Drove 2 hrs to go camping in Maldon, arrived and pitch was completely water logged. Campsite had no other pitches, owners weren’t that helpful, came home ! Bonus was fish and chips by the sea before we left.
There had been a heavy down pour field next to the lake couldn’t soak it away fast enough. Typically it was only our pitch that was drowning!
Only took an hour to get back home, no traffic. Obviously no campsite owner would write on their website pitches are prone to being unusable. In two minds wether to leave a review,they’ve gotta make money.
Was Slightly annoyed but now home I’m glad to be home.
An eventful day compared to the last year !
Why not leave a review? As long as it's honest I cant see a problem. The next person who shows up after a downpour will probably thank you.
Gutted for you that's pants.
We've had some pretty exceptionally bad weather of late I'd be inclined not to dam them for the pitch (i.e. don't be rude just factual), up to you on the attitude.
Remember a campsite in Holland way back when I was a teen and it flash flooded a few pitches and people were on camp beds and sinktops in the shower block.
I can't believe that they didn't have some patch of grass to lend you with an effusive apology and a couple of beers for your trouble. What's wrong with their lawn? Personally I'd leave a stinker.
Difficult - I guess the prices campsites charge these days they could have tried ringing you to say it’s flooded
Other than that, they cannot control weather events and maybe it’s the first time it’s happened
I would leave a fair review if you can say which particular pitch it was and people know what pitch they are booking in advance
Has it dried up?
Go and have a night away.
1-2hrs isn't that far.
Don't get despondent, it's a whole other day now, get on that there Internet and find another holiday.
If it was somewhere in mid Wales then they've had an exceptional weather event yesterday afternoon and early evening. There were a lot of flooded roads and places that came up within an hour. My father said they'd not had rain like it for quite a few years, and my sister who drives for a living phoned to tell mev there was severe flooding. I was still stuck on the M40 at the time.
They should have let you pitch in their garden or at least phone you before your wasted journey.
The campsite next to the lake under Snowdon is rone to flooding but not sure if they mention that on their website or what their policy is
Aye, don't leave a stinker, they should've contacted you, but the whole hospitality industry has been through a tough time.
Move on.
Did they offer you a free pitch another time? - the least they could do.
Remember a campsite in Holland way back when I was a teen and it flash flooded a few pitches and people were on camp beds and sinktops in the shower block.
As a kid my mum took me and my sisters to skye before the bridge opened one last trip on the ferry.
Sligachan campsite on a beautiful sunny evening we made plans. That night the wind and rain came... And it was a mighty wind. My big sister was given the important roll of sleeping next to the tent pole and holding it up. That was successful until about midnight when all of a sudden it gave up and came down.
It's quite hard to get out of a soaking tent that's wrapping itself around you in the dark. My mum got out first and left us to hoy everything in the volvo 242 estate in the front seats and get the back seats down and we all transferred to car while she put rocks on the tent. All very hilarious and we laughed at our misfortune.
The next morning we woke to glorious sunshine to a display of destruction the storm had left. Turns out we were the lucky ones. Our tent had merely collapsed! There were tents ripped in half there were skeletons of tents still up with the fabric nowhere to be seen, one tent had been washed away in the flash flood. We had had somewhere to sleep flat alot of people had spent the night sitting upright in their cars and the group of 20 motorbikes had retreated to the ladies toilets because the mens windows had blown in. We found them sharing two tiny camp stoves and a cheer went up when we carried in the double burner and mahusive tank. Holiday over we went to the ferry where to queue was epic. There were people in pygamas and one guy had lost everything except his boxers!
Best
Holiday
Ever
Have been flash flooded a couple times, once in Andorra, once in Chamonix.
Complaining that it's flooded seems harsh.. was it an 'industrial' campsite, or a bit more ad hoc? IF the former they could have phoned, but was it their field that had flooded - they may have been busy.
Re. camping gardens - big tent, little tent? Motorhome?
Ha yeah like joshvegas, memorable night camping in Glenridding, wind got up through the night so barely slept holding poles up hoping they didn't break with rain lashing the tent. As the sun came up, from a neighbouring tent you heard the tent zip and then "guys, we've got a moat!" followed by lots of jokes on a castle theme. Got up to a sight of destruction, particularly big family tents. Basically the same, the ground was so saturated ponds had formed all over the field. If the OP's site had designated pitches then the owner's should have called first but these things happen. Enjoy your weekend OP take some day trips somewhere.
+1 on wild wet windy nights being rather fun....
We once removed the bedroom area and parked my dad's Austin Princess inside the old frame tent we had - and tied the frame to the car by going through the open windows. We all shuffled up and lay listening to the weather all night.
Best memory was the next day laying on Bassenthwaite shore in 20*c getting sunburnt but thinking about the previous night...
On scout camp through hurricane Charlie.
Epic!
Only surviving tents were the two oldest 2 nijers, oldest has a small tear, ours had lost half the side.
The one lad with a big suitcase (who we had ripped into as it wasn't a rucksack) was sitting pretty in the suitcase dry and comfy.
2 other nijers, 160lb army tents and a host of other frame tents died.
If you have a garden, pitch in that instead. Full catering on site, shower block and clean non smelly toilets. You can even have a campfire too 😉
Was it prebooked and paid for?
Can recommend a tent in the Bernese Oberland listening to a thunder storm approaching through the valley. Thank heavens for hire cars!
volvo 245 estate
FTFY
Loved my old 245 for sleeping in. Especially on windy nights
FTFY
Loved my old 245 for sleeping in. Especially on windy nights
Nope it was a 242 estate Trust me on this first we had a red auto then a yellow one then a blue one with overdrive they were all 242s. We were a volvo family. Also has 2 343s a green 440 and 740 in white a gold 9 something but we don't talk about that one due to a fireball.
I a tually can't find evidence that I am telling the truth but I'd swear blind they were never 245s
I'm going to make a [nother] real dick of myself here, either by being wrong of being a sad Volvo fanboi, but....
I thought the last digit in the early models referred to the number of doors.
Or was it just coincidence that our 244 was a saloon and the 245 was an estate?
How embarrassing.🥵
I remember one memorable night in the campsite at the bottom of little tryfan. Was in an ultra quasar and it was moving a good 3 inches or so. Which in a quasar of substantial. When we got up in the morning there were very few other tents still in the site.
the campsite at the bottom of little tryfan
I can remember some great nights on that site BITD mid70's to ealy 80's usually very wet ,cold and windy. It was our regular weekend spot with Venture scouts usuaaly winter It used to be quite primitive... One wc, water from the streamFarmer was a bit of a character helping out with jump starts after a very cold night, 'was bloody cold last night, me teeth got frozen into the glass next to the bed'
What if you had just driven for 5 hours pn a friday afternoon, to arrive to a wet bog of a pitch?
Then the owners do a gallic shrug and disappear into their cosy farmhouse?
Bang out of order. Leave a clear factual review, let the people reading it make up their own minds
What if
Yeah but he didn’t.
Bang out of order.
This is England, it rains. Yes they could have called him but shit happens. It’s not the end of the world compared to what a lot of people are suffering right now, move on stop sulking and enjoy life.
Farmer Giles didn't know that did he.
grahamt1980
Full Member
Was in an ultra quasar and it was moving a good 3 inches or so.
Couple of similar ones in an Ultra Quasar… Waking up thoroughly refreshed one morning in Cornwall to find mates on the next pitch (and most of rest of campsite) had had a terrible night in torrential wind and rain. Soaked to the skin, streams running through tents, ripped fly sheets etc.
The other was on the north coast of Scotland - woke to find most of the campsite decimated and everyone sat in their cars. Aye it had been a bit blowy for sure, but didn’t realise it was that bad!!
I wish I’d never sold that tent - one of life’s great regrets!!
Volvo numbering system, 1970s: First number is series, second is number of cylinders, third is number of doors.
OP - feel for you. I'd've done the same. We went camping last weekend - the weekend full of thunderstorms - and I had reservations about going but it was booked and paid for. We put up a shelter to cook under, because cooking in a tent is stupid, and got a talking to from the site owner for having a 'party tent'... soured the whole weekend more than the weather did. If the owners are Dicks it's best just to leave.
Waking up thoroughly refreshed one morning in Cornwall to find mates on the next pitch (and most of rest of campsite) had had a terrible night in torrential wind and rain. Soaked to the skin, streams running through tents, ripped fly sheets etc.
+1. Woke to find drunken friends holding guy rope of their tent as a kite. Brutal. Rain battering a handful of flattened tents, many occupants wearing the remnants as ponchos.
I’d chosen to pitch in a small depression and used a low-profile solo tent so slept the whole night beerful. That much passive gloating should be illegal.
thegeneralist
Free Member
I’m going to make a [nother] real dick of myself here, either by being wrong of being a sad Volvo fanboi, but….I thought the last digit in the early models referred to the number of doors.
Or was it just coincidence that our 244 was a saloon and the 245 was an estate?
How embarrassing.🥵
Yup, 242 is the coupe (!), 244 is the saloon and 245 is the estate.
2 = series of cars, 4 = number of cylinders and 5 is the number of doors.
262 for the win obviously. Used to work at a Volvo dealership in my youth in the late 80s. 😉
first proper camp trip in our transit this past weekend.
Karrageen down in the south hams, a pretty nice site and all the van pitches had been benched, so your van sits level.
Lying in bed listening to the Saturday night rain was making me nervous though. The pitches are benched because the site is on a fair old slope, and my only other experience of driving the transit on wet grass wasnt confidence inspiring, with the van tyres and wide open diff.
Thankfully with a bit of swift foot works got the clutch fully engaged before we got off camber and just let it :ahem: pull itself off :as it were:. Phewph!
Having done its fist trip, im now weighing up ripping it all out and redoing it!
One reason I now dislike camping is that campsites flood. I’ve cancelled trips and turned around due to the rain. Not once have I expected a refund.
262 for the win obviously. Used to work at a Volvo dealership in my youth in the late 80s. 😉
262 bertone surely?
That's what I read but looking at a volvo dating things the last number stop meaning anything towards the end of the them. Anyway doesn't really matter.
I have a complete set of eastone poles with cracked female ends from a night in arran. Woke up with 2 inches of water surrounding the inner. Literally the vestibule was under 2 inches and the inner managed to be just out the water.
Camping in rubbish A-frame tents as a cadet largely killed any of the joy of camping for me. Knackered old tents belonging to school so they were routinely put away wet, bits were missing and by the time they were next used, there'd be a massive patch of mould on one side and any initial attempts the tent had made at being waterproof were long since abandoned.
We did manage to build quite a spectacular set-up once out of ponchos and tarps over a shell scrap (dug out bit with raised walls to sleep in) and because we'd put it up as soon as we got there, when it started lashing it down later, our site was warm and dry. Sadly, the night exercise and camping bit got binned off because it was deemed too dangerous for cadets. Shame, we had a shelter that Ray Mears would have been proud of. Full on roof, walls, a fallen tree trunk providing one side of solid cover, fire space. We were genuinely gutted we never got to use it properly.
Just got back from a week at Dol Gam, just outside Betws.
No flooding, but pretty much midged out every evening. 😶
Stupid looking midge hats ordered........
Kudos to Alpkit - I woke up dry in this. Rained a bit that night.
By heck....
Last time I was in a tent like that, the two guys on thermarests floated and I on a karrimat sank....
I've never had a problem with my old force 10 Mk2. Even times where the wind really did pick up, and just some extra spring guys on and pegged the poles. That said i did sit up(if you can call it that in a mk2) and braced the tent a bit. Blow and wobble about a bit but at no point did i feel the tent was going to part company with its occupant. Deffo a F8 gusting well above in Glencoe
And the groundsheet on them you could probably sail down the clyde on, unlike todays ultra thin affairs. OK it weighs a lot, but car camping thats not a problem.
Not sure my modern snugpak would be up to anything like a decent blow.
A tight as a drum force ten is a thng to behold in a blow.
I was genuinely a bit sad my vango poles all cracked a bit on arran because it had done sch a good job staying over us all night and it was so blood waterproof.
for some true volvo geekery - they did also make a few volvo 243s, which had one side of a 244 and one side of a 242. I think the police in some markets used them..
Cool! You got B3 Passat taxis like that, too.
So in somethingion.
The mistake the OP made was not owning a volvo 240series estate, not owning an alpkit (or possibly a force 10) tent and both should and shouldn't write a review based on the fact he could have been 5 hours away even if he was only 2.And one drac vote for turning round at the first sight of rain.
And no one has fallen out. That's pretty good for a single track thread.
