The Book Garden Blog

Our first nights on our travels we stayed a few nights at Brook Lodge Farm whilst sorting out some loose ends in Bristol. We chose this site due to it being quite handy for Bristol, and not being organised enough to book into the plush harbourside caravan club site before they filled up, though suspect this site is often fully booked.

It was quite surprising to us turning up at Brook Lodge to find no sign of any other campers, especially with the harbourside site being so fully booked. After a quick peek at the toilet block and it passing our brief inspection we continued to book in and pitch the awning and get cleaned up before dashing out for a goodbye bristol meal with a great friend. Booking in took a while longer than expected and as it was the first outing for theawning this season we were a little late for dinner (sorry Shakeelah!)

As campsites go it was more than adequate in the usual facilities, only lacking a shop. Hardstanding was very limited, it largely being a field with a few electric hook-up points scattered around it. The things worth mentioning about the site were it’s eco credentials - recycling facilities far better than you would find in most towns and cities, including food waste and plastic. The shower block was also fitted with some passive solar panels to assist the heating of the water. On the downside though was it’s proximity to the A38 and the persistant traffic noise from it, also depending on wind directions the closeness to Bristol Airport meant the occassional plane did fly overhead so not the most tranquil of sites. They do have a website at www.brooklodgefarm.co.uk but apart from contact details it is largely unfinished and appears to have been this way since the end of last year.

Local attractions are quite numerous including Cheddar Gorge and Wookey Hole as well as being within easy reach of Bristol, though as we were only there for the purpose of finishing off packing and sorting stuff out for storage in Bristol we weren’t interested in doing any tourist stuff.

We may well return here if we do have to camp near Bristol, but only if we can’t get booked into the luxury of the harbourside site! Though for those heading down to the South-West it could make a good stop off point, but it is much more of a camping site than a caravan or motorhome site.

A brief entry on Brook Lodge Farm considering we spent 4 nights there, but there wasn’t much to say and it was manily a stay to tidy up bits and pieces in Bristol which took up most of time there so didn’t feel particularly like a holiday. Next stop the Peak District! Actually it’s now the 2nd night of staying in the peaks as I write now, and am not likely to get to post his until tomorrow as there is next to no signal here for even the phone, nevermind getting an internet signal for more than a few moments! Will make note that wi-fi or even half decent phone coverage is a requirement for future campsites!