Hi everyone, we're very new new to camping, so far have spent one night in our new tent in the garden. We can't wait to go on our first adventure. This may sound like a daft question but do you always need to book your site, if so how far in advance. I think I was being quite naive because I thought you could just up and off when it suited.
Any advice is a bonus
Thanks
Don't forget to leave a review of the campsites you have visited this year or last!
Welcome to UKCS - you will find this site invaluable - there are some really knowledgable people who will help you with any queries you have.
It depends when you want to go and where you want to go - Bank Holidays i would definitely book especially if you need EHU (electric hook up). Also during main school holidays you might want to book -
------------- Bee
Teenager for sale! Eye rolling, back talking, temper tantrums, and I already know everything attitude included. All sales are final!
HI. IT'S BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. THERE NOTHING WORSE THAN ARRIVING AT A SITE THATS FULL ,THEN HAVING TO LOOK FOR ANOTHER SITE NEARBY A PHONE CALL IS ALL IT TAKES
------------- Corpogreen esq
dead horse
and
donkey buyer
It depends, nowadays I always book because I've got a bit more organised but in the past we've just turned up at a site and pitched, even in school holidays and it's never been a problem. We had one of those books with all the campsites in. I think we only ever had 1 that was full but found another about 1/2 a mile away. I guess it depends on what kind of facilities you want and how flexible you are, as I guess sites with loads of facilities, ehu etc will get booked more quickly but if you are happy with the basics, showers and toilets you should be able to find somewhere.
If you are going to a popular (coastal?!) area during the hols, book now. Some popular sites are already full as has been mentioned in other posts on this site. Last summer hols I took my small ones away just for 2 or 3 nights at a time and generally rang that day or the day before. But I picked inland sites which would be less popular. The C&CC sites tend to have vacancies, quite often depends on how long you intend to stay. Personally I wouldn't turn up on spec, mainly due to the children being disappointed if it was full. I like to choose sites carefully ensuring good loos!
------------- Angie ~~
~ If you see someone without a smile give them one of yours ~
If you want to go somewhere specific you do need to book. However if you're happy just to pack and go anywhere there are always spaces around. We have had last minute changes of plans and just got the phone out and rung round. But our summer week with hook up on the site of our choice has been booked since January!
------------- Good friends are hard to find, difficult to leave and impossible to forget.
When we used to camp as a couple we hardly ever booked, we did sometimes for the first night which was a Friday as we left after getting home from work and didn't pitch until it was nearly dark as we liked to get a fair bit of travelling done on the Friday and we needed to know we'd definately have somewhere to stay without having to search around in the dark!
For the rest of the week we didn't book then we had the option of moving whenever we wanted. We always camped outside of the school holidays though - perfect!
Now we have kids, so far we've only been away once - last August, I booked around 2 weeks in advance for that it was for a long weekend not bank holiday though.
We're going away for a few nights over Whitsun and I'm just booking that now. Over the weekend I've been emailing various sites and they all had availabilty for Whitsun.
I'm usually travelling solo with scooter and small tent and try to avoid booking( might ring up the day before!).
However my main travelling area is North/North East Scotland where the school holidays etc doesn't seem to fill the sites en masse like it appears to further south!
For example my local campsite was pretty well empty over Easter.
However, I'm going to test the water a bit this summer because I'm going further south for three weeks and don't intend to book at all.
It would be different if I was intending to stay at a site for say a week or two, when I would certainly book.
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: Do you need to book??
