Club 80-90 Forums

I have just tried to book a weekend in the middle of aug & I can't because the minimum amount of nights in high season is 4. I only want to go for a weekend & I want to introduce my in laws to camping, I can't take any more time off work & it has pi55ed me off. On Bank holiday weekends it a min of 3 nights wherever you go nowadays, I have been told that its five nights min at new forest capsites in the school hols. Camping used to be about freedom & fun, now it has to be a milatry operation to get a pitch, booking months in advance & being forced to pay for extra nights. Rant over.

fried chicken wrote:I have just tried to book a weekend in the middle of aug & I can't because the minimum amount of nights in high season is 4. I only want to go for a weekend & I want to introduce my in laws to camping, I can't take any more time off work & it has pi55ed me off. On Bank holiday weekends it a min of 3 nights wherever you go nowadays, I have been told that its five nights min at new forest capsites in the school hols. Camping used to be about freedom & fun, now it has to be a milatry operation to get a pitch, booking months in advance & being forced to pay for extra nights. Rant over.

its become big business - camping has apparently never been so popular. The New Forest, I've heard is a pain.Try the Brecon Beacons

it also tees me off, that you have to pay so much for an additional child/awning/dog/etc etc.....

to take the family camping now costs around £40-50 a night in the summer! Oh, and a caravan can have a car, but if we want to take the camper and the velle (coz the camper and awning can sleep the family, but not cart it around, we have to pay to have and extra car!!!!!!!!!!

ermie571 wrote:it also tees me off, that you have to pay so much for an additional child/awning/dog/etc etc.....

to take the family camping now costs around £40-50 a night in the summer! Oh, and a caravan can have a car, but if we want to take the camper and the velle (coz the camper and awning can sleep the family, but not cart it around, we have to pay to have and extra car!!!!!!!!!!

eh how much??? I only before used a zelt in Germany, but now with the camper...the price lists i remember are about a tenner...for 2 people, couple of yoyos for leccy....

Mind you, i am in Milano and a couple of days at the seaside in Italy in Apr, it was to be early Apr but they dont open campsites until late or even early may!!!!

Also a lot were like you said, minimum of 3/4/5 days...no use to me, in Germany its one night and no probs ( i go from area to area, girl to girl )

I got caught this way a few years back - the worst thing was that we made a booking but they didn't tell us until we got there that there was a minimum, and pretended they hadn't got our booking. Not fun when you have to drive round looking for a coastal campsite on the off-chance - and this was long before sat-navs and mobile internet (not even sure we had a phone then). Luckily we found a nice site just a few miles down the road.

I think this is where the farm and pub sites come into their own, and if you're making use of those it's often worth being a member of one of the big two clubs just to get access to those "CL" sites. Myself I rarely go anywhere that isn't a rally, so the problem doesn't arise very often.

Try to look at it from their point of view .... you book Friday and Saturday night ... they miss a booking for the whole weekend or even week.

That being said the majority of UK campsites suck, we were charged £21.50/night in Cornwall 5 years ago (we knew no better then) .... Germany is ~€25/night with every facility and France is similar, only €13 for a municipal (council-run) campsite.

Ian.

get the Caravan club book of CL's they love one night stands

Like the man said, join one of the Camping Clubs and get the use of their CL or hideaway sites.
Range in facilities from a minature camp site to a flat section of field with 'own san essential' i.e bring your own toilet
Cheap as well!

ermie571 wrote:it also tees me off, that you have to pay so much for an additional child/awning/dog/etc etc.....

Yeah me too.
If you turn up on a site with a car and tent it's 'x' amount per night.
If you turn up with a car and caravan it's 'x' amount per night.
If you turn up with a 'velle and a tent it's 'x' amount per night.
If you turn up with a camper and an awning it's 'x' amount PLUS extra for your awning.
WHY??? Surely it's the same difference?
I presume the site charges for use of toilets/showers/washing up facilities and the rent of the pitch so, why should they charge extra for dogs?
I wonder if I'd be in the wrong if I washed a muddy dog in the shower cubicles, after all I'd have paid for it

Why not a section for non camp site camp sites, ie: a farmers field, back of a pub, etc etc. If you have info then share it! unofficial sites can be fun, but more so, CHEAP!

We like to steer well clear of commercial sites,after all they are running a Business,esp the bigger sites.they love to take every last penny from you .

Like peeps said above ,join The Caravan Club Or the Caravan and Camping club,loads of cheap c/s ,hideaway sites ,farms ,and best of all
The rallies and tempory holliday sites are really cheap.

and there is none of this get of site by 10.00am ma larky.

for eg,One sunny summers day ,there was a rally 20 miles away from us

it was a sat urday ,spur of the moment ,just went ,stopped one night ,left sunday LATE afternoon [hangover]

Fee £4...

"Camping used to be about freedom & fun, now it has to be a milatry operation to get a pitch" Quite agree,
I'm fed up with the overpriced and regimented sites which fly in the face of the reasons why camping was invented.

eg 1. Went to Wales last week, had to pay for electric hookup and unlimited electricity even though I couldn't physically hookup (didn't have the lead on board).

eg2. Somewhere else last year forced to pitch my tent (with me and family) at least 6 metres from my Dad's camper (even though he was just using it for sleeping in).

My recommendation for the week is
Carpenter's Hill Farm, near Bembridge on Isle of White, not many rules, essentially respect the other campers, pitch where you like. Quite good price too. Oh, and not forced to pack up and leave by a certain time.

Thanks for all the replies & support, I guess I am quite picky, when its just me & the misses we stay on cl/cs sites but with 2 young kids I like to be walking / biking distance to the beach & have showers to wash them down afterwards.Thanks

This site in Braunton (North Devon) are very good, although as per normal the summer prices are quite high!
http://www.lobbfields.com/

i know how u feel... they tried to stuff us for 3 nights in monmouth of all places! if you cold call the week before its usually ok mind... good luck