Amerden Caravan & Camping Park

We chose this site for its access to Legoland, which is close. We had a nice pitch, shown to us by the wardens who were very nice and helpful, as were the owners whom we did meet later. The site has a nice little play area which our children enjoyed playing on. There is a nice toilet block with a covered area for washing up. There is also a covered area for tent campers to eat should it be raining which is a nice touch. You can see and hear the traffic on the M4 but it did not disturb our stay. At the end of the lane is the Bray weir on the River Thames which was nice to walk down to. Supermarket is not too far away. We had a lovely time and will definitely return next time we want to go to Legoland.

We stayed here for the weekend to take our children to legoland and this site was perfect very well kept the owner was very friendly and always chatted to us and gave us some great ideas to take the children too, playarea was very good and lovely walks from the site along the river ,huge carboot near by on the sunday and toilets were lovely and clean the M4 did not bother us at all yes can hear it but not that bad and we live in a quite village going back again this october

We arrived at the campsite around midday on Saturday, pulling our car up behind another that was stopped in front of the reception hut. I went in to register but the hut was empty – had a look around and about but couldn’t see anyone who obviously looked like they might work on site so got back in the car and suggested to my fiancé that we drive through and park up (we knew our friends had already arrived) and one of us could walk back up to reception, rather than block the entrance/exit point to the site.

We waited a few mins for the woman in front to move (which she did after nearly reversing into our car) and then drove the approx. 100yds to where our friends were already pitching their tents. We had not even opened the car doors to get out, when we were greeted by a man literally shouting at us to “get off the campsite right now”….

Bearing in mind that at this point we have no idea a) who this guy is or b) what we had done to offend him, we asked what his problem was – at which point he accused us of having apparently driven like lunatics into “his” campsite. We disputed this, having done no such thing. Our friends could (and did) back us up – we were barely 100yds from the entrance so you would expect others to notice a sports car apparently screeching towards you, but in fact they hadn’t noticed we had even arrived until we actually pulled up.

An argument ensued, with the owner insisting that we had been all but racing around his campsite, and us protesting our innocence. During the course of the argument the owner seemed to keep finding new things to be angry with us about, and we were additionally accused of:

1. not having stopped at reception….
2. ….but somehow also having pulled up too close to the car that had been stopped in front of us at reception - thus making it our fault she had nearly reversed into us
3. lying to our friends about “what had happened”
4. and, my personal favourite, not knowing much about cars (apparently his car was bigger/better/faster than ours or something, so he knew all about “our type”…)

He even had the gall to take an entirely unprovoked racist pop at our Irish friend, and conducted this whole shambles with raised voices in the middle of the camping field, for all his other guests to hear.

At one point he stalked off, only to reappear a few minutes later to return the money our friends had already paid and tell them to leave too! At this point, one of our more diplomatic friends took the guy off to one side to try and make peace and he did eventually agree that everyone could stay on site (with the condition that my fiancé and I would only be allowed to take our car out once during our stay?!). For the record, our car is a regular road-going Mercedes – not a Formula 1 racing car….

Needless to say, we didn’t by this point feel inclined to give this man our money, so we left. Our friends stayed as they had already pitched, however I understand their experience was less than ideal.

As I’m sure you can guess, we don’t plan on returning, or indeed on recommending this campsite to anyone else.

A really nice site only spoilt by the endless drone of the M4. Toilet and shower blocks seemed ok while we were there though a few other people were complaining at times, that's camp sites though I guess. There was plenty to do in the area which was good.

I suppose the thing that really spoilt this place for us was the staff, particularly a couple who I assume are the owners. I can understand them wanting to run a tight ship but saw them hurling a tirade of abuse at some poor woman the likes of which I've never witnessed before or since. God knows what she'd done but I don't think anybody deserves to be treated like that.

It's a shame as the site was lovely as the surrounding area seemed really great.

Dates Stayed: 1st-4th May 2009

Facilities: Heated Shower/toilet block, Laundry Facilities, Vending Machine for drinks/snacks, Gas exchange, Children’s Play Area, Electric Hook ups, Chemical Waste Disposal, Numerous Fresh Water Points, Tourist Information, Bike Hire.

Review:
This was our second visit to Amerden Caravan Park, having previously visited as a tent Camper in 2006. We chose it because of its close proximity to Legoland, but there are many other reasons to visit this well run family park close to the banks of the River Thames.

The site is located a short distance from the Thames near Taplow. It is a small park offering a friendly atmosphere where the site owners take pride not only in making sure the facilities are kept clean and tidy but also in offering their time to assist you if they can.

The site itself is sheltered with plenty of trees. There are plenty of water points and electric hook ups. The heated Shower and Toilet Block is modern with accessible showers and toilets. Pitches are of even grass and are in good condition. They are not formally marked, but this allows for more flexible camping often providing very generous space for all.
Picnic tables are available and distributed across the site. Stands for disposable barbeques are also available to borrow to protect the grass.

Our Children loved the small but well equipped play area and enjoyed riding their bikes around the sites paths. They also thought the vending machine with its selection of reasonably priced snacks was a great feature!

Being close to London there are numerous attractions within easy reach of the site.
Legoland is only 7 miles, Windsor itself with its famous Castle and parks is just five miles away. For trips into London itself Taplow Station is within walking distance with a regular service most days into London Paddington.

However if you’re looking for a more relaxing break then gentle walks can be taken alongside the Thames. Bray Lock, a very short walk from the site entrance is a marvellous spot for people watching as river traffic navigates past at a leisurely pace. Also Ice Creams are sometimes for sale from Amerden Lodge next to the lock to refresh you on sunny afternoons. For the more energetic cycle hire is available from the Site should you wish to explore slightly further.

There is also a major supermarket nearby as well as a small retail village with various outlet stores for those that fancy catching up on their shopping.

The only drawback of this site that we can see is that it sits very close to the M4 motorway. On our first visit, in a tent, the noise did disturb us. However this time we were less conscious of it. The site owner claimed that he could ‘hear the recession’ as less lorries on the motorway make for a more peaceful camping experience. That said this shouldn’t put off caravanners from visiting this well cared for and delightful small site.
Amerden Caravan & Camping Park, Wales