UKC

Hi

Can anyone recommend any van camping spots in Cheddar Gorge?

Cheers

Somewhere else.

I believe Cheddar Gorge is closed to traffic at the moment as they are felling all the Ash Trees close to the road.

There are decent campsites in the village which aren't particularly expensive, just use one of them and don't cause access problems in what is a very sensitive area.

zzz 

Cool thanks

Ta for the info 👍

Well it is a f*cking stupid question to ask on a public forum. 

Get back in your box FFS. What happened to the days of people being helpful? Thanks for your ‘input’. 

Basically van camping is about as popular as cock flavoured lollipops right now.

Hope that helps.  

Van camping seemed very popular in the NW of Scotland in September. 😊

Popular with whom?

Depends what colour your van is

I think if you'd put "near" rather than "in" then you might have got a bit less stick.

You can be helpful by not f*cking up the access for the sake of a few quid in campsite fees.

You’re promoting yourself as a mountaineering instructor and member of AMI, business owner and a member of a mountain rescue team.

This isn’t exactly a good image to portray to potential clients or to public.

Assuming you're thinking of staying in the near future, aren't we all supposed to be staying at home? Where I am it's no overnight stops away from your home.

Woah. Internet people are angry people. 

It's the UKC Vanguard in action.

It's understandable. People are protective over their local haunts and they have to be, especially with the delicate access at Cheddar. 

It doesn't really matter too much to Si from Kendal if he contributes to access issues at a sport crag 250 miles from where he lives. For locals it could be devastating. 

Yes, and it's understandable that Cheddar locals are protective as it sounds so sensitive. 

But the OP clearly lacks a locals' context. He's straight away realised it was a bad idea and welcomed the tip off about a local campsite.

I think UKC is better when shouting isn't the go-to method of offering helpful advice. 

D. 

Well it was very difficult to get a pitch on a campsite even in Sept so I guess those businesses were happy. Other local businesses such as pubs & shops must have benefited. To be honest I never, in 3 weeks, saw any of the problems people have talked about. I’m not saying there have been no problems just that I was pleasantly surprised to not come across any.

Acually you might have just hit on a millionaire maker idea, might have to advertize then on forums appealing to a different clientel to here though!

but then it wouldn't be UKC NOW WOULD IT?

UKB?

I'm not sure they were happy, most campsites have had to greatly reduce their capacity due to you-know-what. Still, happier than March, April and May I guess.

No, it really isn't. It has a valid answer: "There's a campsite at xyz", which was given by another poster and accepted by the OP.

For someone running UK mountain guiding companies, it WAS a stupid question.  If someone in that line of work didn't know that Cheddar access was seriously delicate, you would have to question what else they didn't know about UK climbing.

Must admit when I first saw the op my original thought was "Oh, here's someone who's been on a climbing wall for a couple of years just beginning to get outside". Somebody will gently put him right. Sorry, Si. 

I do agree with that context, but I didn't personally get the impression he wanted to camp in the gorge though!

Edit: I do get he said "in" the gorge, so that would be a valid counterpoint, I just didn't take that bit literally.

I’m not sure if there’s much point replying to this post, as it seems the internet jury is doing its usual unfortunate thing, but... for the record I actually didn’t know there were access issues at Cheddar. I’ve not been there I’m afraid. Yeah I know, shocking 😲

If you think that not knowing about access issues at one venue that’s miles away from where I live and in an area that I never work therefore means my knowledge as an instructor and of UK climbing as a whole is questionable then so be it. Seems a little exaggerated but hey, I’m not going to lose any sleep over it. 

Thanks to those who offered useful, polite advice and to those who messaged me privately. I have no problem with being advised of issues I wasn’t aware of so thanks for the heads up. 

I don't like hanging anyone out to dry but I find the idea of someone planning to go climb at Cheddar and not knowing about the access issues there a little far-fetched. I think even a total punter would struggle to decide they wanted to climb at Cheddar without seeing the red tape. 

It's quite clear on the UKC crag pages, the available guidebooks and the RAD. Not to mention the BMC's recent 'Respect the Rock' campaign. 

Was actually just planning on passing through en route south and going to go for a walk for a few hours to check it out. But there you go!

Access issues are easy to check up on. The BMC (you have heard of them?) run an access data-base which is easily available. The Cheddar access issues have had so much publicity over the years that even the local wall rats in Sheffield know of them.

I believe that the code of practice or whatever the name is for outdoor instructors rule book, does state that some areas have access issues and that these should be considered! 

As an instructor you are going to be dealing with novices on a regular basis. There is definitely a role to be played by instructors in informing novices about the tools available to them in terms of checking access issues, places like Cheddar and the Llanberis slate quarries are good examples of areas where there are access issues which can be discussed with clients to help preserve access. Certainly a bit of added value to your clients to discuss things like that on a walk in if you don't have any other relevant stuff planned in that period.

It is a bit of a surprising gap in your knowledge if you take much of an interest in the UK climbing scene as a whole, especially if you're planning a visit there for the near future.  You can hardly leaf through a guide book or read a magazine or online article about the place without tripping over it.

Access issues would have absolutely no relevance to your plans for accommodation though unless you were planning to "wild camp" (ie: doss in a van) in a way that you know runs the risk of pissing off the locals.  You'd have to have been monumentally oblivious to fail to realise that people are a tad sensitive about that at the moment, on your own doorstep as much as anywhere in the UK, so it's hardly surprising if a few people might have jumped to the (hopefully erroneous) conclusion that you're fully aware of the issues and just don't give a shit.

I agree with Rog Wilko above - I saw the OP and assumed it was someone who'd been climbing indoors a bit and was just starting to think about venturing outside more.  I was gobsmacked when I looked at your profile.

Incidentally, you're probably also experiencing some of the backlash to this rather poorly-advised article on here.  If you haven't seen it before a scan of this thread might give you an idea of where some of the posts on this one are coming from, and why your OP was about as popular with some of the regulars on here as a turd in a layby:
https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/ukc/how_to_convert_a_camper_van_into_a_cl...

F*ck me there are some condescending replies from some absolute bells on here aren't there? 

I think you're confusing 'condescending' with justifiable anger/disbelief at a poorly worded OP that seemed on the verge of taking the piss and at best naive. I've never climbed at Cheddar and the last time I was down that neck of the woods was to cave on the Mendips decades ago but I know all about the access situation there and the sensitivities. Do you think  a dry-tooling enquiry about Southern Sandstone would be met with polite and helpful suggestions?

I’m not going to waste any more time with this thread. Particularly given that the polite advice of some seems to be outweighed by those looking to put the knife in. It’s a shame that most threads on here degenerate like this these days. I’ve no immediate plans to climb at Cheddar. I just wanted to do for a damn walk and see what it’s like! If I was going to climb there I’m sure I’d have come across info about access issues.... but I’m not!

No, I don't think I'm confused at all.

I think the OP asked a perfectly innocent question which Spenser answered politely, and appropriately even made reference to the access situation and was thanked for his answer. 

It's pretty clear it was an innocent question, the kind of thing that people use internet based forums for.

Yet still the bile.  People calling his question stupid, accusing of messing up access because he wanted to save a few quid, should have known better than to ask, someone who is promoting themselves as an xyz.... 

Pretty unnecessary if you ask me. 

All this conjecture about whether he should have already known or not is not only pointless, but also counterproductive as it'll dissuade other people from asking other innocent questions on here.  Next time maybe someone will not ask and just go and park up illegally?

What was these people's end goal?  Stop anyone ever asking about the camping arrangements (or lack thereoff) ever again in the future?  Make him feel bad for asking? Get an apology for having the temerity to ask? 

Or is it just a bit of internet-based willy waving from people who are as fed up as the rest of us and couldn't resist the urge to have a pop at someone (something I'm guilty of myself)?

I'm sorry you got such a lot of stick mate, you seem like a genuine guy to me and did nowt to deserve any of this crap.

I agree. It really is a shame.

Your OP makes no mention of "just wanting to go for a walk" .  If that's what you meant to ask, just use a car park and go for a walk like the other tourists. If you are having difficulty,  you could always hire a guide.

No, you were planning to camp in your van in Cheddar Gorge. That's what your OP says.

Yes ....... and no (maybe?)

Can you hear the squelch of a dummie plopping to the ground from there?

Actually, I've just looked at your profile and realised who you are.

I'm sure you won't remember it but About 6 years ago I booked a days climbing and Ghyll scrambling with you as a gift for my other half's b'day.  I'd never climbed before, she had a bit, but hadn't done a great deal outdoors...

Long and short of it, I got into climbing off the back of that day and my other half renewed her enthusiasm and we both climb all the time now, including all over Europe.  That day out with you made a huge difference to both of our lives.

So thank you for that!

I don't think many of the repliers are bell ends and I don't think the OP is either. It's mainly t'internet thing of poor wording/different stances/lack of nuance and inflection etc.

I agree entirely. I’m sure most of the people who have come out with all this rubbish here are perfectly well adjusted polite and helpful people in real life.

We all behave differently on the internet. In real life I don’t go around telling people they’re bell ends...

Enjoy it mate. These clowns think the world is going to stop getting busier for them? Seen worse in Lofoten, Dolomites, Siurana,Alps, etc and they're nowhere near as miserable as this lot.

Population is growing and the island isnt getting any bigger. Better get used to it. Especially since Euro travel is going to get tougher. 

I thought the original response was succinct, accurate and quite funny. Maybe roll with it, be a tad less sensitive? If somebody had come out with that in a real pub, there would have been real laughter.

Shame it's not a pub in Glasgow. Most would have been stabbed.