So....that's us (us being myself, my husband, and our three kids) just back from a few days camping at Aviemore.
We stayed at Glenmore campsite (we really wanted to go to Rothiemurchus but they were full) and had a really great little holiday - we love Aviemore!
However, I wondered what other people thought of how expensive campsites are becoming? The last time we stayed at Glenmore, which was about 2 years ago, I think we paid £22 per night for our pitch (standard pitch, no EHU), but this year it was £30 per night.
My husband and I have always been enthusiastic campers. When we met many years ago, it was a passion that we both shared, and one that definitely helped in bringing us together.
Now that we are a family, with three children, it's a good job we love it so much, as without it, family holidays just could not happen. We are not a well off bunch by any means, and our camping gear is sacred - best money we ever laid out etc etc...
It is sad to say, that we are now finding even a few nights camping a real stretch on our budget, when sites are charging £30 a pop. We just paid Glenmore £120 for four nights. £30 a night adds up to lots of money very quickly. We cannot sniff at £120 as a trifle.
Before we had kids (and for a little while after) we only ever camped wild. Our first foray into official sites was about three years ago, and it's true to say that hot running water, toilets and showers do make a family holiday easier to run. Even my husband grudgingly agrees on that...but we increasingly feel that we are being priced out of this option.
Looking around Glenmore this week, we saw some very impressive set ups going on. Families rolling up in huge SUVs, hooked up to trailers towing kayaks and bikes for the whole family, before they would hop out and pitch up their amazing mammoth tents.
Now I'm not criticising these people. If I sound a little scornful, it is simply because I am wildly jealous, and I will freely admit that. We have researched trailers amd roof racks and bigger cars, and we know the £££s that they cost. My husband and I decided that for many of these families, this was their passion too, and they choose this camping malarkey over two weeks in Costa Del Hellhole...so they are to be commended for having good taste. Thumbs up to the outdoorsy, adventure families!
But you know....there were a lot of these groups around. People with far more money to play with than us.
I think they're pricing us out of the market, and it makes me sad. Our passion is no less, even if our budget most certainly is.
Our two youngest children are 4 and 5, so in some places we don't yet need to pay for them. When we do we are looking at another tenner - so £40 a night.
Am I being unrealistic in thinking that that is a big ask for a bog standard pitch?
Am I being silly to feel that family camping will soon become a privilege of the better off?
I dunno - I'd like to book another trip for the beginning of August - and we are already wincing and doing the sums, and looking for cheaper sites. There aren't many.
Yours, feeling a bit elbowed out,
Fay
Don't forget to leave a review of the campsites you have visited this year or last!
Fay I do understand your problem, however I think it is a greed by the campsite owners. We pitch an over eight meter tent all over the country and have never had to pay the sort of money that you mention. This August/September we have a pitch booked in France with its own pvt shower and loo block !, great part is it is costing noting like what you suggest.
Of course going away in the school hols is a big hike in price, perhaps news of breaking up this national school hols period might bring things back to reason. I do think that the cost of petrol is almost the bigger part of camping for us these days, the cost of a return drive to the lakes towing a tent in a large trailer costs more than a weeks camping !
Perhaps the only way we campers can retrain the site owners to see reason is to walk away when they get silly, this recession and the grim summers will help to make em more understanding too.
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....not for the likes of us! (
Topic Closed)
