2020 will go down as one of the craziest times in human history… the Coronavirus pandemic has affected the world in ways that few could have foreseen this time last year.
And who knows when we will return to ‘normality’… But we are slowly getting back to a semblance of normality and that’s important – if nothing else, then at least for everyone’s sanity.
One of the questions that keeps popping up is ‘can I go camping during the coronavirus’ and the answer is, as of now, yes, in the UK.
However, there are some conditions that have to be followed – we are not back to pre-coronavirus style camping yet, but at least it’s a step in the right direction.
Conditions
Certain conditions have to be followed if you want to go camping in the UK.
Camping sites have been instructed to introduce measures to ensure social distancing and proper hygiene is maintained.
This may involve reduced numbers of people on campsites, extra spacing between pitching areas and reduced access to communal areas, such as toilets and showers.
What Does This Mean?
This is going to have an impact on how you plan your camping trip and you’ll need to do things a little differently and think outside the box a bit…
In addition to your normal camping kit list, there will be a few extra items that would be useful to take with you:
- The most obvious one is hygiene and sanitising products – this will include soaps, hand sanitisers and sanitising wipes… and plenty of them – you don’t want to run out before your camping trip has finished.
- It’s important to keep your cutlery and serving dishes clean and sterilised – wash them thoroughly before each use. And, I know it sounds obvious, but don’t share things like water bottles with others.
- Some sort of face mask (whether it be a proper face mask or another type of face covering) – this will be important as most likely you will still come in contact with other people (fellow campers or site staff).
- Some campsites have closed all communal facilities and others have limited or reduced access – this being the case, you should consider taking portable facilities with you, such as portable toilets and showers. There are plenty available and in fact, it will probably be safer for you if you do so as you’ll be less at risk by not sharing facilities with others.
Other Factors
Most campsites are only allowing individual bookings and not group bookings.
In addition to this many sites are not allowing day visitors onto the pitch site.
So practically speaking, it’s only camping with the family at the moment… large camping groups are still a while away.
It’s a good idea to camp as close to home as possible… it’s probably not a great idea to travel the whole length of the country at this time as this will probably mean you’ll be coming into contact with more people along the way (whether it’s due to stopping to fill up petrol or taking a toilet break…).
The important thing to remember is that we can get back to nature… it doesn’t matter if that natural environment is close to home… it’s still nature.
Conclusion
Camping is going to be a bit different for a while… but at least we can go camping again and that’s better than not being able to go at all.
There’s lots still to enjoy from a camping trip with the family at this time, but it’s important to follow the guidelines and maintain proper hygiene and social distancing.
It’s totally understandable that we want things to be ‘normal’ and it can get repetitive and boring having to do all these extra things and having to abide by these extra rules…but if everyone does their bit, then hopefully we can get past this storm and return to normality sooner rather than later.
I hope you’ve found this post useful.
If you have any questions or comments, then please leave them below and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
Mohammad