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I would never pay a deposit, based on the fact I've never found a campsite with any cancellation policy.

If I book a hotel, usually it's loss of deposit up to several weeks before, then 50% for the week before, then loss of 100% for cancellation on the day, or no show.

I have booked campsites in the past, paid for 2 weeks when I arrived on site, then as we had to leave early as one of the children was ill, lost everything.

If a hotel can afford to refund 50% up to the day before, why can't a campsite?

I usually phone ahead now, and book night to night. We have a motorhome, so this suits me, as sometimes we have travelled on, and don't want to backtrack anyway.

On the flip side of this, if the caravan club for instance asked for a deposit you wouldn't have the people that book every weekend at the beginning of the season knowing full well that they will not be able to fullfill all the bookings, thus making it harder for people who just may fancy a weekend away on the spur of the moment being able to find somewhere they like.

Granty.

Or the reverse, such as the Camping and Caravaning Club policy of not refunding deposits, if you cancel up to 7 days before, but keeping them in your account for a year, then losing it if you don't re-book, and very little chance of a refund after 7 days, even in the fully booked busy seasons.

As to canceling just because the weather is bad, if the campsites cancels you if the weather is bad, do they offer compensation? If a package holiday cancels you, they offer alternatives.

As I say, I don't object to a proper cancellation policy, so long as it has benefits for both sides.

I can choose where to spend my money, just as campsites can choose who they want to camp with them, and dictate policy accordingly.