UK campsite prices for solo travellers
- Thread starter MichaelW2
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
jefmcg
Guru
contadino
Veteran
- Location
- Chesterfield
A bed in a YHA dorm is usually 13.50. A campsite needs to be pretty bloody special to charge more than a tenner.
I'd want electricity, WiFi and a butler for 15.
I'd want electricity, WiFi and a butler for 15.
This is the thing. As a solo cycle tourist, when I first started I fancied the idea of camping and being entirely self sufficient but when I looked at this, most camp sites wanted a tenner or more whereas very little more pays for a bed in a hostel inside a substantial and fully weather proofed building which doesn't need me to assemble upon arrival nor to dismantle it the following morning and it comes with a proper bed, bedlinen, sometimes towels, toilets, showers, kitchens, etc all under the same roof and avoids me having to carry camping equipment on the bike so it makes life easier. A lot of them also provide some form of breakfast into the price and my favourite one does a free basic fry up in the morning and the option of a really cheap evening meal.
The one in Ballycastle that I stayed in recently even allowed me to bring my bike into the hallway.
Camping may work out cheaper for a group but for someone on their own I think hostels make most sense
rualexander
Legendary Member
The best of both worlds of course are those hostels which have camping space in the garden, very common in NZ and Australia, not so much over here. You pay a bit less than the hostel bed price, get your own space in your tent, and have the use of the facilities and the social benefits of the hostel environment.
I know this is a boring answer, but there's really no substitute for just checking campsites in the area (type 'Hunstanton' and 'campsite' into Google and then click on 'maps'). Ten minutes on the interweb and you'll have pretty good idea of what is the going rate for the area. Shop around and pick the campsite that looks best value in the area — or rejig your route to go somewhere cheaper.
General guideline prices are all very well, but a lot depends on where and when you go. (That applies to hostels too - the YHAs at Wells-next-the-Sea and Sheringham are advertising at from £13.00 while their hostel in Hunstanton charges from £20.50).
General guideline prices are all very well, but a lot depends on where and when you go. (That applies to hostels too - the YHAs at Wells-next-the-Sea and Sheringham are advertising at from £13.00 while their hostel in Hunstanton charges from £20.50).
Last edited:
- Location
- London
I realise where you are coming from and realise that any business has, possibly high, fixed costs. But there is such a thing as differential pricing - and offering cheaper/fairer fees to solo cycle campers would not undermine their offer to folk in vans/cars. And by trying to charge crazy rates to solo cycle folk they may very well lose the business. So their patch of grass earns nowt. which makes those fixed costs more onerous. I appreciate that at peak times, bank hols etc, campsites might have a minimum spend/days stay rule or whatever. But not every time is peak by a long chalk. I won't be paying much over a tenner for sure.
Thanks, what a nice offer.
In the end I tried to get a bed in Blaxhall YH. They were fully booked but had plenty of space to camp. £10 inc use of all facilities, hot showers, drying room, kitchen, cooked brekkie (£5), staggering distance to a pub dinner. I am a very satisfied customer, had a great time and saw a corner of Suffolk that I had never explored before.
- Location
- London
How does it work with sports centres? - a while since my squash days. Do you pay entry for some supposed sports activity and then just head for the showers?
I totally agree that all most solo campers need is grass, toilets, showers.
Tempted to open a new thread asking for suggestions, creative and otherwise, for sources of easily accessible showers. But for now will ask folks to post them here.
Next week should see me in a wood between birmingham and london. Then a 20 mile pedal to a spoons breakfast. One night only so won't need showering.
I totally agree that all most solo campers need is grass, toilets, showers.
Tempted to open a new thread asking for suggestions, creative and otherwise, for sources of easily accessible showers. But for now will ask folks to post them here.
Next week should see me in a wood between birmingham and london. Then a 20 mile pedal to a spoons breakfast. One night only so won't need showering.
And knowing that you can settle down for the night and no one is going to tell you to move on. Or find that your cosy camping spot is a favourite for local doggers.
I'm wondering how many gyms, sports centres and service stations allow you to just wander in and have a free shower.
And campsite owners need to pay people to cut the grass, clean the toilets, run the reception, pay to heat the water, pay for the water, light the campsite etc etc etc. And that's not counting the initial capital costs and the cost of having to refurbish - which I guess you'd need to do every ten years or so.
I'll bet that right now bretonbikes is doing the sums to try of work out how to make it work economically.
I remember staying at a campsite in Le Marche that was run by an old widow, and the guy who had taken over the bar was telling me about the problem they had with campervanners sneaking in for showers. This is people driving around in vehicles that are worth £30,000 and up (maybe they've spent so much on the campervan that they can't afford showers I don't know). I must admit find something equally odd about people who are travelling around with a couple of grands worth of bike and camping equipment obsessing about paying a tenner or so for a campsite, and doing mad stuff like cycling until it gets dark and then having to move on before it gets light. (If you're going somewhere where there are no campsites or places to stay for miles and miles then that's another matter).
I know 'wild camping' sounds very romantic, but is it really just a posh euphemism for sleeping rough? Something you might have to do if you don't have the money, but otherwise why would you?
[EDIT: I wouldn't mind betting that a typical campsite charges less than most people posting on here earn in an hour (OK before tax)].
Last edited:
- Location
- London
Care to tell us some tales? Could be entertaining I suppose. In practice I don't think they would get too far from their cars so you would probably be OK. Unless you know better ....
I don't know. I wasn't anticipating it being free.
- Location
- London
Agree. Very bad. But was anyone on here advocating stealing showers?
People doing "mad stuff". We can't be having that, what will the world come to?
You mean in the UK? I've paid over 30 euros for a small tent and 2 adults in Italy.
