|
I must admit to saying that I was not expecting a lot from this site, as it really isnt my kind of venue. The idea of travelling for over an hour only to end up parked in a (at times) busy car park really isnt my cup of Darjeeling as I am still of the mind that camping (whatever the season) is to do with grass and trees, you know, nature!
My feelings aside, these are the main points to be considered when thinking of this site:
The location is perfect admittedly; a stones throw from the town centre (even for one who walks with a stick). There is a rather muddy stroll down the canal or a climb of the (as we called them) 39 steps and a walk through the park. In honesty there are not 39 steps, but it sure feels like it once you get to the top!
Once all the business at the mart was completed for the day, the site was fairly quiet apart from a few children playing by lamplight.
The hall, well its ok. We had a good team lead by our wonderfull social sec, who did a good job of making the place homey, but to be honest, as a hall, weve been in better.
The two Calor heaters kept peoples coats on and with those of us who smoke forced outside, some of us were less impressed!
The site slopes, no I mean really slopes and this brought out an array of blocks for those who had them, the rest of us making do. I guess that this wasnt helped by the owners shamelessly double booking us with another meet.
I would not recommend it for an early or late meet as the site is in rather a steep valley and when the sun goes over the rim, boy does it get cold! We all woke to frozen water and a couple of packed up water heaters.
The above point taken into consideration, I presume that at warmer times of the year one would have even more traffic and children to contend with. As I have mentioned children twice, I must point out that as we have two of our own I am NOT in any way against kids at meets, it is just that you can control your own!
The site has an unfinished feel. At the time of our visit there was a major construction going on down at the bottom of the mart and there was a large multi-span greenhouse being constructed adjacent to our pitch, which may spell out that the days are numbered for this site.
So in closing, I can only say that I have seen better. Despite the location close to Skipton centre, I feel that this site should be taken under advisement for any possible future meets and an alternative sought in the same area. We had a good number of people turn up, but on talking with a few I got the impression that any meet was better than no meet and that the old cabin fever had more to do with the popularity than any thing else. Location was mentioned a few times though and this is why I recommend finding a better venue within the same area for any future Skipton meet.
Peter Dean
23rd April 2003
|
