After four months, we're finally back home in Spain, and something struck me this time that's never really occurred to me before. As you will know if you've been paying attention, we tend to travel by motor home, driving up through Spain and France, then reversing the process. On the way back to the UK, we also had to camp in Shropshire, as it was convenient for the reception for my niece's wedding, so this is the first time we've camped Spanish, French and English in one trip, and we've certainly noticed some differences.
UK camp sites need to be pretty. They don't necessarily have to be full facility, but they should be located in beauty spots to attract the campers. The site we used - Riverside in Bridgnorth, Shropshire - was situated alongside the River Severn, and it was full to bursting point, even in late April, before the camping season really got going. They were also pretty hot on recycling, with bins located all over the site to encourage campers to separate their refuse.
Another thing is, UK camp sites expect you to pay before you park. As we were newly arrived in the UK, we didn't have much cash, and the site didn't have card facilities, so we had to head into Bridgnorth in search of a cashpoint as soon as we'd pitched. That's never an issue in France and Spain. If we're just staying overnight, we tend to pay up front so we don't need to hang around for the office to open in the morning, but it's not expected.
French camp sites are also often located at beauty spots - although you will see 'Aires' - motor home friendly camping areas - in the middle of towns and villages. The French are also pretty hot on recycling, and they make a point of asking if you want to order bread or croissants for 'le petit dejeuner' in the morning. Okay, you'll pay more than if you headed off to the boulangerie yourself, but it's great to breakfast on fresh croissants, without having to step off site to get them.
In one area, though, French camp sites are very different to their UK counterparts - they're much cheaper, even with full facilities. The site we used south of Bordeaux on our return journey cost less than 12 Euro for the night, including electric, showers and use of the swimming pool.
The following night was a different story. The site we stayed on in Puzol, north of Valencia, looked like a gypsy encampment, not to put too fine a point on it. The pitches were big, but we were pitched on tarmac, with not a blade of grass in sight, and we were packed in like sardines. If it hadn't been so late - around 8.30pm - we'd have carried on, but we just had to stump up the requested 30 Euro - no, that's not a typo - and make the best of it.
Thinking back over previous trips, we've always paid more on Spanish camp sites, and they've nearly always been rather scruffy, compared to their French and UK counterparts. All that said, the site owners were very welcoming, and we got on well with the other campers, so we enjoyed our overnight stops. However, there is a big difference between the camping experiences in Spain, France and the UK. Maybe you have your own observations to add to this?
And no, we're not having a go at anyone here - we'll do it all again next time we go back to the UK. Vive la difference, as they say in France!
