National First Prize Winner - Caravan Club 'CL of the Year' 2007
Birch Hill Farm, The Cross, Ellesmere, Shropshire, England, SY12 0LP
Telephone: 01691 622951          Fax: 01691 624964

Caravan Club
CL of the Year
2007

Birch Hill, Ellesmere, Shropshire: Caravan Club CL

1 mile North of Ellesmere in rural Shropshire, Birch Hill is a prize-winning Caravan Club CL Certificated Location for members of the Caravan Club.  It is a quiet hideaway in the heart of England, open all year for up to 5 touring caravans or motorhomes.  We enjoy pleasant panoramic views across a wide expanse of green rolling hills: on a clear day we can see 8 counties: Shropshire plus Cheshire, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Lancashire, Powys, Staffordshire, and Wrexham. 

Quotations about Birch Hill from the Caravan Club Magazine February 2005 - "a nice CL from which to marvel...  spacious... hook-ups...  woodland walkies track…  information packs for newcomers… Great Site, lovely location and always a warm welcome..." - travel writer John Bateman visited and wrote about us in his 'On Location' article for the Caravan Club magazine.

A good base for a short stay or longer holiday; there are plenty of electrical hook-ups, mains water supply, chemical waste disposal point and we now have 5 grassed hard-standing pitches for Winter caravanning.  Up to 5 caravans spread out over a spacious area of about 2 acres of grass which is mown regularly throughout the growing season.  (To give you an idea of size, many CLs offer half an acre, so Birch Hill is 4 times bigger for the same number of caravans). 

Caravanning in Ellesmere

If we were to attempt to describe our typical visitors, we would say, slightly tongue-in-cheek, 'a semi-retired couple with a rescue-dog, and perhaps bicycles, here to relax and walk in the countryside'.  Having said that, children are welcome and we are starting to get more families with small children who come to feed the ducks by the Mere.  Being realistic, Ellesmere does not have enough noise or 'bright lights' to attract teenagers.  An increasing trend is for visitors with motor-homes / caravanettes.  We get many repeat visitors and with so much to see in the local area, people often ask to stay longer than their original booking.

This is a genuinely quiet and relaxing CL, with no car-door slamming at pub closing-time, no static caravans, no seasonal pitches, no adjacent commercial caravan site, and we have no intention of holding caravan rallies. 

The site is well-maintained with no sheep droppings or cow pats between the caravans (although depending on the time of year you may see cows or sheep in adjacent fields).  We let our fields to a neighbour who grazes cows in summer and sheep in winter, but they are sometimes left empty to quietly grow grass for the winter silage crop.

National Prize Winning Caravan Site 

On 1st April 2008, we went to the Caravan Club Parliamentary Reception at the House of Commons to collect First Prize in the 2007 National Caravan Club CL of the Year Awards.  The trophy was presented by the Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MBE MP, Minister for Culture, Creative Industries and Tourism.  This is an annual award based on votes from Caravan Club members.  Given that there around 2500 CLs, winning First Place is a tremendous compliment and we thank all those who voted for us.

A year earlier we were told that Birch Hill was the 2006 Regional Winner of the Caravan Club CL of the Year Competition, voting us best CL in the region that covers the whole of Wales, the West Midlands and Northern Ireland.  Under previous ownership, Birch Hill also held the runner-up prize for National 'CL of the Year'. 

Pitches Open All Year for Caravans and Motor Homes

We are open for Summer and Winter Caravan holidays all year round, subject to firm ground field conditions - please telephone to check in advance during Winter months.  We have added 5 areas of hardstanding 'EcoGrid' matting to help when the ground is soft: this should improve life for Winter visitors, particularly those with camper vans.  Trailer-tents are welcome, but we do not have tent-only campers ('no tents' is a Caravan Club rule).

Camp Site Access

Access for caravans is good, with wide gateways and a Tarmac drive.  The drive is about a quarter of a mile from the lane, which reinforces the feeling of a quiet secluded site.  Birch Hill is close enough to a quiet 'A' Road to give easy access, but far enough to be away from road noise.

Set in green rolling countryside, Birch Hill farmhouse is 1 mile North of Ellesmere in North Shropshire, just 2 miles from the North Wales border. 

• The nearest main road is the A528. 
• The caravan site is on Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 map sheet 126, Grid Reference SJ 397365

For programming Satellite Navigation (SatNav), Birch Hill Farm road entrance is at:

• Postcode SY12 0LP or use the following GPS map co-ordinates:
• Grid Reference SJ 397365
• Latitude 52:55:20N (52.9222), Longitude 2:54:09W (-2.9025)

Caravan Facilities

• Pleasant views across Shropshire, Cheshire and North Wales.
• Two-acre mown site (bigger than most).
• Ten full power 16 amp electric hook-ups (EHU). Please note that we only accept 5 caravans at a time and the additional electricity points are to allow visitors to spread out.
• 5 grassed hard-standing pitches for Winter use (in dry weather you may usually spread out on other grass areas).
• 2 mains water taps.
• chemical disposal point.
• 2 waste disposal points.
• Tourist information packs and local recommendations for visitors.  We enjoy having visitors to the Caravan Site and recommending local places to visit and eat in and around Ellesmere, Shropshire and North Wales.  Not only CL owners, we are active caravanners and members of the Caravan Club in our own right. 

Booking

We are very strict on the '5 Caravan Rule', so advance booking is recommended, especially for Bank Holidays. 

• We only accept bookings from Caravan Club members - another good reason for joining the Caravan Club.  You will find us on page 414 of the current Caravan Club Sites Directory and Handbook.

Dog-Friendly Caravan Holidays

Our Dog.  We have a friendly 6-year old Golden Retriever called Tara who wanders around the site.  To keep her to a healthy weight, please do not feed her.  We appreciate that some people are afraid of dogs or are allergic to dogs, so please do not allow her into your caravan as she may think that she is welcome everywhere.

Dog Tags.  Whilst not suggesting that you remove your 'home address' dog identity tag; if it has your home phone number, it isn't much help if you are away on holiday.  We offer visitors the free loan of a second 'Birch Hill' dog tag for the duration of their stay.  Bright as they may be, dogs can't talk, so the disc has our address and phone number in case of emergency.  As a dog tag is easily forgotten on departure, we ask a small refundable deposit for each tag.

Shropshire Caravan Storage

We offer caravan storage out of sight and under cover in our barns.  This is subject to available space with a maximum of 13 stored caravans. 

Holidays in Ellesmere

Ellesmere is a friendly quiet lakeside market town in North Shropshire, that dates back to Saxon times.  Ellesmere was granted a market charter by King Henry the Third in the year 1221.  The town's floral displays won 'Britain in Bloom' prizes in 2000, 2001 & 2003.  The market is on Tuesday, with the market charter granted 800 years ago.  Car parking is free of charge and it has shops, banks, pubs, restaurants, cafés and tea shops.  Camping gas is available from the local petrol station or builders' merchant.  Don't miss the Bread and Butter Pudding at the local baker's shop!

For antique collectors, there are two antique shops, an antiques auction about once a month plus a Sunday antiques fair in the new Town Hall about once a month.  You may also find a bargain at the massive Chirk Airfield car boot sale on Sunday mornings throughout the summer.  Nearby Chester and Shrewsbury also have lots of antique shops.

Shropshire's Lakelands and Canals

The lakes (called 'meres') around Ellesmere have resulted in the area being called Shropshire's lake-lands.  They are famous for their water fowl, with nature trails to observe the bird life.  Swans, geese, ducks, coots and herons are the most common.  In addition to the canals, there are 9 named lakes in the area: The Mere, Blakemere, Colemere, Crose Mere, Hanmer Mere, Kettlemere, Newton Mere, Sweatmere and Whitemere.   'The Mere' is the biggest, visitors can hire row-boats and the Shropshire Steam Boat Company runs boat tours of the Mere.

Ellesmere is on the Shropshire Union Canal and has a marina for canal boats.  We sometimes find that people stay at Birch Hill in order to meet friends on canal holidays.

Ellesmere has various events centred around the meres including festivals, the annual sailing regatta and carnival. 

Shropshire Walking Holidays

Ellesmere is a lovely place for quiet country walks and cycling.  The canals are quiet and peaceful with an abundance of wildlife, especially for bird-watching.  Local public footpaths are well maintained, following an extensive renewal of signposts, stiles and footbridges in 2005. 

Cycling around Ellesmere, Shropshire 

• The Land's End to John o'Groats 'End-to-End' bicycle route in the 'Bike Britain' cycle guide book goes past the end of our farm drive.
• We are within ½ mile of National Cycle Network Route 31 (you can see Route 31 from our farm).
• Cycling is allowed on the canal tow-paths if you have a British Waterways cycle permit.  These permits are available free of charge from the local tourist information offices and the British Waterways office in Ellesmere.  The free cycling permits also apply to other British Waterways canals.  You can download a free cycling permit from the British Waterways website.  Please note that not all towpaths are suitable for cycling.

Birch Hill also provides convenient accommodation for visiting friends or relatives at the Robert Jones & Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital, or Derwen College both at Gobowen, about 8 miles away.

History

The farm at Birch Hill was built about 1885 as part of the Oteley Estate.  It was bought by Richard & Gwen Copnall on 2 Nov 1965.  As well as being farmer-butchers, they opened the CL for touring caravans on 1 March 1982.  It became a popular site and Gwen Copnall went to The House of Commons to collect the 1987 runner-up prize in the  Caravan Club National CL of the Year Competition.  Gwen sold the house on 12 July 1993 and Sally-Anne Burgess continued to run the CL, doubling the size of the site to about 2 acres, spreading into an additional field to offer wider views.  

On 31 July 2002 Birch Hill was bought by the Kelly family, who now live in the farmhouse at Birch Hill.  We have worked hard to improve the site and like to make people welcome when they arrive; we were delighted to have been awarded one of only 6 Regional Prizes in the 2006 CL of the Year Awards.  This was followed by winning National First Place in the 2007 CL of the Year Competition, with the award made in the House of Commons in April 2008.

Other nearby Salop and Wrexham CLs

If we are full, but you still want to visit Ellesmere, you may wish to try other nearby CL Caravan Sites; details are taken from the Caravan Club website:

•  The Laurels, Ryebank, Wem (½ acre, all hard-standing, with electric)
•  Whixall Hall, Waterloo, Whixall, Whitchurch (½ acre by pond, with electric)
•  Kilhendre Hall Farm, Dudleston, Ellesmere (sheep on site, sloping, no mains electric)
•  Wigginton Farm, St Martins, Oswestry (no mains electric)
•  Hafod Farm, Pen-y-Cae, Wrexham (no mains electric, 10 foot wide entrance, possible sheep on site)
•  Halton Farm, Chirk, Wrexham (8 foot wide entrance, possible sheep on site)
•  Quinta Christian Centre, Weston Rhyn, Oswestry (pitches adjacent to football field.  Can get busy with school and church camping groups)
•  Cloverley Hall Christian Conference Centre, Claverhall, Whitchurch (Can get busy with school and church camping groups)
•  Pentreclawdd Farm, Oswestry (next to A5 roundabout, ¼ acre, no electricity)

Please note that the following local Caravan Club CLs have closed:

•  The Sun Inn, Welshampton, Ellesmere (closed from April 2007 onwards)
•  Ebnal Hall, Rhosygadfa, Gobowen, Oswestry, Shropshire (closed from 2006 onwards)

Caravan Club Site

Our nearest large Caravan Club Site is Lady Margaret's Park at Chirk, 9 miles away.  It has over 100 pitches.

http://www.BirchHill.co.uk/