Camping plans for 2026?

[The Gauge]

Rob 131 Sport said:

I ve just watched something on YouTube regarding the cost of caravan ownership. To me unless you really used it a great deal the numbers don t really stack up.

You can get quite a few lovely holidays abroad for the price of a caravan, but a caravan/campervan/motorhome offers a different type of holiday, one that you may like, or not. I don't get a lot of use from my caravan but I have kept it as I plan to do a fair bit of cravaning after I retire next year.

[classicaholic]

The Gauge said:

Rob 131 Sport said:

I ve just watched something on YouTube regarding the cost of caravan ownership. To me unless you really used it a great deal the numbers don t really stack up.

You can get quite a few lovely holidays abroad for the price of a caravan, but a caravan/campervan/motorhome offers a different type of holiday, one that you may like, or not. I don't get a lot of use from my caravan but I have kept it as I plan to do a fair bit of cravaning after I retire next year.

We want to take our dog with us and its just very easy to use the camper, she is used to it and travels well so it works for us.

[stevemcs]

Is it expensive? Maybe, but no more than what people spend on a car with pcp. You can lose 30/40k on an EV/merc/audi etc …

We purchased ours new, it was 19k, the same thing now is 25k, I could sell ours now for 15k privately - we have owned it almost 5 years.

Upkeep, £350 storage £200 insurance and £300 service

Yes it buys a lot of hotel rooms but hotels are both always where we want to be. Which at the minute is 5 minutes to Donington. We are back next week for BTCC, I’m not aware there are any hotels in the centre of the circuit.

[Essel]

Just spent the afternoon booking up.
New Forest around Mayday, so we can take a day trip to the IOW (son lives there)
A week in northish Wales for the Landrover nationals (working/drinking)
2 week loop south Devon, Sennen cove, Bideford, end of June.
Later still TBA.
All helped by just having had a car converted to tow behind motorhome, last week with a week away around Usk

[POIDH]

A cheeky Fife overnighter this weekend - somewhat wild wind, but worth it for the Scottish Daffodil Festival.

This weekend I am hoping to head to back of Loch Tay to a secret spot for off grid stay.

The weekend after we have a 4-day trip to the wilds of Argyll in Glendaruel with some friends, hoping to beat the midges....

[littlebasher]

3 weeks in France booked starting end of June

Hopefully the fuel prices will have dropped by then

[mart 63]

littlebasher said:

3 weeks in France booked starting end of June

Hopefully the fuel prices will have dropped by then

And there isn't a fuel shortage. Can't think of a worse place to be if there's a fuel shortage with UK reg plates.

[Ed Boon II]

That’s why I bottled it this year, being stuck over there with a fuel crisis put me off.

On the positive side, I’ll save a few quid, although eating out every night away in the UK ain’t exactly cheap either.

[POIDH]

Ended up at Kilvrecht on the shores of Loch Rannoch for the weekend. It's drying up nicely and the son is out...

[oblio]

We are off for a bit of touring tomorrow.

Cambridge - 3 nights
Herts - 2 nights visiting friends
Suffolk - 2 nights visiting friends parents
Norfolk - 6 nights - Wells next the sea
Linc 7 nights - Woodhall Spa and Lincoln
Birmingham - 3 nights

[AB]

We do a yearly trip with my wife's family. I am a terrible sleeper and it affects me quite a lot if I have a couple of bad nights sleep.

End of May we are going here, 10 adults and 19 kids! I've booked the farmhouse just for me so I'm not miserable during the day I'll do the breakfasts!

https://www.snowdoninn.co.uk/index.php

[mart 63]

We started our touring next month
5 nights in Spain
5 nights in France with ferry from St.Malo/Portsmouth
7 nights in Norfolk
3 nights Barmouth
6 nights North Wales park up on MILs drive.
Ferry Plymouth/Santander
6 weeks Northern Spain and Portugal

Haven't booked anything in France, Spain or Portugal. We normally book a couple of days before.

[mart 63]

Looking at using Britstops in-between sites in the UK, has anybody used them?

[Scrump]

mart 63 said:

Looking at using Britstops in-between sites in the UK, has anybody used them?

The places on britstops are almost always on places like paek4nigjt and/or Facebook pub freestop groups.
I stopped paying for bristops a few years ago and have still had little problem finding suitable stops.
In general though the free overnight stops at pubs (usually have to buy a meal) is a great option for a short duration park.

[mart 63]

Scrump said:

mart 63 said:

Looking at using Britstops in-between sites in the UK, has anybody used them?

The places on britstops are almost always on places like paek4nigjt and/or Facebook pub freestop groups.
I stopped paying for bristops a few years ago and have still had little problem finding suitable stops.
In general though the free overnight stops at pubs (usually have to buy a meal) is a great option for a short duration park.

Thanks, that's what im after. Ive coughed up enough for 2 sites in the UK. Its a bit of a joke what you get for your money in the UK, site wise.

[classicaholic]

mart 63 said:

Scrump said:

mart 63 said:

Looking at using Britstops in-between sites in the UK, has anybody used them?

The places on britstops are almost always on places like paek4nigjt and/or Facebook pub freestop groups.
I stopped paying for bristops a few years ago and have still had little problem finding suitable stops.
In general though the free overnight stops at pubs (usually have to buy a meal) is a great option for a short duration park.

Thanks, that's what im after. Ive coughed up enough for 2 sites in the UK. Its a bit of a joke what you get for your money in the UK, site wise.

Its a shame no one has set up a series of aires like the French camping car park, they do pack you in a bit but they have power to each pitch and water and sewage on each site, its completely done on an ap and there are no site staff, must be an opening for someone to do it in the UK.

[mart 63]

We use tripstop in Spain, around 12€ a night inc ehu, wate, waste, toilets and showers. We also use camping car par in France, similar to Tripstop in Spain.

[The Gauge]

I'm researching what caravanning I'll be doing next year as it will be my first year of retirement and I plan to make good use of my caravan,
I'd like to pitch inside some events such as air shows, motor racing and horse racing etc, so i'm trying to compile a list events that allow camping inside.
I'm not a big sports fan, but I like the atmosphere at such events.

[Spuffington]

oblio said:

We are off for a bit of touring tomorrow.

Cambridge - 3 nights
Herts - 2 nights visiting friends
Suffolk - 2 nights visiting friends parents
Norfolk - 6 nights - Wells next the sea
Linc 7 nights - Woodhall Spa and Lincoln
Birmingham - 3 nights

Safe travels! You’re up in my neck of the woods (between Saffron Walden & Cambridge).

I spent a year during my divorce “living” at Cambridge Camping & Caravanning site in Shelford in my Concorde. Strangely happy memories from that time there!

[dirty boy]

We bought our van back in September (VW Cali) did winter camping for first time, Galloway to Stirling, and also a weekend to Deers Glade in Norfolk.

A couple of weekends ago we went to Sandringham, Norfolk, C&CC site, very nice, did their ParkRun.

This weekend we've just returned from Rendlesham, Suffolk, nice Forestry run campsite, only booked it Friday morning as weather was nice, not a lot around that area to do, but we did another ParkRun and wandered around the Forest, got anal probed by the Aliens then came home early yesterday for a spirited jaunt out with friends (I had pleasure of chasing a DB9...needless to say I had window down the whole time).

Two weeks time we're off to Canterbury, Kent, another C&CC site again and yep...another ParkRun somewhere, probably Whitstable.

Plans are few and far between, kids are now 18 + 20, so if the weather looks nice, we're just leaving early on a Friday and coming home Sundays, we do have a Lobster Festival booked in North Norfolk though, so looking forward to that one.

Learning the van, what to take, what not to take (still on the less is more)

Saw some dude spending 2 hours putting his caravan and extension together Saturday, I think we pulled up, popped the top, had chairs and a drink in hand within 5 mins

Would love to go abroad, maybe next year when fuel prices 'might' be kinder?