Love2Stay dog friendly caravan and campsite

Love2Stay campsite near Shrewsbury in Shropshire has been on my radar for a while. Outdoor activities in abundance keep children entertained, from play areas to water sports. It’s so dog friendly that there’s even an agility course. And better still, there’s a beautiful natural swimming pool. There’s lots going on in the local area too. Pretty much our ideal holiday. We headed there for a couple of nights during October half term to see if it was as good as it sounds.

Staying at Love2Stay

Love2Stay have 11 beautiful looking glamping lodges available as well as 122 touring pitches. Touring pitches come in two levels, one is a standard pitch with electricity and water. The other is a large pitch that includes a permanent awning and decked patio for some extra space. We opted for a standard touring pitch. They are all hard-standing so rock pegs are recommended.

Even with a basic pitch, we noticed the difference between Love2Stay and standard campsites. Both water and electricity are on each individual pitch, which makes things a lot easier. The toilet block is large, warm and always clean. Views from around the site are quite spectacular and even without all the added activities, it is somewhere we would choose to stay again.

Things to do at Love2Stay

The thing that drew me to Love2Stay was the natural swimming pool. This is open all year round and it’s unheated so it gets incredibly cold. As a keen open water swimmer, this suited me down to the ground. What surprised me was that the children and my husband all got in for a dip too. Probably due to the fact that they could get out and go straight into the hot tubs to warm up. Children are allowed in both the pool and the hot tubs but there is an adults only tub as well.

Next to the swimming pool is a large children’s adventure playground. I liked the fact that the playground seemed to have something for children of all ages. My two loved the slides and climbing equipment but there was plenty for older ones too including high climbing areas and slack lines. There’s even a barefoot walk around the outside of the playground.

A 500m walking trail on a gravel path was an ideal place for the children to ride their bikes and to have a walk with the dog. There’s a fitness suite, spa treatments and the option of going fishing. For more outdoor time, visitors can head to the wildflower bee garden or sports field. They also offer movies under the stars, yoga classes, pilates and meditation.

Dogs at Love2Stay

This was probably the most dog friendly campsite we’ve been to. The girls loved taking Bubbles around the dog agility course. It was a great course that would offer something challenging for dogs that did agility whilst being accessible for people and dogs without prior experience. If you don’t fancy agility, there are some lovely dog walking areas and you can just let the dog off the lead to play in the agility area instead.

Dog bowls are dotted around the place and they are allowed in the cafe and outdoor seating area. Additionally, if you walk across to Love Coffee, the cafe and shop at neighbouring Salop Leisure, they have a dog friendly area too.

Food and drink

There are several options for eating and drinking at Love2Stay. First and foremost is their restaurant. This is located next to the natural pool, hot tubs and play area. They serve food all day, closing early evening. Closing time was 6pm when we were there but it varies with the time of year. They also serve alcohol.

Whilst we loved the idea of having a restaurant on site, we weren’t overly impressed with it. Two of us are vegetarian and the other two eat very minimal meat. The only vegetarian options on the menu were incredibly heavy on cheese. We went for pizza and nachos. We are all huge cheese lovers, but that was far too much even for us. Whilst it’s always going to be cheap and cheerful on a campsite, we were quite disappointed at the lack of choice and didn’t hugely enjoy the food.

That said, once we realised the cafe wasn’t to our taste, we had lots of other options. Outdoor kitchens area available so visitors can cook their own barbecue style food. The Love Coffee cafe at Salop leisure is a very short walk from the campsite. This is only open for breakfast and lunch but we were impressed with the food there. There’s also a small wooden caravan for children to play in while they’re waiting for food which my two enjoyed.

Things to do in the local area

There’s a vast array of days out for families in the Shropshire area. Not least the Ironbridge Gorge Museums. Whilst we were at Love2Stay, we spent a lovely day at Blists Hill Victorian Town. It’s ideal for families and dog friendly too. The RAF museum at Cosford and Hawkstone Park Follies are nearby as well.

The Severn Valley Railway is a nostalgic trip back in time on a steam engine. It’s well worth checking their website to see what events are taking place during your stay. They often have some magical journeys for young children including special journeys at Christmas.

Here are some more ideas for family days out in the West Midlands. You can also check out my list of dog friendly days out in the West midlands. To find out more about Love2Stay and to book, head to their website.