Site etiquette

[caslad]

Hello

Could one of you old hands help?

We have just returned from a very enjoyable stay at sandringham cc

site.Our pitch was quite a long way for the wash block so to make

the walk shorter we cut across the grass between pitches.This drew

quite a few stares.

Where we in the wrong? and whats the correct thing to do.

I must add we are new to this caravan game and this was our first trip in our new van.

Any advice please.

 

[DavidKlyne]

Lindsay

Its an interesting question. Given that vitually all pitches at Sandringham are on hardstandings I suppose technically the grass is abit of no mans land! I think the problem is that some people cut across very close to someone elses unit rather than walking a little further. In the situation you mention I thing I would use the grass if there was no one obviously around a caravan but if people were sitting outside I would take a longer route. Perhaps what you should think about is to reverse the situation. Alternatively if you pass by people just say hello as that tends to cut the ice.

David

 

[Maginnis]

Lindsay

Its an interesting question. Given that vitually all pitches at Sandringham are on hardstandings I suppose technically the grass is abit of no mans land! I think the problem is that some people cut across very close to someone elses unit rather than walking a little further. In the situation you mention I thing I would use the grass if there was no one obviously around a caravan but if people were sitting outside I would take a longer route. Perhaps what you should think about is to reverse the situation. Alternatively if you pass by people just say hello as that tends to cut the ice.

David

We are fairly new too, but have old age habits of not walking on grass where possible anyway so we always stick to the paths even if it's a longer route. I'm on holiday, I can take my time LOL. (Unless I need a pee!)

 

[Jennifer_374461363]

Were you in the bottom area? Lynwood I think it is?

The pitches over the far side away from the toilets are a fair hike if so.

We were there earlier this year, but right opposite the toilets, and if I remember right the grass strips between the hardstandings are not that wide in places.

When parked car/van/awning people do tend to think of the grass in front of their awning as "theirs!

I think I would tend to keep to the road in that situation, and only cut across if either there was an empty pitch, or , as David said, I could see there was nobody at the van.

Where vans are in 2 rows (more common with grass pitches) then obviously you have no alternative.

 

[Guest]

Had a corner pitch at west Runton cc site last year, the number of members who cut across the corner of our pitch to save a couple of yards really wound me up, asked one if he would like to come through the awning as it might be a bit quicker, he didn't reply or do it again, strung some guy ropes off the awning to block it off in the end.

 

[maggie_374464336]

I agree bad manners to walk on someone else's pitch, a bit like walking into their garden. I'm sure you didn't mean to offend. Some people are very fussy about this and block their whole pitch of with windbreaks, which personally I think is anti-social.

 

[Guest]

don't care if they put anti personal mines down...its there pitch.

 

[Steve L]

We are on a site with a couple of interesting situations.

Firstly, the pitches are hard standing, but the water point is in the grassy center spine of the middle rows of the four runs of pitches. The electric hook ups also run down the ceter grass area, so draging water barrels down the center is fraught with trip hazaeds. But the direct route to the taps from each roadway means you have to walk between vans on the seperation grass area. I tend to walk closer to the caravan rather than closer to the other van's awning, as here there is less likelyhood of children playing on the grass. But then you are possibly encroaching on peoples privacy. Having said that oe does have to get water and empty the grey waste. Also when pitching, if you don't want this intrusion then don't choose that pitch unless you have no choice.

The second one is, we are pitched on a corner pitch next to the roadway to the tent area. I chose this pitch at the start of the season so that we could park two cars at the van without causing nuisence to other campers. But what I didn't bargain for was tenters cutting the corner so close to the end of the van. They got as close as 3 feet away from the van in their cars despite having a 50 yard area to use. I have had to put a solar powered lamp out 10ft from the corner of the van so that we don't have a camper crash into our car, or worse still run over a pedestrian. We still get people walking inside of the lamp cutting the corner but hey ho, we just put up.

Etiquet doesn't realy come into it as such but what we have to decide is what is practical or acceptable in each individual situation.

Also of coarse you will also get those who think they are "so much better than yow" who will think they can rule the roost. Then there's people like me who don't care if you are a lord or a servant as to me we are all the same and eat of the same side of the plate etc etc.

As an example we have a famous colomist for the angling times on our site, who I repaired his van as he was no electrician, we have a police woman, we also have several othe financial and clerical people, but when we are in shorts and tea shirts and sipping wine at the barbie we are all the same. Just people chilling and having fun.

Atb Steve L.

 

[paulus_374409736]

The way I decide what to do in this sort of situation is to try and look at this from the other persons point of view, if you were in their position how would you feel about people walking on the grass between your pitch and the next?

If you think it would be an invasion of your privacy then don't do it to others. On the other hand, if you think it's reasonable then carry on. Simplistic I know but it works for me (and my concience).

The problem comes from trying to respect peoples privacy in a public place, and with so many people in fairly close proximity it's not an easy thing to get right. Interestingly, on another forum, one of the longest threads I have seen for a long time is in response to the question "What bugs you on site?" and it seems to me that whatever you do on site, somebody somewhere isn't going to be happy about it!

If you feel uncomfortable taking short cuts between caravans, take the longer route. Where's the hurry, you are on holiday after all!

 

[Sedo]

Lindsay

We returned from Sandringham recently, and I think I'm right in the fact that you have to walk on grass between pitches in parts to get onto the woodland tracks.

I don't remember seeing anyone show any objection to walking between pitches on the grass while we were there, in fact we came away thinking it's possibly one of the nicest sites we've been on, not just aesthetically but the for the ambience as well.

The strange thing is we called at Clumber on the way back, a bigger version I suppose of Sandringham but we had people actually short cutting across the pitch (hardstanding)there. The washing up sinks also weren't always, shall we say, left at their best.

Both really nice sites but perhaps Sandringham being in a royal estate bought out the best etiquette eh.

Please don't think we're in any way snobby, in fact we're actually a couple of working class roughs from Stoke, but there seem to be some folks now who wouldn't know etiquette if it bit them.

Best regards

Tomo

 

[Pat_374304630]

Hhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

My other half dosn't like it. I don't mind it, especially if it's at the side of the van where there is no awning. It's an unwritten thing that we don't encroach on other people's space. To me and my wife it's courtesy.

 

[Paul_5064559]

Think its hardstandings that create this.

In past times, and still some sites today, we all pitched in a field with no demarkation in play.

In this case you simply walked from a to b.

 

[Pat_374304630]

Hi,

Just came back from a weekend away on a site on the outskirts of Stratford On Avon. There were 6 rows of caravans all in a line. The toilet block was at one end of the site. This alone encouraged pitch crossing. There were 3 standpipes along one side of the site One either end and one in the middle. Again encouraging pitch crossing. My wife didn't like people crossing our pitch, but to be fair it was not their fault. I would blame the site for this occurance.

 

[BecknRob]

Afternoon,

Just got back from a long weekend at Homestead. We were luckily enough to get 2 lake Pitches, we put our awnings up cars on the opposite side wind break at the front but this bloke with his fishing gear still manages to walk through the 3FT gap in the windbreak straight through the pitch, without even an "excuse me", blimen cheek...

gggrrrrrrrhhhhhhh

Rob.

 

[Sue_374470724]

Were you in the bottom area? Lynwood I think it is?

The pitches over the far side away from the toilets are a fair hike if so.

We were there earlier this year, but right opposite the toilets, and if I remember right the grass strips between the hardstandings are not that wide in places.

When parked car/van/awning people do tend to think of the grass in front of their awning as "theirs!

I think I would tend to keep to the road in that situation, and only cut across if either there was an empty pitch, or , as David said, I could see there was nobody at the van.

Where vans are in 2 rows (more common with grass pitches) then obviously you have no alternative.

As a new caravanner I'm a bit shocked to be honest, I had no idea you weren't supposed to walk close to other people's pitches and must have annoyed people when I took a short cut with my dog to the dog walking area last week. I didn't go that close but certainly cut the corner!

I am somewhat puzzled by the territorial attitude exhibited in the replies, surely you're renting a place to pitch/park, you don't "own" the space!

I also thought camping was supposed to be friendly not like this, I can understand anyone not walking between a narrow gap but how are you supposed to know what area each caravan considers theirs?

I enjoyed my stay in Dorset last week, apart from several inconsiderate people. They parked two enormous motorhomes then tied 5 dogs between them to their awnings so anyone walking past on the proper road suffered all the dogs going beserk barking at any passing dog.

One night they all went out and one dog barked around every two minutes non stop for two hours.. They returned when the pub must have closed and it shut up.

Surely if you take your dog away it shouldn't be agressive towards other dogs? Mine is a large dog but wouldn't dare go for another dog..

It seems to me something like that is far more inconsiderate than someone daring to walk on a foot of "Your" pitch....!

 

[Pat_374304630]

Rob P

Hi mate, you will have to buy a longer windbreak or get Lord Brakewynd to send the gamekeeper around.