Hatfield Outdoor Activity Centre — Attraction in Doncaster

Liked: We chose this site on recommendation from my brother and sister-in-law as the toilet blocks were well maintained, and having 4 young children the ablutions ritual is a military operation. The toilets / showers were indeed spotless and a mop provided in case you made a mess with muddy shoes / crocs on the wet floor. Toilet roll was always available too, and the heated towel rail an extra bonus.

The little shop was very handy, with a wide spanning opening time and reasonable pricing.

Electric hookup worked perfectly for keeping phones topped up and the outdoor taps were situated close by to top up water also.

With regards to security, the location is within what seemed to be a small town/village (although I didn't explore this much further than the local Tesco) so it's not somewhere that attracts local trouble. Nevertheless, the barrier on the entrance, fencing around the site and active / visible security presence was very reassuring for letting the kids explore the site without concern.

The emails from the centre included a means to chat via a message website to raise issues or ask questions. Very handy for checking the code for entry on the barrier, what time a shop opens etc.

The staff were seen regularly tidying up, emptying bins and picking litter (although this is a shame that litter is even being left by guests). The site was very clean and tidy.

Within 30 minutes drive are a range of activities and places to visit. We had a short break but managed to get to Yorkshire Wildlife Park, the local bootsale, and an aircraft museum. There was plenty of other stuff we could have found off site too, but the kids had such a great time making new friends it felt a shame to head out.

Disliked: This must be stressed that these dislikes are so minor that they'd not even be a consideration that would prevent us camping there again, but in the interest of transparency I'll list them anyway.

Firstly, the shower cubicle being a wet room naturally has a wet floor and with the lack of any kind of shelf it was difficult to stack up the kids clothes, toothbrushes etc without having to stuff it in the sink or on the hand-dryer - it'd be great to have a little shelf to pop some bits on, even if it's in a couple of designated 'family' changing cubicles.

Likewise, I didn't see a cubicle with a baby change shelf. Personally we didn't need this but some parents may find this handy when trying to juggle a wash for baby.

Noise on the site was generally fine with mornings starting to increase in volume around 8am. On an evening the site has a 'no noise after 11pm' rule but on the first night this was broken by a rowdy group who continued well past midnight. I must stress though, this isn't fault of the site and their security presence was quick to encourage the guests to wrap things up...

Liked: - Plenty of room in the shower/toilet cubicles and showers were hot Staff walking around litter picking (which is a shame they have to do this but it’s nice to see them taking pride in the environment) Nice areas to walk the dog

Disliked: - Major dislike was the launch your own craft set up they’ve got going on. We’ve visited numerous campsites where we’re able to use our own paddle board either included in the price of the stay or for a very small cost. However, it was £16 to use the lake here (which is by far the most expensive charge we’ve seen and our stay was already the most expensive pitch we’ve ever booked!). They have the most ridiculous rule of if you leave the lake you’re not allowed to go back in!! So god forbid if you need a drink or to go to the toilet! Common sense would say you pay for a 2 hour slot and therefore you can use that 2 hours how you please - whether that involves you wanting to come out for a break or not! I would also kind of understand the expensive charge if it covered insurance cost and hiring of a life jacket but nope, you have to provide proof of your own insurance and have your own life jacket before they will allow you near the lake. So you’re paying nearly £20 to be told by 2 very rude young girls that you’re not allowed to have a drink or toilet break and ‘the rules are the rules’. Pitches not labelled very well (we had to drive around campsite a few times before we could find our pitch and we saw numerous others doing so too) Shop and cafe very expensive (£3 for a bottle of lemonade and £6 for a few fried frozen chips) We were pitched next to very loud families who didn’t abide by the quiet rule and continued to play loud music and let their kids run riot until early hours of the morning. Although I appreciate it isn’t an adults only campsite, I think it would be a good idea for the staff to spend time looking at the bookings and pitching the similar kind of bookings together so those couples that are after a few nights of relaxation aren’t ruined by screaming kids! Washing up area very run down/dirty and lights don’t come on until very late so if you’re washing up after 8pm you can barely see what...

Liked: We received a warm reception when we arrived and were given our pitch, which was large and flat. A bit worn in places but it was the end of the summer holidays. The electric hook up worked fine throughout our stay. The shower block had obviously been refurbished recently, you get a cubicle with a shower, sink and toilet to yourself and were great when people were responsible enough to keep them clean. There was a guy I saw cleaning every day. The on-site activities were mostly of a water-sport variety and were all great, including the Aqua Park. The only thing I would grumble about is the fact that you only get 50 minutes on the Aqua Park, unlike the hour we’ve had else where and that wouldn’t have been a problem if I had realised but we were called off before I had been on the swing! 😭 We also did the axe throwing, which was great fun and did give you plenty of goes. My son loved it so much we did it twice and both instructors were lovely. We ordered some food and drinks from the little snack bar, which sells chips, curly fries, pizzas, burgers, breakfast cobs and a variety of hot and cold drinks and they were fine, typical fast food. No too expensive either. The on-site shop sold a lot of what you would expect but is small so if you are after a more extensive shop there is a Lidl and a sainsburys about 10 minutes away. The noise level at the site was fine, typical of a campsite. Some music and people having fun but nothing to complain about. You can hear the motorway all the time but we were aware of that before we came. My kid was the one who had to be rescued 🙄 but once they realised they sent the power boat out and took him back to shore. 😅 All in all we had a great time and would go back.

Disliked: The only thing that really annoyed me were the obvious signs of damage that the other campers had done. The shower block was fairly new but there were holes punched into all of the cubicles that could only have been a deliberate act of vandalism. I don’t understand that kind of behaviour and it ruins it for everyone else. People have complained about the prices but I did a comparison on canoe and kayak hire and the prices here...