Coronavirus: Wales' caravan and camp sites 'inundated' with calls

Caravan and camp sites around Wales "haven't stopped" due to the volume of guests and staycation inquiries since coronavirus restrictions were eased.

"Everyone seems desperate to go to the countryside and coast," said campsite owner Fil Marshall in Pembrokeshire.

One park in Gower reported receiving 100 calls a day, while a Vale of Glamorgan campsite said it had been "inundated" with inquiries.

It is also said to be "going well" in Ceredigion, Gwynedd and Flintshire.

Tony Beynon from Three Cliffs Bay Holiday Park in Gower said the early days of the pandemic caused some "dark days".

"Now we're open, the campers are back, we're doing what we do best and the sun is shining," he said.

"Normally in August the phone would die off because once people realise the site is saying full, it's full.

"But this year, more than ever, we're still receiving 100 calls a day."

Coronavirus restrictions allowed holiday parks and camping sites with shared facilities to reopen from 25 July, providing strict rules were followed.

Alyson Baroth, owner of White Wheat Caravan Park, in Porthcawl, explained how people have been calling from as far away as Birmingham to try to secure a touring pitch.

Her site is fully booked in August, and September is "filling up" which is good news as she says she and her husband had spent a lot on the complex since buying it in 2017.

Customers have to fill in a compliance form before entering the site and toilet facilities are repeatedly cleaned.

"We have to be very strict because of Covid-19," Ms Baroth said.

"It's still out there. We are in a pandemic and people don't realise."

Alun Williams, who manages the Three Golden Cups campsite at Southerndown, on the Vale of Glamorgan coast, said August weekends have been booked out with some availability in the week.

"We have been inundated with calls. It hasn't stopped," he said.

Mr Williams has had to reduce the number of pitches from 35 to 30 to ensure compliance with social distancing requirements.

And the adjoining pub has added screens between restaurant tables to help "build customer confidence".

"We are seeing a good proportion of locals coming back," said Mr Williams.

In Gwynedd, Kayleigh Bradbury from Min-Y-Don Holiday Home Park in Harlech said there had been an increase in inquiries and purchases of owner-occupier static caravans this year.

"It's going brilliantly well," she said. "A lot of customers want to support the UK."

The site's touring park was also "pretty busy", Ms Bradbury added, with the odd vacancy in August.

"We are getting back to normality of some kind with people enjoying their holidays," she said.

Fil Marshall, who runs Point Farm Campsite in Dale, Pembrokeshire, with wife Nia, said an influx of people to the area was like a "cork let out of a champagne bottle".

"Everyone seems desperate to go to the countryside and coast," he said.

But due to social distancing regulations, the couple decided to reopen only a shepherd's hut which sleeps four, rather than an additional seven pitches, giving their guests exclusive use of the site's showers and toilet facilities.

Mr Marshall said the area was popular with second homes and whilst it was busy with people there was "not a lot of social distancing".

He described lockdown as a "nightmare" with a "complete loss of income" but the shepherd's hut has been booked up until September since regulations were lifted.

Fron Farm Country Holiday Park at Hendre, near Mold, Flintshire, is "choc-a-block" this weekend, albeit that the camping and caravan site has reduced its number of pitches due to social distancing rules.

Teleri Roberts explained that, as the site was close to the English border, people from Liverpool and Manchester had been looking for a place to pitch up.

"We are not struggling," she said.

In Ceredigion, Peter Evans, owner of Neuadd Caravan Park in New Quay, said he was seeing a higher volume of calls than normal.

"There are a lot more staycation inquiries," he said.

"We are where we should be for August," Mr Evans said, with regard to bookings.

And he added that social distancing had been "going well" with groups staying in their own "bubbles".

"On the whole people are sensible and are prepared to cooperate because of where we have been," Mr Evans said.