Are some people actually this oblivious?

[TinyTroubleMaker]

OK so I'm on a campsite run by a well known membership body. We've been on site a while and used other sites. People are usually pretty sedate. Here so far, it gets dark around 8-9, people are quiet and respectful of others, everything goes quiet, everyone goes to sleep. Anyone who is up is more or less silent. Might sound boring to some but it works, means everyone gets a good rest and it's pleasant.

Tonight, a group arrived I think then went out. At twenty to eleven, they've returned and 1. Driven their van with headlights shining into tents waking everyone up. I can hear my neighbours awake by this 2. Kept engine running for what seems like quite a while 3. Slammed all the doors on their vehicle repeatedly 4. Got children out and let them yell everything they have to say loudly, without quietening them because others are asleep 5. Parents (or I think 2 women with 4 or so kids) not at all keeping their voices down either in talking to the kids 6. Once inside their tent / caravan continuing to say everything at top of voices which on a campsite carries at night 7. Still outside 30 minutes on, keeping half the campsite awake. Compared to every other camper I've experienced on this trip and other trips this summer, they have really poor manners.

It should be obvious every tent around them is dark, people are sleeping, and this behaviour is therefore going to wake multiple people. Within a certain area, say 15 tents at least with average 3-4 people each. More tents beyond that probably.

So, either they know this and think they are more important than literally everyone around them (and genuinely believe it's necessary to carry on at they are without even attempting to lower voices) or they are so oblivious that they actually can't figure out how anti social they are being.

I am so grateful we've had such fantastic fellow campers for days and days now but so disappointing to have to deal with this near the end of our stay.

Not sure what the AIBU is exactly, other than - can people really be this oblivious to their effect on others?

@TimetohittheroadJack

It would make far more sense if campsite separated themselves into 2 categories: 1) early birds and 2) night owls.

Early bird rules are no noise after 10pm but it's ok in the morning,
Night owls could have a midnight or 1am curfew, with no noise before 9am.

or just twats and non-twats.

Feel for you OP . If it's against the site rules you should complain to the management.
We've had experience of this sort of inconsiderate behaviour before. We now we prefer to go to Greener Camping Club sites, although I realise this doesn't help your current situation.
These sites tend to have more space around tents meaning that sound doesn't carry so much. You can still hear people but it isn't bothersome.
There are no cars allowed on the camping fields - you have to park on the car park and walk to your tent. No vans allowed. So no problem with headlights. You might get people walking past with torches but they should be at a distance as each pitch is separate.
They can be expensive though. But so worth it if you hate noise!

"or just twats and non-twats"

Actually I think that ^^ is a pretty twatty remark, after a sensible suggestion from TimetohittheroadJack

Parents with littles ones might want silence before 11 pm but are often up at the crack of dawn, which equally impacts adversely upon others. Those with older dc or no dc will often want to stay up later at night and wake up later.

What we have there are separate groups of people with conflicting needs - not a case of twats and non-twats

DynamoKev

TimetohittheroadJack
It would make far more sense if campsite separated themselves into 2 categories: 1) early birds and 2) night owls.

Early bird rules are no noise after 10pm but it's ok in the morning,
Night owls could have a midnight or 1am curfew, with no noise before 9am.

or just twats and non-twats.

Which do you consider to be the twats
DynamoKev? Early birds or night owls?

Camping sounds like hell on earth to me.

@Shakespeare79

Camping sounds like hell on earth to me.

Me too. What a nightmare

We're away camping at the moment, we have been going to the same site for years, it has a real buzz about it, although the rule is no music accept on a Saturday night, whilst that rule is often broken by other campers, we've never had cause to complain. This year however there have been loads of what appear to be camping newbies no respect for their fellow campers, loud music, movies playing. One bunch pitched close, 5 or 6 tents, have been having a full on disco with music blaring and strobe lights, not a thought for anyone but themselves. In addition so many people just walking through the middle of other campers set up, even with a wind break they still don't go around, literally walking through your living space. They all seem so entitled and inconsiderate, I can't wait for them to all go back to Benidorm or wherever it is they normally frequent.

I can't deal with this kind of thing. It makes me incredibly angry.
We don't do camping but my parents have a static caravan that we use and its the same there. We have very inconsiderate neighbours there who sit outside drinking, getting louder and louder til the early hours, right next to my kids bedroom window. I've decided not to even go down there this summer because I can't face it

@SunShinesBrightly

DynamoKev

TimetohittheroadJack
It would make far more sense if campsite separated themselves into 2 categories: 1) early birds and 2) night owls.

Early bird rules are no noise after 10pm but it's ok in the morning,
Night owls could have a midnight or 1am curfew, with no noise before 9am.

or just twats and non-twats.

Which do you consider to be the twats
DynamoKev? Early birds or night owls?

Let's be honest, sanctimonious people always think it's morally superior to be tucked-up in bed early, and that nothing that nice respectable people want to be involved in happens after sunset

Holy crap I was only being a bit flippant. Didn't realise I'd have to give a detailed account of myself.

Anyone who makes a lot of unnecessary racket at any time is a twat.
Hope this helps.

I think it’s a great idea Dynamokev.

@MurielSpriggs

Reason 53 never to go camping: non-existent soundproofing means you can't sleep until the very last tent has gone to bed, and you'll wake up as soon as the first one does!

(In those brief hours in between your sleep will be disrupted by uncomfortable ground, mosquitos, excessive heat or cold, anyone else on the campsite waking up, anyone else of the campsite snoring, the sun coming up at some ungodly hour, lambs, dogs and fucking birds. And occasionally fucking. You'd get more sleep in doorway on Shaftesbury Avenue.)

You have summed up nicely all the reasons why I would never go camping!!

How do people manage to keep kids quiet camping? Mine are chattering away with excitement until at least 10pm, even in their sleeping bags.

When they were toddlers it was tantrums, night wakings, up at sunrise wanting to run around shouting and squealing!

It’s a while since we camped (much prefer the comfort and privacy of a cottage) but I don’t recall any quiet, hushed campsites where you didn’t get woken in the night by other people’s kids, or people stumbling around trying to find their tent in the dark. Or families arriving late and trying to set up camp late in the dark. People arguing. People chatting audibly until the early hours (tents have no sound proofing). People snoring etc.

I was on the Low Wray National Trust campsite - east side of Windermere when some noisy 'kers arrived back at their tent around 11pm - I found out the next day they had already had complaints about them. This was at least 6-7 years ago. I went straight out and complained angrily to them myself after 20 mins of noise and no sooner was I back in my tent when someone from the site turned up and told them to pack up and leave on the spot.

I never camp in North Wales any more - I've had too many run ins with Scousers who swear all the time and their kids run around doing the same and kicking a football against everything - cars, tents. - "...they're only playing..." "...they're on holiday..."

I’ve just come back from a French campsite (also has cabins in it) and it was a very lively place with lots of evening entertainment but cars were banned on site between 11pm and 7am (from memory) and so there was an expectation that people were quieter at those times. Although as I’m deaf I never heard anything at night anyway!

@StrangeToSee

How do people manage to keep kids quiet camping? Mine are chattering away with excitement until at least 10pm, even in their sleeping bags.

When they were toddlers it was tantrums, night wakings, up at sunrise wanting to run around shouting and squealing!

It’s a while since we camped (much prefer the comfort and privacy of a cottage) but I don’t recall any quiet, hushed campsites where you didn’t get woken in the night by other people’s kids, or people stumbling around trying to find their tent in the dark. Or families arriving late and trying to set up camp late in the dark. People arguing. People chatting audibly until the early hours (tents have no sound proofing). People snoring etc.

You can’t really keep them properly quiet. Although my DC wouldn’t be allowed to scream and make noise early in the morning if they woke before all the other campers. We would take toys, books and tablets for the morning in case they woke early.

We mooted camping this year and discounted it on the basis we suspected there would be a lot of first time campers who'd neither understand or appreciate camping etiquette.

I'm not a hugely prolific camper, but my own experiences is that most sites expect quiet after 11pm and before 7/8am.

That said in the evening the sites would tend to wind down after 8ish in appreciation of young children going to bed.

So people in their tent awnings having a glass of wine, reading, playing card games, talking quietly etc rather than noisy entertainment.

That's not to say people went to bed 11pm but again it would just turn down another notch on the noise front.

Tbh I always found the noise in the mornings worse re: people being super noisy at 5/6am - mainly with young children. Yes the children may find it hard to be super quiet but many parents were just as bad if not worse!

How are they tonight @TinyTroubleMaker?

@StrangeToSee

How do people manage to keep kids quiet camping? Mine are chattering away with excitement until at least 10pm, even in their sleeping bags.

When they were toddlers it was tantrums, night wakings, up at sunrise wanting to run around shouting and squealing!

It’s a while since we camped (much prefer the comfort and privacy of a cottage) but I don’t recall any quiet, hushed campsites where you didn’t get woken in the night by other people’s kids, or people stumbling around trying to find their tent in the dark. Or families arriving late and trying to set up camp late in the dark. People arguing. People chatting audibly until the early hours (tents have no sound proofing). People snoring etc.

People don't keep their children quiet.

I've been woken 20x more often either late at night, during the night or early morning by children than I ever have by drunken, loud or anti-social adults/teens. Even groups of teenagers are much less likely to be noisy and anti-social than families with children.

There need to be special "child friendly" fields, so the rest of us can have some peace and quiet, day & night.

I really don't ever want to camp. It sounds awful and not a holiday 😕

@Refreshpage

I really don't ever want to camp. It sounds awful and not a holiday 😕

This with bells on.

We had the same thing happen when our children were small. The other campers beside us had been at a festival and were loud and singing until very late. We had to get up early the next morning so we told the children they could be noisy and when we took our tent down the metal poles accidentally fell on each other! We didn't wake other campers who were already up and about.The noisy people all got up looking very tired.

@ThinWomansBrain

better than turning headlights off and driving thru the tents?

My friend went camping after spending £1k on kit. She spent most of the time crying. Tent blew away, arguments on site, rain drenched everything, children were miserable, endless washing up and grotty shower blocks. She sold the lot the minute she got home. I feel this would be me 🤣

Our best worst experience on a campsite was when some bloke returned to the site one evening towing a full sized rusty fishing trawler that he had bought The thing was massive. His wife was not happy, screaming at him and calling him a fucking knob.
All the neighbours were sat out watching this entertainment with a glass of wine. It was much better than the Minacks production of Alice in Wonderland that we had paid to see. They were Scottish, we were in Cornwall , keep wondering how they got it home as it didn't look seaworthy.