Post lockdown camping experiences?

[Skylark2.0]

Ok, so we dashed off this weekend to a small campsite in Cheshire for I night. The owners were fastidious with hygiene, good processes, very stringent and entirely appropriate. BUT there were several groups, maybe one was 2 families, another a group of 3 sets of friends but the other group was 4 separate couples. All groups were clearly having a bevy or two. They weren't social distancing from each other and who knows what happened when they went to the loo block.

You can take a horse to water but you can't make it drink.

We are in the field of healthcare so our view is analytical and rational.
We are very disappointed. Although we have two caravan and motor home week long bookings, we are going to cancel them as the great British public cannot be trusted.

What are your experiences of camping this weekend? It would be really helpful to know if you felt the same as us?

 

[Calimili]

95% of the people are stupid. No government, education , reform will ever change that. The social walfare system distorts the laws tha Darwin once explained to us.
I go camping and remain self contained, even if that means emptying the portapotti everyday. I buy food 3 days in advance and keep the same rules as when at home.
Of course showering if you have a Cali is an issue. It can be solved with some ingenuity.
Yes I'm using and throwing away polluting a lot of paper dishes and plastic cutlery when camping.
This year with covid i can't afford to be environmentally friendly.

 

[jimmywease]

We enjoyed a rainy and windy night away, staying at our regular seaside CMC site in Kent. It was around 75% full.

They had contactless, time-slotted check-in and a tag-system, limiting the number of people in the toilet block. This worked well, as I think most of caravans & motorhomes were using their own facilities. My late-night WC visit encountered a few boozy people ignoring the tags, but the loos were almost deserted by then. On the whole, I think the site had done everything reasonably possible to reduce risk and campers appeared to adhere to distancing guidelines.

The next day in Folkestone was different though - as the weather improved and the demand for refreshments grew, distancing started to fall apart. From my perspective, this was the fault of the vendors. The public were perfectly happy (and intelligent enough) to follow distancing systems where they were provided, but where systems were absent, people struggled to order, pay and receive their food & drink without breaking guidelines.

 

[Michael Minta]

We just had three nights away in a C&CC site... the site had been well managed with half the toilets, sinks and showers closed and was cleaned regulalrly.... kids were all mixing and playing (as they do) but although the playground areas were shut they stayed away from us and other vans etc. It was far worse off site, at tourist places where many were gathering....but again depended on how much room there was around us. You will always get some who ignore rules which is annoying for those of us trying to stay safe, but I’d say on the site we were on it was as good as it could be... I wouldn’t let it put you off the enjoyment of the campervan as it’s no different than going to the supermarket or into town.

 

[haydnw2]

Yes I'm using and throwing away polluting a lot of paper dishes and plastic cutlery when camping.
This year with covid i can't afford to be environmentally friendly.

Can I ask why Covid means you have to use paper and plastic instead of just washing up?

 

[Calimili]

Can I ask why Covid means you have to use paper and plastic instead of just washing up?

It depends really how long I'm staying , if there are full hook ups, and how many people peŕ washing facilities.
If i stay for a couple of days of course i can wash up in the cali, which is very impractical given the dimension of the sink and lack of hot water. But for 2 days it is ok. If i stay a week with no grey water hook up, it will not be possible .
One month ago , in a fully packed site with the few indoor washing up sinks, half of them not available for use to maintain distance, it meant that there were always long queues of people waiting their turn with their bucket full of dirty dishes in their hands. Queuing for washing up is not how i want to spend my holiday.
The plastic waste we have in europe is treated, it doesn't end up in the ocean killing fishes like people see on tv.

 

[Karlos]

It depends really how long I'm staying , if there are full hook ups, and how many people peŕ washing facilities.
If i stay for a couple of days of course i can wash up in the cali, which is very impractical given the dimension of the sink and lack of hot water. But for 2 days it is ok. If i stay a week with no grey water hook up, it will not be possible .
One month ago , in a fully packed site with the few indoor washing up sinks, half of them not available for use to maintain distance, it meant that there were always long queues of people waiting their turn with their bucket full of dirty dishes in their hands. Queuing for washing up is not how i want to spend my holiday.
The plastic waste we have in europe is treated, it doesn't end up in the ocean killing fishes like people see on tv.

We take a collapsible bowl with handles, boil a kettle and wash up at the van. No need to que or be near others.

 

[Calimili]

We take a collapsible bowl with handles, boil a kettle and wash up at the van. No need to que or be near others.

That would certainly work. We also wash face, teeth, hands in the van.
With full hook ups it is perfect, otherwise you need to move the van every 2 days to empty the grey water. Or use a grey water jerry can, many of which don't fit in the 18cm between the ground and the grey water pipe under the van.

 

[NZCol]

Why would you cancel ? What did you expect ? Assuming you are taking every precaution you can what you saw was no different to what has been going on since day 1. Staying at home is of course one solution but you can’t control the general population who dgas. I’m in healthcare too at the pointy end of this so I’m more worried about other people not me !

 

[soulstyledevon]

We have no plans for long stays anywhere this year. I really don’t fancy the shared resources of a campsite at the minute.

We have decided on short breaks Wild-glamping 2-3days at a time...

 

[kp64zl]

Can I ask why Covid means you have to use paper and plastic instead of just washing up?

Covid virus killed by soap. Covid will go away. The climate emergency remains.

 

[kp64zl]

My experiences - we are at a great site in Northumberland that we booked during lockdown. Facilities open and being cleaned regularly. People being considerate.

wanted to extend our stay but it’s fully booked now until September.

cant find any campsites available this weekend at all ...... wow

but can get a travel lodge for £30

 

[flying banana]

I dont see the problem. Families are allowed. And social distance is 1M now.. I dont know why you would want to be closer than 1M to anyone in a toilet block at any time. As long as they dont all run up and give you a kiss I think your over reacting and best stay home. How many people are on a football pitch now? How many on the beach or down the pub? Or at one of those dumb protests. The economy and country needs to restart and people need to stop moaning when they see small groups chatting

 

[Legin]

Just got back from Norfolk and then Cambridge, Sites well run and folk sticking to the rules for the most part. Max 3 in the facilities at any one time with a banding system for entry and egress. The rules reduce the risk they dont eliminate it as in wider country and the risk profile takes account some wont adhere. If I was in the high risk arena I wouldnt do it.

Having said all all this both sites were full so i suspect getting a booking is going to be tough now , I will leave it until september earliest.

 

[Stewart1150]

Ok, so we dashed off this weekend to a small campsite in Cheshire for I night. The owners were fastidious with hygiene, good processes, very stringent and entirely appropriate. BUT there were several groups, maybe one was 2 families, another a group of 3 sets of friends but the other group was 4 separate couples. All groups were clearly having a bevy or two. They weren't social distancing from each other and who knows what happened when they went to the loo block.

You can take a horse to water but you can't make it drink.

We are in the field of healthcare so our view is analytical and rational.
We are very disappointed. Although we have two caravan and motor home week long bookings, we are going to cancel them as the great British public cannot be trusted.

What are your experiences of camping this weekend? It would be really helpful to know if you felt the same as us?

Currently at a CMC club site, from Monday; very good cleanliness and social distancing, everyone abiding by the rules.
Facilities are open with wristband on hook in operation - all hooks taken then it’s full and wait until free hook - one block is unisex with two rooms, and can be used as a couple bubble if you wish. All cleaned several times a day
Everyone social distancing at water / chem toilet etc
All things considered if you want to camp, I’m content with the arrangements and behaviour. Quite a number of Cali’s and VW conversations using site

 

[Wembley]

We are in Switzerland so I guess things are a little different here - but maybe this will be useful for people thinking of travelling here to camp. So far we have gone three times, in the last 5-6 weeks - just overnighters and one 2 night stay. I should add that the lockdown measures started easing here in late April / early May, so we have had longer "out of lockdown".

Overall our experiences have been good - all three sites we went to (St Gallen and Lucerne areas) still had distancing tape on floors for areas where you would queue (kiosk, cafe, toilets, showers, washing up areas, etc), and in general people observed social distancing and would not crowd you. Public recreation areas were not too crowded, although of course any nice weather brings out more people and then distancing becomes more difficult. Also extremely hard to police small children, as they are naturally curious and want to interact with each other. But in general we found everything to be managed well, with no real silliness exhibited by the other campers.

All that said, we are also seeing some spikes in cases here, which seems an inevitable consequence of reopening things, but we'll just have to hope that people continue to be vigilant. Campsites seem to be getting booked up here quickly - probably a sign of people needing to get out and do something after being in lockdown - but still I would not discourage people thinking of camping in Switzerland, as it all seems to be practised well, at least in our limited experience in recent weeks. I'd be interested in people's thoughts about driving through Europe to camp, in light of frequent announcements / changes on border controls and quarantines, but maybe that belongs on another thread.

 

[Anthony1]

Just back from 3 nights at Trewethett farm, Tintagel.

Pay before you drive in, via telephone, then someone comes out wearing mask and gloves and gives you an envelope of things. Including one wrist band per person. To be used at the the toilet block etc.

A max of three people a time allowed in at any one time. Every alternate shower and toilet locked. Wrist band placed on hook, when all hooks full you have to wait. Unfortunately some people jumped the queue, some didn't have their wrist bands and some forgot to collect them on the way out, thereby blocked access for one person.

Overall though, most people followed the rules.

We left yesterday, weather cold and wet.

 

[Annik]

Just back from 3 nights at Trewethett farm, Tintagel.

Pay before you drive in, via telephone, then someone comes out wearing mask and gloves and gives you an envelope of things. Including one wrist band per person. To be used at the the toilet block etc.

A max of three people a time allowed in at any one time. Every alternate shower and toilet locked. Wrist band placed on hook, when all hooks full you have to wait. Unfortunately some people jumped the queue, some didn't have their wrist bands and some forgot to collect them on the way out, thereby blocked access for one person.

Overall though, most people followed the rules.

We left yesterday, weather cold and wet.

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That image of people queuing to have a wash standing in the rain really makes we want to go camping

 

[HB19]

I had two nights at a fabulous CL site just outside Huntingdon. It was extremely well organised. I took my own loo and a bowl for washing and washing up. No probs.

 

[Red wine lover]

I'm off to a site in the Purbecks in my callie. Need own facilities which is fine. Why do you need to shower everyday? Boil a kettle and have a good wash!
Places to empty the portapotti and drain the grey......surely that's better than wild camping, unless like the multitude that came to Dorset you'll poo and pee and leave it around for the poor volunteers to clear up.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

Neat little shower:

RinseKit Plus

The revolutionary RinseKit is a portable pressurized shower/clean up system that’s like having a hose to go!

rinsekit.co.uk

 

[Meoncoast]

A max of three people a time allowed in at any one time. Every alternate shower and toilet locked. Wrist band placed on hook, when all hooks full you have to wait. Unfortunately some people jumped the queue, some didn't have their wrist bands and some forgot to collect them on the way out, thereby blocked access for one person.

So how are the armbands cleaned?

 

[kp64zl]

Spent over 2hrs trying to find a place with spaces this Saturday/ Sunday - anywhere on East coast Yorkshire upwards would have been ok.

Desperate

 

[Camperfamily]

Spent over 2hrs trying to find a place with spaces this Saturday/ Sunday - anywhere on East coast Yorkshire upwards would have been ok.

Desperate

I’m not so sure. Northumberland sites seem pretty full too

 

[Elly Swanson]

95% of the people are stupid. No government, education , reform will ever change that. The social walfare system distorts the laws tha Darwin once explained to us.
I go camping and remain self contained, even if that means emptying the portapotti everyday. I buy food 3 days in advance and keep the same rules as when at home.
Of course showering if you have a Cali is an issue. It can be solved with some ingenuity.
Yes I'm using and throwing away polluting a lot of paper dishes and plastic cutlery when camping.
This year with covid i can't afford to be environmentally friendly.

Why, Calimili can’t you be environmentally friendly? I think it’s more important than ever before. If we don’t keep up our environmental efforts (even small ones) we’re looking towards more than a crisis and they’ll be no vaccine for that!
I don’t get why you feel you can’t do your washing up.