We’ve been keeping an eye on the Government advice with regards to camping and coronavirus. As has been widely publicised, the Government’s staged ‘Plan to Rebuild‘ allowed campsites to open from Saturday, July 4th. We had been due to open Pete’s Field at Cole Farm at around this time but, as a result of various pressures on our business and the farm we have decided to delay our opening. Our updated camping season will run from Friday, July 31 to Sunday, September 6, 2020.
Camping and coronavirus
We think that camping is a great way to holiday at any time but it’s become even more attractive in 2020. While travel abroad is restricted and social distancing measures are being recommended, it’s a sensible and affordable option. The basic nature of Pete’s Field campsite means that we think we are particularly well set-up for camping at this time. Life on site is lived outdoors and as we have a large field and a relatively small number of campers and glampers, there is plenty of space for everyone. We have four of our own bell tents and have reduced the number of other tents we allow to just 14 in a five-acre field. Our washing up sinks are open air and our showers cubicles are open to the skies allowing for good air circulation.
Changes on site
While we do think that our campsite is naturally well set up for social distancing and promotes healthy living in the open air, the health and safety of our campers is our number one priority. With this in mind, we have introducied some new measures to keep campers safe:
- We have reduced the number of pitches we have on site;
- We are only accepting new bookings for one or two pitches together (and ask that each pitch is only used by one household);
- We have introduced set pitches to ensure campers keep their distance;
- We will keep the facilities even cleaner than usual;
- We are limiting the number of people entering our little toilet block at any one time;
- We supply hand sanitiser at the toilets and showers for use before and after using the facilities;
- We continue to supply soap at the handwash sinks;
- We have added two handwash/toothbrushing sinks outside the toilet block;
- We will supply (hopefully recycled) disposable hand towels
- We have bought pedal bins to reduce contact points in the facilities.
All of this can only be managed with campers’ co-operation and rather than policing the site too heavily, we will be putting in signs to advise of our new site rules.
Contactless payments and more
We usually operate an honesty-based shop to sell logs for campfires and a few other useful items but we also offer campers the chance to pre-order bags of logs at the time of booking. This year, we would encourage anyone who hopes to have a campfire to take up this option if possible, in order to limit the use of cash on site. We hope to have a way to make contactless payments while campers are on site in case extra bags of logs are needed. Some campsites are offering “contactless check in and check out”. Apart from a friendly handshake when you arrive (and the occasional hug on leaving) our check-in has always been contactless and will remain so in 2020!
Our bell tents in 2020
At the moment, we are currently planning to limit bell tent use this year to allow for a thorough clean and a period of 72 hours to elapse between bookings. We reserve the right to change this policy when/if the advice on cleaning for hospitality businesses is clarified and if we can achieve the standards set out in government guidelines. We have changed check-in time for bell tent guests. Please aim to arrive with us between 2pm and 7pm on your arrival day. This will give us sufficient time to ready your tent and will result in a staggered check-in time with easier distancing between guests.
Cancellations and refunds
We are sticking with our usual cancellation policy which is to ask for full payment at the time of booking – 50% of which is a non-refundable deposit and 50% of which is refundable up until two weeks before a holiday commences. You can read our Terms & Conditions for more information. We hope that our customers will understand that in order for our little business to survive, we cannot extend our cancellation policy further than this, with the exception of lockdown measures or travel restrictions making stays impossible.
In the event that lockdown measures are re-imposed, we would refund the price of your stay in full (less transaction fees and commission fees), if requested. If you book direct with us, there are no commission fees. If you book through Cool Camping, there is a commission payable. At the time of writing they are offering vouchers for commission on camping and coronavirus-related cancellations.