Tent campers – second class citizens?

[Cliveg]

Hi all

 

Do you think you are being treated badly by site owners compared to how they treat caravan and motorhome users? Some campers do. This treatment may be linked to the excess behaviour of a sub-culture of new camper who has little self-respect or respect for fellow campers. But, others do feel the best pitches are reserved for ‘up-market campers’ without recognising the needs of those who choose to holiday under canvas.

 

During the course of our poll on noise we received some interesting comments. Here are a couple.

 

“On the subject of good and bad sites – at the beginning of July my husband and I stayed at Greenhill Farm site on the edge of the New Forest. We were shown two large fields – both surrounded by three strands of barbed wire – complete with a smelly open skip. NO trees, NO hedges, in fact, no shelter at all. Our tent had been up for about an hour when we were asked to take it down and move to another field to make way for a rally. Well, the rally never came even after three days, and the field was used as a dog walking area. The caravan fields were immaculate – with many trees, shrubs, flowers and lakes. This is also an Adult Only Site. We had really expected better than the treatment shown to us. We cut our holiday short.”

 

“We went to Rudding Park this year and suffered from people weeing in the bushes and shouting and swearing at 1am. And that was the least of our problems… If other readers have had the same sad fate we had tell them to go to adult only sites that don't allow groups on.”

 

So, this is the subject of Camping's next readers’ poll – do you feel tent campers are treated as second-class citizens on our campsites? Drop me a yes/no email to cliveg@warnersgroup.co.uk and let me know your thoughts…

 

Cheers

 

 

[nightrider]

When we bought our first VW camper we knew nothing about the camping life, we made mistakes but learned from them. At first we used privately owned sites and we soon learnt that private camp site owners are only concerned with money and dont usually live on site.

Drunkeness, rowdyism, anti-social behavour, cars coming on site at all hours of the night and thieving are the norm.

What a difference when we became members of the Camping and Caravanning Club, they operate a zero tolerence to the above problems, gates are locked at 11pm so you can't drive in or out of the site, if you want a peaceful time while on site join the C&CC, plus you get age concessions and camping miles, no way would we go anywhere near a privately owned site.

[Beccylovespurple]

I've had the opposite experience to the previous poster. I am a Camping and Caravan club member also but only use CS sites as the only time we have used a C&CC site was also the only time (in 12 years of camping) that we have been made to feel like 2nd class citizens. We were in the tent field which was the furthest place from the facilities which were in the caravan field. It was also stuffed to the brim and the only way they could squeeze us in (we had booked in advance) and keep to fire regulations was to pitch us at a funny angle right up against the track through the site so that vehicles were passing a few feet from us. The Warden stood and waited until we had finished pitching so he could check we were the correct distance and gave us the impression that he had far better things to do than look after us.

 

I think that privately owned sites are like any other area of business. You get good ones, bad ones and mediocre ones just as you get good, bad and indifferent restaurants or mechanics. I always read online reviews before booking a site and this seems to work well. We have stayed on some fantastic sites and never been disappointed by a site we have booked. The only times we have stayed on less desireable sites were when we needed a site in a particular location e.g when backpacking and, having read reviews, we were expecting what we got.

 

This spring we also aquired a caravan and I have not seen a difference in the way that we are treated whether we have the van or the tent.

[nightrider]

Beccy,

In the 14 years or so that we have been members of the camping and caravanning fraternity we have never experienced what you say you have. I have spoken to many tenters and none of them have told me of any bad experiences either.

You say that when you changed from a tent to a caravan you still experienced the same type problems, I can't really suggest an answer to your dilemma.

Like I said in my earlier post, private sites are not for me, never had a problem with any of the CCC sites we have been on, well managed, campsite wardens on the ball with regard to anti-social campers etc.