For many, camping is inextricably linked to childhood. For me, such holidays meant boundless freedom, racing around and making new friends. For my parents it meant time in which to sit back and relax, while we burned off all our excess energy in a safe environment.
Watching children having a good time lets parents and grandparents have fun the lazy way, without having to leave the comfort of their camping chairs. But sometimes things turn sour and the devil makes work for idle hands. Bored children can create mischief and mayhem.
So, if the prospect of spending your well-earned breaks among these angel-faced rascals fills you with fear and dread, an adults-only site offers a safe haven. However, if you want this type of park, you won't find it amongst the major clubs' sites. "We operate an ‘open to all' policy and do not single out any group, of whatever age, for special treatment," states the Caravan Club.
"We are the friendly club, who offer something for everyone," insists the Camping and Caravanning Club. So who are these ‘miseries' who seek a world without children, and do they really believe that all juveniles are delinquent?

Promoting peace
"In most cases it's quite the opposite," says Tony Taylor, owner of Waterrow Touring Park in Somerset and chairman of Tranquil Touring Parks, a group which promotes peaceful caravan parks, just for the grown-ups. He says: "We get a lot of our business from teachers and caretakers - people who love working with children but also need a bit of respite from them."

How to have your cake and eat it
The member firms of Tranquil Touring Parks run a strict over-18s only policy, but not all sites want to ban kids. In Cornwall, Widdicombe Farm Park consists of four fields, one of which is for families.
"We realise that many people want to see their families during their breaks - grandparents often like to spend time with their grandchildren," explains Mrs Glynn, owner of Widdicombe Farm. The site has a clubhouse where families can eat together, but the bar is a no-go area for children, so adults can enjoy socialising of a more grown-up kind. Children enjoy their own entertainment in the form of a play area, but it's a part of the family field, far from the adult areas.
Mrs Glynn says: "We think we've got it sussed. This is the best of both worlds. We don't want to turn people away but equally we don't want to be overrun with unruly kids." And that's why the park operates a no-nonsense policy. "Family pitches take a maximum of six people, and if anyone is too noisy, they are given a refund and asked to leave." But hang on a minute - this sounds more like boot camp than a holiday park. Are adults-only sites like lending libraries, where visitors must abide by strict codes of silence? "Far from it," says Tony Taylor. "In fact you'll find adults-only sites have fewer rules and regulations than family sites. Children need rules to tell them where they can and cannot go. Without the kids you don't need the rules."
In Cambridgeshire, Jane Norman, who runs Stroud Hill Farm (a Caravan Club affiliated site), told us: "We have nothing against children - we have two toddlers ourselves - but our site has a fishing lake. We didn't want to put up signs everywhere - in any case, a warning sign to an inquisitive child can be too tempting. We live on this farm and we love this farm - we don't want it to look like a prison camp."
Because you don't have to worry about children in bed, asleep, you can let your hair down on an adults-only site. When we spoke to Jane, she was in the process of recovering from "a bit of a late one". The previous night, staff and guests at Stroud Hill had celebrated Valentine's Day in style, which meant bleary eyes and sore heads all around.

 • The above is an extract from an article published in the July 2005 issue of Practical Motorhome magazine. The full article goes on to cover: High quality counts for a lot, Each to their own, PLUS a full list of all the Adult only parks in the UK.
Web Directories:
Caravan Sitefinder's adult only parks

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