Round here, some schools give the pupils the Friday off. Four days is a long weekend.

Round here they all have the Friday off. Ascension is always a four day weekend.

Around here the kids have got the Wednesday and Friday this year..!

In what sense is it unpleasant?

Tom

So who went camping and how was it?

Our original was cancelled and we didn't bother to rebook, thankfully, after seeing the weather..

We didn't but may go next weekend.

Tried to book at a few places but they don't take bookings for tents.

I'm not particularly happy with getting all the equipment ready, packing the car, and driving half way across Switzerland with the kids only to have to turn around again and come home.

I totally feel that .. I would generally want a booking even in non special times. Although i think the weather will put many people off..

We've booked a static near interlaken next week.. Forecast is for rain and close to zero degrees .. I think there will be quite a few cancellations, indeed ours was fully booked a couple of weeks ago (different operators were all booked) but now spaces are coming up. It's a moving target.

We went to o Graubünden. Had booked and in the end decided last minute to indeed go when forecast changed to dry. Was cold but we had enough warm clothes and sleeping bags so was fine. Camping was "booked out" but I believe many people did not show up.

Was a TCS camping.

My learning
1) TCS campings have a LONG lunch break so please it in for check in. Allegedly the restaurant could have confirmed our spot (was written nowhere so we waited....)
2) Given you have a 30 days cancellation, I believe many people will not bother to cancel so even though they will not show up, the spots will not be released until 6 PM that evening
3) The tent field which most campings have will almost always have place (ours was half empty). Only issue is the no electricity if you need it.

K

What is a "static"?

Electricity is quite useful for winter and cold weather camping with kids as you can make hot drinks easily with a portable induction stove, have lights for board games and so on. Good for a electric cool box too.

A caravan that doesn't move - usually quite big - like a mobile home.

Yes agree on electricity, also like having it for the reasons you stated. Looking also now again for a weekend in July and again seems all booked out, kind of crazy

Lots of places are apparently only taking bookings for whole week blocks in the summer holidays.

I think neighbouring countries will open up again for summer holidays .. But we booked up campo felice just to be sure.

I think by nature of it being a relatively cheap option people do book and then just not turn up for various reasons including the weather. And the whole week blocks is looking more common.. EuroCamp have changed to a minimum 3 nights now, was no minimum before.

Anybody tried Lazy Rancho?, come across the website recently but yet to try it.

So what did you think of Manor farm? I've stayed there before but wondered what you thought.
We nearly stayed there but didn't have a reservation so stopped at the one across the road first and they had a place.

For the benefit of people who haven't been and might go..

I like that it has direct access to the lake
I like the resto / bar.. Really good food and service, decent prices. Expensive for a campsite but decent considering the quality of food.
Shop is ok, standard campsite shop.
Toilet / showers are pretty good, not super new but clean and ok.
Big choice of accommodation providers if you are not tent-camping.. EuroCamp, Canvas, Vacansoliel, AltoGold.. etc.

What I don't like .. It's pretty rammed, especially popular by the lake.
The pitches for tents, mobiles, campers are not delimited by anything. There are little numbered posts but it's pretty chaotic, overlapping etc. You could hardly walk through some areas.

The site is split in two by the main road.. Resto, shop, reception etc on the lake side. Other side is mostly the Eurocamp etc caravans.. Much quieter.. There's an underpass beneath the road but still, young kids, busy road..

I've been a couple of times now and would go back but I wouldn't tent-camp on a busy weekend like last one.

How was the one next door to Manor Farm?

I've been to Manor farm a couple of times - the loos could definitely do with an upgrade (they are currently building a new sanitation block).

When we went, the shop was like a 1980s Eastern block shop - a bit of bread and a few tins. Pretty pathetic.

This time we went to Alpenblick and got a massive grassy pitch which was good as we took the bigger tent expecting rain all weekend.

It's quite a small site but we did not feel at all crammed in.
When we arrived, they asked the people next to us to move their car back onto their own pitch. (The pitches have different prices according to size so if you want a bigger one -you should pay for it and not use someone else's).

Great clean showers and toilets, fast wifi, really friendly staff and pretty quiet at night (we were away from the road).

They have a no-noise after ten rule which you may not like but it's ideal with younger kids and days spent hiking.

I'd definitely stay there again over Manor farm but Manor farm is great when it's not so busy.

The other site, Lazy Rancho had a four-night minimum stay so we didn't bother with that.

Camping is definitely a lot easier in Interlaken than it used to be. I remember getting back from a hike in the late afternoon and finding all the supermarkets closed at 4pm on a Saturday so having no way to buy food but this time, the Lidl was open until 9pm on the Saturday, the Sunday and on the holiday Monday.

Ah well- offer is still there. Tents or campers.