Glamping at Mad Dogs & Vintage Vans Part 2

If you are a regular reader to my blog you may have come across part one of our glamping trip and you will know that we had an amazing time on our recent getaway. Mad Dogs and Vintage Vans has so much to offer all ages and with such an exquisite location in the heart of the Wye Valley I just couldn't do the place justice in one post. The first instalment mainly covered the accommodation so in this second part I wanted to share what we got up to on the site, the facilities and exploring the local area.

Firstly the site is small but perfectly formed and even with all the caravans rented out it wouldn't feel crowded. All except one (Elsie) is off-grid and doesn't have electric so at night you surround yourself with the beautiful flicker of tea lights and fairy lights, with torches being provided should you fancy a night time walk. This doesn't however mean you cannot charge your phone, near the small parking area is a wall plug just for that, along with a honesty fridge for basic supplies and local produce as well as wood bundles for the fires.

When it comes to keeping clean the toilet and showers are located in the sheltered wooded area and keeping to their low impact ethos the showers are solar powered (and nice and warm). They have a normal toilet but also a composting toilet which is great for those who want to embrace the off-grid lifestyle which we did.

The wooded area was also an instant favourite with the kids and you can see why, there are logs to climb and dens to build, in fact they use this area during the school term for a forest local school. There is a fire pit with enough space for a group to sit around and cook a stew or roast marshmallows, as well as a rope swing which my boys spent a lot of time on. This area is pretty sheltered and even though we had fantastic weather during our stay I imagine in light rain kids could still run around here completely unaffected. There is also a large communal mess tent which is perfect for wet weather or communal eating. Inside the mess tent is a long dinning table which was beautifully decorated with flowers, as well as a big comfy sofa and a box full of toys and board games, as well as a large gas camping stove.

Mad Dogs and Vintage Vans is also all about disconnecting from the stresses of daily life and reconnecting with loved ones, family, friends and nature and there is all you need on this site to do that. If you want to get active there is a tennis court waiting to be played, you can also hire bikes or bring your own and a few meters down the road is a dirt track through a farm down to the River Wye. For those ladies who rather indulge in a bit of pampering and relaxation Mad Dogs also offer a service called Pamp and Glam which is just amazing! You can wake up to birdsong and walk over to the lotus tent for a Swedish Massage, Hot Stone massage or one of the many other treatments offered, I did this and it was a truly wonderful and relaxing way to start the day.

Mad Dogs is also a great base for exploring the local area and less than 10mins down the road is Ross-On-Wye, the nearest market town and such a picturesque town at that. We spent a couple of hours here one afternoon wondering around all the independent shops and you will also find plenty of cafes and traditional country pubs as well as a pretty market square and plenty of walks, which we did a long the River Wye spotting swans, fish and wildlife. Another day trip was spent running around The Kymin in Monmouth, a National Trusts property which offers up some fantastic views across Monmouthshire for the 18th century Roundhouse.

We had a fantastic break away at Mad Dogs, we completely embraced the lack of wifi and mobile internet and in fact we prefer short breaks like this because there is no distractions except those you find in nature. This place saviours all those wonderful simple pleasures and is a great spot to disconnect, relax and recharge and we highly recommend it.

Thanks to Mad Dogs for inviting us to review this unique glamping experience