Quote: Originally posted by gracieharry on 28/6/2010
We were recommended a site (by the OH's dad) that would have cost us £30 per night! No distinction between caravans and tents nor how many people in the party, it was £30 per night per pitch - not great for 2 people. Looked like a lovely area but the price was very off putting.
When there are just two of you, it's often cheaper at sites that charge per person, rather than per pitch. If you joined the C&CC, the members' rate is rarely more than £10 pppn, even in high season and the most popular sites. Some sites are much less.
We go to C&CC club Certified Sites, you have to be a member but then the most we've paid is £7.50 per night for a pitch (and no limits on what you could pitch if you had a big set up) and that site had toilets. You don't really need a shower just for a weekend if it saves you some dosh.
I think we're pretty much a classless society. As a family, we're probably pretty middle class (whatever that is) but eternally skint because we have to some extent chosen quality of life over consumerism.
I agree with what was said earlier, it's the households on lower incomes that seem to believe that they HAVE to have all gizmo's, big TV's, big cars etc. and I think that is driven by the media. Certainly many of my friends on benefits seem to have I-phones which is something that I can't justify as a cost!
In my opinion it's the more discerning camper (middle class or whatever) who goes in a tent and SOMETIMES (dare I say...) the caravanners can be at the lower end of whatever spectrum we're talkng about.
Sorry, don't mean to offend anyone, just 20 years of experience have taught me that the noisiest sites with the messiest toilets & loudest kids etc are those with caravans.
I'm just a snob really & some of my best friends are caravan owners....
Camping is inherently democratic: anyone can do it, which is what camping is all about. However, like many such pursuits, camping is being invaded by the chattering classes, with their 4X4s, endless gadgets, (ranges with 8 burners and 4 gas bottles, huge picnic tables, wine coolers, armchairs etc. I kid you not.) All of this paraphernalia seems to mock the spirit of camping altogether. These dreadful people then proceed to build small villages of tents surrounded by windbreaks which spread out to occupy up to an eighth of the campsite and preclude anyone else camping within thirty yards of them, and finally subject everyone else to their braying RP dialects, talking endlessly about how their "main" holiday is 4 weeks in Bali.
The problem with this is that prices are then driven up and a culture of exclusivity begins to creep into camping, as it does with every other pursuit these people move into. Witness books like Cool Camping and sites like Wowo and Blueberry Woods with their yurts, teepees and eco-camping, all at prices which rival those of a week in Spain with easyjet.
Like everyone else, I enjoy the peace of camping. Stick to the basics and don't buy into the "up-market" trends.
I'm not sure I know what it is to be "Middle Class" these days but I understand the sentiment that is being expressed.
I also agree that it is the recent "idyllic" notion of camping being peddled in the media that seems to portray camping as a Middle Class activity and it no doubt means that camping now appeals more people from that walk of life. They like the idea of taking their children camping in a Famous Five kind of idealised way - probably complete with picnic hampers filled with ginger beer.
But my own personal experience is that campsites are filled with a whole range of different people, they are as diverse as society itself and that can only be a good thing.
Quote: Originally posted by camp chaos on 04/7/2010
Ooh it's a can of worms.
In my opinion it's the more discerning camper (middle class or whatever) who goes in a tent and SOMETIMES (dare I say...) the caravanners can be at the lower end of whatever spectrum we're talkng about.
Sorry, don't mean to offend anyone, just 20 years of experience have taught me that the noisiest sites with the messiest toilets & loudest kids etc are those with caravans.
I'm just a snob really & some of my best friends are caravan owners....
If you don't want to offend - don't write it. I am offended. I think you will find just as many slobs as snobs in tents or caravans or motorhomes.
In all honesty, and as some have already pointed out, I have no idea where the class system of old could be placed today.
For example, my wife and I live in a small 3-bed mortgaged semi in a suburb of Gtr Manchester. Not the most well off area but at the same time not a warzone. We have two cars, both over 5 years old, no kids and one dog. She is a high school teacher working towards a Masters Degree, I am a househusband with my qualifications in "life" (yes ladies, there is such a thing as a man who voluntarily does housework).
Some would peg us as middle class based on her occupation, our position as homeowners and a comfortable (although not "well off" by a long stretch) financial position. Certainly so if our roles were reversed in a more standard and socially accepted "man at work, woman at home" situation (a stereotype I detest as it basically makes me look like a layabout).
But at the same time we have never shopped at John Lewis, are not in a position to throw a couple of grand at a foreign holiday semi annually (or even bi-annually), happily buy the no frills food ranges at our local supermarket and our wardrobe is mainly stocked with Primark, George at Asda and Matalan (or as the wife says tongue-in-cheek - Primarni, Georgé and Matalano). Both our families come from industrial towns and we both had parents working on the factory floor, so we shared a grounded upbringing.
If I had to label us, I'd stick us as upper working/lower middle, although if I'm absolutely honest I couldn't give two hoots about society's view on class.
I treat everyone I meet with the same due courtesy regardless, the only deciding factor being how they treat me. Manners cost nothing, after all. As such, I will happily spend time and socialise with anyone, it doesn't take a degree to pop the top off a beer. As long as they are genuine and decent people, who cares where they come from or how many zeroes are on their bank balance? And I tend to find that most of us seem to fit that bracket nicely.
lol knew I shouldn't have read this thread - I shall apologise for my accent and try to remember to whisper on site :(
The BBC4 programme on recently was interesting - said that originally, in this country, at least camping was a countryside pursuit like hunting and fishing - so definately more upper class than anything. My grandpa, now dead for 25 years was a milkman but owned a caravan for many years. I'd have to say I am middle class but have camped since childhood.
Camping seems to have been classless for decades to me.
My background is deeply working class. Although I don't really think about it these days, if I was forced to I would now describe myself as a "Working Class Professional" (I am a Chartered Building Surveyor)
I don't care what car you drive or where you live; I don't care if you are rich, poor or which paper you read. I certainly don't care what tent (or caravan for that matter) you are in. What I do care about is how you respond to the people around you(including me of course)
I loath load mouthed people, be they "posh" or whatever label is meant to represent the opposite end of the scale.
I loath people who judge based on what they see alone.
I loath rude and arrogant people and those who seem incapable of respecting others.
I could go on of course, but you hopefully get my drift?
I prefer not to jump to conclusions; treat people with respect and you can expect the same in return (mostly)
The point is, people are people whatever their income or preference for holidaying might be, or what car they drive and so on. I could easily afford to jet off to where ever, but it's my choice to slum it with you load of vagabonds, and I love it - end of.
I had a conversation with my boss today, he's frightfully Hoity-Toity and was very insulting about camping - I wanted to throttle him!
I've stayed in hotels both in the UK and abroad, had a caravan for years and have had holidays in B&B's but camping is still my favourite. Why? Because you can have a prince and a pauper camping next to each other discussing the merits of various types of tent peg etc, neither one judging the other......
No idea what class I would fit into anyway, my father was a lorry driver and I have a professional qualification - does this make me a Professional Working Class person? :-) Who cares anyway?
Lin
------------- Single Women + Middle Age = Maturity + Experience! We can do anything (except handle mice....) :-)
I've come across folk of different backgrounds whilst tenting.
In March this year, my wife and I went 'camping' in the Burma/Thai area.
In May and June we went to the New Forest area, in a Tesco Dome tent.
In terms of cost, these were extremes.
Class has nothing to do with it as far as we're concerned.
In March we met very poor people, but very well behaved and respectful.
Sadly, in the UK there are 'Yobs' in various classes.
I care not what class my fellow tenters/campers are. I do have issues with their behaviour that upsets others.
Generally, we have very few problems on site.
If I feel things/people are impinging on my/our personal experience, I'll politely explain to the offenders.
If I feel it necessary (due to the nature of offense/offenders) I'll notify the Warden/Site Management.
I had to do this last August when our personal space was outrageously abused.
The offenders were ordered to remove their badminton net, and remove the tent and people who were there without a permit. Our neighbours sneaked in some friends and tent.
They took advantage of our day out, and our small tent.
I'm not a Victor Meldrew, but I'm now old enough to no longer accept abuse of my good nature.
Abroad, we try to avoid being taken for Brits, we're considered to be the 'Yobs of Europe'.
I'll happily assist a fellow tenter/camper who needs it (if I can), and I'll share a bottle of wine, or can of ale, with any like minded fellow tenter/camper regardless of nationality.
Now all I need to do is get a copy of the UK Campsite Logo printed and laminated, so I can add it to my pitch.
Hopefully I've not offended anyone with my ,long post.
Kind regards James
------------- In the beginning there was darkness.
Then I bought a tent.
I'm not destitute, I'm just poor.
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: Is camping middle class ? (
Topic Closed)
