Camping dilemma since fire alert

[SaturdayGiraffe]

Off camping next week but been told no cooking stoves allowed now - so no hot water, no hot food.
There’s no pub or shops nearby either.

The site is saying we are inside 14 day cancellation so they are charging to move the dates back and we’ll lose full amount if we go elsewhere (although not even sure where else since the phone alert).

Camping with kids, with no hot food or drink - would you do it?

Does anyone know a site where we could cook still?

I suggest that the contract has been frustrated by the fire ban

It's not possible for you to use the site if you cannot cook

I would raise a dispute with your card company and get on to Trading Standards

We are camping next weekend and have also been told no bbqs unless they have significant rain between now and then. They said gas stove ok but we have to have a bucket of water ready in case of need. We thankfully have a hook up so are taking an electric single hob and electric frying pan for breakfasts.

When we booked we planned to bbq everything and don't really want to do normal boring cooking so we've booked a pub lunch and will buy deli bits and pieces and nice bread for the evening.

I think picnic food , quiches and salad is the only option for you unless there is a takeaway or pub near by.

I's expect the campsite to
at least provide a means of getting boiling water.

The temperatures have been extremely high and it has barely rained for 2 months, there had been many wildfires across Europe for the past month, so the campsite should absolutely have anticipated that situation and thought of a solution like providing hot water and a microwave, or set up a safe cooking station (a table above ground), rather than degrade the quality of service provided.

Gas camping stoves when used off the ground on a stable surface, do not spark and aren’t a fire risk unless knocked over. They are not part of the nationwide ban, but are where OP is headed.

Absolutely this. OP needs to look at ‘frustrated contracts’ section of Consumer Rights Act 2015. The camp site cannot just keep hold of her money without providing alternative arrangements otherwise it significantly alters the original contract. It’s basically a self catering holiday, now with no means of self catering.

The camp site won’t change the dates - OP detailed this in an update. The camp site are trying to hang on to OP’s money while not delivering the holiday OP booked. They’re not answering emails - why do you think that is ?

No it’s not. This honestly drives me mad. Covid all over again. People making up their own draconian rules on top of the actual rule/advice. The only law change is disposable bbqs cannot currently be sold. The alert requests that we do not do anything that might start a fire, such as use disposable bbqs, fire pits, garden incinerators or fireworks. None of these things gave bf one illegal, and none of these things prevent people cooking on gas or a proper bbq outside.
Cooking on a gas stove in a safe way (which everyone should be doing anyway - raised, on a table, fire bucket nearby etc). If the campsite wants to go beyond that and ban cooking altogether, then they need to refund OP in full as they’ve fundamentally changed the contract.

Uk gone mad
Again

Why "squash"?

There are many drinks available that are not tea and coffee - I'm sure OP knows what's out there just as well as you do.

Squash indeed 🙄

Exactly why are people going mental ffs
I had a fire this am in my allotment perfectly safely ground moist hose out it's not rocket science

Why's that so hilarious?

OP is it just a camp site for tents or does it take camper vans and motorhomes too? We're away in our camper van at the moment, and the number of people who have joked about me making them a bacon sandwich or a coffee, just when we're parked up somewhere, makes me think that if we had people on our site who were in tents and struggling for hot water/meals, I would happily boil some water, or heat up a meal for them. So if it's a campsite for camper vans etc., as well as tents, and you decide to give it a go, it might be worth having a word with one or two of the people in them, and asking if they'd mind heating stuff up for you, offer to pay of course. There is also a microwave on the site we're on, could you ask the owners of the site if they could provide a couple of microwaves for people to use? Just a thought. I do hope you manage to get away and enjoy your holiday.

I read the link from the campsite OP posted.

They don't even want people using gas stoves inside their camper vans.

I would be going to war with them.

I have pmd you

in certain areas there is plenty of rain forecast between now and then

OP

If you can get some hot water, from the site or a café or anywhere you can turn a cool box in to a hay box cooker using a duvet or other insulation, obviously traditionally it should be hay but I think it is more likely you have a duvet hanging around than a bale of hay.

But as you normally start the cooking bringing food to the boil I would not use meat unless it is tinned but you could do a vegi stew, just put cut up veg in a pot with hot water and stock cube.

We are camping this weekend and have obviously not had a campfire since the alert. We have a gas stove on legs, where the flame is enclosed within a bowl, so have used that. It's surrounded by water so if knocked, it would go out. The definition of a naked flame is 'any visible, exposed fire or flame that is completely out in the open and not enclosed, shielded, or protected by a glass, metal mesh, or other barrier.' you cannot see the flame at all in our stove. It would be tricky with no cooking facilities at all, I would look at a kettle I could plug into the car, then it opens up a few options. I think it's a challenge but would probably still go.
Lots of campsites have no shared facilities other than showers, so I don't think that's too unusual. I do like the facility to refreeze ice blocks though, it's really hard having to shop everyday!
Edited for typos.

Does the sight have no electric hook ups at all? I would give them a chance - they are
probably being inundated with questions and they can’t reply to everyone at once.

Hopefully they can sort a shared electric supply so people can boil a kettle/use an electric hot plate - they may even decide to provide these 2 things to be shared by the campers (which could be messy or could mean you make lots of new friends!)

Just returned from Northumberland. It was cold at night, so we used hot water bottles. Beautiful scenery; definitely no fire alerts there.

My dd, her family and large group of friends are in this situation and they are all putting their heads together to cater for bank holiday weekend. I live close to the New Forest and I absolutely agree with the ban. Imagine a fire on a camp site like the ones in the New forest doesn’t bear thinking about.
treat it as an adventure.

I would probably take an empty flask and ask someone in a campervan/motorhome if you can have a flask of hot water for drinks as they will just have a kettle to boil water like we do in our caravan.

Nothing screams holiday like cold tinned food and squash

the @SaturdayGiraffe isn’t on the run in the 1950’s

I'm in the South and not anywhere near New Forest. Contacted the campsite (in Sussex) we are going to next weekend to double check exactly what we can use. My T2 probably won't be finished in time (having a lot of work done on it to get it to MOT standard), so we'll use tents. I've got a Trangia and a Cobb Pro, so double checking with the site if we can use these. No EHU at the site, but I'm lucky enough to have a good setup for leisure battery and solar (like OP, camping is our main holiday method!), along with a small low wattage travel kettle. We're doing 5 nights, and I'll have 3 teens to cater for! Takeaways would be prohibitively expensive, so I normally pre-make/cook and freeze meals in advance. I'm brainstorming alternatives that I can use with my leisure battery setup whilst I wait to hear back: bringing my IP, getting a Wonderbag, looking at low wattage grills/hobs (would be used when we go to EHU places)...

I completely understand the rules in place, but I would have thought that OP's campsite would have put in some suitable alternatives to help the campers who are using the site. Really hope you can figure something OP. The rules are very understandable but I know how tricky it can be to sort catering with several days camping if you aren't able to heat things up easily.

I can't believe some people are not taking the fire risk seriously and feel so entitled that they think having being able to cook their own meals and make their own coffee is more important than the risk of setting fire to trees, fields and buildings and giving the overstretched fire service more work than they can handle. I spent two months each summer for three years camping in France without taking a camping stove and with hardly a hot meal in the entire time. I got coffee in cafes, but only after I had cycled to them in the morning, then lived on their fabulous bread and cheese. Surely wherever you are going cannot be that far from a garage or shop or cafe. Get a grip and resolve to take on the challenge. Kids love an adventure. Either that or stay home and be miserable.

This. It substantially alters the holiday offered and paid for, so they should be offering refunds. Which is probably why they’re not answering emails.