The Cost of Camping - 2022

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NeilM
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The Cost of Camping - 2022

Post by NeilM »

This seems about the only place I can find to have a bit of a rant about something that looks to me like blatant gouging.

Last year, starting in late June, I started moto camping. I live in the South West of England and my first trip was a try out overnight to Lands End, I camped at a really nice little site near Bude and paid £7.00 for a grass pitch, just me, my VStrom and a small 2 man tent.

In September I rode to Scotland, did a lump of the NC500 plus some other stuff and camped for seven nights, my most expensive site was £18.00 just outside Edinburgh, there was another at £15 and the rest £8 to £10.

I have started this year with an overnight to Lowestoft Ness, I camped at a very nice little site 20 miles from Lowestoft and paid £15. Next in early June I have four days planned in Wales riding a mixture of the Snowdonia 360 and some of Simon Weir's excellent routes, my campsites have already confirmed £10 a night.

And so to the point.

Somewhere towards the end of June I thought it might be fun to do another overnight into Cornwall but this time visit Lizard Point and so I contacted the same camp site and sure enough a pitch will be easy to get, but they have not confirmed a price, so I looked at their web site, remember £7.00 last year, this year £20, based on two people staying..... WUT!

I have spent a couple of hours looking at quite a number of other sites both in Cornwall and Devon and £20 to £24 is now THE price for a tent pitch and is often based on two people camping. Now to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, that price may be reduced for just one person, but still, £7.00 to £20 is nearly a 200% increase in price.... for exactly the same time of year.

Price fixing? Gouging? Increased overheads for a small patch of grass and some hot water? No idea, but it does make me more inclined to point the bike North rather than South West.
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Re: The Cost of Camping - 2022

Post by Brenhden »

I don't like being fleeced either mate, and us solo bike camper use very little for what we pay.

Supply and demand I would think. Sites charge what campers will pay. If those campsites are on farms then they might even have a tiny bit of sympathy, farmers are in serious trouble just now.
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NeilM
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Re: The Cost of Camping - 2022

Post by NeilM »

It's not just the farm sites, it's all the sites I have looked at.

It seems that someone somewhere put up their prices and everyone else has jumped on the bandwagon.

The issue for these site is that if they are expecting the same demand they saw last summer, then they are in for a nasty shock as holidays abroad are now back. Maybe not quite in the volume they were, but I live on the flight path to Bristol airport when the wind is in the right (wrong) direction and the traffic going in and out has changed from a couple of planes a day to a dozen an hour when things are busy.

I am close enough to Lizard Point that I could pretty easily ride there and back in a day and still stay off the bigger roads and motorways. Given that £20 is a tank of petrol that may well be what I do, but it would be a shame as I really do like a bit of overnight outdoors, and yes I know wild camping is a thing, but not really my thing.
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Re: The Cost of Camping - 2022

Post by Tonibe63 »

Was you trying to book direct or through a hosting site like Pitchup?
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Re: The Cost of Camping - 2022

Post by Snaf MKII »

Same price as last year,
https://www.campsites.co.uk/search/camp ... orm-anchor
last year there were a lot of pop up campsites for next to nothing that might have driven the price down. The campsite that we use near Falmouth has had a 20% rise year on year but hadn't gone up a lot for some years before that. For £20 a night I'd expect a hookup and that's what many campsites are doing as standard now.
Last edited by Snaf MKII on Wed May 04, 2022 1:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Cost of Camping - 2022

Post by Richard Simpson Mark II »

It's discretionary pricing...the internet can work to the advantage of the consumer when supply exceeds demand, and the other way around when things are the other way around.
Many people are still reluctant to commit to going abroad, and the farce at the Passport Office means some are unable to.
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Re: The Cost of Camping - 2022

Post by NeilM »

Tonibe63 wrote: Wed May 04, 2022 10:25 am Was you trying to book direct or through a hosting site like Pitchup?
Direct.

I was given the contact details of the campsite last year by a friend who lives nearby, so I just used the same email address.

I was chatting this morning with a buddy who is a keen caravaner. I mentioned the prices and he said he has found to same and will be heading North rather than South this year. He said that for his van with electric hook up, Devon and Cornwall are typically twice the price of sites in Dorset and elsewhere.

I hope the sites down here do well this year, but I don't think I'll be giving them any of my money.
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Re: The Cost of Camping - 2022

Post by Scott_rider »

Richard Simpson Mark II wrote: Wed May 04, 2022 12:37 pm It's discretionary pricing...the internet can work to the advantage of the consumer when supply exceeds demand, and the other way around when things are the other way around.
Many people are still reluctant to commit to going abroad, and the farce at the Passport Office means some are unable to.
..sometimes it's still cheaper to book through a third-party website. I priced up 7 nights in Spain by doing a direct booking with the usual hotel and a direct booking with the airlines. Exactly the same trip was £95 cheaper through the third party website (onthebeach).
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Re: The Cost of Camping - 2022

Post by 92kk k100lt 193214 »

I have found the same. . . . but some sites have seriously upgraded their facilities too. Typically though my camping in France on a group camp looks like being about €7-8 a night including electrickery.

I paid €20 for solo camping at Easter but it included a very good campers' kitchen, hot showers etc. But I did use a 3 man tent.
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Re: The Cost of Camping - 2022

Post by NeilM »

Snaf MKII wrote: Wed May 04, 2022 10:57 am Same price as last year,
https://www.campsites.co.uk/search/camp ... orm-anchor
last year there were a lot of pop up campsites for next to nothing that might have driven the price down. The campsite that we use near Falmouth has had a 20% rise year on year but hadn't gone up a lot for some years before that. For £20 a night I'd expect a hookup and that's what many campsites are doing as standard now.
Just had a look at the link.

Brilliant, thank you, that's much more like it.

Off to look at routes.
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