Houghton Mill (National Trust)

The up side👍🏻really lovely site, great facilities, great position next to the river. The downside, the site is run by a management team void of all common sense, a total misinterpretation of ‘their’ rules.

We arrived late (but before the 8pm cut off) to a spot next to my sister and family, to be greeted by a night warden who was a stickler for the rules and clearly lives in fear of the management, stating that if my brother in law parked in the wrong spot ‘heads would roll’ 😳! We parked our camper in the correct spot as stated by the night warden with a fly sheet awning pegged out, my bro in law parking in the ‘heads would roll’ spot next to us, which the night warden said he could.

We had a cracking first day, all day on the river, nice walk, pint at the pub, back for tea. Just after tea ‘CLAIRE’ ‘the manager appeared, told us that she’d been trying to contact all day stating the camper had to move ‘1 metre!’ CLAIRE, who has both my wife’s number and my sisters number but maybe forgot to dial them? Insisted that we move away from my sisters tent by one metre, stating that if our camper went up in flames and we perished, at least my sister, brother in law and children would be saved! The way in which she, conducted her self was abysmal, a completely over the top approach, using her position to flex her management muscles. I was livid and after me using a few expletives to describe what a was a complete farce and the abuse of her position as manager, we moved! This same attitude was apparent to many other campers, the couple opposite us said they’d watched a family pitch their entire tent only to be then asked to move it after.

So as I said a great site, let down by the regimented management, with little in the way of common sense. They’ve forgotten the meaning of camping, that of freedom, at one with nature, just us and the fresh air, some simple food, a few drinks and a night under the stars.

We will go back when the management changes…

Arrived shortly before our booked slot and managed to squeeze into the small car park as it was quite busy on a Saturday morning.
Met up with our guide and signed in as NT members. Lots of interesting features about the mill, its history and the local area were provided but at times there was too much detail and the tour was protracted.
Inside the large mill the grinding process was explained and some demos undertaken as the waterwheel was not in operation and no milling undertaken. Details of how the mill was used as a Youth Hostel also provided.
Further info and tales provided by another volunteer who knew the workings of the machinery.
In general tour very good but basically too long. Some areas with pictures of the process were roped off.

This is a lovely site with a historic mill. However if you are visiting and expect to put inflatables in the water or even have access to the Watersedge you may be disappointed from 2021 season onwards. The National Trust has now restricted access to the public.

Stopped here on our journey to Suffolk for a stretch of our legs. The village is beautiful and well worth a visit.

We drove up the street where the carpark to the mill was to find cars turning around as there was a carpark full sign. We found a spot in the very crowded village to park and walked back to the mill to find the carpark wasn’t full, but the sign had been left out (locals were just ignoring the sign and driving in as this must be a regular occurrence).

At the mill we asked to renew our membership as it had recently expired, but was told they couldn’t do that there and wanted us to pay the £7 entry fee each. Why on earth could they take £14, but not take £140?

We decided to leave when the woman at the counter ran off to stop a couple who had decided £7 was too much from then entering the mill.

Such a shame the place is so poorly run.

Interesting historical mill, but probably not worth the entry fee - as a national trust property it’s charging a very high entry fee just to wander around the mill. I understand they need to maintain and preserve it but it’s hard to justify that price when you’re not offering a tour or milling flour. I recommend visiting Houghton mill, but just view it from the outside!

We stayed here over Easter and the campsite and area is lovely! The facilities were very modern and spotless. Lots of walks from the campsite and the dogs enjoyed swimming in the river going through.
The only fault I could give is the road entering the campsite. Once we arrived we queued to check in. The staff were checking people in at the front and showing them to their allocated pitch. We expected this to be busy due to it being a bank holiday. However when exiting and re-entering the site you had to come past this same road that only fitted one vehicle through. On coming back from the shops I had to wait 15 minutes in a queue as there were other caravans checking themselves in. I feel this would have been a better experience if there was a place for those checking in to pull into or space for others to pass round to prevent them having to queue again.

The mill is owned by the National Trust so if you are not members you need to pay for parking and entry. It is a large flour mill with a most interesting history that the volunteers will share with you.
It only takes 30 minutes to 1 hour to go around, but there are nice walks around and the village is very picturesque. Well worth a visit, as a stop off on a journey, especially if NT members.

Have visited here many times when in our caravan or with children in tent. Grounds beautiful and usually access to the river where it is safe to swim, unfortunately now closed off as is the mill itself due to covid. Tea room still open, spotlessly clean and able to support now limited, but still tasty selection of food and cakes. If you're bringing a car book as no parking available left otherwise, overflow parking now being used as picnic area.

We have stayed on the campsite at Houghton Mill many times over the years. This is a beautiful little site with modern clean facilities. The staff are very friendly and always keen to help. There are lovely walks around the site. You can walk all the way to St Ives using Thicket Path which is next to the site. The local village has a couple of pubs, both serving food and there is a general store which stocks pretty much everything you will need. The only downside to this site is that they have put their prices up far more than most and I fear they may have out priced themselves. There are other local campsites that offer similar facilities. It's a shame, as it really is a nice place to visit.

We stayed here over BH weekend and I can honestly stay this was one of the best sites this summer .
I arrived on my own on Friday as hubbie was on business in Devon , the staff at reception were so friendly and helpful , it makes such a difference.
Friday night was horrendous with rain n wind and the electric went in the village meaning the campsite was down . The lovely warden went round each n every van checking people were ok , poor man was soaked but what a nice thing to do .
The facilities were immaculate, lots of cleaning going on and were so spotless at any time of day .
This campsite is a real gem , lots of walks from the site , great pubs but the real clincher is the peace n quiet n great staff .
We will definitely be back - thank you x