Why are english campsite facilities so poor - whilst there are many [its just finding them] I am sure that are very good , many are still converted barns with associated cobwebs that were refurbished in the 70s. lines of sinks in front of urinals, showers that you have to put in 20p etc. big open fields that provide no shelter from wind and are often on a sloping fields.
My son booked a site in Newquay for this week, looked ok on website, reviews seemed ok - yet when he got there his comments on the facilities both tent field and caravan was 'they were manky' this is a person who has done lots of wild camping and whose expectations are not too high, but! this is the first time camping for his wife! not a good introduction.
The french campsites we have stayed on over the last 30 years, have always had good individual pitches [with hedging around], they have moved away from the lines of sinks in front of the urinals!!! and have always been immaculate, never paid extra for showers.
My apologies to those campsites who make a real effort and keep facilities uptodate, modern and clean, provide sheltered level pitches - but! how do we find you?
I do agree though. We mostly camp in France, and most sites have excellent facilities, my main complaint is if they are mixed sex, or if some of them are locked off during lower season leaving inadequate numbers. I have never paid extra for a shower.
The last couple of years we have have had the opportunity to camp in the UK, and one thing I've noticed is that there are seldom washbasins in cubicles, so you have to floss your teeth in front of everyone else.
However, OH says the urinals are more private in UK, in France they are often in full view of everyone!
Again, read the reviews thoroughly. And more importantly, who is leaving them. Thats to say, if the likes of caravanners rate a place, it will be likely fine. Traditional campers (in tents), maybe like your son, will put up with less of a standard - or certainly seem to be happy with, so may 'rate' a place better than it actually is.
There are French style sites in the UK, its a matter of finding them. An example is Springfield Farm in Northumberland. It has hedges round the pitchs, modern washrooms - and not a string of onions in sight.
WHY do people always seem to run down the UK I have stayed on manky (to use the word from above) campsites all over Europe, its not just the UK that has them, and conversely I have stayed on brilliant campsites in the UK and Europe.
I hate the sweeping statements about the UK this is a fantastic country to live in and feel great about please stop running it down.
Totally agree with the last post. On a recent trip to Croatia we stayed on two sites in Germany that were dire.
We have stayed on some awful sites in Europe and Italian ones were the worst with tiny pitches and badly designed showers.
The best way to guarantee a good site in Britain is to join the Caravan Club. Whatever your views on the club you can guarantee that the site you choose will be of absolutely superb quality with first class amenities. I'm currently in Brittany and the club saved me more than my annual fee with the saving it got me on my Portsmouth to Cherbourg crossing.
I would agree that there is much the same mix of good & bad sites in France as the UK. Coastal sites normally have worst facilities as campers will come anyway because it is on the coast. Inland sites have to try a bit harder to get the punters in.
Having said that, I found the facilities at St Ives Bay holiday park quite good & that is a coastal site in West Cornwall.
Why are english campsite facilities so poor - whilst there are many [its just finding them] I am sure that are very good , many are still converted barns with associated cobwebs that were refurbished in the 70s. lines of sinks in front of urinals, showers that you have to put in 20p etc. big open fields that provide no shelter from wind and are often on a sloping fields.
My son booked a site in Newquay for this week, looked ok on website, reviews seemed ok - yet when he got there his comments on the facilities both tent field and caravan was 'they were manky' this is a person who has done lots of wild camping and whose expectations are not too high, but! this is the first time camping for his wife! not a good introduction.
The french campsites we have stayed on over the last 30 years, have always had good individual pitches [with hedging around], they have moved away from the lines of sinks in front of the urinals!!! and have always been immaculate, never paid extra for showers.
My apologies to those campsites who make a real effort and keep facilities uptodate, modern and clean, provide sheltered level pitches - but! how do we find you?
We have used many sites in France and while some are good with modern facilities there are equally many with substandard toilet / shower's .
The one thing that we detest are these toilets with NO seats or worse these prehistoric SQUAT holes in the ground .
We often look around site in France before paying for a pitch and if the facilities are poor we move on , if your paying good money I expect decent toilets and some of these French sites are diabolical .
It wasnt a 'sweeping statement' and I certainly am not running down the UK - I have been camping all over the British Isles[ and urope] for the last 50 years - and still think its wonderful. The point I am mEaking is that we all contribute to reviews of sites on here or elsewhere - I often wonder if the campsite people read them though?
I stand by my statement of sloping tent fields, cobwebbed converted barns for toilets that need modernising and showers that often require 20p+ Open fields that provide no shelter from inclement weather. Given our poor weather [oops! not sl*gging off Britain, no such thing as bad weather only the wrong clothing - or in this case wrong camping method tents v caravan/MH] perhaps campsite owners need to look at what they can do to help campers , e.g. better drained fields, wind break hedging, perhaps an open barn that provides somewhere to shelter and recover - could be used as table tennis etc.
I agree there are many fine campsites in Britain and there are many 'manky' ones in europe and I certainly agree with Neil and Lena - no seats and squat holes are diabolical - urggh!!
I have noticed a difference since moving from tent to campervan - Mick S above says 'traditional tent campers may put up with less of a standard' I agree this may be the case.
We can all make things better by making sure the reviews are honest [but not rude!] and ensure the poorer sites know what we think - spread the word about the best sites. Someone says 'Caravan club sites are always good' - looking on the web people seem to have trouble getting on these sites - I am a member of the CC but rarely use their sites [not sure why!!]
Thankyou to all those who contributed above, I think you all make valid points - lets just get campsites improved whether they be in Britain or Europe - camping is no longer a cheap holiday, but I wouldnt swap for hotel holidays - clean,modern toilet on a level site with a little shelter would be nice - off to France on sunday to a nice little site in South Brittany - and no, there are no squat holes - enjoy the rest of the summer
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Topic: campsite facilities
