the myriad sheep and cows. There's no electricity but plenty of nooks and crannies for candles. We were mildly unsettled when we arrived mid-afternoon and could already see our breath on the autumnal air, but this gave way in the evening probably through a combination of the candles, the humans, bringing the barbecue inside and the ever present and loving beer jacket. It wasn't half as cold as we thought it'd be - especially for a clear night. We had plenty of space to cook, eat, drink, dance, sing and shout. Camping barns are a bit of a revelation for me. Warmer and (slightly) more comfortable than camping, with no crouching, no damp, no trekking to the toilet block, no falling over guy ropes, no packing away the canvas in the rain, no neighbours. but still with all the good stuff, the great outdoors, the roughing it, the hanging out with your mates. You can rent the whole of Alstonefield for £84 for the night - it fits 12 people (it's £7 each). What a way to spend a weekend! Just bring your woollens in case.

We camp here and use it as a base to explore Derbyshire, Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire. We spent a…read moreweek there one summer and visited York, Scarborough, Sherwood Forest, Bakewell, Castleton, Hathersage, Bradwell, Sheffieldto name but a few places. This certainly isn't an exhaustive list as the surrounding areas have so much to offer for everyone. The site itself has showers, toilets, sinks, washing machines and dryers. There is also a bunk house if you don't want to camp out, as well as self catering units. They offer bed and breakfast with these. There is instruction on various outward bounds activities available from the farm. The site is a farmhouse pre-dating 1340 and lead mine buildings from the 1850s, which have been completely rebuilt. There are three main parts to the campsite. The top larger field, a smaller centre field close to the toilet blocks which are key coded. And a third longer field which stretches down the road. The toilets are clean and well kept. The showers are wonderful. This site is perfect for walkers, hikers or those just wishing to get away from it all. The kids love Pindale farm and can't wait to go back there. Its extremely cheap in comparison to other campsites. The centre field has stunning views over to mam tor and there is a beautiful walk down into Hope where there are pubs, shops and supplies. You are minutes away from Castleton, its caves and castle. The only down side people may see to this site is the fact that there is a cement works at the back of it. However, we have never been troubled with any noise coming from it, or the lorries visiting it. We went with a 6mth old baby one year and he was undisturbed.

I've been visiting this camp site for over 22 years and always had a nice time here…read more It's a very basic place, with one small toilet block and a couple of showers but it's cheap! It's not far from Bakewell (2 miles) and a nice drive into Buxton (10 miles) and there is a pub in Monyash that has an outdoor childrens play area and really nice meals (2 miles) The campsite is fantastic for the kids as it is quite far from the road and you can let the kids roam and play without worrying about them wandering and there are some woods that the kids can explore in and enjoy themselves. At the far end of the camp site is a family only field that tends to be nice a quiet (ish) as the groups field is further away. In all my family love to come here, relax, walk and play and it's greta value for money.

nice quiet campsite with three field to choose from although the first field is supposed to be for…read morefamilies it tends to get a lot of duke of edinburghs groups in. Can get noisy at bank holidays but generally quiet and safe for children to play aound the site. They even have shetland ponies for the kids to stroke. The toilets and showers have recently been refurbished to a decent standard and is ongoing with its improvements.Nice and friendly owners. Tree swing for the kids which they seem to enjoy. Nice views of Lathkill Dale and pubs in the nearest villages of Over Haddon and Monyash. Bakewell three miles from the site and Buxton 10 miles from the site. Matlock and Matlock bath within easy reach as is Chatsworth house and Haddon Hall.Tissington trail not far away. Definately worth a visit. Good value for money.

A great day or half day out for all the family. The young can feed the ducks, the keen can take the…read more2 mile walk around the lake, the kids can play in the park/s (one just past the lake to the right then left and the other half way round the lake walk) Plenty of places to eat and drink or just grab an ice cream. Your typical Blackpoolesk place on a smaller scale. You can ride small boats on the lake and there is parking close by but this can be limited. During half terms and school holidays there is usually a fun fair on in the car park so you may have to park out of the centre and walk in

If you own a caravan and you are looking for your next voyage, then may I suggest here…read more In the heart of the Pennines, and surrounded by beautiful scenery, this campsite is ideal for a short holiday so you can explore your surroundings. I really do love this place, even though I only live up the road, this is where we had our first camping experience and it was great. You aren't alone either as this place is always packed to the brim no matter what season and other people that are staying there are willing to help you and you can make some great friends. If you want a pint, the pub is only up the road and does some cracking meals too. If you have travelled a long way then there is plenty to do like visit the little town of Uppermill or hop on to a train to Manchester which is about half an hour away. There is so much to do here, why do you think I live here! Look at their website for more information on prices etc.

i have a caravan and from march till september i work away,…read moreso i thought i will try well i hole farm,greenfield. i only live 7 miles down the road and it was the best thing to do i came for a few days and 6 weeks later still here the owner nigel top guy will go out of the way to help the also have a camp steward jack, you are in the midle of the country side, but what a great place to chill out

Fantastic family and adult campsite! Shower block is very antiquated and is currently having a new…read moremodern shower block being built at the time of this review! This must be one the largest and very level campsite we have stayed on. Showers cost 20p for 3 to 5 mins, play area for the kids with climbing frames, swings, etc in a fenced area next to the shower block, nice little shop for basic items, a good variety of wildlife, security is provided by a key coded barrier Overall a well sheltered with plenty of large trees campsite

Great caravan and camping site just 4 miles from York off the A19. Has adults only field and also…read morefamily fields. Right by the river Ouze, so some walks nearby also the locks and weir are interesting to sit by and watch in operation too. There is a local pub The Blacksmiths Arms nearby (see review) which opens for breakfast at £2.99 for campers who don't like to cook! Full meals and BBQ's available here with lovely real ale. Fulford just short drive away with another 3 pubs and an Aldi and Iceland for shopping. Piches from £16 £23 per night with electrical hook up. Small shop onsite with limited opening hours that stocks all essentials. Very friendly, flexible, helpful staff. Toilet block cleaned regularly, showers always always clean and free. Pot washing area too. Well worth a visit if you are looking for a nice place close to York.

At the foot of the Pennine way and just below Kinder Scout, this campsite must be one of the most…read morebeautiful in Britain. Opening the tent in the morning to see tendrils of mist clinging to the hills while the sun illuminates the hill tops, is just sublime. This is a working farm but there are two camping fields and a camping barn. Hot water is available in the shower/toilet block. Fresh farm produce is also available by prior arrangement. It is semi-wild camping: no electrical hookups, no enormous camper vans, no late night-rowdiness, and numbers limited to a manageable few. It is as peaceful a site as you can imagine and deserves its place in 'Cool Camping's' list of the top 40 campsites. I have stayed there three times and will visit again. And another thing: you can't get a mobile phone signal! Imagine a weekend - or more - without hearing anybody's ringtone! Utter bliss!

There were quite a few people there but despite this there was only one shower between everyone…read more The shower regularly ran out of hot water and was in a toilet block that smelt terrible. I think they should either have less people allowed to camp or build more showers. We were there to enjoy the hills and came back tired and muddy so the prospect of queuing for a cold shower was annoying. It is a beautiful location and it was nice not to be in a characterless caravan park, but much of the field we were in was on a slope. All in all I've camped in equally wild places but with more space and warm water.

LOCATION A perfect place to stay, with plenty of pubs and a…read moresmall town called Castleton, which has a tranquil and 'old English' vibe to it. ON SITE FACILITIES The toilets and shower blocks are very nice, just a bit small and the toilets often get very dirty on the floor. The showers suffer from the very cheap 'timed buttons' which stop the flow of water every minute or so- it gets very annoying. There is a Boules pitch- which puzzles me as no one ever uses it, plus it's BOULES (who even plays that anymore?), alternatively they could transform it into a child friendly zone or create a hub people can go to at night. SITE An overall good looking site, but it's ruined by its cheap gravel roads and tenters. Although, for some reason there are huge rocks on the corners of some exit roads, which causes a pain for large vehicles as they can only use one exit road instead of the three available. An absolute must for this caravan site is the separation of tents and caravans- as most people in the tents are extremely loud and rude early in the morning and late at night. Pitches for the caravans are decent, but quite close together, occasionally there will be someone who crosses over their pitch and into yours, which is extremely annoying. STAFF There are no patrols around the site, which is unacceptable. As soon as you are in your pitch the staff have no care how you or any other person parks their vehicles. But on the off chance you do see them they are helpful and friendly. SUMMARY Not a bad place to stay but then not a good one either, hence the three stars. There is another caravan site closer to Castleton than this one, called Loose Hill. Whilst the staff of loose Hill are rubbish, it's still a visually pleasing and good located site. And in my opinion, better than this one.

I've stayed at this campsite several times with friends and just with my partner. It's quite a…read morefamily orientated site and noise has to be kept to a minimum after 11pm, which is great if you're wanting an early start exploring the countryside (which most people do) but not so great if you're just wanting a good laugh camping and a booze up, there's other smaller campsites near to Hope more suited to this. The toilet/shower blocks are very clean and well maintained. The site tends to be quieter in the week than at weekends.The staff are friendly and prefer campers to pay before they pitch but if they're closed they'll come and collect fees early the next morning. Camping prices are reasonable.

Great one stop shop for pretty much all major out door activities. Good range of equiptment, well…read morepriced and helpful staff on hand to assist you. They have a cycle surgery for maintainance and repairs to bikes. Good range of footwear and kit for the snow. It's a good idea to call ahead should you be after something specific just to check it's in stock.