Riverside Wooler Holiday Park | Verdant Leisure — Hotel in Great Britain

We stayed at Riverside as a family of four (two adults, two children) and arrived on a Monday afternoon. Our first impression wasn’t too bad — we dropped our bags in the caravan and headed to the bar and grill for dinner while waiting for the 6:30 PM "meet and greet" entertainment.|Unfortunately, this was where things started to go downhill.|At 6:30 PM, we asked about the entertainment only to be told it had been cancelled due to “not enough children.” We were told they might do some games in 5 minutes — but nothing happened. Disappointed, we went back to the caravan|While the location of Wooler and the surroundings are peaceful, I was disappointed by the cleanliness of certain areas of Riverside Caravan Park. The paths, play areas, and some of the outdoor spaces were unfortunately covered in duck droppings, which gave the park an overall unkempt feel.||I completely understand that ducks are part of the natural environment, but it made it difficult to fully enjoy the space, especially with young children who are more likely to touch surfaces or play in those areas. I found myself constantly asking my child to wash their hands or avoid certain spots altogether.||I think the park would greatly benefit from more frequent cleaning, particularly in high-traffic areas and the playgrounds. A road sweeper or more regular maintenance could go a long way in improving the overall experience for visitors.||Aside from the cleanliness issue, the park has a lot of potential and offers a lovely setting for families. I hope this feedback helps to enhance the experience for future visitors!|Back at the caravan, we discovered a broken bed and stained bedsheets. We reported this on Tuesday and, to their credit, it was fixed by the time we returned — so a positive point there.|Facilities & Entertainment|On Tuesday, we tried the arcade. Unfortunately, many machines were switched off or had error messages. The prize system was quite poor — for example, 150 tickets for a single lollipop felt excessive and a bit of a joke.|We also discovered that the swimming pool needed to be booked 48 hours in advance, which wasn’t made clear at the time of booking. We only managed to go once, and were surprised to find it wasn’t included in the entertainment pass — instead, it cost £3 per adult and £2 per child.|Speaking of entertainment passes — we honestly couldn’t tell what (if anything) they included, as everything seemed to have an extra charge.|The on-site parks were rundown, with broken or missing parts, and the general vibe of the park felt lacking in activities for children. Wednesday night’s entertainment was marginally better but still sparse — it started late (again), with a character briefly brought out for photos, followed by Boogie Bingo (£2 a ticket), and a few games after.|Staff & Atmosphere|Unfortunately, some staff didn’t seem particularly interested in helping, and we often felt like we were bothering them when asking basic questions. On two separate mornings, the entire complex (except the arcade) had its lights off until around 11 or 12 noon — which made it feel unwelcoming and half-closed.|Surrounding Area|We spent much of our time in the nearby town of Wooler, about a 5–10 minute walk. It’s a quiet little place — not much to do, but a few standouts:|• The Terrace Café – Great for breakfast and autumn specials. Lovely Staff, toys for children to explore |• The Chocolate Shop – Good selection of sweets at fair prices.|• The Black Bull – Nice pub with friendly staff.|• Milan Restaurant – A real highlight! Excellent food and service, highly recommended.|• The Cherry tree cafe - lovely cafe, friendly staff|Our 6-year-old’s favourite part? The baby ducks, which says a lot about how little there was for kids to enjoy.|Suggestions for Improvement|• Include at least some entertainment, regardless of the number of children.|• Add a small soft play area or something indoors for kids when events are cancelled.|• Be clearer about what's included in the entertainment pass.|• Improve arcade maintenance and prize fairness.|• Offer more accessible bin locations — not just near reception.|• Train staff on better customer service and engagement.|Final Thoughts|Riverside has some potential, but right now it’s seriously lacking in entertainment, family-friendly activities, and customer care. It’s not somewhere we’d return to unless some major improvements were made. If you're looking for a fun, lively family break with kids —...

Our experience was staying on a touring pitch in our campervan mid-week in November. There were only 2 caravans plus a pod occupied while we were there, so whenever we used the facilities we were the only ones in there. The location is great, just walk into the town. Groceries and fuel are nearby too. The main road runs alongside the park and while we were there, logging lorries rumbled past day and night. This did not bother us as we live by a main road. The staff in reception seemed very nice. We liked that the facilities did not close at any time. Pitches are level but they are quite close together, with the narrow road posing a problem for reversing. This is why many pitches had quite deep muddy tyre hollows either side - impossible to avoid the grass. We could not see where a car could park next to a caravan on the smaller pitches. Perhaps cars have to park in the reception car park, or squeeze between units on the grass. (Fire spread hazard??) Hardstandings were gravel but grass and weeds were encroaching. What a shame - a little maintainance plus tarmacing the "corners" would have made a huge difference. As would a daily check round/tidy up by staff. We noticed litter here and there, plus compacted leaves blocking drains. The facilities were fine inside really. Heated and plenty of hot water. Shower cubicles very small though. We liked that there were curtains and the grid mat in the "dry" section to stand on. Enough hooks too. Better extractors were needed though - mould on ceiling. Or even just a cleaning schedule that includes cleaning the ceiling! (NB - the silicone used was a brown colour, not mouldy). The shower are push button and it takes a while for hot to come through and then lasts only 4s per push. Take in your hard case soap dish and be creative with the lid and your shoulder/back! Three showers, 3 loos, 3 sinks in a row. (Separate male and female.) That is all. We did not use the laundry and washed up in our van. (There are steel sinks in the laundry.) The site is pleasant to walk round, and there are very tame Muscovy ducks on site to amuse you. There is a bar plus small leisure-style pool with hot tub on the site across the main road. We could have used this for free, (open during the day) but you must book a 45 min slot beforehand by phoning up. We enjoyed our stay because there was hardly anyone else there and the pitches around us were all empty. Our experience was good value, with no extra to pay for showers, electricity or even the swimming pool. It seemed to us that the touring part relies on packing as many units in as possible and hoping that most will use their own facilities. With 64 pitches and 3 glamping pods, there are simply not enough toilets and showers. The touring part lets the whole park down,...

Liked: The location is close to a very nice little town. (The town is a stiff walk uphill) some amazing locations around within 45 mins drive make this an excellent location for sight seeing. The campsite is set by a river and has good amenities. We were a group of four couples and had requested to be located close together as we share meals. One couple in a caravan was located away from the rest of us and staff were helpful in finding them a pitch closer to us. The pods get lovely afternoon and evening sun outside and there was plenty enough room for our friends to sit out with us (whereas their touring pitches were more close together) The shower was powerful and hot and although there are only three showers and three loos in the ladies I never had to queue. The laundry area with wash up sinks is conveniently placed near toilet/shower area - close to reception and the pods The club house is nice and the one show we saw (the drag act) was outstanding Staff were friendly and gave us a good welcome Very good value for money.

Disliked: Some fairly aggressive ducks who occasionally appeared outside our pod very curious about what we were eating made eating outside a challenging experience. The pod was small with little space for bags and equipment once the bed was up - but its clear in site details and we were aware of that when booking. The little porch allowed us to store cooking stuff outside the pod and it felt safe to leave. General lack of maintenance on site (broken picnic bench outside pod, non working carbon monoxide alarm in pod, non working hot tap in one of the wash up sinks, broken plugs in both sinks) - other campers told us that some of the issues had already been reported and not acted on. Shower cubicles were small with no grab rail or seat which made dressing within them difficult. Shower was not adjustable so your hair gets wet regardless of whether you want to wash it or not. Each activation of shower provides water for a few seconds and there is no shelf for toiletries so it’s difficult to wash Only one vehicle route in and out. When static homes are being moved it...