We have stayed at Black Knowl many times and have always enjoyed our time there but unfortunately this visit was very different. The facilities as usual were spotless and the wardens were friendly and helpful but the actual site was very disappointing.
The hard standing pitches all have plenty of room but as there were none available we had to go on grass. The grass on the outer edge was very long so we decided to find a pitch in the middle which was a big mistake.
We eventually found one which was crammed between two other pitches where the people had decided to extend all their belongings out on either side, blow up sofas and chairs, etc! This was not an isolated case, as we looked around we could see similar things wherever we looked. There seemed to be no identifiable layout and people were just setting their stuff out anywhere they pleased. It felt disorganised, crammed and noisy which was not what we wanted.
We might have stayed and searched for a hard standing the next morning as had been suggested, but after we had paid for a week we were told there was no hot water and they did not know when it would be back! This was the final straw so we obtained a refund and went to stay on the Centenary site which was everything we had expected.
The club needs to recognise that caravans and cars have got much bigger and think seriously about having fewer grass pitches which are clearly marked. Black Knowl is much more expensive now and it is just not worth it.
Needless to say, we shall not booking there again unless there are positive changes.
