Loughshore Camping and Caravan Park is on a stretch of coastline looking across Belfast Lough to Hollywood and where you can see passing ships navigate their way in and out of Belfast harbour. In the distance you can see the landmark Structures Samson and Goliath cranes which are situated in Harland & Wolff Shipyard where the Titanic was built.
The campsite itself is along side a landscaped park area comprising of a kids play park and walks along the shore. There are picnic tables and steps down to a stony beach and there is a cafe selling drinks, buns and some hot food in the same building as the campsite amenities. The other side is a busy road and there is some road noise however it is not that intrusive.
The way in is barred with a substantial gate for vehicles and a pedestrian gate alongside, with a keypad system to get in and out. I was sent an email with my four digit number along with my booking which was also done online. In fact I never met the warden, I believe there was one but because I'd booked online I didn't need to go to a reception.
The gate is on the side of a building and the 'front' of this building is the coffee shop and some public toilets. The back side of the same building is amenities for the campers and caravanners. There is a Laundry room, office, sluice all with their own doors then the end door leads to male and female toilets and showers. In the female side there was two toilets, two separate showers and a row of sinks. There was a free to use wall mounted hair dryer and the showers were also free. My shower wasn't terribly warm after the first minute but at least it wasn't hyperventilating cold.
All the amenities were quite clean and well maintained. There is also an area set aside for leaflets and a map on the wall. It's all quite well thought out.
The camping pitch I had was a little on the small side but I was delighted to find it 'fully serviced' in that it had a post with EHU and a tap with corresponding drain. The pitch just about held my 4m Bell Tent which is quite a modestly sized tent compared to some. I paid £15 and did not actually know I was going to get EHU. There are only four camping pitches in all and three of them are on the other side of the roadway, therefore backing on to a green space. That means that there is a little more room for a bigger tent. I went for Pitch 4 which was between the road and the fence overlooking the view. The fence is tall, similar to the type you get around a school. I felt quite secure but at the same time it doesn't look like a 'security' fence.
The pitches are mostly caravan pitches with a hard standing and a grassed area. Unfortunately if you wanted your caravan facing the view you had to forgo using your awning as the grass area would be on the wrong side. I did notice that most caravans were facing the view and therefore the 'wrong' way.
The only negative I have is that when you are sitting down, trying to enjoy the view, the hedges which are planted on the far side of the fence are getting too tall to see over. I noticed that there are also climbing plants being trained to grow up the fence. If this is left unchecked then the point of the camp site, which is the view, will be null and void and to me there is no point going to this camp site any more.
It was a Bank Holiday weekend and the weather recently has been very chilly with even some snow and hail, although luckily I didn't endure that on this camping trip. It was still very cold at night and I was delighted to find that I had access to EHU, and luckily I'd brought the cable and a small fan heater just in case.
