Covid Camping

For many of us at HSDC, a holiday away from home is a distant memory and the possibility of one is far away. Overseas holidays are still unlikely or undesirable with the Covid-19 vaccine far from being introduced or implemented in many countries across the world and because of the continued need to quarantine after you return from your travels. As a result, 2021 may be the year of local holidays or staycations. Here we’ll show college students a few of the best places to go on holiday in the south of England

with limited resources. We explore cost-effective, local holidays for the student budget that are accessible without a car. In addition, we have focussed on campsites because some allow for groups of young people with advance notice, although in a number of cases a good behaviour deposit will need to be paid. With the rule of reduced group size likely to be a long term fixture, we might need to focus on outdoor holidays for a while if we plan to go away with anyone other than our immediate family.

Stud Farm

studfarmsouthdowns.co.uk

Stud Farm is a dog & child-friendly site, offering lots of space, with student groups welcome and barbecues and campfires allowed. It claims to be in a perfect location for hiking and cycling, being only a 20-minute walk from the seafront. There is fishing, golf, an indoor and outdoor pool, tennis, water sports and sailing, and horse riding nearby, as well as a leisure/theme park. Restaurants and pubs are also walking distance from the campsite.

Price

The basic pitch fee is £20 per night for up to two people. Pitches are £20 per night inclusive of two people, £8 per additional adult & £5 per child. Includes toilet block and washing up area.

Reviews

Again there are 5-star reviews on cool camping and 9.3/10 star review on Pitchup. A trip advisor review said “a great little no-frills campsite, just outside the village, awesome views across the Chanel and rolling countryside. Friendly staff, simple but clean facilities”

Avon Tyrrell Outdoor Activity Centre

avontyrrell.org.uk

The Avon Tyrrell outdoor activity centre is a camping site located in the New Forest National Park. Avon Tyrrell is described as a family-friendly campsite which allows barbecues and dogs. They have disabled facilities, free wifi, internet access, shower and toilet block, and a washing-up area. Avon Tyrrell claims to be of the most popular campsites in the south of England due to the wide range of activities it delivers

on-site. Options such as low ropes, climbing and abseiling, archery, bush craft classes, zip wires and paddle boarding. However, if you are looking for a slightly more relaxing time Avon Tyrrell has an on-site café as well as plenty of surrounding woodland for you to go on long walks and gather your thoughts. The campsite is surrounded by multiple moun-tain bike tracks that can be up to five kilometres long. Also, there are many pubs and restaurants just a short walk away from the campsite which is ideal for relaxing for the evening.

Price

Prices at Avon Tyrell can range from £9.25 to £11.50 per person per night.

Reviews

Avon Tyrell enjoys having some the highest ratings for campsites in the south of England

including a 5-star review on cool camping and a 9.3/10 star review on pitchup. One customer described it being “Great for any group of family or friends..."

Grange Farm Brighstone Bay

grangefarmcamping.co.uk

Grange Farm, Brighstone Bay is an award-winning coastline campsite in the southeast cliffs of the Isle of Wight. It sits next to a family-run farm and looks over the campsite’s private beach (the key attraction of this campsite). There are toilets, showers and a tumble dryer and shop onsite and free access to wifi. When you ask a British person to envisage a beach, most would describe a pebbly beach full of kids running around causing havoc. However not the beach that backs on to the Grange Farm

campsite. After a five minute walk down to the beach from your tent, you come to a surprisingly empty sandy beach even in peak season that goes on for miles without a piece of rubbish in sight. The site allows open fires on the beach

which is the perfect way to warm up after coming out of the sea with your mates and a great way to cook your own meal for the night.

Within a one-mile beach path walk of the campsite or a road cycle, there is a fishing pond, the village of Brighstone, pubs, a church, tea rooms,

thatched post office, national trust shop, museum, newsagents, and forest cycling path. You can easily take a bike to this campsite and the roads are good to cycle to get to some of the closer attractions. Although both the walk and

cycle are quite hilly. A bus or longer bike ride away is Freshwater & Compton Bay, Blackgang Chine, Needles, Alum Bay and the bus stop is right outside the campsite. There are also fossil hunting organised tours on the beach.

Price

Prices can range from £13 to £27 per night depending on the size of the group. Groups of young people are permitted with payment of a per person good behaviour deposit. At the time of writing this was £20. However, on interviewing an 18-year-old who stayed here in 2019 with three friends of the same age they were permitted to pay a group

deposit of £20. You need to also add the ferry cost.

Reviews

Grange Farm has many popular reviews, for example, one former camper said: “Grange Farm is in a fabulous location, right on the beach with stunning views”. Grange Farm has a rating of 4.7/5 on google review and 4.5-star on trip advisor.

In summary, camping might offer the perfect Covid Safe holiday for young people, not living in the same household, to get together and relax. You don’t even need to cook with campsite shops offering convenient cold food and nearby pubs and restaurants offering takeout, even in a continued tier 3 type scenario. So get rid of those mid-winter blues by getting a summer plan in place for some rest and relaxation camping UK style.