Camping is expensive!

[marymary]

Hi just a general comment - I have just looked into doing some camping in devon/cornwall and am shocked at how expensive it will be!They all seem to charge £20 minimum!It just doesn't seem fair (or is it? are they expensive to maintain?).

[swscotland bentrider]

You are right, it is expensive. Partly it's because it is this time of year and they are in prime holiday locations. Whereas in France you rarely spend more than 10 Euros a night!

[PH]

Hi just a general comment - I have just looked into doing some camping in devon/cornwall and am shocked at how expensive it will be!They all seem to charge £20 minimum!It just doesn't seem fair (or is it? are they expensive to maintain?).

£20 for what? If it's a big tent, car and family of four that sound pretty reasonable. If it's just you with a little tent and bike then you're right it is expensive. I've never paid more than £10 a night and often half of that, I don't know Devon and Cornwall very well though I have cycled there a couple of times. maybe you should say where you're looking for and see if anyone has recommendations.

[bikepacker]

Two weeks ago I paid:
£10 on the Lizard
£8 at Wadebridge
£12.50 at Westward Ho.
£5 at Highbridge.

[Ronl]

I have found as a cyclist with only a small tent, if you go in later in the evening they will often negotiate a good reduction, especially if the site has several empty pitches. Never tried in Devon or Cornwall admittedly.

[marymary]

Yes I had looked initially at the bigger more expensive parks, and a few smaller ones that I knew from when my children were little. One of the latter charged £20 min per pitch even just for a single person in a 2 man tent. A few of the other more commercial ones were even dearer. They are obviously in areas of high demand, were (as has been remarked) for a four person set up it's cheap; however that would be the basic outlay for a family before extras. Anyway I have trekked through google maps and found smaller less well known camp sites that are more reasonable. I suppose it is a very fragile business with such a dependency on the high season I should not begrudge people trying to make a living. I just had a shock! I think with careful planning and timely pedalling/no punctures I should be able to plan to stay at the smaller, less expensive (but usually more preferable) sites.

Thanks
Mary

[Tigerbiten]

Have a look at the main Camping and Caravan Club sites.

If your bikepacking then its around £6.75 per person per night at this time of year if your a member.
And only a couple of pounds more as a non-member.

Depending on where your going and how far you travel per day, I've found its quite easy to get a run of 3-4 of their sites ~50-60 miles apart when doing a long tour.

[marymary]

Tigerbiten more good information I am forever grateful. Thank you.

Regards
Mary

[willem jongman]

Bigger sites with swimming pool, entertainment for the kids, electricity for your satellite tv and fridge, yes they can be expensive and awful. For us, the absence of electricity on the pitches has often been a useful filter to avoid such horrors.
Willem

[Smudge]

You are surrounded by fantastic wild camping here in Devon ... why would you consider paying £20 per night ?

you can pop into a leisure center and get a free shower

Simon

[phil parker]

Devon and Cornwall is a bit more tricky than other parts of the country because of the tourism trade and the popularity of camping and caravanning in a region blessed with better weather than other parts of the country. The holiday resort sites are also trying to compete and want the sort of customer who is staying for the week or longer and preferably a family of four, a result of which they often quote prices of two adults and a tent etc. without breaking down prices further for 'back-packer' type rates. This is compounded in peak season by the fact sites are often full and have to turn away customers who haven't booked.

As mentioned above - the C&CC sites are excellent for cyclists who count as back-packers and are never refused a space because of the C&CC's origins and heritage; the facilities are standardised as are their costs which tend to be about £8 - £9 for non-members. There are also plenty of other small sites that are more suitable and I've found that a phone call beforehand explaining you are a cyclist with a one-man tent and asking what the rate is for that...often brings a negotiated price. I phoned the site at Polzeath earlier this year and the owner quoted the usual price to me and immediately followed by saying 'but that's no use to you (£20)' and offered me the fee of £7.00 (low season - March).

Both the sites on the vicinity of Oakhampton are good as is the one above mentioned at Wadebridge. There is a site about 4 miles in-land from Land's End, but I would really recommend the site at Marazion - again, a phone call beforehand negotiated a good rate and free use of their small swimming pool - and it's just a short walk into the town where you can enjoy a cold beer in view of St Michael's Mount

[simonineaston]

Went to South Hams last week-end where I paid a modest £7.50 a night, with my chum, who was like-wise charged £7.50 for her tent, a roomy Colman, in which she was on her own, except for her friendly and well-behaved pooch, Frankie. My chum who arrived before me had made the mistake of quoting the manufacturers person capacity - 2/3 in the case of my Vango Mk10, and 4 in the case for the Coleman, and so the farmer's wife was all set to charge us £20 a night, but dropped it to £15 when we explained that the tents were really just 'roomy for one person'
Later on we mulled over the topic of fees and facilities, and found ourselves comparing the facilities unfavourably, with those found in typical French sites - we have both had recent positive experiences of camping in France, however, we relented a little over the week-end and by the time we left on Tuesday, we had forgiven the owners the 20p charge both for hot water from a single tap and the hot showers, and the fact that there's nowhere to do washing up or even rinse through clothes, mainly due to the peace & quiet and the excellent views over the Kingsbridge estuary... choice of 2 rather good pubs, both selling good food in the nearest village (Marlborough) helped, I think.

[marymary]

Smudge - I am not yet at a stage where I will be brave enough to wild camp - may be next year!! And yes lack of electricity on a campsite is a good barometer of how nice it will be. And now I will go and join the C&CC, what a good tip.

Mary

[BeeKeeper]

Simon, if you come to the area again have a look at the campsite the other side of Malborough at Higher Rew - just beyond the tiny village of Rew which is so small it doesn't even show on Google maps. The site has free hot water in the sinks (solar heated) and lots of washing up facilities. Downsides are some pitches are a bit slopy and is it is a long walk to the nearest pub - that and I have some beehives in Rew but don't blame me if you get stung!

[andymiller]

You are right, it is expensive. Partly it's because it is this time of year and they are in prime holiday locations. Whereas in France you rarely spend more than 10 Euros a night!

France, for whatever reason is, IME, the exception to the rule. In Italy and Spain you'll rarely pay *less* than 10 euros. And as for Switzerland... I don't know about Germany and the Benelux countries.

Have a look at the main Camping and Caravan Club sites.

If your bikepacking then its around £6.75 per person per night at this time of year if your a member.
And only a couple of pounds more as a non-member.

Depending on where your going and how far you travel per day, I've found its quite easy to get a run of 3-4 of their sites ~50-60 miles apart when doing a long tour.

I was touring the west country last summer and came across a lot of the CCC's little farm sites, which often seemed like a good bet for cyclists. All however had notices saying CCC members only - presumably this is part of the deal they do with the CCC.

So far as I can recall CCC membership is relatively expensive (at least for a single person). If I were say doing a month's tour oin the UK it would definitely be worth the investment, but for a shorter trip a lot more debatable.

Is there a membership equivalent of the backpacker rate?

As far as the main CCC sites are concerned, my impression is that most of these are strictly divided up into pitches so unlike more informal sites have less flexibility to find an odd corner for a passing cyclist. Or is my impression wrong?