2023 pitch fees.

[Bav]

If you had a nice field, you laid a track and half a dozen hardstandings, with electric points, WiFi, a fresh water point, waste disposal tank, recycling rubbish bins, someone to attend to the general grounds, maintenance, grass cuttting etc, and someone to administer the booking system, phone line etc, how much would would charge per night to make it worth all the bother, many times I see people attempting to heat their awning with a fan heater during the colder months.. , the electricity cost alone is so much higher now than last year.
I do agree that some sites charge way over the top, a bit like Vw and camper-van dealers..
#Disclaimer I work on a holiday site that has a small touring site attached.

Fair enough, but if you have a poorly-maintained field with no hardstandings, no wifi, electrics that trip-out if you so much as think of plugging something in, an anti-social site manager and a booking "system" that consists of an under-manned phone and pencil scrawlings in a notebook (I can't be the only person to have stayed at such a place!), then you shouldn't expect to charge the same as the setup you've described.

 

[Bigsidavies]

our C&CC has just auto-renewed . . . . (Face Plant)

View attachment 183523



and the BritStop APP is no good for us as we are Tent Dwellers. . . .

so its back to finding a good deal on a pitch.


+++++++++++++++++

saying that, we already have tickets for these four events, so that will keep us busy. ( plus a few family events at a campsite that the famalam store there caravan )

these alone are worth keeping your van:

Camperjam23 - Camper Jam 23 - (7th - 9th July 2023)
SummerCamp23 - T6F Summer Camp 23 - (21-23th July 2023)
Busfest23 - Busfest-23 +++ 8-10th Sept 2023 +++
AutumnGathering23 - T6Forum Autumn Gathering -- 22-24th Sept 2023 --




.

If you add Bala 2023 and the (possible) spring Forum gathering to those then you’ve got most of the year covered.
Go to Europe for the summer and you’ve cracked it.

 

[Green Giant]

Don't particularly require EHU but most sites you have no option to pick a none EHU pitch.

Yes I know, I’m certainly not defending the sites that have gone off the scale with pricing their pitches, our site is run as a CL site so we don’t have loos or showers, we used to have tv points but had to remove them as they were constantly broken and took up so much of our time making up new cables etc, personally don’t understand people going away to a beautiful location and kick off because they can’t watch their tv, anyway think it’s £22.50 a night, all year, was £20 a year ago.
I’ve noticed some sites now have a minimum two night stay which is not good if your wanting to tour around or only have one night free to go away at the weekend.
Europe seems the place to go for extended holidays, but for us in the north, it’s a days drive just down to Folkestone

 

[Bargy62]

If you turn up on a half empty campsite with several other sites within easy travelling distance you have the upper hand. Booking in Dec for next summer is never going to get you a good price.

Now i have retired early we're not going to book up anymore working and booking holidays at work normally equated to it p**sed down when we went away. so now it a case of the weathers good lets go excluding school holiday times when you do get your pants pulled down price wise

 

[Loz]

I'm guessing you don't have kids ?

Or a wife with a Stoma…

 

[wuckfitracing]

I cancelled the Caravan and Motorhome Club membership when renewal time came around in September as their new booking system sent me into a rage. I didn`t even get to the "how much the prices" were as I couldn`t even figure out how to see if anything was available for the dates I required.

 

[Ayjay]

.....the electricity cost alone is so much higher now than last year.

The high prices that a lot of UK campsites look to extract were a thing well before the current energy crisis hit. I appreciate that it's not all of them but when it comes to campsites, Rip Off Britain is certainly not a recent phenomenon.

 

[True Romance]

I fully understand the cost of living increase has forced most sites to up their prices to remain a viable business. This is more about affordability, for us anyway. Two night weekend break is going to be around £150+ all in when you take into account the increase pitch fees, increased fuel costs, increased food costs, etc. No longer a cheap weekend break.

 

[rod_vw]

I understand those amongst us who need, for various reasons, all the facilities of a fully equipped site. However many motorhome users who have spent £50,000 upwards to own a fully equipped vehicle and do not either need or use any more than space to park four wheels, grey & black waste disposal and a fresh water supply. I for one can happily wander France for weeks at a time using only those facilities.

Even full blown campsites in Europe often provide a basic parking area at nominal cost for those of us who don't want all of the facilities and charge appropriately to use those facilities by choice.

If only the UK would understand that there are levels of motorhome user and cater for us all at an economical price.

We do however have one dreadful problem when it comes to persuading local authorities to allow open overnight parking / sleeping and that is the litter and damage caused by a minority. I just hope that such behaviour is never caused by anyone on this forum.

 

[Sackmycook]

If anyone wants to park4night at my cottage in North Northumberland, it's £5 per night. No facilities included.....

 

[Pete C]

Interesting thread. I’m not concerned particularly about campsite fees specifically, as all other accommodation costs seem to be rising. It did make us look at our C&MHC membership, as that renews in January. We have only visited two of their sites (on one right now as I type) in the past 12 months, so we will be reviewing that shortly.

We definitely find ourselves migrating to sites with less facilities, but in the UK we only stay a few nights anywhere, and the kids have left home, so just the 2 of us to pay for.

Pete

 

[Pete C]

Coming at it from a different angle, if the C&MC wanted to reduce costs then they could turn the temperature down in the washrooms/toilets - it's stupidly warm in there tonight on this site !

Pete

 

[JOG]

C&MC and the other one are both losing their way! Lockdowns gave them a fantastic opportunity and they failed to catch that wave

 

[airhoguk]

Agreed both the major clubs have lost their way and the membership has no real say anymore. CCC at least freezed members renewal dates based on time lost due to lockdowns, C&MH only offered time locked vouchers. Perhaps if the C&MH wasn’t investing so heavily in glamming pods and other alternative accommodation then it might have a better income stream as each pod takes up a touring pitch and I bet they aren’t as used as a pitch would be, at least they dropped the airstream caravans

 

[Salty Spuds]

There are plenty of sites in the UK that are sensible money in the £15-25/night bracket. However if you absolutely can’t manage without your 2 weeks in Cornwall in the school holidays, then expect to be (bent) had over. Try North wales, Norfolk, Yorkshire Coast, Lincolnshire coast, Northumberland for a change. You have a van, you’re flexible, vote with your wheels, expand your horizons. Happy new year.
Ps, last year we stayed in Helston for £15/night including EHU, and Trevern campsite for £16.70/night inc EHU. Trewince on the Roseland Peninsula £23/night

 

[Bav]

There are plenty of sites in the UK that are sensible money in the £15-25/night bracket. However if you absolutely can’t manage without your 2 weeks in Cornwall in the school holidays, then expect to be (bent) had over. Try North wales, Norfolk, Yorkshire Coast, Lincolnshire coast, Northumberland for a change. You have a van, you’re flexible, vote with your wheels, expand your horizons. Happy new year.
Ps, last year we stayed in Helston for £15/night including EHU, and Trevern campsite for £16.70/night inc EHU. Trewince on the Roseland Peninsula £23/night

+1 for Northumberland coast - a beautiful part of the country that's far too often overlooked.

 

[Carlwaynie]

+1 for Northumberland coast - a beautiful part of the country that's far too often overlooked.

Don’t tell everyone… it’s a secret

 

[Sackmycook]

+1 for Northumberland coast - a beautiful part of the country that's far too often overlooked.

I'll second that, my cottage (with VW t6 parking space) is just 20 mins from the coast, nestled at the foot of the Cheviots. Available year round via me on here or airbnb.....

 

[Gàirnealair]

We do however have one dreadful problem when it comes to persuading local authorities to allow open overnight parking / sleeping and that is the litter and damage caused by a minority. I just hope that such behaviour is never caused by anyone on this forum.

I suspect a major factor in the reticence of local authorities to provide an equivalent to Aires is a fear that these places will be taken over by the people we used to call Travellers, if there is now a politically correct/woke alternative to that descriptor I am sure someone will let me know.

Such a group arrived overnight recently in one of the major carparks in a local town. Fortunately they only stayed a week but in that time the council lost hundreds of pounds of revenue because no-one was going to pay to park there whilst the site was "otherwise occupied" and when they did leave it took two days (and goodness knows how much cost) to clear up the incredible quantity of rubbish left behind.

 

[Salty Spuds]

I suspect a major factor in the reticence of local authorities to provide an equivalent to Aires is a fear that these places will be taken over by the people we used to call Travellers, if there is now a politically correct/woke alternative to that descriptor I am sure someone will let me know.

Such a group arrived overnight recently in one of the major carparks in a local town. Fortunately they only stayed a week but in that time the council lost hundreds of pounds of revenue because no-one was going to pay to park there whilst the site was "otherwise occupied" and when they did leave it took two days (and goodness knows how much cost) to clear up the incredible quantity of rubbish left behind.

I think the Travellers will pitch up wherever they like, regardless of any rules or regs. Only the law abiding obey the law.
We used to use a public car park in Helmsley in N Yorks. This allowed free overnight parking from 6pm-9am. We thought this was very forward thinking & hoped it would catch on. The scheme has now been closed due to the inconsiderate actions of a few non-traveller campervanners/MoHos. They were lighting fires on the car park & leaving piles of rubbish.