Groundsheet use in Europe

[Jabberwocky]

Hi Everyone, need some advice please.
I am hearing about use of breathable ground sheets in France being mandatory at some sites and green mats with holes in Holland.
I have a Vango Kela III with sewn in GS but as far as I know not breathable, also has a footprint GS which helps keep the main awning GS clean (Handy when packing away) which seems to be made of the same material as the awning GS.
Any advice out there about do's and don'ts or being prepared for the GS police?

 

[bigmac77]

Only a small sample I know but we camped at nine different sites in France last summer, people were using a variety of things for ground sheets, tarps, breathable, sown in like yours even some plastic sheeting at one place but mostly nothing at all but no one was going round checking as far as I could tell. I suppose ultimately is depends on how much and of what quality the grass is on the pitches and whether the campsite owner is concerned about it. My own personal experience having run a campsite is that once we got to July and August I wasn't too bothered, the pitches were getting hammered ground sheet or not and I just had to keep things tidy until September then the grass could recover over the closed season.

As for any do's and don'ts I'd say if you get to a pitch and there is already a bare patch put your awning over that you can't make it any worse, but opinions may vary.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Only a small sample I know but we camped at nine different sites in France last summer, people were using a variety of things for ground sheets, tarps, breathable, sown in like yours even some plastic sheeting at one place but mostly nothing at all but no one was going round checking as far as I could tell. I suppose ultimately is depends on how much and of what quality the grass is on the pitches and whether the campsite owner is concerned about it. My own personal experience having run a campsite is that once we got to July and August I wasn't too bothered, the pitches were getting hammered ground sheet or not and I just had to keep things tidy until September then the grass could recover over the closed season.

As for any do's and don'ts I say if you get to a pitch and there is already a bare patch put your awning over that you can't make it any worse, but opinions may vary.

I just made two bookings, one on-line and one by phone, both in The Netherlands. Neither asked about GS's.
In light of your comment I feel a little more comfortable about winging it. We shall see. Thanks.

 

[bigmac77]

How many nights will you be at each camp site?

 

[Jabberwocky]

So far no more than four nights in one campsite.

 

[bvddobb]

As said above, it very much depends on the state a pitch is in when you arrive. Then make a decision for yourself.

Having said that, when we go to a camp site it is mostly a small nature reserve type of site, not the big swimming pool & entertainment team type of sites, and there we see that owners are more concerned and you may find a notice to not use closed ground sheets or plastic foil beneath tents, etc, and sometimes even an urge to move your pitch every 3 days...

We use some sort of green rubber mesh type of ground sheet under our awning when we use one (quite often no need), that lets the soil breathe while still making sure we are not trailing any mud inside. And we are seldom somewhere longer than 2 nights, so not a lot of damage done.

 

[bigmac77]

So far no more than four nights in one campsite.

For that length of time I can't see it being an issue. Enjoy your trip

 

[Hotel California]

Now a days many campsites have a grass picth with a hard standing part next to so you can chose how to pitch up....

Or even special hard standing only pitches if you prefer...