Skybarn Farm CL

Our Stay & Our Thoughts

Coming across Skybarn Farm CL via Instagram, we booked for a mid January weekend stay and found the online system very easy and simple to use. Checking availability is a doddle, just enter your desired dates and start the process from there. Payment taken online and we paid for the 2 night stay in whole. In the run up to the weekend, we had arranged to meet up with a friend and for them to stay the 2nd night. We contacted Skybarn Farm via email to amend the booking and communication with Nicola was fantastic! Quick, simple pricing and only had to pay the additional guest charge of £3. We did this via bank transfer as the transaction fees on card payments would have wiped this out.

A few days prior to our arrival, we received an email with addition instructions such as gate key code and a link to one of the best pre-arrival information packs we have ever seen. Skybarn Farm have created a fantastic Digital Guidebook which contains all the information about the CL site that you’ll ever need. All our questions were answered within this one place. Details on local places to visit, dog walk information, things you may need to bring, nearest gas suppliers and a hell of a lot more.The Digital Guidebook can be saved to the home screen of your smartphone and acting as an app, the content is available when offline or in poor signal areas. We found ourselves going back to this all the time, which meant we knew exactly what to do when we arrived.

Arriving shortly after lunch (no arrivals before midday) we pulled up to the gates which open using the key code we received via email a couple of days before. The gates automatically close after 30 seconds but this is plenty of time to get our unit through. Driving past the immaculate farm yard, we spotted the designated visitors parking bay. This is where our friend would be parking when they stay the next night. Continuing down the lane we could see the CL site on out left. A large field with 5 hard standing pitches, all fully serviced with 16 amp electric, water and grey waste. We liked being able to pick from any that were available, making sure not to grab one which was taken by an absent motorhome. 

A pitch was selected. Pitch 4. And our next task was to decide which way round to park the ‘van. At Skybarn Farm, you’re able to position your ‘van in any orientation as long as you stay on the hard standing. Looking around the vast open field and beautiful views, we thought we might go in with the front (a frame) first, taking full advantage of the scenic landscape, however, the service bollard is placed in the corner of the pitch. Having the caravan facing into the field would put all our service points on the other side of the ‘van. For this reason, we went with the standard position of having the front (a frame) facing the access road and the back towards the fields. This wasn’t much of a problem as the pitch was on a corner and all the offside ‘van windows looked out onto the site without looking onto neighbours.

Legs down and preparing to put up the small porch awning, the site owner popped over to welcome us. A lovely person with a great sense of humour, Nicola made us feel right at home. With the awning up and getting settled, we moved on to parking the car. Now the pitch we were on comfortably fits the caravan and the awning (even a big awning), however we didn’t leave ourselves much room for the car. Knowing we could park the car on the grass when unhitch from the ‘van, space isn’t really a problem. Due to the time of the year, we were weary of leaving tracks or marks on the grass and therefore opted to park the car across the front on the caravan and awning, making sure there was enough space for other vehicles to pass by. Looking around at other pitches, some hardstandings ‘appeared’ to be slightly larger which would accommodate the ‘van, awning and car all on the pitch (these were all occupied). Not sure if they actually are any bigger, it’s just what we thought.

Over the weekend, we came and went as we pleased, using the same gate key code to exit and enter the site. The site was very secure with the heavy duty coded entrance gates and CCTV coverage, we felt safe and happy when leaving the caravan alone. Taking a wonder around the site we looked into the information hut which housed many leaflets and brochures for local services and activities. There were detailed maps of the fantastic dog walks around the farm, a good DVD library and even insulated boxes for keeping things warm or chilled. Everything and more you would expect from such a hut.

Located alongside the information hut, you’ll find the very tidy recycling and waste bins, clearly marked for what goes where. A bit further along from the bins, a great little rinsing area for getting the muck of your wellies or pooches paws. Next to this, a clean and functional chemical waste disposal point. A lift up man-hole style cover, raised off the ground made for easy emptying. A tap and hose is also provided for cleaning and rinsing your cassette. All the of the service areas are well marked and labelled, without being too much or overwhelming. 

We don’t tend to watch terrestrial tv in the caravan and this occasion was no different so unfortunately can’t comment on the reception, but with nothing around that I could see which would affect tv signal, I imagine everything would be fine. Instead we streamed tv using our Roku and caravan WiFi connected to EE network. Mobile signal in the area was fantastic, allowing us to Netflix and chill without issue (see below for speeds). Skybarn Farm has on-site free WiFi which is great for casual web browsing, emails, messaging apps and writing site reviews, however, I wouldn’t rely on the site WiFi if you’re planning to stream video as the speed and bandwidth would be very dependant on how many other users are connected.

Overall, the site is very well maintained and its obvious that owners Nicola and Richard take pride in their CL with attention to detail. With plenty of large grassed areas, I’d love to go back in the summer for the full experience of sitting out in the sun, with a glass of wine and chatting to the neighbours. At the time of our visit, the sun was shining but the average temperature wasn’t much above zero degrees (checkout the picture of the upside icicle from our Water Hog), so we mainly stayed tucked up all cozy in the ‘van. The frosty mornings did give us some beautiful sunrises though, and definitely didn’t take anything away from this stunning CL.

Prior to our departure, Nicola popped over to see how we were and if we’d enjoyed our stay, which we had, very much. We had even mentioned staying another night! Skybarn Farm is definitely on a return list, if we can get in that is. Looking at the availability, 2022 is already off to a flying start for the site, and I can see why. It’s proving very popular so booking early is a must. We were made to feel very welcome and we would like to thank Nicola and Richard for an amazing stay. We can’t wait to visit again.

UPDATE: Since our last visit, Skybarn Farm have invested in their WiFi offerings and guests can now experience Free WiFi with speeds up to 65 Mbps download and uploads in excess of 31 Mbps as of April 2022.