Prices gone mad.

Entirely agree. We paid over £15 for a site last year with an intermittent electric supply and no toilets so used our own facilities. We didn't see the owner (money in a box) and the site needed mowing. I have also lost count of the number of sites where 6 or 7 'vans seem to be the norm. Have complained about a couple but you never see the outcome from the CC

 The more facilities demanded the higher the costs are going to be. I keep reading posts requesting hard standing/serviced pitches etc which don't come cheap. While we may want them do we really need them?

A nice well drained, mown, level pitch, access to water & CDP is all we really need.

£10 or less to get away from it all suits me & means I can get double the nights away for the same price.

Going back to my original quote. We wanted a few days away fairly local so are at Lady Margaret CC site. Full facilities and hard standing £15-60per night. Despite that there only about 15 vans on the 80+hard standings available. Probably would not use during "peak" times because of the high price and look for reasonable. no facility CL. Wonder if the mentioned CL s full today at their prices?

Simon Calder, the holiday "expert" was today replying to some questions about the "rip off" prices during the peak holiday periods,and he says, as most already know, that the off peak prices are run at a loss by companies,to fill spaces, their profits are made,at "rip off" periods,he said that goes for all holiday companies including the UK

You make a good point there, F, but in a way it just shows the nonsense of so many of the out of context claims about prices we read so often on here.

£15.60 for a pitch at LMP is a great deal if the nearest alternative is a CL charging £20 for a similar pitch.

By contrast £20 a night for the CL we've just booked for May is great since the commercial site a couple of hundred yards down the road would work out at about £32 a night.

Price satisfaction is a very subjective thing - if the price suits you for the area you want to visit, then, as the saying goes " the price is right!"

Wonder if the mentioned CL s full today at their prices?

We are the only van on the CL we're on at the moment, but had between 900 &1000 night's use during 2016. I doubt that many of those sites charging over £15pn had anywhere near that number of night's usage. The site where we were paying £9pn had, in November, 400+ nights bookings for 2017. Wonder how that compares to the dearer CLs?

That wasn't my argument NTH weather you use a site toilet or on board one I  was simply trying to make the point that by rigidly sticking to a limit you may be missing out on some great sites in areas you want to visit.

On the HS thing for us in a MH it's very important this time of year so we don't get stuck but the service pitch is a waste for us but more useful for a caravan.  Horses for courses and of course a personal choice.

"I doubt that many of those sites charging over £15pn had anywhere near that number of night's usage"

I know of one......

I'm sure that there are a few, such as your, but I did say many.

I tend to agree that some cl owners appear to set silly prices, we don't want or need anything other than a safe pitch for the night. The answer is in our own hands , don't use these sites, there are many great, good value sites available run by people who are happy to see visitors to their area and are not really in the camping/caravanning business for great profit. The apparent surge in wild camping in some areas I think can in some way be down to overpriced minimum facilty cl's, ( I do appreciate some people will wild camp whatever the price of cl's.)