Big Pitch a success!
Campers were out in force over the weekend as the ‘holidaying at home’ ethos continues to gather momentum.
As part of National Camping and Caravanning Week 2011 (May 30 to June 5), the Club urged people to encourage family and friends to experience and enjoy the great outdoors on the night of the ‘Big Pitch’ camp out on Saturday, June 4.
And they did not disappoint, with a rise in tent campers on both Forest Holidays Caravan & Camping Sites and Club Sites.
Forest Touring Sites saw a 25 per cent overall increase in bookings over the two days whilst tent campers staying on site rose by a staggering 44 per cent.
“There was a real buzz on site during the Big Pitch weekend with the weather certainly helping,” said Hollands Wood Site Manager Marilyn Webster.
“There seems to be a real enthusiasm for wanting to escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life these days and camping certainly fits the bill.
“Our Forest Ranger activities are proving to be extremely popular at the moment.”
Meanwhile, on Club Sites there was an 11 per cent increase in tent bookings with tent campers increasing their average length of stay by one night. Non-members also accounted for a 12 per cent increase in bookings.
The Club’s Director General Robert Louden was pleased that the Club had helped get the nation smiling again!
This was supported by the Club’s Happy Test, a before-and-after text response experiment over the Big Pitch weekend, which proved conclusively that camping really has the power to make us feel richer in mind, body and soul.
“National Camping and Caravanning Week is now a permanent fixture in people’s diaries and it’s great to see that camping does seem to be the key to happiness,” he added.
“Camping really does have benefits for us on many levels – our mental and physical health, family togetherness, community cohesion, child development and not least, how happy we feel.”