MANAGING EXPECTATIONS

Many motorhomers dream of running their own campsite, but what is it really like? Peter Baber finds out

- Peter Baber

There must surely come a moment in every motorhomer’s life when, newly arrived on a perfect day on what appears to be a perfect campsite, they sit back and wonder, “Wouldn’t it be nice to do this forever?”

So come on, admit it: the idea of running your own campsite must have popped into your head, even for just a couple of seconds, when you're out and about in your 'van.

You might well have dreamed about having your very own patch of heaven, welcoming people onto it, getting paid to do so, and then seeing them all head home afterwards, knowing that you can stay there forever. Or almost.

Then I guess you might wake up from your pleasant reverie and realise some of the stumbling blocks that reality can put in the way of this dream.

There is the hard work involved, even if it is hugely enjoyable (and I speak from experience here, as I worked for two wonderful summers on caravan parks in Germany and Switzerland in the 1980s, a job I still remember fondly). There’s all the red tape to tackle, too.

And probably most of all in Britain, there is the cost of land. Look up caravan parks for sale online, and you are unlikely to find one for less than £1m. Even the cost of a plot of land that would be large enough to build a suitable park probably wouldn’t be going for much less than that. Few of us are likely to have that kind of money lying around.

1 Assistant site managers are kept busy at Battle Normanhurst Court Club Campsite! 2 Green Tourism Gold winners at Cayton Village Club Campsite 3 Landscaping work helps to keep the surrounding footpaths clear for visitors 4 Kate and Phil Jones, Assistant Site Managers at Moreton-in-Marsh Club Campsite 5 The staff team help guests to celebrate Easter at Sandringham Club Campsite