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 Topic: Sites in France dropping touring pitches?
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Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
12/12/2024 at 7:59pm
Location: Milton Keynes
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This has been happening long before EV's were in the mainstream of thinking. France has always had more campsites that it can reasonably fill. Quite a few former municipal campsites have been converted in to motorhome aires. New companies have emerged over the past 10 years that only deal with static accommodation and they tend to buy touring sites and convert them to static parks. Since we first started going to France in 1987 the home market has also changed. Back then a lot of French people would set up on their local site for 2/3 months in the summer. This seems to have almost disappeared. They have either purchased static units or rent them, probably for a shorter time. On my website I have to regularly review my site reviews because some of those sites no longer accept touring units. There are still a lot of touring sites available, you just have to be a little more flexible.
David
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13/12/2024 at 1:19am
Location: Perigord Noir
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Quote: Originally posted by David Klyne on 12/12/2024
This has been happening long before EV's were in the mainstream of thinking. France has always had more campsites that it can reasonably fill. Quite a few former municipal campsites have been converted in to motorhome aires. New companies have emerged over the past 10 years that only deal with static accommodation and they tend to buy touring sites and convert them to static parks. Since we first started going to France in 1987 the home market has also changed. Back then a lot of French people would set up on their local site for 2/3 months in the summer. This seems to have almost disappeared. They have either purchased static units or rent them, probably for a shorter time. On my website I have to regularly review my site reviews because some of those sites no longer accept touring units. There are still a lot of touring sites available, you just have to be a little more flexible.
David
Spot on.
We started using statics around 2000 when we couldn't get all our camping gear, two kids etc in our car even with a roof rack. Having the option of the last week in May / first week in June (Sheffield school holidays) we could pick up some real bargains eg 200 euro for a fortnight in the Dordogne, Reverted to tenting from 2010 / 13 when eldest stopped coming with us and then back to mixture of tents / statics until we moved to France in 2018.
Some sites we used have nigh on doubled their statics in the time - some have hardly changed.
Pre kids when we camped in France - late 80's - often seen a tent with woman and kids on site for the summer with husband visiting weekends - as long as within an hours drive of Paris / Bourdeaux / Nantes for example.
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13/12/2024 at 8:26am
Location: Liverpool
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Our previous favourite campsite in the Loire had been owned and operated by several generations of the same family for many years but a few years ago they sold it to one of the big chains and after the first year, they got rid of the camping pitches in favour of more statics, lodges and camping pods. It was really sad to see, as many people had grown up going to the site every summer and were now bringing their own children and even grandchildren to stay. I am assuming that the other accommodation brings in more money so it wasnt worth the new owners keeping the camping pitches.
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13/12/2024 at 10:13am
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Pixie Hex, the exact same as a site we have been going to for a number of years in the Ardeche. In the same family for generations, but the grown up children don't want to take it on. So at the end of last year it was sold to a large company with numerous sites.
Before we left it this year there was already a great deal of talk of where the new owners were doing away with camping pitches and putting in 20 plots of new accomodation.
I fear all the camping pitches will be gone over the next few years.
The cost of some of the present accomodation is eyewatering in high season.
And like you say the amount of families that have been going for years I fear will be lost, probably due to cost.
We are going back next year for a few days to see the changes, but fear it may be our last visit, which is a shame.
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Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
13/12/2024 at 12:33pm
Location: London
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Don't think it's restricted to France, can think of plenty of UK sites that have 'shrunk' their touring pitch numbers in favour of fixed 'glamping' options, or a few that have gone over to 'fixed accommodation' of one sort or another, dispensing with touring pitches altogether!
And it's far from a recent thing, camped at Limefitt Park near Troutbeck, Windermere, a few times back in probably the late 70's, now for a good many years its been a no touring pitch site, currently under the Parkdean banner.
Even the big caravanning/camping clubs seem to have ambitions to move away from basic camping pitches! Been chatting with a few site wardens of late, and to their dismay they say the clubs are moving towards a 'Haven Holidays' type business model!
For my part, none of these appeal, I want nothing more than my caravan on a basic pitch with just the essential services, be it UK or France or anywhere else, I want to CAMP!
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13/12/2024 at 3:00pm
Location: Wessex
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As others have mentioned, it's not restricted to France, it's definitely happening in the UK too.
We were at La Grande Valle in La Tranche sur Mer (Vende), I counted half a dozen pitches that had the services plumbed in ready to receive statics over the closed season, I confidently expect to find fewer touring pitches if we were to go back next year. In the UK our CAMC centre used to use Bashley Park near New Milton in the New Forest, it was a great site for winter touring but that now, no longer has touring pitches, they've all been given over to statics.
I guess the site owners can make more money from the statics than the tourers (especially if the latter are using ACSI discounts).
I wouldn't mind so much if there were aires available in the UK but there are precious few. I do get annoyed at councils banning motorhomers from camping off grid stating that they should just use campsites but don't realise that there are fewer of these than they think (usually at exhorbitent prices).
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13/12/2024 at 4:20pm
Location: Somerset
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We find it happening all over France. One of our favourite sites at Beg Meil in Brittany has been bought out and not only the (few) camping/motorhome pitches removed but all of the privately owned mobile homes, some of which have been in the same family for years, have had their leases terminated. The locals and many who just holiday there like us joined in a concerted campaign to save it but it's happened and they are now planning a 'holiday village' on the site.
Sadly the other site in the village went over to all chalets last year so that's the end of it for us. We'll have to find a new paradise.
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14/12/2024 at 10:27am
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There are still plenty of smaller sites which have lots of touring pitches, so just avoid the big company owner sites, look for family run places, and you'll find all the pitches you want.
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14/12/2024 at 1:53pm
Location: County Kildare Ireland EU.
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We have been noticing it for over a decade. First it shifted to more motorhome and campervan oriented pitches and then they started putting on more and more chalets.
The number of tents being used has gone down noticeably so the sites aren't catering for them as much. I have been at many sites where we were the only ones in a tent.
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14/12/2024 at 2:08pm
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Quote: Originally posted by Val A on 14/12/2024
There are still plenty of smaller sites which have lots of touring pitches, so just avoid the big company owner sites, look for family run places, and you'll find all the pitches you want.
Think you may be missing the underlying trend 'point' there Val! We've all seemingly identified previously private touring sites that have been taken over by 'big company' owners who've changed the format from touring pitches to fixed accommodation in some form or other. The number of touring pitches are diminishing at a noticeable rate!
Yes, there certainly are still generally smaller sites offering touring pitches, but the 'glamping' trend to fixed accommodation is encroaching on to many of those too - I can think of quite a few, even club CL/CS type sites, where there is some form of 'glamping' option in a cabin or whatever in addition to touring pitches! There is much more money to be made from even quite basic 'fixed' cabins, yurts, 'novelty' accommodation like Gypsy caravans, aircraft fuselages etc., etc. than touring pitches, and potentially a longer season too!- even for small sites! If the scale potential is there, the 'big companies' can make very appealing offers to owners to take over these sites, and then impose their own format.
In general, I think there are significant changes afoot in the camping world, and coming from many directions, caravans, campers and MHs have become rather extravagant luxuries at current prices, EV and Hybrid limitations have forced the prospect of the larger/heavier caravans off the road entirely for many, tents are still affordable, but people's expectations don't sink to basic camping in anything like the numbers of years ago, AND the cost of pitches pushes people to look at alternative accommodation/holidays - camping is no longer cheap!!
I think the decline in availability of touring pitches may well be ahead of any decline in interest in camping in it's many touring forms! There certainly doesn't seem to be a noticeable number of new touring pitch sites opening up!
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14/12/2024 at 10:17pm
Location: Perigord Noir
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At least 3 or 4 sites of the dozen or so on the Dordogne between Montfort and Beynac have been taken over by chains in the 6 years since we moved out here. Big increase in MH's and statics, less canvas / caravans.
One thing we've noticed post Covid is that hotels appear to be struggling as the French appear to be wanting more personal space.
Post last edited on 14/12/2024 22:21:10
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via mobile 12/12/2024 at 5:00pm
