For a change from staying on sites for a week or two with our tent, this summer we are thinking of doing an actual tour over maybe a fortnight using the campervan only.
Although we've had our van a few years it's a style of break we have never tried apart from the occasional weekend so we are looking to go along the south coast towards Cornwall and then the north coast towards Bristol stopping for 1 or 2 nights here and there. Obviously it'll be unplanned and random with no doubt a few frantic calls to sites in areas we are heading for to find availability but even this year with these areas being busier than normal, as seasoned campers I'm sure things will work out. In addition we are "Britstop" members which gives us options. I would be interested to hear from others who've tried similar unplanned tours and any advice would be appreciated.
TIA !
Most of our holidays without our children have been unplanned tours. Before the children we stayed B&B, that meant looking for a room late afternoon. Sometimes it was difficult to find somewhere. Probably easier now with internet. We've not camping toured in the UK, only in France/Italy/Spain/Germany. The last time we toured in the UK we stayed in hotels, booking ahead every morning. The most difficult part is finding a place of interest to stay, rather than out in the sticks. And also it's better if you have a comfortable vehicle to retire to in case of inclemant weather, or you need a nap.
I would suggest having a rough idea of the places you might like to visit, and have a bit of an itinerary ready. Though often the nicest places are the ones you come upon unexpectedly.
We hardly ever book anything and just tend to take off and see where we end up. We do this both here and in Europe. The difference now, of course, is Covid. Last year we went to Northumberland/Durham and winged it but ended up being disappointed as many sites were fully booked when we got there and the towns were very, very busy. This year, for the first time, we booked all of our sites before we left home and were also not entirely happy as we saw much better places/sites to stay at once we were there so I can't say which is the best course of action.
You've chosen one of the most popular areas in the country to go to so things may be more difficult than if you went to a less popular destination. One thing you will have to take into account touring in the SW in the summer is the traffic. The A303/A30/ M5 and even the smaller roads can be a nightmare, especially at weekends, so take that into account when calculating driving times. We live in the south west and have learnt if not to live with this then certainly to factor it into any outing. Checking traffic online before setting off can save many wasted holiday hours sitting in a traffic jam (again, bitter experience).
Regarding the camping I think this very much depends on when you plan to do it; who is going i.e. couple, family, ages; how fussy you are about where you stay such as what sort of area you are happy with (beach/farm/town/ etc) and what facilities, if any, you are looking for.
If you are going out of the school holidays/peak period you will most probably be ok winging it so long as you remain flexible. If you're planning to go during the school holidays then you'll struggle more.
Make sure you have lists of possible sites or some good online and offline guides that show availability. Ring in advance if you can but bear in mind that the mobile phone/mobile internet signal can be patchy, to say the least, in some areas especially parts of the rural south west (again I speak from experience).
Don't be too fussy about where you camp e.g. 'must be on the beach' etc. Smaller, inland sites or those in farm fields are more likely to have availability. Look out for 'pop up' sites. They tend not to advertise too much apart from a sign at the entrance gate but are often great value. Britstops and pubs may have space but once again ring in advance as some of these don't accept stayovers if they are busy in the summer.
If you have nothing booked don't leave it too late in the day to start looking. If the worst comes to the worst be prepared to book into a hotel/B&B.
Finally bear in mind that with Covid though many, many more people are camping in the UK and while many sites are fully booked some are also now having unexpected spare capacity due to people cancelling. We've just found somewhere for this weekend via a post on a campsites Facebook page saying they had unexpected availabilty.
Chrisandsandra offer very sound advice especially with regard to places filling up due to the influx of new campers as a result of Covid.
We wouldn't contemplate just winging in the current climate, we've booked a holiday around the south east and east coasts out of the school holidays using a mixture of CLs, clubsites and private sites, pretty much all of them were fully booked.
You don't say whether you're members of the major two clubs? If you are, CLs and CSs may be the way forward, the new camping public either isn't aware of them or need toilets, showers etc, if you're more self sufficient for these you have more choice.
Last year we stayed at really nice CLs at Middlemarsh near Sherborne, Cheddar and Cam & Dursley. Not near the coast but still west-ish.
Hi all, no we're not members of the mentioned clubs and I suppose we could be described as a mature couple (by age, not behaviour...) and we have travelled down to the south west on numerous occasions so have a decent knowledge of that part of the country.
We're not averse to random decisions either so my enquiry was not so much about where or when but my comments were more about the dynamics of stop start, day here pack up ,day there move on again.
Do sites tend to have short stay areas for this type of holiday, are they generally happy to accept those on a tour etc.
having been to numerous sites over the years for longer periods in a tent it's something i've never really taken notice of. A bit of adventure never hurt anyone so was looking for the pro's and con's .
We find it’s not very relaxing moving on every day, best done only to get to somewhere far off. Our preference is to arrive after lunch (not booked pre Covid, having to book this summer), pay for 2 nights, explore locally from the site; next day do something of interest to us (visiting houses & gardens but it’s not everyone’s choice), knowing we can come back to our pitch late after the office or reception has closed. Next day move on…. unless the previous day’s exploring has shown that there’s plenty more to do - in which case, book another night or two if possible. The key thing is, if you’re driving more than an hour or two to see or do something, you might as well move on to another site in the same direction. It doesn’t take more than 20-30 minutes to uncouple the EHU, stow the grey water canister & pack the jug of fresh flowers in beside the loo. Radiating out long distances for a week is better suited to car & caravan or tent.
We nearly always holiday like this but mainly in Europe.
We do thin very similar to Fiona and find that moving on every couple of days is fine, especially as we have packing the van down to a fine art. We don’t have drive away awnings or a big set up outside the van so it’s just a question of putting a few bits and pieces like coffee and mugs away in their cupboards, the chairs and table inside, turning the seats round and taking the electric off. It takes less than 15 mins,
A few sites have short stay pitches but mostly you just get a normal pitch. Most sites don’t mind you only staying a day or two but some don’t like it. We have got to sites who have refused to a booking for just one or two nights but this tends to be in busy, popular tourist areas at busy times.
The worst bit of touring like this is that you get to an area where there are no suitable sites or those that are there have no space. All you can do then is keep moving until you find somewhere with space. The later it gets the worse you worry, bearing in mind that Receptions can close early. Having a plan B is useful.
As I said in my first reply the problem this year is that with Covid and the sites in the more popular areas are literally booked up all summer. We’ve just returned from a trip to South Wales and sites were already busy if not full.
Give it a go though. If you’re anything like us you’ll enjoy the freedom and the adventure. Some of our best holiday memories have been made this way.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Touring suggestions.
via mobile 31/7/2021 at 7:17pm
