Post lockdown camping experiences?

[Elly Swanson]

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.

I have 2 fold up Ortlieb bowls that pack very flat (a 20 & a 10 litre, one for washing, I for rinsing). They’re like bags, so useful in other ways too. I can sit them on top of the Cali kitchen tops, just inside the sliding door and stand outside or put them on a kitchen stand outside. We have a water carrier and keep water by or in the van. In fact we never even bother filling the water tank.

On another note, the environment impact of disposable items isn’t just related to what happens to them after use, it’s as much the resources and power it takes to produce them, just to be thrown away.

 

[blakeley]

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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Wow that looks depressing , glad I'm at home sitting on the sofa with a glass of wine

 

[Elly Swanson]

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.

You can dispose of your water bit by bit as you use it. Even if you have to wipe grease off the pans/dishes first with a little kitchen roll it’s better than whole plates being thrown away. I go a bit away from where people are pitched and water trees, bushes, whatever, at worst I tip it down a drain. If you’re emptying your loo everyday you could tip it in there. It takes more effort but is well worth the hassle.

 

[kp64zl]

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

Yes I meant Yorkshire/Durham /Northumberland and all the other counties along the eastern coast . Nothing in Northumberland at all

finally found a field Near Scarborough for £35 per night

 

[kp64zl]

I have 2 fold up Ortlieb bowls that pack very flat (a 20 & a 10 litre, one for washing, I for rinsing). They’re like bags, so useful in other ways too. I can sit them on top of the Cali kitchen tops, just inside the sliding door and stand outside or put them on a kitchen stand outside. We have a water carrier and keep water by or in the van. In fact we never even bother filling the water tank.

On another note, the environment impact of disposable items isn’t just related to wash at happens to them after use, it’s as much the resources and power it takes to produce them, just to be thrown away.

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Nice

 

[Elly Swanson]

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

Weird, isn’t it. My hubby likes to use the facilities, but I’d rather get done and sorted at the van. Whether it’s a setup with our Quechua hand pump shower (with Lakeland oven shelf soaking tray or small blow up kids paddling pool for a shower tray) or a strip wash (2 different coloured flannels, 1 for botty & bits, 1 for the rest). I can be finished before he even gets to the front of the queue. I have though realised why doing his ablutions away from the van works for him - it gives him a bit of sollace time. Even I wonder how he can spend so much time in a tin box with me!

 

[Skylark2.0]

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

Thanks for sharing your good experiences, it's encouraging.

 

[Camperfamily]

Yes I meant Yorkshire/Durham /Northumberland and all the other counties along the eastern coast . Nothing in Northumberland at all

finally found a field Near Scarborough for £35 per night

Ah, misread your first post! Glad you got somewhere. £35 per night seems steep, but supply and demand I guess. Enjoy!

 

[kp64zl]

Ah, misread your first post! Glad you got somewhere. £35 per night seems steep, but supply and demand I guess. Enjoy!

Was that or a £30 travel lodge in Middlesbrough - will save the travel lodge for another day - what a bargain especially for a one night transit

 

[Amarillo]

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.

A child in the same reception bubble as Jack at school has been seriously ill in hospital with E.coli. The previous Sunday she had been playing in a stream in a local park, and it is believed she contracted E. coli from water contaminated by someone defecating in the stream. Locked public toilets are just a few yards from the stream.

Closing campsite toilets will just change the problems.

 

[Zebedee]

One of my pleasures is washing up the dishes outside the Cali with a kettle of boiled water and my Outwell Collaps washing up bowl in the lovely fresh air watching birds and bunnies last weekend with the dog sat in the Cali watching proceedings. Even the teenage daughter offered to wipe up ....something not heard of indoors! We took bog in a bag too and I did use it in one town as no facilities were open even at the petrol station. I think the country is large enough to avoid the great British public if you want to. Go inland rather than the coast perhaps.

 

[Tomato]

I bought a Cali to avoid contact with human beings....

 

[ejmoore]

So how are the armbands cleaned?

Similar system at Daleacres CMC site, except the bands were left in a jar of Milton solution - seemed to work ok, except one afternoon when the ladies' showers were occupied by two women & about eight kids

 

[ejmoore]

We took our awning & shower & porta-potti; used the latter but showering in the toilet block was easy enough if you don't go at prime time

 

[kp64zl]

We are now in a small privately run campsite in Yorkshire- sign saying only 6 people in the shower block, lots of soap etc, toilets cleaned frequently and that’s about it. Quite busy.

Very relaxed - can’t imagine its much different from last year.

 

[califan]

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

This was our experience at a CMC site last week-end. Everyone was respectful, felt safe.

 

[Stewart1150]

This was our experience at a CMC site last week-end. Everyone was respectful, felt safe.

I would also add with regards the wristband for the facilities; you are given one each on arrival in a sealed envelope and keep for the duration of your stay. When you leave you pop the wristbands in a sterilising pot at the exit next to the return box for barrier fob. Cleary your responsibility to keep the wristband clean during your stay. Appeared to work well to regulate use of facilities

 

[Gavin123]

6 nights at Trewan Hall. It was pretty relaxed. Some Covid related restrictions but generally I thought it was fairly normal. Everyone being sensible. We were careful with hand washing etc. Not too busy at start of week but much busier later. Certainly no more issues with distancing than going shopping and at least can hand wash at campsite.

 

[Fanga5]

Went to Moreton in Marsh CMC last weekend 04/05 July - extremely impressed from start to finish with standard of cleanliness and fellow campers demonstrating safe social distancing at all times, wife is in senior position in NHS and was reassured with the whole experience - looking forward to the next trip!

 

[Aidy P]

Scarborough CCC this weekend. Cleaning rota for the blocks. Every other cubical closed. Urinals closed. Everyone was polite. Just got a little busy later on after people had had a few drinks. I chose to wear my Buff over my face when it got busy. Useful to remind people to keep distance. All in all a nice site with a pleasant cliff top walk to North Bay which was busy, but people were distancing. Pleasant beach. Surfers. Pretty beach huts.

Made the mistake of walking to South Bay. Far too many people. No social distancing. People pushing past each other on the street. Beer gardens flowing onto the street. Not pleasant

Youngest daughter got quite anxious after the measures they put into safety to get them back to school. She asked ‘Why don’t these people seem to care?‘ The answer is many people just don’t care.

I guess you find a place that you feel comfortable with. For us definitely not South Bay Scarborough. I would go back to CCC Scarborough though.

 

[orbital]

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?

Methinks you worry too much. Just enjoy your life whilst you have because it will be over far too soon and Covid is only a rounding error. Your chances of dying from cancer are about 30 percent, from heart disease about 25 percent.... the risks from Covid are substantially less than 1 percent.

 

[Dassy1308]

Methinks you worry too much. Just enjoy your life whilst you have because it will be over far too soon and Covid is only a rounding error. Your chances of dying from cancer are about 30 percent, from heart disease about 25 percent.... the risks from Covid are substantially less than 1 percent.

Thought we all had gone over this already. Difference is you can’t spread cancer, heart disease etc....

Act as if you have it and don’t want to spread it, rather than acting as if you don’t have it and don’t want to catch it.

 

[Aidy P]

I agree it’s about being sensible now and weighing the risks.

We washed our hands after visiting the toilet blocks and so did our kids. We all carry a little bottle of sanitizer if hand washing isn’t available. We all have Buffs as we always camp with them and we all now use them to cover our faces if less than 1m away from others. Whilst I’m not ready to sit in a pub yet, I’ve decided we need to get on with life. Camping and being outside has got to be better for us than slowly going crazy at home.

Incidentally we met a friend for a dog walk outside of the campsite. She is a doctor and so is her husband. Both got Covid-19 and so did their kids back in February. Probably contracted from a home visit when a patient with pneumonia coughed in her face.They were all quite poorly for a few days at the time when the government was promoting a ‘herd immunity’ strategy. She’s had an antibody test since and has none.

She’s expecting the numbers of cases to increase.

She’s booked to go to France on holiday in August.

We have to find a way to get on with life.

 

[Jodalo]

Currently at Walton-on-Thames CCC. Was dealt with by very polite and well versed staff at the vehicle. Site arranged to minimise social contact. At the moment there are no toilet/washing facilities so all units are self contained with usual CDP and waste bins available. Site quite sparsely populated at present, so very peaceful adjacent to river. Most enjoyable.

 

[McGons]

We stayed at Coniston CMC this weekend and it was great. The facilities block had every other cubicle closed off but mostly it was empty when I went in even though I think the park was full (over 200). Same wrist band/hook system as already mentioned and hand sanitiser dispensers on the outside.

We walked through the next campsite on our way in to the village and it was rammed with tents and large groups and not much space inbetween. Glad I wasn’t staying there!