UK camping behaviour

[campingwoes]

Just been camping for a weekend away with my DH and three boys age 3-9 (UK) and want to vent about other campers and see if it's a universal experience or if we were unlucky! Pre Covid we used to camp a lot with our then toddler and haven't been since, not sure if that explains anything. Campers next to us idled their car for 45 (!!!!) minutes in the morning and the evening so they could sit in there on their phones which had presumably run out of charge. People with blaring music/bass. People with firepits (we were in an area with a ban!). Luckily the site owners were on the ball and addressed most of this but bloody hell it just felt like one entitled person after another. For info this was a basic campsite, no EHU or hot water, very lovely picturesque location in the SW. Rant over! I guess my AIBU is 'this is pretty normal behaviour in campsites across the UK and as long as the hosts address it it shouldnt bother you' (YABU) OR 'this is terrible behaviour and not typical and we were unlucky' (YANBU)

Ah I feel for you, this sucks! I'm sorry your camping trip was ruined by inconsiderate people. I've camped loads in Scotland and never had any issues other than the occasional snorer, but I had a truly awful experience in north Wales which involved us calling security in the middle of the night and leaving at 6am. I don't enjoy camping in Devon or Cornwall, I find people there sometimes can be quite entitled and the sites quite packed, especially if there's a crappy bar on site. So if you're in the UK, I suggest heading north the border next time! In Europe, the only issue we ever have is people stay up really, really late which is fine except our youngest won't sleep because he doesn't want to (rightly!) miss the party! I do think that if you stay at a site with EHU etc you get slightly more considerate clientele.

Ah you think EHU helps! This is interesting intel, thank you. I always assumed EHU might mean less considerate behaviour (not sure why actually). We used to live in Scotland and wild camped a lot pre kids and obviously didn't encounter these sorts of issues. Our trip wasn't ruined luckily as the site owners were on the ball with it but it's left us with food for thought on how to select a site next time!

I agree - we had a campervan pre-Covid and had some wonderful camping holidays. Post Covid we’ve been a couple of times and noticed a huge decline in camping etiquette and consideration for others. Kids being allowed to run around late into the night screaming and kicking footballs around (bashing them into peoples cars and vans), loud music, people drinking and talking loudly playing music late into the night. One campsite we stayed at even had a family burning a rubber tyre. Absolutely horrendous and I wouldn’t camp again.

We go camping 2-3 times a year for a few days at a time and while we occasionally encounter issues with rule breaking, I have to say that the most common complaint we have is actually the lack of supervision/control that some parents have over their children e.g. kids shrieking late into the evening, leaving the toilets a mess, running or kicking balls too close to us and our tent/barbecue etc. So I think you must have got unlucky. At least the site owners were on it!

I can recall plenty of anti-social behaviour by campers pre-covid so I’m not sure it’s caused a decline in standards. I can still recall the camper who decided the entire field needed to hear his Tina Turner’s greatest hits selection all afternoon and there were times when people set up their generators and had them chugging away for what seemed an eternity.

It’s worth looking out for sites that have a ‘no music’ policy, or at least a ‘no music after…’. Reviews can help, they’ll point out if the rules are enforced or not. We stayed at a ‘no music’ site this weekend and, despite the place being very busy due to the good weather, there was no music played at all.

We’ve also joined both the Camping and Caravanning Club and the Caravan and Motorhome Club and have not (yet) experienced any stupidly loud music at any of their sites.

Thanks all, some good pointers for next time. Glad it's not just me being OTT - I am quite noise sensitive so am conscious that I overreact a bit sometimes but it seems I'm not BU!

I think that lots of people are inconsiderate rather than malicious and the site owners need to be tough. I went camping in the sw this summer and it was bliss. One family was asked to leave and I was asked to move my car after pitching the tent so that my neighbours would have a nicer view.

I've found it makes a difference whether or not there is an owner or warden actually on site, 24/7. People seem to be more considerate if there's a chance of being chucked off with no refund, and I notice that lots of campsite booking forms now specify noise = off you go and no money back.

The worst one we ever had was a large happy-clappy church group whose children were still loudly playing football at just before midnight on an un-wardened site. (Looking at you, Basingstoke Canal centre, though I believe there is now a telephone number available to contact in case of trouble)

At the time, I had a pair of border collies who would bark on a silent hand signal so we politely got our own back the next night when their kids were tired and the parents wanted silence. Sometimes natural justice is SO rewarding.

Last week I considered posting my own thread op..
Took 2 reasonably well behaved ddogs. As in they don't bark , great on a long line and tied up. Don't like ddogs approaching when on line.
2 regular ddogs off lead despite plenty of signage and on the booking forms they must be on lead at all times.

Big eye rolls amd dramatic getting them tied up whenever we returned to our tent...
New managers unable /unwilling to properly address the issue.
The night of the wildfire alarm we all abided by that.

Except the visitors not uk based who had bbqs anyway. .manager didn't think to tell them. Owner contacted us and called August Silly Season and advised we book a different time ! Absolutely won't be back.

Camp in France. Generally much better particularly if you go for the Camping Municipal sites. But don't let them put you on a pitch next to other English people. The Dutch are very quiet people to camp next to.

Camp in France. Generally much better particularly if you go for the Camping Municipal sites. But don't let them put you on a pitch next to other English people. The Dutch are very quiet people to camp next to.

I'm away in my van most weekends, and appreciate that I have a bit more sound insulation than if I were in a tent. I think some campers have terrible manners and I can't relax when basic good manners and etiquette are absent. I chose my campsites very carefully. I'd rather pay more for a quieter and more regimented site. I read up site reviews; some locations are just stunning but best avoided over school hols or Bank Holidays weekends. There are some "boutique" festivals I've regularly attended for several years, and I have noticed one or two are becoming more rowdy and attracting people who drink far too much and spoil the peace for everybody else. Those aren't events I'll attend again. Sadly, if this sort of thing kicks off once you're there, there isn't much you can do about it. But I completely avoid anywhere like that a second time. My trips are too precious to lose sleep, peace, or have annoyances.

I went camping once with my family, never again. People talking and shouting all night. A large group with a big screen tv plugged in to watch a boxing match. It was awful.

We’ve camped in France loads of times and have found ourselves with English neighbours on several occasions. They all behaved perfectly well. The worst neighbours we’ve had while in France were a group of of 20-somethings from Germany who played music all the bloody time and a Dutch family who liked to serenade their neighbours with their heavy metal playlist. They did, however, turn the music off when it was dark, a small blessing.

We have just got back from a 10 day camping trip, and to be honest its a real mix, had the odd night when some campers were less considerate, but then we had a night when our toddler was quite unsettled and there were probably people that didn't appreciate that. During the week was a lot quieter than weekends, its good that the campsite staff were on the ball though, have been to some where they are not. As someone said above, Camping and Caravan club sites are generally very good.

The last time we camped we were kept up till 4am by blaring music from one lot of arseholes and woke to very explicit sex talk by the couple in the tent next door. Never again. Hell is other people.

I'm generalising but there's a percentage of British people that just aren't nice. From bad manners on the road to dog shit, litter in the parks and roadsides. Behaviour in car parks and shops. Phones on loudspeakers on public transport, the street. Need I go on?

Avoid the sites with crappy bars, or who allow any kind of groups. That gets rid of a large amount of the anti social behaviour.

Then read ALL the reviews. How close are tents put together, how is the site laid out. What is the price. Is it aimed at kids or adults? How close is it to walk into the local town or pub for drinking? How strict are the owners?

Find your match, and then fingers crossed, you're good to go!

We are heading off to a campsite on Friday. Cannot wait!!

We went camping last weekend and didn’t experience any of this! And we were pretty much on our own in terms of managers or whatever around. Some guys were having a cricket game and let our friends’ son join in. They had music on but it wasn’t really loud. People were cooking food but no fire pits and everyone got rid of their rubbish. I have been camping other places and not had any issues as well.

People who put a tv or projector in their awning and have it very loud - totally inconsiderate of those around them .
Feral kids rolling round on scooters all night long .

ugh - hate campsites .

EHU just creates more options for noise !

This is why I only ever go wild camping and avoid campsites. Hell is other people.

I think camping etiquette has declined. Dogs off leads despite the rules, dogs brought into toilet cubicles, people leaving dirty sinks in the washing up area, leaving dirty shower floors instead of using the mop, and leaving rubbish on the washroom surfaces instead of putting it in the bin.

I think improvements in speaker technology have a lot to do with the problems described. It’s possible now to buy powerful portable speakers with enough thumping bass to disturb a whole field of campers quite cheaply and they don’t even need to be plugged in. I’ve had campsite neighbours in the past who started blasting their speakers as soon as they arrived and I wish nothing but sorrow and misery on such selfish arrogant bastards. Having said that, we’ve camped a lot this spring and summer and our stays were all peaceful. About half of the places we stayed were club sites, which are usually quieter. The non-club sites we stayed on that were quiet had hands-on owners/managers who would regularly tour the site. They’d have friendly chats with campers but they would also be able to pick up on any anti-social behaviour on these tours. I’m sorry to read that a number of PPs have had rotten experiences of camping recently, but quiet and well-managed campsites that are occupied by considerate campers do exist. Check the Google reviews.

I frequently camp, about 50 nights a year. I mostly stick to CAMC or CCC club sites, occasionally use CL/CS. Never have any problems. Pretty much everyone shows good etiquette and not much noise.

I do use independent sites sometimes, mostly in Scotland because there aren't club sites or even CS/CL on the Hebrides. Never had problems there either.

I arrived at a new site today. I didn't realise how large it was, but it seems gigantic with many pitches. I was horrified and thought it would be a nightmare. But I can't hear very much noise at all from the people around me, and everyone seems friendly, polite and courteous