Teenage camping

[Bradley6]

don't know if anyone can suggest anything to help, but my Son and his friends (all 16) will have finished their GCSEs this year and are looking to go camping (about 20 of them) as an end of year treat, in early July, but Im finding it really hard to get any campsite to accept them without adults. in this day and age when everyone complaining about technology taking over, a group of young adults want to go and do something that I think is a great idea, and back to basics, and its proving really hard to organise. Anyone have any ideasa (we live in Dorset, so in this are preferably)

My sons the same age, he and a few mates are going to the Boardmasters festival in Newquay.

I'm dreading a little nervous about it

I have just spent NY with about 20 of them (plus parents) and the 50+ adults were far rowdier.

Thats because they were there with parents, obviously.

Really old fashioned idea. What about Youth Hostelling or a camping Barn?

All they want to do is get together, sit about in a field and put the world to rights, not causing anyone any harm or anything, maybe go wild and have a couple of beers and a log fire at night

Great if that's what they want to do although I doubt a group of 20 would be that quiet however many campsites have a no group policy of any age. No matter how much you don't agree that is fact.

have a couple of beers

For which at 15-16 they are underage.

If they're not planning to get drunk and rowdy they won't mind a couple of adults being along also. You could offer or rope some other parents in.

You will struggle to find campsites that accept large groups of any age. Try searching for those that advertise that they accept stag dos, although you may still find places are unwilling to accept them without an adult.

Have you looked at sites attached to Youth Hostels? That's what I did post-GCSE (Almost 10 years ago though!)

is that really so bad

It isn't bad at all, however ANY group of 20 people is loud when they are chatting and laughing sitting around a camp fire - and campsites need to be QUIET at night because people are you know, trying to sleep in tents which don't exactly have much sound protection.

Hence why lots of campsites have noise rules, don't allow groups at all, don't allow groups except in a special area etc.

Would you like to have 20 of them sitting in your bedroom, putting the world to rights? Because that is what it sounds like on a campsite to the other campers.

So the festival suggestions are super, because at festivals you expect it to be loud all night.

they've got plenty of options. YHA, Outdoor Adventure groups, festivals, etc etc etc. What they can't do is go out and wreck someone else's weekend/night/holiday by screaming all night. If, as you say, they won't do that then they have all those options, and there's no problem.

Wild camping is illegal in England (allowed in Scotland). We've a beauty spot near us in England which is regularly covered in bonfire ash, beer cans and faeces because of those cute harmless teens.

I am certainly not anti-teenager, I have two great ones of my own that love camping but mainly go with scouts. We are in Scotland so they have wild-camped as a small group as well. The Scout sites do not allow other non-scout groups to use independently (probably to do with their insurance) we've asked as a family to use the site and been told it isn't possible.

However, no matter how well behaved, a large group will be disruptive on a normal campsite. The noise from large group escalates far more than that of smaller family groups or couples. A lot of sites wont take a large group of any age.

Wild-camping will require them to be fully cognisant with the countryside code especially on fires and toileting...

I'd then their best bet would be to chat up a sympathetic farmer and ask to use his field in return for some farm work or cash. he may even have a water supply they can use and obviously he would have contact details for any mess or damage.

I used to go camping. Sound travels on a campsite.

I doubt a group of 20 teenagers will want to go to sleep at 10pm which is when a lot of families with young kids will be wanting peace and quiet (if not earlier). It's not fair on others. Even if they're just talking, they're not going to have decent volumne control....especially after a few beers. They will disturb others.

After years of camping and been disturbed by such groups I've spent a fortune on a caravan and joined the caravan club.

Iirc wild camping in England is legal in Dartmoor. So that could be an option?

My 17 and a half year old son has decided to go wild camping in Scotland by himself. He's been planning it for a while and has bought his own tent and equipment. He's getting the coach to Inverness and then hiking down and around Loch Ness. I'm a nervous wreck but I know he wants to do this to challenge himself and improve his self esteem. He has struggled a lot with anxiety and depression since his dad left 3 years ago but is in a much better place now.
I have tried to persuade him to start somewhere a little closer to home (Kent) but it's the wild camping and the Scottish scenery that attracts him. Has anyone got any advice, experience or words of comfort?! Thanks!