Toilet / shower situation

[Susanna88]

While I have camped previously, as a child / teenager and then the occasional music festival, it's been a fair while and I've forgotten (blocked out?) the reality of the toilet situation when camping.

Is it easy to adjust to using shared facilities? Are these outdoors. I can't really remember. And are they generally clean and 'ok'?

I'd like to take my young DC on a camping trip, for perhaps 4 or 5 days. But the toilet / shower thing is putting me off. Fear of the unknown probably. What can I expect and are there any campsites in southern England or Wales with particularly good loos.

Thanks 🙏

Campsite loos/showers aren't portable festival type things.

If you stick to eg Camping & Caravanning Club sites, they have standards for showers/loos that mean you'll get a setup like you would at a gym or swimming pool.

Most campsites will have pics of their facilities on their websites.

Tiny campsites out in the wilds might be more primitive - I've certainly had to play "dodge the spiders in the outhouse" while showering in darkest Wales - but I've also had amazing underfloor heated luxury in the bathroom block round the back of the cowshed.

It depends entirely on the site you go to. Pick one where you can see on their website that they have decent looking toilet and shower blocks.

Generally no better or worse than using toilets in a shopping centre or at a swimming pool.

Most campsite loos now are fine.
They all have proper buildings with individual cubicles for toilets and showers.
Have a look on their websites to see pictures.

It absolutely depends where you go! Our fave campsite has lovely clean, warm, toilets and unlimited hot water showers. Plus family bathrooms for those with smaller children

Actually many campsites now have compost toilets, especially the 'wilder' more rustic back to basics sites that allow campfires, and some of these are wonderful sites to take kids to.

Some also have outdoor showers - a cubicle made from fencing but the actual shower open to the sky.

Most compost toilets are perfectly fine, and the sit will tell you if the toilets are composting, and most sites have a picture of whatever facilities they have.

And some do have the plastic toilets - usually listed as 'event toilets'.

See the facilities of these very lovely and child-friendly campsite, for example www.welsummercamping.com/facilities-c1qz0

Or here www.wowo.co.uk/facilities/toilets-showers.html

Or here www.inwoodcamping.co.uk/

Look at all the site reviews on UKCampsite.co.uk where reviewers almost always comment on the state of the toilets and showers.

How easily you adjust is very specific to you. And you may want to be sure you pick somewhere with 'proper' facilities. But rest assured, campsite toilets will never achieve the depths of horror that is a festival toilet.

Actually many campsites now have compost toilets

Ha ha! If anything was going to put the OP off, that would be it.

Well yes . I didn't want her to be taken by surprise by a bucket of sawdust in a wooden hut after a PP ha assured her that they are all posh and mod cons these days!

I find most compost loos fine but I have no standards whatsoever

We actually have a posh one indoors. I was a bit dubious at first but I needn't have worried. It's fine.

the campsite we go to has separate mens / womens toilets and shower areas all lovely bright and clean and open all night with a code for the door, very quiet site

We actually have a posh one indoors.

Based on my experience of various relatives' privies at the bottom of the garden when I was a boy, I was a bit dubious at first but I needn't have worried. It's fine.

Ugh! Looks like I posted above before I'd finished.

Nicholaston Farm in Wales. On the beautiful Gower Peninsular.

They had just built a brand new shower block when I last went in 2016 and the existing ones were good already and always kept clean.

Facilities really do vary between campsites (memories of a large campsite in Dorset with only 2 loos and 2 showers therefore queues!)

Most campsites we have been to have had reasonable/good shower and toilet facilities. I always check the pics (ideally they will say toilet blocks have been refurbed this year or last! ) also read reviews. I have to say that when camping our hygeine standards are a lot lower than at home so if the showers are cold or not great 1 shower over a long weekend (along with a wash or wet wipes) has been known to suffice (runs for cover from the MN hygeine gestapo!!)

Most campsites have decent facilities. Like others have said, check out their websites and reviews on UK campsites and even TripAdvisor. Most campsites have NOT gone over to compost loos.

If you really don't like the thought of the showers just wear some flipflop/croc type footwear as I do when the picture on the website doesn't match up to the reality in some sites (here in UK and also in Europe)

Like dishonthecoffeetable said, wear flip flops or crocs. With younger DC we had a portable toilet thingy. You can also get a bucket with a toilet seat (night time wees only). DH hated it but soon changed his mind during rainy nights when the alternative was to get DD dressed and wellies on to run across a muddy field!!

One of my favourite campsites has composting toilets that are awesome! they use worms so there is no smell at all

It varies so much from pristine to chemical portaloos. Look at review sites

Indeed only a minority of sites overall have compost loos.

I brought it up because a PP said ‘all’ sites now have proper buildings, which isn’t the case either.

Where are you thinking of going?

Fforestfields in mid Wales, Tyn yr Onnen in Snowdonia and Hill Farm near Romsey are all clean and modern - Hill Farm
even have underfloor heating in one of the fields. Read plenty of reviews on ukcampsite before you choose a site and you’ll be fine.