Gifted Stay – At the weekend we headed to Stanley Villa Farm Camping for a two-night stay in one of their cute camping pods.  This is our first stay in a camping pod.  We have been camping as a family before and I must admit I did prefer this set up.  No tent to try and wrestle up and two comfortable single beds included!  Plus, you can help yourself to hot drinks (just bring your own milk) and borrow hot water bottles from the well-equipped Lakeside Lodge.  That’s the life!

Alex the owner really has thought of everything!  He is also very welcoming and friendly.  My boys had the most magical holiday.  There is such a lovely atmosphere on site with guests chatting to other guests.  Whilst children make friends and play games on the lovely stretch of green in front of the camping pods.  I made the most of enjoying the warmth of our fire pit with a cheeky glass of wine knowing the boys were happily occupied with their new friends.

You will want to visit again

Lots of people have had many return visits over the years since the site originally opened.  You can completely understand why; it has so much charm and appeal.  It is a different kind of holiday for families.  It encourages children to have a break from electronics.

My boys didn’t seem to miss their consoles they made the most of the well-stocked play pod full of rackets and balls.  Inside the lodge there is also a selection of board games.  My youngest and I enjoyed a game of chess one morning.

If you are into fly fishing, you can do this for free during your stay.  Providing you bring your equipment and have a license of course!  That makes your stay even better value for money.  My son enjoys coarse fishing, so we didn’t try this out.  But I saw a few people making the most of the offer.

The lake is a real asset for the site.  We enjoyed a walk around it to see the swans and cygnets.  It’s so clever the way the mum carries them on her back.

A camping pod is a definite step up from camping for me.  But we still had plenty of fresh air and did the all-important marshmallow toasting!  It takes the best bits of camping and makes them a bit better again.

I was worried it would be a bit of a squeeze in our camping pod.  But it was a cosy fit.  With the single beds in an L shape our double air bed fitted nicely in the remaining space.

Pack plenty of bedding

Just make sure you pack enough bedding to keep everyone warm.  The boys felt fine under their single duvets.  I just am the kind of girl that needs a million layers!  Also, I wished I had brought a blanket to wrap around myself as we stayed outside until late each evening.  The boys really didn’t want to stop playing with their friends!

Don’t worry if you have forgotten something important, it’s very likely it is available to hire.  They have everything from torches, single air beds and even travel cots!

Stanley Villa Farm Camping Packages

This year Stanley Villa Farm Camping has started bundling up packages to enrich your stay.  Alex kindly gave us the Illuminations package (£14) to try out.  I think it’s a great idea buying a package and for what was included it seemed very reasonably priced.

Our package comprised of a S’mores Kit (biscuits, chocolate and marshmallows), glow sticks, sparklers and multi-coloured fairy lights to put up in our pod.

There is also the fire essentials package for £10 with firewood, an instant lighting log and a lighter.

Location

Stanley Villa Farm Camping is conveniently located 15 minutes away from Blackpool.  It is nice to be able to see the attractions then retreat back to your peaceful camping pod at night.  We went to Coral Island one day, a fun arcade full of exciting games.  Blackpool has so much more to offer but we have already visited the tower, Madame Tussaud’s and the Sea Life centre on a previous trips.  The circus in the tower is well worth watching!

The following day we headed to Lytham to see the windmill and just enjoyed a walk around the shops.

I think we will be back soon as I am tempted to book a stay and go and see the Blackpool illuminations (30^th of August to the 3^rd of November).