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I have nothing against campsites that have every modern convenience. If that is what some campers want then those type of campsites provide for, and charge, for it.

The problem is that when campers complain that a site they went to had 'basic' facilities, no heating in the washrooms, no this and no that, then not only does it make that campsite appear to be somehow inferior, it is also bound to start the campsite owner thinking he may have to improve things in order to get better reviews or please more campers. So he dips his hand in his bank manager's pocket, provides all the posh facilities, and then of course has to charge more to pay off the bank loan, and what was once a nice, cheap site with adequate facilities becomes yet another expensive caravan and camping 'park'.

Also, once a campsite improves it's facilities and sets a precedent in an area then the powers that be who make up the rules and regulations start forcing rules and regulations upon the smaller sites to bring them up to the standards of the 'better' sites they feel are correct for the area.

I am all for improvement and in some cases 'progress'...after all, in my youth there were no such things as campsite toilets (not in many places anyway). You had to dig a hole in the forest and bury it. I also appreciate that costs only go up and never go down but there is a limit to what some people can afford to pay. Those younger people in good jobs who get a pay rise every year, or can work a bit of overtime, bank holidays etc; aren't too fussy if a campsite adds a pound or two to their pitch prices, but to somebody on a low income, a fixed income or a pension, those few pounds a year, year after year, gradually become unaffordable. Camping used to be a holiday the poorer people could afford. It is now fast becoming a past time for the filthy rich.