Chatsworth Site Closing
I have a booking for next March and noticed the club is not taking any bookings after the first of March 2026
I phoned to check my booking, the agent didn't know anything about it but came back to me and said the site is shutting after February !!! I think it's very poor of the club not to notify members especially members who have booked their pitches, paid a deposit for holidays for next year
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A banner headline stating when the site will be closing would also stop potential visitors from attempting to book a pitch, instead of going through the rigmarole of making a booking and then finding out that the site is not taking bookings.
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There has been much speculation about the future of Chatsworth. I am sure the Club would like to continue to run the site but as its a leasehold site much of that decision is out of their hands. For all we know there are ongoing deiscussions on its future? Perhaps you were one of the first to get an official update?We have been tp Chatswort many times and particularly enjoyed Christmas at the big house. Unfortunately Chatsworth won't be the first big Estate to feel they can make more money by getting rid of a campsite, it happened at Blenheim a couple of years ago, the old campsite is now covered with static holiday accomodation. I am not sure that would be allowed at Chatsworth but who knows? As members we have been lucky over the years to enjoy some campsites in prime positions but lease holders have been getting wise to the idea that they can make more money taking them back under their control. Unfortunately that usually means the camping element disappears completely. At lest the Club have had the foresight to buy Lickpenny which I understand is not far away but obviously does not have the uniqueness of access of the current site. We will all miss the key to the back gate into the Estate?
David
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My disappointment is the club has not have the decently to inform the members, especially the members like myself who had booked and paid a deposit and planned their holiday for next year
I wonder when the club actually intended to inform their members of the closure
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But when you spoke to the club, or the agent did you not mention you were booked on past its closure date there and then? And why you had not been informed? And when you would get your deposit back?
Posting on here won't make any difference I would complain to the club directly.
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The booking page for Chatsworth still says they are working with Chatsworth Estate to extend the lease beyond the 1st March, therefore all might not be lost. Several years ago we booked the site a year ahead. Posts on CT alerted us to the fact it was closed when we had our booking for an upgrade and indeed the web site showed the same. We had not been informed and didn’t want to go anywhere else for those days and just left it to see what happened. In our case the upgraded was postponed and we were able to go when we had booked. If I hadn’t seen the posts on CT we wouldn’t have been any the wiser. It may well be the case that they could still succeed with the lease extension and will leave off canceling booked stays later in March until they are certain. As to whether they should email those with an affected booking and give them a heads up. Well it would be the polite thing to do.
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Cornersteady, of course I told the agent I had booked and my disappointment the site was closing and of not being informed directly. He offered to repay the deposit straight away and apologise says he would make a note of my complaint, what else could he do?
With regards to my post, it is to notify members who had already booked what I had been told by the club's booking agent
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@Bluepops thank you that wasn't clear in your first post. Did you take the deposit back or are you waiting for a definite decision as SteveL did?
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fingers crossed too @Bluepops
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Hi Rowans, if that is the case customer services need to be told that, one department of the club is saying one thing and another department something else.
Is not very helpful for the members who want to arrange their holidays, this issue regarding Chatsworth not renewing the site lease has been going for nearly two years.
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The problem for people with bookings later than March 1st is the uncertainty. Do they wait for further information (and why is the club so terrible at keeping members informed?) or do they cancel and book an alternative?
If I specifically wanted to be in the area for that time I'd cancel now. Each to their own though.
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Having stayed at the Chatsworth site half a dozen times over the years we became increasingly disenchanted with it. Cramped pitches, in many places just bare earth rather than grass, dogs have to stay on a leash in the Chatsworth grounds, Chatsworth's prices have gone through the roof in the last couple of years. I could go on.
We found Lickpenny last year, it's not too far from Chatsworth and quite a contrast. Lovely big pitches, great views from many of the pitches (not all), a nice dog walk and a garden centre with a nice tearoom an easy 5 minute walk away. And much easier to get to from the M1. Only - minor - downside for us was the cramped facilities blocks.
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It’s hard to imagine the Chatsworth site closing. It always seems very popular, perhaps because it’s effectively in the beautiful grounds of a famous country house. Presumably the Club is desperate to renew the lease, although I could imagine a few luxurious log cabins better aligning with the Estate’s upmarket ethos than a humble, rather cramped caravan site. Thankfully, as several contributors to this conversation have already implied, there are many other excellent caravan and motorhome sites to entice us, both within and outside the C&MC network. And come what may, we’ll always have our memories of Chatsworth!
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I could not agree more Brian. I stayed at Chatsworth once only, way back in 2014, and I never returned. I found it horribly cramped and, in my site review, I summed it up thus:
"In sum, Chatsworth is busy, noisy and untidy; it has tiresome access and no views and I can think of no good reason to go to it other than to visit the Chatsworth House and estate itself."
I never understood why it is so popular and without the house it would surely be little used.
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Surely Chatsworth is such a unique site that what some might see as issues don't really impact on a stay? We have stayed there many times at different times of year including several stays at Christmas so that we could visited the House which usually has a themed Christmas show. The easy access to the House and Gardens adds to its uniqueness. I have certainly not found it crowded even when full which is most of the time. It is sad, but perhaps unexpected that it is closing as these big Estates (often under new management) want to screw every penny they can out of their properties. Only time will tell if that has been a mistake? I am just glad we have had the opportunity to use the site over the years, something that won't be available to future generations of campers. OK there are other sites nearby that may even offer better facilities but none of them will be as convenient as turning that key in the gate into the park and walking up to the Big House. I will also miss seeing the house illuminated from my pitch.
David
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Sorry to see Chatsworth close, even though I had to finish caravanning. I visited about 3 times and found it , and the area fantastic. It was always packed ou in my day . I still visit Chatsworth, and surrounding towns even now by car .
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I think if we lived a long way away, then it might have been somewhere we might have tried, but we don’t, so it’s never been on our list of must visit sites. We actually drive through the estate to get to a much nicer CL we like, so it’s an easy do for us. The house, gardens, etc… we might possibly visit once every decade. Went to the Game Fair a few times (free tickets via work) and that’s always a good weekend. Prefer the other “Devonshire site” at Bolton Abbey. It will be a shame if the lease goes, as I know it’s been a good base for many to visit the Chatsworth Estate.
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£32 p.p to visit the house and garden ? No way. I don’t subsidise well heeled dukes.
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Those pictures are hardly representative. The site looks distinctly under used, on a wonderful looking day, and all sites can be made to look great in those conditions. We are all different and our views and opinions about sites (as well as lots of other things) will vary. You can have your view, which I respect even if I do not agree with it, and I can have mine. But what I really want to comment about is your notion that:
"Surely Chatsworth is such a unique site that what some might see as issues don't really impact on a stay?"Issues will always impact on a stay to some degree, but I take you to mean that the site being close to Chatsworth House and park is enough of a positive to not let the negatives get us down. I love the house and grounds, the villages of Edensor and Pilsley, and all the history that goes with them, but the positive was nowhere near enough to overcome the problems when I stayed and I hated the site. Even if you regard this balancing act as debatable, it is definitely not a notion that is worthy of being prefaced by the adverb "surely", which implies that there should be no doubt about it.
Now if you were talking about Baltic Wharf I might have agreed with you. An absolutely awful, cramped, unitdy and crowded site, rendered worthy of visting, as I did many times, because of its proximity to the city, the floating harbour and all related attractions, without the need for buses, trains or cars. Even then, the many downsides that Baltic Wharf had still had some impact; it is a crying shame that it has now gone.
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Both sites, Chatsworth and Baltic Wharf, are/were unique in either one or a few ways. Unique enough to tempt those who simply wanted “to do” Chatsworth, might have been interested in one of the special events, such as the Game Fair or Horse Trials. Having visited both these events, getting through the traffic in and out would make an overnight stay quite tempting. House, Gardens, Farm, worth a couple of nights if you have never been before. (And if you have a healthy bank balance.)
Baltic Wharf has gone before we got the chance to visit sadly, but again, with an MH a good location to see Bristol. I think we could have filled a week there with new things to do/see each day. Much like Rowntree Park, unique in being close to city centre and attractions.
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@Graydjames We obviously have different views of these things but I suspect a fair proportion of members are sad that both Chatsworth, and Baltic Wharf will no longer be Club Sites? It would be interesting to know what you consider to be the ideal CMC Site and why just so I can understand your thinking a bit more. My choice of sites has always been down to the convenience of the location and both those sites meet that requirement for me. I would perhaps accept that I wouldn't have used either site for a two week main holiday! Sadly all a bit academic now as we have given up touring due to my ill heath, even being able to visit your worse site would be a bonus to me!
David
PS the photos were taken in the winter, the ice on the site roads being a bit of a giveaway as that was when we tended to visit Chatsworth, more pictures here http://www.davidklyne.co.uk/chatsworth_park_caravan_club_site.html
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Chatsworth and Knaresboro and Bridlington sites were my favourites .
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