Recent content by DavidM.L.

Hi, We stayed at Val de Bonnal for about 10 days in August 06. The site was great. Easily up to the usual Castels standard. The only problem with noise was that once a week they organised a 'disco-swim' at the pool. I wouldnt have liked to have been pitched near the pool on that night! Went on...

Not driven a new Mondeo but I have the 140 Passat (57 plate Sport saloon version) as a co car and I would say the clutch/gear ratio makes positioning the van tricky sometimes. First & reverse gears (in comparison to our X-Trail) are quite high, which leads to a LOT of clutch slipping when...

Hi jo-anne Another vote for Troutbeck which is a very nice site. Also for south Lakes try Coniston (Park Coppice)CC site or a bit further south there is Meathop CC site (near Grange over Sands) which has the advantage of being open all year (no site inside the LDNP is allowed to open between...

Hi Washy, We used to have a 51 plate, 2.0 petrol X-Trail which was a fine tow car. The only draw back was the fuel economy, especially when towing. You will find yourself in 4th gear quite often on motorway inclines, but its pretty good apart from that. I would say there is no need to change...

Hi Lynda, I would reccommend L'Etang de la Breche. It is a very nice Castels site with lots to do on site and in the surounding areas (plenty of chateaus obviously) and a good zoo (Zoo de Doue?) fairly close by-its worth eating in the restaurant overlooking the giraffe enclosure just to see a...

Hi Lynda, Thanks for the reply. We had an uneasy feeling from reading between the lines of the few reviews we had found that perhaps this site was not quite up to scratch for a 'Castel'. On all previous Castels sites we have visited, the night time security would have sorted out a problem like...

We are thinking of booking this site for the first 2 weeks in August with our 2 boys aged 10 & 7. As it is a Castels site we assume it will be up to the usual standards. Is there any reason not to choose this site or does any one have any advice of places to visit nearby? Any thoughts?

Andrew, We have stayed at Meathop numerous times as we can get there after work on a Friday from home (just). As John says, the site is up to the usual Club standard. There is a small play arear at the bottom of the site with pitches surrounding it, so either choose or avoid this area...

Hi Karen, We stayed at this site last summer. The weather while we were there was 'changeable' (as was most of France last summer I think). The first four days were almost constant torrential rain with the result that many pitches became flooded and people were leaving the site in droves. Once...

John I have one of the Bulldog Max wheel locks, and I must say that it is very easy to fit. You have quite a bit of leeway through the gaps in the wheel (I suppose this would depend on the wheels though). It appears to be a very effective piece of kit, but I dont know if there is any reason it...

Hi Allan & Gill, Your experience with Bailey customer service echoes my own. As Rod says it would be great if everything was perfect first time, however I am sure ALL companies have problems, some more than others. It is good to know that if things do go wrong that you will be looked after. We...

One of the advantages for us in buying the bulldog version (as well as the price) was that you didnt have to have a model specific lock, which means it can be transfered to other vans in the future. Also looking at the Alko site I wasnt 100% sure that the wheels listed for my van were the same...

Charles, if you mean the yellow plug (as fitted to my Bailey) then it is just a dust cap screwed into the reciever. It is easily removed with a long (ish), flat bladed screw driver. Depending on your wheel design and size of your hands you could probably remove it with your fingers. We fitted...

Jo-anne, I would agree with Kathryn, try Park Coppice in Coniston, although you dont get views as such from the pitches, because of the trees. You are right on the edge of Coniston Water, with a fairly short walk into the village itself. Malcolms comment re shade is also true for some pitches...

Hi Kathryn, Looks like it hasnt changed much over the years then. Couldnt agree more about Coniston (I assume you mean Park Coppice), which is a fantastic site. We are off there this weekend for the 3rd time this year, and hope to fit in another visit before they close for the winter in November.