I love camping as been doing it since I was a child. The last four years all our main holidays have been camping and we try to go as much as we can in the summer.
I can't stand 'family rooms' in hotels as the kids always play up too much. They don't do it camping probably as they're more tired etc etc.
When I was younger I worked a bit as a chambermaid in a hotel and it put me off - all those people sleeping on the same bed - give me my sleeping bag and camp bed over that any day!
I like ditching the gadgets too so always go non-electric and have had more pleasure on cheaper, more basic sites.
So will chose camping - and an ever growing collection of tents adds to the feeling of going to different places too.
------------- 2015 April: Polstead, Suffolk. May: Two Acres, Ely. Waveney River Centre and Whitehall Farm, Norfolk. Aug: Howstean Gorge / The Quiet Site / Fron Farm / Cae Du / Trevayne Farm - BOOKED!
We really enjoyed our camping trips but in the end we added up some costs like....
10 nights at £32 a night = £320
Cost of fuel to get there and back = £150
Food = Could be any amount - especially if you wanted to try some of the local eateries - example being 2 x bowls of soup 2 x bread rolls , 1 x tea 1 x coffee x 1 cake = £19 !
Not to mention numerous other expenses so sadly we gave it up due to value for money , weather never great ...Now it's off to the airport every year to sunnier places....and it's fantastic.
Still might camp again but it would be the odd weekend only , but still like to see all those tents whenever we go out driving............enjoy campers....hope the weather is great for you all this year.
I haven't done a thorough search yet, but the sites I am looking at around Bala area are all costing £28-£36pn. The added costs appear to be because the sites don't charge per pitch. The pricing structure is a pitch and 2 adults or a pitch and sometimes 2ad + 2ch. As we are a family of 6 I have to add on an extra £3-£5 per child (not included), per night!
These are sites with no clubhouses, play area or masses of facilities.
Back when we were last camping Pre-2000 we used to pay around £10-£15pn for the pitches.
Like has been previously mentioned, I doubt the fees will drop. This is because site owners have upgraded toilet blocks etc to compete for the masses and so they will still expect to charge the inflated prices.
I am a bit peeved that a two night stay is going to cost me around £70 before factoring in fuel, food or activities...BUT I will have to get used to it as it doesn't look like there is much of an alternative.
I have brought this thread back to life to say that we have camped for the last two weekends.
The first one at a marina (Waveney) and the second at a simple, no facilities campsite (Wardley Hill). I have just reviewed both.
Anyway, I paid £34, gulp, for a tiny pitch for 1 adult and 1 child the first weekend (could have been £42 if I had felt like pushing the boat out after I had keeled over).
£13 for two adults and a child the second weekend. The first had lots of facilities (that we didn't use apart from the pool). Proper pitch lighting (so that you couldn't tell whether it was day or night), and swish wet rooms.
The second had as much room as you wanted, campfires, a little wooded glade and a compost loo, nothing else.
Obviously the difference in facilities was massive, but so was our enjoyment, we had an absolutely fantastic time at Wardley Hill and a much less than fantastic time at Waveney.
I must be braver - I look for more structured campsites when I take my daughter on my own (8), pay through the nose and then neither of us particularly enjoys having less room than we have in the garden .... but I always wimp out and never learn.
A great camping experience can still be had for less than rip off prices, just a bit harder to find.
Having been camping a lot as a child (but abroad) and as a teen (sodden days doing youth clubs) - I like my home comforts. I am a real wimp, I hate the cold, I don't like public toilets, cannot stand shower floors that are dirty, want lots of surfaces when I am cooking, like peace and quiet and am quite a grumpy, unsocialble person. I do love going outdoors and for days out and for walks, always have done, provided I can return to my comforts once done. I married my husband and we decided to have 4 children, he works very hard in the forces, but we don't have a lot of money due to having had 4 children. We hadn't had a holiday since going away for 4 nights to wales in a caravan whilst I was pregnant with my second. Shortly after I had my 4th the older two children (then aged 5 and 7) really wanted to go camping, so hubby was duly despatched to a not too expensive, but with all the mod cons, campsite about 40 minutes away in cornwall in my old teen 3 man gelert tent. They had an amazing time and when they came back and shared their tales and pics with me I was very jealous I was not with them. We decided that it would be a fairly cheap way of having family holidays, so saved up what we could and bought the basics and cheaply too. Yep, we are one of 'those'people who thought that it was an alternative to the holidays we thought wed like to go on. We didn't invest much money as we simply didn't have it to pay out. We also went to the cheapest campsites we could find. We went to one 'comercial' campsite for a weekend and vowed never, ever again, too many people just getting drunk and screaming and shouting til early hours, sitting in the pub watching sky sports, whilst their kids spent a fortune on the games machines. Totally not our cup of tea. We like the campsites which are a field (maybe some slides or a swing) with a (CLEAN) toilet/shower block - only essential for us is an ehu. That's it - our favourite ever has to be moonfleet farm. We spent 4 weeks last august camping, along with several weekends from late may to early sept, and we loved it, for me I love being outdoors, the kids need no reason - its camping! yep, we are still only buying the cheapest equipment - but that is due to our budget not because we don't think its worth the investment as we will be going for years to come such is our love for it - even when we can afford these other holidays, we will always choose the quieter, much nature friendly campsites (and cheaper!) over the larger commercial ones - that's not snobbery - that's our preference - and so just because we started because it is a cheaper holiday and we can only afford to spend a litte bit on the equipment please don't judge us - for were entitled to camp and enjoy it too :) we may have pushed the prices up - but we too have to afford them on our very limited budget :) we love all our fellow campers (apart from those idiots who sing innapropriate songs at 2am or those who have all the best gear but obviously no idea when they come banging on your tent at 9pm screaming that your children should stop laughing so loud haha) to finish weve fallen in love with camping even me - so long as I can wear my flip flops in the showers! :)
------------- June 2015: seaview international 2 nights
July 2015: little winnick 2 nights
August 2015: lower polladras 5 nights
august 2015: tollgate farm 5 nights
august 2015: oakdown 3 nights
September 2015: tregarton park
family of 6 with young children
I first mentioned a family camping holiday 6 years ago but after a disastrous camping weekend some 16 years ago my wife wasn't that endeared to the idea, however we bought an Vango Icarus and arrived at our destination to be greeted by cloudy skies and rain. We persevered for what seemed like hours ( because it actually was 😀 ) and once the tent was pitched the sun came out and we were greeted to a week of glorious weather, from there on the wife was hooked.
Over the following years we've upgraded and now we've bought a Vango Inspire 500 and have built up quite a collection of accessories with all but the kitchen sink thrown in for good measure. One thing that has become more apparent over the years is the number of sites which have now gone down the Tourers only approach, and those that haven't seem to have increased their prices to match those who are staying in caravans, obviously there are still plenty of cheaper camp sites but we do like ones with evening entertainment for the kids.
As for it not being as popular I would disagree as we're always bumping into first time campers who are smitten with the idea of camping, and it's still a far cheaper and more rewarding experience for many families and couples who love the outdoors. Would I swap it for a luxury Caribbean holiday, well I'll be tempted but not at the expense of giving up our camping holidays.
------------- Sunny days and starry skies, the polar opposite of UK camping!
Now that my DS has become a student and has decided to spend all his camping time in a selection of cheap (bought by mum in jumble sales) 3-man tents in Festivals, we're down to just me and DD wanting to camp. My OH has gone lazy, he can't be bothered to drag his bum away from the telly and pub at the weekend. So we're back to pitch + 2 adult prices which is really very nice after some years of 2 adults + two older kids, it's widened my range again.
It's a school holiday on Monday up here and DD and I are off down the Borders for three nights to a very nice campsite costing £13.50 per night plus £2 per night for EHU. It's got a clean loo block and not much else on site but there's plenty to do locally, great fish and chip shop down the road and neither of us bother much with elaborate meals so we only need a one burner cooking set up. We take a 4-man tent with head room and a sitting area, takes us 20 minutes to put up. (At 13, DD is five inches taller than me.)
I've done the full trailer tent plus kitchen sink 2-hour set up thing, I've done the eight week all summer family trips to France, I've even gone to an all singing all dancing club site once, though that was a mistake never repeated. But there are still quieter, more modest sites around if you look and especially if you don't need EHU, which isn't essential for me for short trips. I started off my camping life in a 2-man tent while cycle camping, I've done the huge unit with family thing, I feel I'm now coming out the other side with a more modest setup and fewer demands of a campsite. It's quite liberating actually not to have to drag so much kit around and be able to set up in half an hour.
So far this year i have spent 24 days away in my caravan and i have seen about 5 other caravans and 1 small tent and thats it.
How much would a week in Spain cost at this time of year.
Quote: Originally posted by illinois6 on 15/5/2015
camping is as popular as ever , trouble is we have all spent so much on our gear we can't afford to go away as much !!
i agree with that, but we can't wait for better weeather with the kids,,,we always manage 21 days plus
------------- It's better to ask a silly question than make a silly mistake.
I don't believe camping is getting less popular, it's merely evolving or rather reverting to back its more traditional form with 'wild' camping and the permission to have a fire being legal across much of Scotland.
You could be here...
Of course the idea of no-frills, no facilities is not for everyone but no fees, no departure time & no noisy neighbours does have some merit. Plus can you really say you've been camping till you've cooked on an open fire?
------------- It may seem like a good idea but never open a bean tin with an axe
Oscar that is incredibly beautiful, our sort of camping. I have many reasons for wanting to move home to Yorkshire, the proximity of Scotland is one of them.
Quote: Originally posted by OscarHowells on 16/5/2015
I don't believe camping is getting less popular, it's merely evolving or rather reverting to back its more traditional form with 'wild' camping and the permission to have a fire being legal across much of Scotland.
You could be here...
Of course the idea of no-frills, no facilities is not for everyone but no fees, no departure time & no noisy neighbours does have some merit. Plus can you really say you've been camping till you've cooked on an open fire?
I think camping is still cheap, the initial investment in kit and equipment can be fairly high, but once you've got the kit, providing you look after it it should last you a few years.
Campsite fee's aren't horrific when you think £30 per night (ave?) is per pitch, not per person. £300 for a family of 4 to have 10 nights away? Show me a realistic, cheaper alternative abroad...
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: Camping Getting Less Popular?
