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Quote: Originally posted by Coast walkers on 25/10/2011

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We try to use  Certificated sites when doing our SWCP walks and this year managed to get pitches at £8, £10 and £12 a Pitch for the two of us plus EHU in High Season, which has given us cheap holidays. Do these sites charged similar prices for solo campers too ?

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I found the C&CC club sites fairly cheap (around £9) because they charge per person and I also get the age concession. However, I was not impressed with the quality of the grass pitches at the two club sites I went to. Fine for wheeled units but not much good for tents. I would rather pay slightly more at a non-club site and get a decent pitch.

In my searches I also discovered that there are still plenty of pretty good sites charging around £10 and in prime locations, so why pay extra money to the C&CC for rough pitches miles from anywhere?

I also found that club sites are few and far between in the areas I generally go camping (hence I only managed two) so I have to use non club sites anyway.

Looking at the pricing for CS's (certainly those in areas that might have interested me) they seemed to want anything from £12 to £18. This usually covers two adults and two kids so is cheap for a family but since they don't have a single rate nor an age concession it is expensive for a solo camper.

Most are again, miles from the attractions they advertise which means extra expense in petrol, and many don't have facilities. This is not a problem in a caravan or motorhome but a little inconvenient in a tent.

Agree, per person charging is much more fairer. C.Sites that charge for 2 Adults + up to 2 Children, when there's only two of us, makes us feel we've overpaid too.

We don't have the option of camping off peak season unfortunately, so have to pay the full pitch price. We are in the C&CClub, and their Campsites are excellent, but for the two of us in high season + EHU it's expensive, we miss out on their off peak deals. So we shop around nearest the £10 ish mark, and have been lucky to find many good prices along our recent SWCP tours in North Devon, (has been more expensive down South though.)

Can remember tent camping on uneven grass pitches too,   not nice, my side of our bedroom compartment had a big dip, which was annoying as  kept forgetting it was there.  Also remember that when a site owner tells you on your first ever camping expedition that the pitch is only slightly slopeing, don't believe them.  

Coastwalkers

 Very funny Bob.

Hadn't heard of levellers in those days of early tent camping, but it would have been  most useful on our first ever camp, but then we wouldn't have had so many laughs as we did that first week.

Coastwalkers

Just an update to anyone remotely interested still.

We're still trudging the SWCoast Path, only managed to get a one 10 mile section of SWCP done in North Devon (from Bideford's Long Bridge to Long Bridge in Barnstable,)

Gale force weather unfortunately put paid to our other planned walks. and we returned home much earlier than expected, a little dissapointed.

Only another 40 miles left to do now,  but that will have to wait a while till we get back up to North Devon again.

The easy bit is the walking, the hardest bit is all the planning and getting there to start with.

 Coast Walkers are thrilled/relieved to announce that we have now at long last completed walking the 'South West Coast Path'

All 630+ miles of it from Swanage in Dorset down through Devon to Land's End, then back up the West side of Cornwall/North Devon to Minehead in Somerset. 

Woo hoo!  May we be the first here to congratulate you .  What an achievement!  Which bits were your favourites and least favourites?  Where to next?

OH hasn't progressed at all since we last talked about it here, but maybe next summer, when Higgins, our Springer pup, is just a little more sensible and responsive to him, he'll do some more.  He's only just over 10 months old and whilst he's doing well with his training, we took in a tiny section of the path near Dartmouth this summer and he very scarily went very close to slipping down to the sea from a lethal height.  Roly, the Pointer definitely can't do more than 4 or 5 miles now, poor old stick!

Thank You Fluffydogs02,

Good to hear from you again Karen.

Thought of you a few days ago when climbing up 'Great Hangman' in Combe Martin, North Devon, 'Hangman' definately was a 'Killer Hill'  (remembering your 'Killer Heels' you wore when climbing Porlock Hill.) 

All Areas had their Stunning 'Best Bits.' Not enough space to name all the best ones. Lamorna Cove comes to mind, also depended on the weather, nothing looks stunning in wet weather/fog. Did like the walks that had the hidden Coastal Pubs though.

Certainly didn't like the non scenic routes, we walked miles and miles of back roads to get back to the car, that was boring, some roads were quite dangerous, we did plenty of hedge diving from cars.

Then there was the over grown pathways, stinging nettles, brambles, barbed wire, adders, stampeding cattle, being lifted up off my feet by a cheeky young adorable Jersey Cow. Then there was the mud, we've spent our last few days caked in mud, we slip slided and walked with our legs apart up many a footpath to avoid the mud.

It certainly has been a challenge, our own OAP's Olympics, we certainly earned our Goldmedals.

Tell OH to have a look at the 'Solent Way' near where you live, only 60 miles to do, and safer for 'Higgens'  we've just started it and have managed 25 miles so far. You might enjoy it too as there's no Big Hills.

 Again Karen,

(Diane) Coastwalkers