Allotment Lane
St. Michaels-on-Wyre
Garstang
Lancs
PR3 0TZ
01995 679797
Website - http://www.riverparks.co.uk/
Open - March to October
Current fees - Contact site for details
For anyone looking for peace and quiet this site is a little gem. At the end of a private lane off the main road through the village it's hard to believe that you're so close to civilisation, it really is so quiet. Open from March to October it's owned and run by Penny, a very friendly and helpful lady who tends to the fields, the animals and the site on her own. Go early in the season and you'll see delightful lambs in the fields by the entrance gate, and several free range hens roam about the site most of the time - you can buy fresh eggs from the farmhouse, I got some and they were much nicer than supermarket ones. There's also plenty of rabbits hopping about, and you'll wake each morning to the dawn chorus from the surrounding trees.
Access to the site is through an electronic gate with a walk-through gateway at the side - you have to park up just outside first and book in at the farmhouse where Penny will give you the code number for the gate. The first part of the site is a very pleasant area of a dozen static mobile homes and the large flat touring field is beyond - there are ten hook-up points round the perimiter of the field but no marked out pitches, you basically pitch near a convenient hook-up point. Ball games aren't allowed on the field itself but there's another enclosed field at the end of the site with plenty of space for kids to play. There are water taps, waste bins and recycling bins on the field and the chemical disposal point uses collected rainwater for flushing. Unfortunately there's no washing up area so you'll need to have your own washing up bowl and boil some water to do your pots, throwing the 'grey waste' into the hedge. The toilet and shower block is near the entrance gate, is always kept spotlessly clean and has loads of information leaflets about the surrounding areas. The only downside is that there's only one toilet for women and one for men, with the shower being in the same room, so if someone is having a shower you'll have to wait to use the loo - it may well be advisable to take your own portable loo if you have one.
Near the entrance gate is a footpath leading to a tarmac path through a wooded area on the banks of the River Wyre - turning right takes you down to the main road, left takes you over a stile and into open fields with a very pleasant walk along the high river bank, and with no livestock around it's great for dog walking. There's also a fabulous view right across to the hills and lower reaches of the Trough of Bowland. For a drink and a meal The Grapes pub is on the main road just a couple of minutes walk from the end of the lane or there's a path through the field by the site entrance which takes you straight to the back of the pub - not far to stagger back to your unit at the end of the evening but you'll need a torch. There's also a bistro-type place - The Weird Fish - set back off the main road about five minutes walk away.
There's nothing much in the village itself but Garstang is only a 10-minute drive away along the main road and Blackpool about 25 minutes in the other direction. A drive through the country lanes will take you to Knott End - there's nothing there either but there's a nice cafe at the end of the promenade where the ferry comes across the river estuary from Fleetwood. For anyone who likes car boot sales there's a big one held from the beginning of May to the end of September in a field about five minutes drive away - turn left out of the site lane, along the main road to the mini roundabout, turn left again and follow the lane round and it's on the right just after the sharp left hand bend. And if thick black smoke and lots of noise is your thing then Great Eccleston, a few minutes drive along the road, holds a tractor pulling event as part of the annual show in July, with a full programme of tractor pulling over the August bank holiday weekend.
This lovely little site must be one of the quietest I've ever stayed on - ignoring the lack of washing up sinks and the minor niggle of the loos/showers, neither of which affected me as I have my own facilities anyway, it deserves top marks for being the perfect place to relax and unwind. Just two things to note though - firstly the site is very poorly signposted, there's just one small wooden sign at the entrance to the lane and you can only see it when travelling from the Blackpool direction. This isn't the site owner's fault, she wants a proper sign but the local council won't let her have one! Also if you're using a satnav to get you there put in the name of the lane - if you put in the postcode you'll end up in a housing estate!
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