Hi we have had the most wonderfull weekend 1.8.08 to 3.8.08 We have two boys age 5 and 10. The ten year old had never been fishing so he tried it and the pond is so well stocked he never stopped pulling fish out all weekend. Some of the fishermen took him under their wing. Every body on the site were very friendly. The site is very clean and very well maintained. The site warden works very long hours we would see him in the morning and he would still be working late at night. we would recermend this site to any one who likes a nice quiet country side site with loads to do.The food in the cafe is nice and quite cheap.I can recommend the lamb shank.
Golden Valley Camping & Caravan Park, Derbyshire

We visited Golden Valley for a 3 night stay and from the moment we arrived we hardly saw the kids! The campsite is set within beautiful woodland and although we were only 25minutes from home we could have been anywhere. The toilets, showers(free), food prep and pot wash areas were kept to a very high standard and regularly checked and cleaned. All the staff were very friendly and seemed to work non-stop.The train rides around the site were very popular and free! The 3 seperate play areas for children were the best we have seen on campsites and kept clean and tidy along with the rest of the site. The cafe, games room and bar were clean and welcoming(we made full use of the disco!) Overall this is the best campsite we have visited and will definately be returning soon.
Golden Valley Camping and Caravan Park, Derbyshire.

Golden Valley Camping and Caravan Park, Derbyshire
Wow what a fantastic site, where do where do I start. The site in an excellent location, you wouldn't know how close you are to anything. The staff are A1 they work twenty four seven, they are so helpful, and really hands on, you can tell it's not only a job to them, but a love of the place.
We have a five yr old daughter, and she had fun from the moment we arrived to the day we had to sadly leave. This is a site that we will recommend highly, and we can't wait to go again.

Once again I can't thank you all enough of the cleaniness, the facitilies, the staff, the animals ( which my daughter loved feeding the goat their milk ) and the most important the parks!!

See you all again can't wait. x

We have just returned from our 3rd stay at Golden Valley and cannot praise the site and staff enough. Having read some of the reviews I cannot understand some of the critisism levelled at the staff/facilities. Prior to the last weekend we stayed May 2-5 and although the weather wasn't very good this did not dampen our spirits. I understand why cars are not allowed on the grass when its wet as the people on the next pitch to us really dug up the grass when pulling off. The toilets and showers are clean and excellent. It is very family orientated, run by genuine people who care, we will be going back again. My daughter, her partner and my grandchildren also love it there and are returning during the school holidays. Thankyou all at Golden Valley for a pleasurable stay.

We have just returned from a weekend at Golden Valley, we had an absolutly wonderful time, we camped on the bottom field. The kids really enjoyed themselves the parks were safe and kept them amused for hours. The facilities are excellent, the hot water plentiful and showers toilets impecably clean at all hours of the day or night, but by far the best thing about this site is the staff, they obviously work extreamly hard to keep the site to the standard they do, yet they are extreamly friendly and willing to help any way they can including helping put up our tent !!!!, (first time out with it!!), THe food in the cafe/bar was delicious so much so that my youngest was declining our offerings from the bbq so she could go and eat there. All in all a brilliant site that i would recommend to anyone, cant wait to go back.

We went to this campsite for the weekend in our tent with 2 small children. it was great, the best site we have ever been to. The staff are quite strict with the rules, but it was always to the bennefit of the guests which was very fare. The facilities were very clean, the pitches were immaculately kept for the tents. There was plenty to keep the kids amused and the site felt very safe for the little ones. we hardly left the site because we did not need to, everything we needed was on site.
we will definately be back in the future and have already recommended it to friends and family.

Just returnedfrom a weekend camping. It was great. The site was geared around keeping the kids happy and giving the adults time to relax. The kids loved the play stuff. The sight was safe enough to allow the two eight year olds to explore on there own, and there was enough space around the tents for the younger two to play. Thesite was clean i never saw a single piece of rubbish, either on the gounds or in the toilets. Thanks for a great weekend. The jacuzzi was the icing on the cake of the older two. Thanks again

we chose this campsite because it was only a 45 mins drive from south yorkshire. we were very impressed with the surroundings and it felt we were a millon miles away. what a retreat! this kids loved it and the warden comes round with a train type thing which again the kids loved. the toilets are the cleanest we,ve seen. we ate in the cafe/bar and had fantastic lamb/and bbq ribs it just fell off the bone yummy!!
i have read previous reviews and agree that it is a shame that the ground is v hard and putting up a awning can be tricky, but with the typical british weather at least grass and mud are not brought in the caravan.

if you want loud music and loads of entertainment of a evening then this site isnt for you. however if you want the kids to be entertained with the play areas a quiet drink then its perfect

the pitches are very well laid out and its obvious that warden and owner darren is very proud of his site and so he should be . a little bit of paradise just down the road. see you very soon

We have just spent the weekend of 13/14/15th June at the site.
It was good however; there are several issues I was unhappy with.
Being in a tourer we were not allowed to pitch on grass or near the bottom park. I can understand the warden's wishes to keep his site in good order but the weather was dry and the grass was firm. Consequently my younger child aged one, kept hurting himself when he fell over. Also, there were friends of ours with us and their children kept falling on the hard pitch we were on.
The pitches were not set out very well (how do you rate a super pitch?) and everyone was left to put their caravan 'somewhere' near the designated bay.
Several caravan owners had extreme difficulties getting pegs into the ground when pegging awnings. We never attempted as I saw too many people having problems and bending pegs (steel ones).
Like many other comments the warden was strict however, on Saturday night the noise from nearby tent pitches continued until at least midnight. What happened to the 10:30pm rule?
The speed limit was also of concern. 10mph is too fast and several times I saw the owner driving faster than this. Kids run free when on holiday - please lower to 5 mph.
We were told we couldn't go on the bottom pitch as he was chopping trees. Yet later there were tents and caravans (both on grass). Also, as my mum who was with us, has problems climbing up and down steps, she missed out on seeing the kid’s play on the bottom park and this was were they loved to play.
Lastly, the prices; for the facilities available I think it is too expensive. To charge for £2.50 for over 4's is overpriced, if it was over 5 or 6 then it is more inline with other sites and then £2.00 a dog. Again other sites tend to charge 50p-£1.00. There isn't even a dog walk.
I'd like to say I would return but if a grass pitch cannot be guaranteed then sadly I won't be returning.

Just returned from a brilliant weekend at golden valley. Just read the review of 28th May and find it hard to believe these people have gone so long without a site owner/warden having a go at them if they go camping with that attitude!
The site owner, Darren goes out of his way to make people welcome. He seems to be on hand 24/7 wether serving drinks/food in the cafe or out on site.The site is fantastic for kids- a lot of thought has been put into the layout of the play areas.The facilities are great (toilets,showers,cafe etc.) All the staff we have met have been brilliant and helpful. Would definately recommend this site and will be going back again, 5*

We have just spend a weekend at Golden Valley. Jest the warden is strict but this is for the benefit of all, at least if you know he is watching you are careful. He will make sure the kids are off the playground at a reasonable time and also that there is no loud music etc late at night. The toilet block is one of the best I have been to and the showers are excellent. He really has thought of everything to make your stay really pleasant. The staff work hard to make sure the site is kept clean and tidy, the bins are emptied regularly, and the toilets are also cleaned regularly too. The staff in the reception and the cafe are very helpful.

We also went to Golen valley campsite over the bank holiday and had a wonderful time.
The site is set in beautiful surroundings, well planned for families. Something for everyone. The staff worked incredibly hard all weekend with fun train rides for the kids round the site, quad biking in a safe arena, fantastic cafe, irish music in the bar.The play areas are better than average for a campsite and our kids loved them. My father fished in the well stocked fishing pond with my sons - they caught 17 fish in two sessions.
The jacuzzi and pool table were welcome during the bad weather.
We were asked to leave our car in the car park once we had pitched our tent to avoid churning up the wet grass which we thought was perfectly reasonable. Darren obviously cares about his site.
The electricity supply was more than adequate.We also saw the size and amount of heaters the couple afore mentioned had!!!
Yes the floors in the toilets were slightly muddy at times but it was wet and muddy outside so what more could they do??
We heard gentle chugging of steam trains from time to time and the owls at night.
Can't wait to go back.

Not quite the tranquil experience we were hoping for. We will not be returning, and would not recommend. Too close to a main road, poorly drained sites.

We visited the site on the May Bank Holiday and even though the weather wasn't brilliant we had a marvellous time. The kids loved the play areas and if they didnt have to eat we wouldnt have seen them all day. I cant comment on the cafe or bar as we didnt visit them but the rest of the facilities were tidy and very clean. The Location and the surroundings are 1st class, if you enjoy peace and quiet then this is the ideal place even though the the site was full,the size and location of the caravan pitches make it appear uncrowded. Also with it only being a short drive from home we will definitely be returning.

We too stayed on the campsite in the last week of May. The site is not perfect but I don't think it deserves some of the very negative comments. It has to be remembered that this was one of the wettest weeks of the year - it rained day and night for days.

We were camped on the lower area near the site reception. There was standing water in some parts but our pitch remained pretty good - I expected a quagmire with the amount of rain.

There was some road noise but it wasn't constant and not excessive.

The site has good facilities - the cafe was a godsend. We were able to watch the England match, have a beer in the evening and breakfast in the morning.

The Warden was fine - he chatted to the kids, took them on trailer rides and was generally helpful. We were able to park our car on the grass without any problems. Generally we found the staff very friendly.

The kids thought it was great -there was good play equipment and Toby the goat was a hit. Unfortunately the weather made it impossible to use at times due to waterlogging.

It was a pity there was no specific area for ball games etc. As the campsite became more busy there was very little room to play football etc. A designated area would be great.

The toilets were not as clean as I expected but this was mainly due to the weather. They appeared to be undergoing renovation/decoration. There are only 3 basins/washing areas which is barely sufficient. There were no hooks to hang jackets/towels on and the soap bars were sometimes missing. The addition of hooks, soap dispensers, dryer would be helpful.

The camp shop was insufficient - part was in the reception and part in the cafe. They didn't open that early so buying milk/bread first thing in the morning was not possible. Perhaps the shop could be seperate from the cafe/reception, be better stocked and open from early - late? It would save us going to Tesco up the road.

There was CCTV but I would have preferred a more secure entrance with card entry - we have come across this on a lot of other parks.

There was a strong conservation element to the park.

Don't bother with Midland Railway centre around the corner unless you are an enthusiast.

Strongly recommend Heights of Abraham in Matlock and White Peak Cycle trails for days out - we hired a tandem and it was great fun.

I would return to this site.

I disagree with the review posted by the other camper below. We have been camping for many years, and realise that if you have 3 heaters on at one time, you will blow a fuse, and this is why we have opted for one good single heater. The guy in question must have had too many electrical items. When he arrived I was watching with great amusement, and wondered how long it would be before he tripped the fuse.

We have been camping for over 20 years and have seen everything but the kitchen sink in tents, and we know that you cannot use a normal house heater.

I think most of the problems come from very inexperienced campers who want everything from home; all caravan electrics are down rated for a reason and so are camping items (apart from anything else because of the risk of electric shock). We were watching the band at this site, and because of this one camper not realising the electric situation in his tent, blew the fuse and ruined the night for many. May I suggest you leave the household electric items at home and go to a decent camping store and buy the right electric heater?

The camper also made reference to the issue of not being able to drive on grassy areas; the grass areas when wet can become very muddy if driven over and can make camping unbearable for other campers.

Overall the warden and his staff are helpful at this site and we would recommend it highly to other campers, as have many others who have already posted reviews.

Hi All,
Just returned (today) from Golden Valley and would highly recommend this site! Clean and tidy, great facilities and friendly staff! Hope to visit again. Warden straight away offered assistance in siting caravan, toilets clean, showers hot and powerful, good cafe and a well controlled site so the "odd few" aren't allowed to spoil it for everyone!

Myself and my wife and two friends have just spent the bank holiday weekend at Golden Valley camping park and have come away with mixed opinions. Firstly the good stuff, the campsite itself is very attractive in the way it is set amongst the trees, it was nice to hear the sound of the trees in the morning and the owls at night. There are nice nature trails set around the camp which can be either accessible by foot or by bike. For those people with kids there is a lot to do on the site, including an assault course type of play area, trampoline, games room and a rather large wooden fort. For those who prefer fishing there seems to be quite a well stocked pond that is popular. Some of the female staff are very nice, especially the lady who works in the shop - we found her extremely helpful and friendly.

So, from the outside looking in everything seems perfect, however the problem lies in the customer service (or lack of) attitude of the Warden, and certain facilities. In ten years of camping I have never met such a rude and jobsworthy person. What we normally expect when we go camping is to check in, be shown to the pitch and then left for the entire time we are there - if we ever have any problems we go to the reception and in the vast majority of circumstances these are taken care of simply and efficiently.

When the warden showed us to our pitch he was quite adamant that we were not allowed to park on the grass, even though when a car and caravan struggled to turn the corner and clipped the wall my friend went to move his car for fear of the caravan hitting his car. This was met by the warden shouting stop and waving his hands around. I wonder if he would have paid for the damage if it had been hit. What grated us then was that he then showed other campers to their pitch by driving his big 4x4 onto the grass closely followed by people carriers, trailers etc. A little common sense here would have prevailed as its not as if were going to perform doughnuts on his grass!!!

We also found the shower rooms to be adequate at best. It didn't help that someone broke one of the showers and it was spouting water into the block all day, but even so the general cleanliness was a little poor. When the showers did work they were good, nice and hot and also free which is a plus point considering a lot of campsites you have to pay.

Even after the above issues we would have returned to site as it was quite stunning and ideally located for days out. What changed our minds was the attitude of the warden on the Sunday night. As with the previous night it was rather cold and everybody had their heaters on, this must have caused a surge in demand on his circuit which meant it was blowing the fuse every 20 mins or so for about an hour. The reason for this is that he had his amps set up too high at the hook up points but not a corresponding set at his main circuit board which meant instead of blowing the local fuse it was causing the main one to trip. Anyhow, eventually the demand must have dropped and there were no more blackouts.

We have just stayed for the long weekend with Golden Valley and it was brillant!! Excellant for kids relaxing for adults!! wonderful setting its like a fairy wonderland beautiful!! Can't wait to go back next weekend counting the hours. Toilets and showers very clean just a little busy in the mornings but this is to be expected on bank holiday. Staff very nice and friendly all in all fantastic!!

We stayed in the park July last year it had been a terrible wet summer but the pitches were all well drained. Beautiful park setting, clean showers and a lovely cafe which is very reasonable. We are coming back again this year.

family with 4 children camping bank holiday weekend 5th may. this is one of the best campsites that we have stayed at, the site is immaculate and the facillities are great, staff are friendly and helpull, will certainly return. the children really enjoyed themselves, and were in no hurry to leave,

We have been to golden valley on a number of occassions,we have found all the staff very helpfull and indeed can not do enough for you no matter what time of day it is,and the staff being rude,i find this very hard to belive,the staff and darren work very hard,well into the late hours. The toilet and shower blocks are allways spotless cleaned,as is the whole campsite.the children are well catered for,rain or shine there is allways something for them to do,you can feel at ease at golden valley that the children are safe,plenty of cctv.a lot of campsites are not so, child friendley,i would highley recommend this campsite as one of the best in the country,and needs more recognision,for preserveing wild life in its natural habitat,and not spoling the woodland in providing such nice surroundings nothing is to much trouble for darren or his staff.

We have just returned home from a lovely 4 night easter break at golden valley caravan park. On arrival we were made to feel very welcome directed to our pitch which was in a perfect location, close to one of the play areas (but not too close!) so we could keep an eye on our children (aged 2 and 7) from our caravan. The site itself is really great as nice if not nicer than its photos on website. Lovely quiet woodland setting. All staff we spoke to were very friendly. As it was bank holiday the caravan pitches were pretty full but it didn`t feel like it as they are well spaced, we had lots of room in between us and the next caravan. We all had a great time and would highly recommend!

Lovely site, my only complaint are the staff being so rude when you try to book a pitch. I have stayed at Golden Valley twice now and both times I was a single camper, although other friends had already booked their pitches so we were meeting up, but these were couples (not all girl or all guy groups), and we're all in our mid thirties, not teenagers!!!!

Each time, they have been rude and unaccomodating, everything is too much trouble, you would think they were paying us to stay there rather than the other way round!!!!

But yes, the site itself is lovely, the staff just need to work on their friendly genes!

This is an absolutely splendid site. The staff are welcoming (if every-so slightly mad!), and we cannot recommend the breakfast in the bar/cafe highly enough!

The ptiches themselves are set amongst trees, and to wake up listening to the gentle "chuffing" sounds from the steam railway running adjacent to the site is wonderful.

We've already booked our next visit..

Brilliant site! Loads for the kids to do,kept very clean both outside and inside ,especially the toilets but didn't like the chemical toilets on site at the bottom field.Darren and his staff were very helpful and regularly walked around the site and understand the importance of keeping the majority happy.I would highly recommend this site to anyone,both tents and caravans.We have booked again as a family whilst on our first visit there as we liked it that much!!

we have just returned from a weekend at golden valley.the kids age 3 and 8 had an amazing time.we were in the top part of the campsite near the playground and shower blocks so the kids just went of to play and we diden't have to worry were they were.the staff are friendly they have a bar area and seating outside,everything you could want really.the only thing is,is the red shale it gets everywere.also the hill upto the top campsite well if you don't have a 4 wheel drive and your pulling a caravan ask him to open the top gate.

This really is a little gem of a park. Excellent play area for the kids, brilliant shower/toilet block - absolutely immaculate. Set in really nice secluded woodland but not too far from shops/ supermarket. A 10 minute walk takes you to the Midland railway centre my kids loved it and entry was free! 2 small things wrong with it, if it rains the pitches are set on red shale and it gets everywhere(not good on my beige carpets) and as mentioned in another review the small minority of people who don't know what a mop or toilet brush is for! 9.5 /10

what a great site, beautiful surroundings, great value for money. The place was easy to find, we only went for the night but will be returning. I really feel sorry for the cleaners who will be working hard to keep the place looking as good! yes, the british public are dirty! why do you always go in the showers with soiled shoes? Why don't you clean the toilet after yourselves? have some respect and keep this place clean it deserves it. 9.5/10

This is a great new site.
Our children loved visiting the farm animals and riding the trains at Butterly.The play park kept them entertained whilst at the campsite.The Jacuzzi was the icing on the cake for them.
Friendly staff on site and good value for money.
We will definately visit again.