Why would a campsite make me sad when I love my campervan and going on holiday with my little family? Well I spent many happy years chugging up and down the Thames in my Dad’s beloved cabin cruiser.
My Dad sadly died a few years ago and the thought of re-visiting his old haunts seemed just too painful. However, instead of the sadness that nostalgia sometimes brings, it reignited a love of the river and made me realise that those halcyon days should not be forgotten but celebrated and fond memories shared with my children who only knew my dad for 18 months. Anyway – back to business and here is our review of Chertsey Camping and Caravan Club site.
Arrival
We were a little nervous about arriving at this site as some of the reviews were slating and mentioned a lot of long-term residents and dogs running wild.
The traffic was quite good for Londonish although we did arrive on a Sunday. The site is approached from the main road going through Chertsey with the turning taking you by surprise meaning that we had to turn around in the garage. We arrived a little later than planned (as usual) so it was quiet but later in the week caravans were queuing to enter the site some of which were blocking the main road to the annoyance of a few van drivers.
As usual in these times, check-in involved reception coming out to meet us and we were let to our pitch by a warden on a bicycle.
We had booked a standard pitch with awning but due to some sort of mix-up, we were allocated a non-awning pitch but told to try and squeeze our awning into the smaller pitch. We managed it but only just and in hindsight, we should have insisted on a larger pitch but we were pleased to have one of the few with a view of the Thames.
Our fears about the site were completely dispelled – the other campers were polite and pleasant as you would expect on any CCC site. One thing we like on CCC sites is the presence of tents being former campers ourselves. We would much rather see a mixture of tents, caravans, campervans, and motorhomes.
Facilities
As usual with club sites the facilities were clean and plentiful with push button showers. When they were being cleaned we were directed to the original toilets near the entrance which were clean and functional but very dated.
There was a small children’s playground that was still closed due to Covid which was a shame as many other public playgrounds were open.
There is a resident food stall named “Lovely Jubblies” which we used a couple of times – the chips were great and it was certainly welcome on our first night although the prices seemed to change from night to night. It wasn’t cheap but that is to be expected.
Nearby
You would think that being so close to London that there would be good transport links and shops on your doorstep. There were shops but quite a long walk away and there didn’t seem to be any way of reaching nearby Windsor (it was just a short chug up the River in my Dad’s boat.) However, the transport infrastructure is not the fault of the campsite. It is however accessible to central London but a longer journey than from Abbey Wood – another London-based site which we have also reviewed.
There is a hotel/restaurant called “The Bridge” which looked really inviting with views over the river. They had a live band playing the night that we arrived on the site which we really enjoyed as it could be heard clearly. We tried the restaurant on Thursday night and we were able to book online. The food was good and we had a great time in the friendly atmosphere.
We left our driveaway awning unattended on Tuesday night as we were booked into the Chessington Hotel which was the much-cancelled 7th birthday treat for the twins which was originally booked for Halloween. Looking at the club rules were we not meant to do this (due to possible flooding we think) but we didn’t tell anybody until now!
We did attempt to walk to Chertsey Meads but walked in the wrong direction (Daddy’s fault) but came across Laleham Park which had a great playground and an ice cream van.
We loved the site and its facilities and hope to return one day especially as it is very near Thorpe Park as the boys keep reminding us.
