The perfect campsite

[DiplomaticDecorum]

Would have what? We're thinking about starting one, so obviously can't change the location, but it's level and sheltered. Would be Caravan Club with 5 vans, or Caravan and Camping Club with 5 vans and 5 tents, do people tend to be members of both? Or do you have a preference?

Facilities would be water, waste point, electric, and a portacabin type thing with toilet and shower in. Other things would be picnic benches, a couple of whirly clothes dryers (with pegs). There's also a small dog walk (must be on lead).

We were wondering about fencing off a small area in the centre of the site - would farm animals be welcome there? Or a decent fence for a dog area, or keep at as a safe play area for small kids? Also would day kennels interest anyone? Probably away from the site in case of barking.

Anything else that would make it a better camp? Or any things to avoid? A gin bar and free childcare would be a bonus, but can't really manage it for £10/night!

All I want from a campsite is spotlessly clean loos and showers, with good pressure and hot water, and a warden who not only keeps the peace after 11pm but also does the same before 8am (we had an incident a few years ago where we were told to be quite at 11pm (one of our group does have a booming voice, andwe were immediatly quite, but nothing was done about a family with a load of young kids screaming and shouting from about 5.30am).

As a bonus, having hedges to allow a bit of privacy would be lovely, and a dog walk area, fenced off if possible.

Also, make sure with your ground it is actually possible to hammer in tent pegs and there isn't rock just below the surface. If there is, then let campers know so they can be prepard for it.

If you can get food delivery to the site thats also a lovely thing to have. Things like wood fired pizza van, or a fish and chip van. Just for a night, not all the time.

I like to have access to a drying room - basically a well ventilated space with a heater where you can hang your soggy waterproofs and walking boots to dry so you don't need to have them draped around your tent. Also a freezer for freezing icepacks.
But the most important things I want in a campsite are scrupulously clean showers and loos, enough of them and clean washing up facilities.

100% top priority is clean and warm showers and toilets. Also have the toilet /shower block main door open OUTWARDS - I have zero tolerance for needing to touch a door handle to leave that someone has touched who never bothers to wash their hands.

If you offer hard standing, make sure it is actually hard standing and not ashes or grit that turns to mud and ends upinside the campervan (bitter experience talkign here). If grass pitch make sure ground is easy to hammer tent and awning pegs into.

Do have CLEAR rules about stuff like noise early and late, but please don't have nit picking rules such as which direction you have to park your car or campervan (understand towbars pointing out for easy towing of caravans in an emergency). In fact camping is like parenting - have clear rules but as few as is necessary to make life comfortable for everyone.

Have clearly defined boundaries for pitches and make sure electric hook ups aren't so far away from a pitch that a normal length of cable won't reach without an extension (more bitter experience).

Farm animals great fun - as are free range chickens.

Oh and a smile - you wouldn[t believe how differently people feel about staying somewhere they feel a welcome guest and not a boring, time wasting drag. (even more bitter ecperience)

In a bit of a hurry right now so can probably come up with more later when I have time....all my points are based on 50 years of camping all around the UK and Europe in both tents and campervans.

Yes to spotless toilets and showers.

And a good dry bench or shelf in the cubicle to put your clothes and washbag.

Plus similar around the sinks.

Good lighting and well ventilated, hot water with good pressure and some heating on the block or cabin.

Washing up area, with warm water.
A drying room is a great idea. Also a fridge or freezer for milk and cool packs was very handy for us last year.

I liked the privacy of hedges and good plot definition.

A lot of campers search for "open fires" symbol op, so that might be something to consider?

Here in Germany/Switzerland they have shared firepits with some wood provided. So you can take turns to cook over it. They are fun.

And simple pricing - without all the additional extras.

And a time limit for cars to enter and exit. That's worse than the noise for me, bloody headlights and gravel and revving at midnight.

I like tent only campsites where you can camp where you like, for example 3 tents in s circle, wooded areas, clumps of bushes for privacy, lots of space, campfires allowed.

No EHU.

Good toilets and shower, and a washing up sink.

No big single sex groups allowed, cars allowed at tent to unload, otherwise parked at gate, rather than constantly back and forth across the site.

Woods for kids to play in, rope swings, logs to balance on.

Beth back to nature feel.

Day kennels would interest me - probably we would only use one for a half-day at most, as we don't normally leave the dog for more than 4 hours at home, but it would be useful if we wanted to go out for a meal or to a local museum or similar.

On top of usual stuff like clean, hot showers etc one thing I have seen in some that I loved, is a little campers kitchen.

One in particular was perfect as it had a kettle, cooker, sink, fridge, leaflets of things to do in the area and magazines and books to borrow or swap. It was a lovely extra touch.

Yes, I'd definitely be interested in day kennels.

I've often wished for kennels, so difficult to leave your dog safely when camping.
Freezer, or freezing facilities, practical washing up areas, clothes wash/drying. Hair dryer is essential for me, as are toilets/washing areas suitable for contact lens wearers (private, dry areas, well lit mirrors, clean shelf)
Good facilities for kids also vv useful. I really like family wash rooms which are bigger with a shower/sink/toilet/baby change area.
My favourite campsite could be at Gairloch, although there's an excellent one in mid Wales we've been to a few times, might be called Freshfields.

Clean toilets and showers (with hot water you don't pay for and enough space that your clothes don't get wet when you shower, plus hooks for your clothes, towel etc) are the biggest thing for me. A washing up area (again with hot water) is a boon, but being able to refreeze my blocks is essential.

Clean site, rules enforced regarding noise, an area where children can play (no facilities, just grass is fine), and pitches that aren't very close together is really our criteria (after the toilets).

Day kennels would be great so we could pop somewhere without the dogs

I'd give ANYTHING for a campsite with a secure (really secure) fenced in area where I could play with my dogs and they could play with new friends!

Mine are scent hounds (Beagles) who can't go off lead so spend their caping holidays on tie out leads on ground spikes (which they don't mind one bit) but I'd love for them to be able to have somewhere to go and play!

We prioritise campfires allowed, no deposit (so we can cancel if forecast bad), and preferably a view of woods, fields or sea. We can live with shabby loos and noisy campers😊

Showers with an area to get dry and lots of hooks. A family room with toilet, shower and Changing station.

For me, tents and vans separately. EHU. And I'd second having little hedges for privacy.

I didn't like it when groups of several families would camp in a circle and fence in large areas that then weren't available for everyone else.

Oh and be prepared to police. It is so annoying when there's supposed to be quiet after 11 but nobody stops the guitar player still strumming at midnight

Tents only - or tents with campervans but in separate field. Campfires encouraged with firewood provided. Quiet after 11pm.

Comrie croft is pretty much my perfect site. Fisherground in lake district also v.g.

Fantastic, thanks, some things for us to consider.

There's not a lot that we can do about the ground - it's a field - it is what it is, most of the time it's easy to hammer pegs into, sometimes in the summer it's not. That's something that I can't really change.

Open fires on an arable farm won't really work either, and proximity to livestock would also mean that it wouldn't be possible.

I like the idea of restricting early/late cars, we have an area that could be used for parking. A full on drying room might be a bit much for a low number of units, but how would a summerhouse/shed with washing up sink in an overhang, and a freezer, worktop and usb charging points sound?

I'd also though of an 'forgotten' cupboard with a few toiletry bits and food bits to be replenished as used in case you find that you need an oxo cube, or the dog chews your toothbrush. And possible some emergency chocolate.

Dog kennelling seems something to think about though.

Certainly not going to popular with the late canceller above, but we're going to ask for all money when booking. I have friends with a 5 van site, and they are seeing more and more cancellations. Apparently people book two sites and go where the weather forecast is better - harsh if you only have 5 pitches. If a cancelled pitch is filled, money would be refunded. It would be the same if people decide to leave early - something that again they have found is on the increase.

What about wifi? Is it offered on many sites?

And what are the thoughts on cctv - would it be a positive that your stuff is covered, or negative that you're being watched?

Like getting away from WiFi.
Deffo not CCTV. That would imply you're somewhere unsafe.

With 5 units you will also need to consider scale and how economic it is to invest in lots of infrastructure , charge an affordable rate and still maintain a profit margin.

£10 per night per unit sounds very cheap to me.

Are you in the sort of area people would come for a week’s holiday, or more short breaks / weekends?

I don’t like sites where you have to leave by 10 am on your last morning.

No amplified music or TV, I hate it when other campers have the radio or music on, or TV in their caravan awning, spoils the peace. A washing up/utility shed sounds good. We do prioritise sites that allow campfires but can see why you can't have them. I don't blame you re payment up front, I wouldn't expect a refund if I cancelled at short notice, you can't do that for any other sort of holiday.

‘No cancellations, refund if place re-sold’ is fair. I would keep an admin fee, too, for re-sale.

I agree with no amplified music / TV.

But it depends on the vibe of site you are planning and your target customers. Lots of people, even tent campers, pick EHU sites because they take a TV camping.

Many sites specify no Chinese lanterns, which can end up in crops.

The £10/night was a throwaway comment to be honest. The price will probably be around £15 - the 5 van (+ tents) is the size regulated by the clubs, not the council, and thus is cheaper and easy to implement than a slightly larger site. At a basic level we need to provide a tap and a waste point, that's it.

I hadn't though about the noise from tv in a tent - perhaps a decimeter would be a wise investment? Would solve any arguments!

With the cctv, we have it on the drive and in the farm yard, just wondered about an extra camera overlooking the site. We're half a mile from the road, so kind of secure.

In fact, if you went to camp at Whatever Farm, would you expect an actual active farm with tractors and combines til late at night in harvest? And grain trucks rocking up at 8am to take it away? Or would you expect that it's just a nice name for a quiet site. There's a few Whatever Farm campsites around here, but they tend to be on 'farms' where the house and a few acres have been sold and they keep a few chickens and sheep, rather than an actual working farms that grows stuff.

I'd just put it in the "about us" part of the website, something along the lines of "we are a working farm so there will be tractors late at night etc etc", then people know.

Going back to Wifi, I'd say no need unless you are in a 3G/4G blackspot. In general I like to be offline on holiday but we camped somewhere last year that had no 3G/4G or phone reception and their wifi was useful for checking weather on phone, finding out tourist info etc.

I'm self employed and need wifi/3G/4g to work and access my emails when camping. Also useful for accessing local info, weather reports etc like pp said.

I agree about clean loos and showers being a must. When booking campsite I always check whether they have a noise curfew. I can put up with a lot but listening to someone else's music at 2 am knowing we needed to be up a 6 am to walk the Yorkshire three peaks is not one of them. (and this was the site owner making the noise - he had a marque setup on site and was partying with friends!).