Haha. £45/ night no facilities

That does seem a tad expensive, tho you pays your money and you take your chances !
 
Each to their own, some like to park in a car park , some take a risk on a secluded site and don’t get moved on, some like sites, etc, but I can see the appeal for some. Having a location guaranteed to yourself and yourself only.
Some of the prices are steep but I must admit there are a couple that now have me intrigued for a summer stop in between other locations.
 
It's local to me on the Northumberland coast, and was well publicised on the web and on here when it first started, the idea behind it was you are "wild camping" safely and completely by yourself.

Some of the other site's are £100 per night! It's funny how we haven't had much feedback on how well it's been
 
I hadn’t realised it had been around a while. It’s been featured in the Guardian (don’t judge) online today.

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adt said:
Each to their own, some like to park in a car park , some take a risk on a secluded site and don’t get moved on, some like sites, etc, but I can see the appeal for some. Having a location guaranteed to yourself and yourself only.
Some of the prices are steep but I must admit there are a couple that now have me intrigued for a summer stop in between other locations.
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I can guarantee you will be the only van if you come and park in one of my grass fields. Only £95 :giggle: :giggle: :giggle:

Geoff
 
Maybe this is where VW, MB and other Camper brands gets their pix?

I am sick to the back teeth of seeing ads for campers - usually smaller, expensively camperised vans, parked up, awning out, BBQ maybe lit also (now largely illegal) and chairs, cushions, hammocks and candles dotted about in an idyllic riverside place that you'll normally be moved on from because it's illegal, or in this case - has been monetised.

I think we all understand marketing's need to present the best possible picture but at best the OP's situation is unrepresentative of what camper people generally find or settle for.

I too thought at the start that you could pretty much park anywhere - now I'm finding even parking outside my own home somewhat challenging due to neigbour objections!
 
adt said:
Each to their own, some like to park in a car park , some take a risk on a secluded site and don’t get moved on, some like sites, etc, but I can see the appeal for some. Having a location guaranteed to yourself and yourself only.
Some of the prices are steep but I must admit there are a couple that now have me intrigued for a summer stop in between other locations.
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I also can see some merit in this. And must say the website and the number of locations appears to have expanded significantly since it was last mentioned on here.

Agreed, some of the prices appear steep, but I guess you are paying for guaranteed and secure exclusivity. And exclusivity comes at a price, which the majority will not be interested in stumping up for. It is obviously just a side hustle for the landowners, but why not? :unsure:

I also like the idea of the lack of light pollution, so the night sky can be appreciated and enjoyed. :giggle:

The concept has added attraction for us - as naturists - the seclusion means they would be fine to relax au naturel... ;)

Yes, definitely merit in the scheme. (y)
 
It’s not for us but I can see the attraction actually. It’s not a ‘rip off’ at all, no one is being held to ransome on this, it’s a simple transaction like everything else in life. To have such a wide open and private area to yourself (exclusively) without worry or interruption will appeal to some people. Unlike general campsites the hosts are not going to make much money so I would say this Is definitely not profiteering.

If you take it a step further why would anyone want a campsite full of facilities when they have (possibly) spent a very large sum of money on the very van they turn up in which is self contained and has no need for them?

I think it’s a great idea if you are prepared to pay. Now I am not known for parting with money to stay overnight in our van so there is little chance that I would do so in this case however IF I was going to then I would rather stay in a place like one of these than crammed in with every Tom, Dick and Harry (and their yapping dog and noisy kids, loud music etc) on a campsite!

Meanwhile, I’ll happily stick with P4N and French Aires etc (but only the free ones😉)

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Castle Farm Caravan Park in Aldeburgh- great location, walk to the town and 5 min walk to the beach. £45.00. Apparently spotless shower and loo block closed during lockdown but now permanently closed. Which must save a fair whack in wages etc. Chemical waste trapdoor in a manhole cover and no grey waste drive over. In the main we seem to be getting less and less for more and more. Maybe they’ll wake up soon and realise that Europe’s open again and their occupancy rates get lower and lower.
 
For me it’s way overpriced but for some, unless it’s on the middle of nowhere with zero facilities they’re not secluded enough and if there’s more than 5 units on site then it’s ‘too crowded’. And I’m not kidding!!
 
Some people are missing the the point and clearly have no idea how business works. £45 a night, sounds like a good little earner, take out the VAT content, the website commission, overheads, yes the grass probably still has to be mowed, this does take time and money, the owner probably makes £20, don't think that they will be retiring any time soon on that alone. It's probably just a little bit more income for a small farm that is struggling to survive, like so many are nowadays. A site that charges say £15 a night means that you are probably going to have neighbours parked next to you with the (usually in my case) the yapping dog or grizzly kids and probably no/little facilities. Before I get called out, I know there will always be exceptions. If you are looking for somewhere safe to leave your self-contained van with quiet surroundings, then sounds reasonable, will not appeal to most I know but remember exclusivity in life always comes at a price!
 
Or you could scrape your way through life, spending as little as possible while saving a much as you can so that the kids can have an easy life and piss it against the wall! :LOL:
 
Chockswahay said:
It’s not for us but I can see the attraction actually. It’s not a ‘rip off’ at all, no one is being held to ransome on this, it’s a simple transaction like everything else in life. To have such a wide open and private area to yourself (exclusively) without worry or interruption will appeal to some people. Unlike general campsites the hosts are not going to make much money so I would say this Is definitely not profiteering.

If you take it a step further why would anyone want a campsite full of facilities when they have (possibly) spent a very large sum of money on the very van they turn up in which is self contained and has no need for them?

I think it’s a great idea if you are prepared to pay. Now I am not known for parting with money to stay overnight in our van so there is little chance that I would do so in this case however IF I was going to then I would rather stay in a place like one of these than crammed in with every Tom, Dick and Harry (and their yapping dog and noisy kids, loud music etc) on a campsite!

Meanwhile, I’ll happily stick with P4N and French Aires etc (but only the free ones😉)
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Haha, well there’s a surprise! I was just mentioning this thread to Mrs Chocks and she was outraged at the price being asked 😱 I tried to defend the ‘positive’ corner and she reckons that however you look at it, these places are just too expensive to justify staying on one, “it’s only a farm field for God’s sake!” etc …….

Well it’s a good job we share the same views on not wanting to stay on campsites generally and preferring to wild camp or use Aires or we would be up the creek……… 🤣
 
One thing I learnt in running my own business was that there are people who will pay for an "exclusive" service, product or experience, believe it or not there are people who will pay a high price just to prove money is no object, personally I think it is a bit high but if I had no choice but this field at £45 a night or 12.50 for the one in Spain I would be parked up on the field, there is no right or wrong, you have a choice and it's horses for courses.
 
Ah, so here’s a question…… how much do people think IS worth paying? 🙂

(and no, I don’t have have a field round the back ……. hehe)
 
PaulOH said:
Maybe this is where VW, MB and other Camper brands gets their pix?

I am sick to the back teeth of seeing ads for campers - usually smaller, expensively camperised vans, parked up, awning out, BBQ maybe lit also (now largely illegal) and chairs, cushions, hammocks and candles dotted about in an idyllic riverside place that you'll normally be moved on from because it's illegal, or in this case - has been monetised.

I think we all understand marketing's need to present the best possible picture but at best the OP's situation is unrepresentative of what camper people generally find or settle for.

I too thought at the start that you could pretty much park anywhere - now I'm finding even parking outside my own home somewhat challenging due to neigbour objections!
Click to expand...
You pretty much can ...just not in most of the UK. But I have parked in many spots like you described and Been the only one there.
 
So I found what I believe is the Guardian article referred to above, from last summer:

www.theguardian.com

Just camp in my garden: new websites offer private pitches

Wild camping is off the agenda in England and Wales, but new sites are helping to meet growing demand by offering spots in private gardens, meadows and woods
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

But the main focus of the piece is another website - WildPoint: https://wildpoint.com/

And it's all about camping in folks' gardens/orchards etc - there have been other versions of this around for a while - not sure if this is another iteration of the same thing, or completely new? :unsure:

Anyway, the primary focus appears to be on tents and there are also a few glamping options included too. BUT, there are a number of locations suitable for campervans and motorhomes. And if I read correctly, everywhere included must be in a minimum of half an acre and have a toilet available.

Some of the prices look quite reasonable too.

Wonder if anybody on here has tried a 'Wild Camping with Consent' or 'WildPoint' site? :wink:

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