Trying to find a good adults-only, dog-friendly, good-amenity park to take my OH to. It will be his first time camping ever, and he is not keen on the idea. So I'm looking for a fabulous spot which might convince him that camping isn't hell on earth, and maybe, just maybe, he might enjoy it :)
So, after a lot of searching, I think I have settled on The Old Oaks, Glastonbury. It has great reviews on here, and is often recommended.
I was about to book a pitch, but have found out that all pitches with EHU (essential if I am to convince hubby - we'll need a kettle, heater & way to charge the ipod/laptop) are "hardstanding". I am not from the UK and am not sure what this means, so I contacted the campsite and was advised that the pitch is gravel and that they would provide an extra groundsheet if required.
Has anyone camped here, and if so, what's it like to camp on gravel? I just can't imagine what it's like... does it feel hard & rough under the floor? Does it damage the tent? Can I use my regular tent pegs or do I need rock pegs? Can I use Deltas? Anything else I need to think of?
I've never pitched a tent on anything except grass or sand my whole life and have no idea what it's like to pitch on gravel.
Cheers!
Ness
Don't forget to leave a review of the campsites you have visited this year or last!
Absolutely positive, it says so on their website and I emailed them to clarify and they confirmed this was the case.
------------- 2011 plans:
April - Exmoor 11 nights
May - Brynawelon, Wales 3 nights
July - Rendlesham Forest 4 nights
Then I am off back home to Australia, where the weather is always perfect for camping :)
I was in the same position. Tried to book for our 3rd consecutive May break there and found out about the hardstanding pitches. Put me right off, so didn't bother. Shame, because i really liked it there. They did it because the grass pitches in the camping paddock got severely waterlogged and wouldn't dry out enough to be used. Got to love our weather!!!
Hmmm.... well, on another thread on UKCS a few people said that it wasn't such a big deal, so we're going to go anyway and I'll let you know what we thought of it.
Will be taking our own groundsheet, AND using one of theirs as well! :)
Cheers!
------------- 2011 plans:
April - Exmoor 11 nights
May - Brynawelon, Wales 3 nights
July - Rendlesham Forest 4 nights
Then I am off back home to Australia, where the weather is always perfect for camping :)
It'll be interesting to see how you get on. One of my more miserly objections was having to buy a set of 30 'special' tent pegs just to go to that one site.
-------------
Slyder
Don't forget to leave a review of the campsites you have visited this year or last!
I just bought new Bear Lake and there is no way I want pebble holes/marks on it. Even with 2 groundsheets gravel will still leave indentations. I am sure it will be a pain to sleep on top of too.
...... EHU (essential if I am to convince hubby - we'll need a kettle, heater & way to charge the ipod/laptop) ...
Hi, I have just had a look at the Old Oaks website and it appears that non-ehu grass pitches might still exist there - so in order to achieve all the other advantages you list might it be worth considering boiling a kettle on gas, taking a gas heater and getting ipod/laptop charged up in Reception? Just a thought.
------------- Tackling life the Western District way
Don't forget to leave a review of the campsites you have visited this year or last!
Yes, they still have grass pitches, it's just the EHU pitches which are hardstanding.
------------- 2011 plans:
April - Exmoor 11 nights
May - Brynawelon, Wales 3 nights
July - Rendlesham Forest 4 nights
Then I am off back home to Australia, where the weather is always perfect for camping :)
If you're set on visiting Glastonbury,I would recommend The Isle of Avalon site.It has a seperate field for tents..although I'm not sure about EHU in that field...
It is situated within a 10-15min walk of the of the town centre(..so it's not to far to carry your shopping bags full of tie-dye shirts and crystals back to base camp! )
There's also a great little chippy on the walk-in(..they have a seating area out the back,with a large woodburning stove going).They also serve proper cloudy cider!
...... EHU (essential if I am to convince hubby - we'll need a kettle, heater & way to charge the ipod/laptop) ...
You beat me to it It looks to me that there are non EHU pitches - I'd imagine that perhaps the flatter end field is now hardstanding and the two sloping fields are non EHU?
Has anyone been there to confirm? If I get chance I'll give them a ring but it's manic at work so little chance in the daytime.
Good on them for doing something constructive about the weather. It's funny though isn't it, sites get pilloried for not doing anything to assist with the quality of their sites in wet weather and then get pilloried for doing something about it! Just goes to show that they really can't win!
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: The Old Oaks, Glastonbury
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It looks to me that there are non EHU pitches - I'd imagine that perhaps the flatter end field is now hardstanding and the two sloping fields are non EHU? 
