Have you camped at Shell island -wales? Please come and tell me all about it!

[plantwoman]

I have just been given a recommendation for Shell island campsite in north wales.
However this was a from a single friend of ours in her 20's who went with a group of mates.
Not sure how suitable it is for a family with 3 children under the age of 6.
It does look lovely on the website though.

I am looking for a site with enough facilities to keep us and the kids happy (nice beaches, playpark, pub, shop) without being too commercial and butlins like IYSWIM!
TIA

I've been a couple of times but only with friends, never with children. Always see families there though.

I think it's a make-your-own-entertainment type of place with rock pools and the beach etc.

We've always had masses of fun there and even as a grown up, the causeway covering over is a very exciting adventure!

Happy holiday hunting.

No it doesn't have to anywhere specific. In fact we are still considering cornwall or devon as well.
It's just that this particular campsite does look lovely and I just wondered if anyone had beem there.
Do you have a link or name for the one you visit?
Thanks

mjinhiding, can you give me a link to your site?

Thanks myfirstbump
I like the make your own entertainment idea.
We usually just plonk the kids on the beach for the day and leave them to it!

Shell Island should be lovely. It's a brilliant location, dunes, beaches, park, pub (next to park) and we took our two there a few times last year. It's meant to have a noise policy and it's meant to be safe but it's spoiled by large ridiculously rowdy groups who are up all night drinking. You have to be careful in the dunes because they are full of glass. No one is meant to drive after 11 but one night people were racing around in their cars right by family pitches.

As it's an SSSI they can't put any more toilets in, and the portaloos get absolutely hideously vile. The showers are only on for a few hours a day, queues are massive and they are not cleaned regularly.

On the other hand it's a beautiful location and it can be nice depending on who's camped around you. At other times its like Shameless goes Camping. In my mind it's just too massive and there are lots of other smaller campsites along that beatiful stretch of coast.

If you do go, don't be temped to camp towards the dunes because it looks quieter. It's where the ravers go. There are some "family fields" nearer the toilet block but these are still subject to the issues above.

I;m still tempted to give it another go. It's like I love it in the day but dispise it at night/when I want a wee/wash.

Thanks for that - that is my idea of hell.
I thought most campsites tend to have policies about large groups of people these days.
I could not cope with that going on every night , it would spoil my holiday - whether it was a beautiful spot or not - I don't cope well with being kept up half the night by noisy teenagers and then woken at stupid o'clock in the morning by my small children

windy - very windy!

Plantwoman - Yeh they do have noise policies but it's too darn big to be able to police it. Which was exactly what the manager told me when I complained about the noise.

There is an amazing campsite inland from Llanbedr, called Nantcol Waterfalls. - signposted from Llanbedr, which is where you'd turn off towards the coast to go to shell island. It's family oriented, in stunning surroundings - which we've been going to since we gave up on shell island. There is no park or pub onsite but there is a lovely atmostphere, lovely owners, new shower blocks last year, a shop, and a shallow stream with rope-swing that you can sit and watch your DC;s play about in. It's ten mins drive from the beach. 5 mins drive or 15 mins walk to a nice food pub (uphill on way back). Shell Island has day tickets if you want to take the kids to the shell-beach or spend a day on the dunes.

There are also nature walks through the foot of the Rhinog moutains onsite and waterfalls, which are stunning. Unfortunately a father and daughter died there last year in an accident on top of the falls, where you shouldn't go, which was very sad but please don't let it put you off visiting. I'm mentioning it because it'll be on other reviews.

The campsite owners are lovely friendly people who work hard making a nice peaceful site and were hit hard by that tragedy. We took three kids for 5 days last year as well as numerous weekend visits, and had a lovely time and I would not hesitate to recommend it in a heartbeat. And yeh, Shell Island for a day visit, but not overnight.

Just to put you off Shell Island even more (sorry), coz I've just been reminded by DP,
after one particularly horrid night DSs2 (4) asked us in the morning "What does C**t mean?"

[angry}

Sorry for the loads of messages but check out www.ukcampsite.co.uk for reviews of any campsite you want

Thank goodness for this review about Shell Island! Thanks Bighairy! I was really considering going this year, I've read lots of brilliant reviews but what you say really makes sense.

I'm probably a bit drippy about these things but I don't care about mud, rain and cold but I really care about lots of noise and yucky loos!

Llandbedr sounds lovely!

We used to camp on Shell Island as children and it was wonderful - have such great memories of holidays there. That was over 20 years ago though and I'm very sad to read that it seems to be noisy and rowdy now. It was lovely!

BHLV thanks - i did actually go on UK campsite after reading some of the reviews on here. 'Shameless on sea' was mentioned a few times.
It is definitely crossed off the list.
But I will have a look at the other one you mentioned - thanks

I'm off to check out Nantcol Falls on friday (after tip on here, might have been you Spider). The website looks great.

Nantcol falls looks lovely - we are considering booking it - thanks