AvailablePitch stays at Stanstead Hall Farm CL, Suffolk.

Sometimes you just want to get away from everything and long to find a tranquil haven. We found just that at Stanstead Hall Farm CL. We’d done an availability search for Adult Only sites for Spring Bank Holiday, and Stanstead Hall was one of our options. We didn’t know much about Suffolk, but were keen to explore Constable Country, and are extremely pleased we did.

Stanstead Hall is a new Caravan Club Certificated Location which opened in August 2006. Before that, it was a dairy farm, and the owner, Sue has transformed it over the past two years into a thriving cereal farm, livery stables and Certificated Location. The Hall itself – a glorious old farmhouse, is surrounded by a moat, with ducks and moorhens floating along. There are two cute little cats “Spot and Spotless” who are fearless in the face of visiting dogs, and 3 geese who honk and waddle around like they own the place. Bonnie the black labrador follows Sue everywhere and is more than ready to stick a wet nose into visitors' hands at any opportunity.

The CL site is spread over about 2 acres of former scrubland which is now a gorgeous, fluid, tree-lined meadow with beautiful views over the fields. A steeply banked stream runs around the perimeter of the field, which makes it unsuitable for children. If you have a long-enough cable, you can pitch up anywhere in the field, there is so much space, and if you only have a short cable, Sue can lend you another.

This is a wonderfully easy-going and laid back site. There is a list of rules pinned up in the information area, but Sue is incredibly relaxed about everything, which makes for a wonderfully stress-free holiday. Walks are possible around the fields straight from the site, and Sue can provide maps if needed.

The site is open all year, and there is a hardstanding area with hook-up (although not as nice as the grass pitches). However, because the shower room is unheated, you would need to be either very quick or very brave to use it in winter.

A site like this is a real find and is about as close to “proper camping in a field” as you can get but with the luxury of a loo, a shower and hook-ups. It’s brilliant as it is, and with Sue’s ongoing improvements, it can only get better and better. Good Luck Sue with your wonderful CL, and we’ll be back some day soon – hopefully when you’ve got your B&B running and we can bring Mum and Aunty along too.

Find the perfect Certificated Location or Certificated Site with AvailablePitch.com

Looking to get away at short notice? Want to find a late availability touring pitch at a delightful small site, away from the crowds, in a wonderful location? Looking for a campsite or caravan park with vacancies for Easter, May Day, Spring Bank Holiday or peak summer weeks? Why not give Certificated Sites or Certificated Locations - CLs and CSs - a try?

These sites often have vacant touring pitches when larger sites are full, and with AvailablePitch.com’s unique pitch finding service, you can quickly find and book your perfect site.

CL’s and CS’s are small sites for up to 5 caravans or motorhomes, and are licensed by the Caravan Club or Camping and Caravanning Club. CS’s also accept tents whereas the Caravan Club accepts caravans and motor homes (although pup tents are often allowed at the discretion of the site owner).

You need to be a member of the relevant Club to stay on one of these sites, however, their annual membership fees are so reasonable, and give access to such a huge range of benefits, that you will quickly re-coup the fee.

Some have only basic facilities – a minimum is fresh water and waste disposal, whilst others have hook-ups, toilets and showers and other facilities usually associated with larger sites.

These wonderful sites remind us what camping is all about, and can be found in a host of unusual places - on the coast, tucked away in a farmer’s field, behind a pub, in the grounds of a stately home, or on the edge of a town or city. On farm-based sites you can often see the animals, buy produce from the farm and unfailingly, all owners offer invaluable information about the area.

Dozens of CL’s and CS’s are featured on AvailablePitch.com, and using our "Search Availability" tool, you can instantly find 5 van sites with vacant pitches for this weekend, next month or your summer holidays.

In the future we will continue to visit many of these sites, and featuring them on our Blog!

Image is of Stanstead Hall Certificated Location, Suffolk