Haven's Wild Duck Camping Review 2017

by Jade Staff - 06:00:00

We first took a trip to Wild Duck early 2016. It was so cold and ice was all around but we had a fantastic time. In May this year the weather was much better so we decided to take our 3rd trip and as usually we loved every moment.

Wild Duck is Haven's only woodland park. Set amongst the lakes and trees in a wonderful forest, there's plenty to do. The Nature Rockz activities, crazy golf course, swimming pools, forest trails, woodland and entertainment programme there is something for everyone. The beach is only a few miles away too.

Pitches and Ground

The Wild Duck park has the massive positive that your pitch is given to you as you arrive and is marked out which means noone will end up on top of you!

The ground is hard and putting in tent pegs can be very hard work, so I really recommend rock pegs. If the weather is bad, the site does seam to 'flood' in some pages, so take a look at the ground before you accept your pitch.

There are a lot of trees around which make fantastic shelter from the elements and I highly recommend grabbing a pitch near a tree if you can because this usually means that you get the best views of the animals that like to come and say hello.

Camping Facilities

The site has the best camping facilities that I have used. The toilet block in the camping and touring area is always so clean and the showers are too. There are around 10-15 of each toilets and showers and then around 10 sinks too. Sockets for hair dryers/straighter (great for phone charging too!) The block has a changing table and plenty of mirrors too.

The washing up area has 4 sinks including draining boards and a freezer to keep your ice blocks frozen too.

There is an espon point too, but we have not used this.

On Site Shop and Food

The site has a shop and a restaurant too. The shop has all the necessities that you need (especially if you are a forgetful camper), however it is pricey.

The 'Sitting Duck' is the onsite restaurant and bar. We've actually eaten in here a few times are we are very impressed with the quality of food and the prices. Breakfast is especially good although they could do with starting earlier!

Entertainment Programme

Wild Duck has an amazing entertainment programme, I have separated it into 3 section and written about it bellow.

Indoor

This year we took part in messy/sensory play, Kairi took 'being a funstar' (Entertainer) 'lessons' where she got up on stage and spoke on the microphone and danced and we watched Bradley Bear and friends puppet show.

Outdoor

Wild Duck has the most fantastic 'Nature Rockz' wild/forest school programme. We usually spend the majority of our holiday doing these activities and have created 'natural' bracelets, made a birds house, cress heads, did a bug hunt and went on a nature tour around the site. Ranger Mike is awesome with all ages and both me and Kairi (4) learn't so much from him and even Naminé (2) has so much fun taking part in the activities.

Evening

In the evenings there is a great programme for all ages. Bingo, Kids show, teens show and then the adults show. Both the kids show and the teenagers was so much fun and had everyone getting involved.

Other Facilities

The site has 2 swimming pools (indoor and outdoor) which both have lifeguards on duty and have a lot of different activities during the day (Water zorbing, jets etc).

At the swimming pool desk you are able to book the activities for Nature Rockz and hire items such as family bikes and golf sticks for the mini golf course.

The site has a large pond which is set in a quiet area, meaning it attracts a variety of wildlife. Around the park are bird boxes, bat boxes and lots of places for animals to live.

There are plenty of places for the children to play, 2 different parks, nature trails and a wooden tree house with a see-saw and tire swing and plenty of special touches throughout the park like giant duck prints in the cement.

Kairi holding a Newt on the nature trail

Book now!

So if you are looking for a new park to go to and love to have activities to keep the kids entertained then Wild Duck is defiantly for you!
Take a look at the video below and subscribe to our YouTube channel Mummies Waiting

Kairi's Camping Diary

Here's a copy of Kairi's our 4 year olds camping journey (Which we printed from the AMAZING Twinkl site) for the week. If you don't believe me that the site is awesome, check out what she thought (I wrote all her words).