Campsite accessibility is one of those topics that feels like it only applies to large holiday parks with purpose-built facilities. But that is not the case. Whether you run a five pitch CL in the Cotswolds or a fifty pitch touring park in North Wales, there are guests out there who would love to stay with you if they knew they could. People with mobility difficulties, visual impairments, chronic health conditions, or simply older guests who find uneven ground harder than they used to. Making your site more accessible does not mean rebuilding it from scratch. It means thinking about the small things that make a big difference.

Why Accessibility Matters More Than You Think

Around 14 million people in the UK live with a disability. That is roughly one in five of the population, and the spending power of disabled households is estimated at over £270 billion a year. Many of these people love the outdoors and want to go camping, touring or caravanning, but they struggle to find sites that can accommodate them.

Most campsite owners are not deliberately excluding anyone. The problem is usually a lack of information. Guests cannot find out whether your paths are level, whether the shower block has grab rails, or whether the nearest pitch to the facilities has hardstanding. When the information is not there, guests assume the worst and book somewhere else.

Being upfront about what your site can and cannot offer is one of the simplest things you can do. You do not need a perfect score. You just need honesty.

Start With an Honest Assessment of Your Site

Before you change anything, walk your site with fresh eyes. Better still, walk it with someone who uses a wheelchair or has limited mobility. You will notice things you have walked past a hundred times without thinking.

Ask yourself:

You are not aiming for perfection. You are looking for the barriers that would stop someone from having a comfortable stay, and working out which ones you can fix affordably.

Pitches and Hardstanding

The single biggest accessibility improvement for most campsites is having at least one pitch with solid, level hardstanding close to the toilet block. Grass pitches are lovely in summer, but for anyone using a wheelchair, a walker or a mobility scooter, soft or uneven ground is a non-starter.

If you already have hardstanding pitches, check that the surface is smooth and free of potholes or raised edges that could catch wheels. If you do not have any, consider adding one or two. Compacted gravel or concrete slabs do not cost a fortune, and they make your site available to a group of guests who would otherwise have to look elsewhere.

Think about the route between the accessible pitch and the facilities too. A smooth path is just as important as the pitch itself. If there is a grassy stretch in between that turns to mud in the rain, that is a problem worth solving.

A few other pitch considerations:

Toilet and Shower Blocks

Facilities are often the deciding factor for guests with disabilities. A spotless, modern shower block is no use if the door is too narrow for a wheelchair or the shower has a step into it.

If you are building or refurbishing facilities, consider:

If a full refurbishment is not in the budget, smaller changes can still help. Adding grab rails near the toilet, fitting a portable shower seat, improving lighting and putting a ramp over a single step are all relatively low cost.

For CL and CS sites with only basic facilities, just being honest about what you have is the most helpful thing. A guest who knows in advance that the shower has a small step can plan around it. A guest who finds out on arrival cannot.

Information and Communication

This is where many campsites fall down, and it is one of the easiest areas to fix. Guests with disabilities need more information before booking, not less. They need to know exactly what your site can offer so they can make an informed decision.

On your website, include:

When a guest contacts you with accessibility questions, take them seriously. Ask what they need, be honest about what you can provide, and offer to make reasonable adjustments where possible. Sometimes it is as simple as reserving a specific pitch or leaving a gate unlocked.

Your booking system can help here too. With CampSuite's booking tools, you can add notes to individual pitches so your team knows which ones are suitable for guests with mobility needs. You can also use the guest communications feature to send pre-arrival information tailored to the guest's requirements.

The Equality Act and Your Legal Obligations

Under the Equality Act 2010, service providers (including campsites) have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled guests. This does not mean you have to install a lift or flatten every path on your site. It means you should take reasonable steps to remove barriers that put disabled people at a substantial disadvantage.

What counts as "reasonable" depends on the size of your business, your resources, and the nature of your site. A large holiday park with hundreds of pitches is expected to do more than a five pitch CL run by a retired couple. But every site should be able to demonstrate that they have thought about accessibility and taken practical steps.

Steps that are almost always considered reasonable:

The key word is "reasonable." Nobody expects miracles. But if a guest with a disability complains and you have done nothing at all, you may find yourself on the wrong side of the law.

Small Changes That Make a Real Difference

You do not need a six figure budget to improve accessibility. Many of the most impactful changes cost very little:

These are not expensive changes, but they signal to disabled guests that your site has thought about their needs. That counts for a lot.

Promoting Your Accessible Facilities

Once you have made improvements, tell people about them. There is no point adding an accessible pitch and a ramped shower if nobody knows they exist.

Update your website with a dedicated accessibility section. List exactly what you offer, with photos. Add your site to directories that specialise in accessible holidays, such as AccessAble or Tourism for All. Mention your accessible facilities in your listing descriptions on the likes of Pitchup or the Club directories.

Ask guests with disabilities for feedback after their stay. Their insights will be more valuable than any consultant's report, and if they had a good experience, they are likely to recommend your site to others in a similar situation. Word of mouth is powerful in the accessibility community because finding a good, honest campsite is harder than it should be.

Making your campsite accessible is not about ticking boxes or meeting minimum standards. It is about welcoming guests who want to enjoy the outdoors just as much as anyone else. Start with an honest assessment, make the changes you can afford, and be upfront about what your site offers. That combination of practical improvements and honest information will open your doors to a whole group of guests who are actively looking for somewhere like yours.

If you want to keep track of accessible pitches, add guest notes and send tailored pre-arrival information, give CampSuite a try. It is free for CL and CS sites and takes about fifteen minutes to set up.