Campsite Awning Rules: A Guide for UK Owners

A guest pulls onto pitch 4, unrolls a huge porch awning and an hour later it is touching the neighbour's van. Sound familiar? Clear campsite awning rules stop that argument before it starts. Awnings are part of the camping experience, but they take up far more room than the caravan or motorhome they are attached to, and they bring safety, spacing and pitch fee questions with them.

Here is how I would write awning rules that guests actually follow, whether you run a five van CL, a CS site or a bigger touring park.

Why awnings cause more trouble than the caravan itself

A touring caravan is a known size. An awning is not. A full awning can add three or four metres to the width of a unit, and a sun canopy with side panels and a groundsheet can double the footprint again. If your pitches were laid out for the van alone, the awning is what eats the space between neighbours.

The usual problems are:

• Spacing. Units end up too close together, which matters for privacy and for fire safety.
• Pitch size. The awning pushes over onto the next pitch, or onto the roadway.
• Wind damage. A badly pegged awning in a gale is a flying hazard for everyone nearby.
• Grass damage. A groundsheet left down for two weeks kills the turf underneath.
• Extra people. A big awning often means extra sleepers, and extra sleepers mean extra fees.

Check your club's spacing rules first

If you run a CL or CS, the Caravan and Motorhome Club and the Camping and Caravanning Club both set rules on how far apart units must be and on how many units you can have. Those rules matter more than your own preferences, so read the current version of your certificate conditions before you write anything. Our guides to the CL five van rule and the caravan spacing rules cover the detail.

The key point is simple. Spacing is normally measured between the units including their awnings, porches and anything attached. If a guest has an awning that breaks the gap, it is your certificate at risk, not theirs. If you run a licensed site, your fire risk assessment will say much the same thing.

When in doubt, ask your club or your local authority rather than guessing.

Decide your pitch size and marker rules

The easiest way to enforce awning rules is to make them visible on the ground. If every pitch has a clear boundary, guests can see for themselves when an awning is too big.

• Mark pitch corners with small pegs or discreet markers.
• Give each pitch a maximum width and length, and put it in the booking details.
• Tell guests that the awning must fit inside the pitch, not just the van.
• Keep a few larger pitches for guests with big awnings and charge a little more for them.

That last point is worth thinking about. Guests with a large awning often travel as a family and stay longer. A bigger, higher priced pitch suits them better and protects your spacing. If you are still working out layout, see our pitch layout guide and the parks and pitches page to see how CampSuite handles pitch setup.

Ask about the awning at booking

You cannot enforce a rule that guests discover on arrival. The best moment to deal with awnings is when they book. A simple question on your booking form does the job:

• Do you have an awning or porch? Yes or no.
• If yes, what is its approximate width and depth?
• How many people will be sleeping in the awning?

With that answer you can put the guest on a pitch that fits, or tell them politely that it will not work before they have driven three hours. It is far easier to say no by email than at the gate.

Even if you take bookings by phone, ask the same questions and write the answers on the booking. Our campsite booking system page shows how CampSuite keeps every booking in one place.

Wind, storms and safe pegging

Autumn and winter campers know all about this. An awning that is fine on a calm Friday can be a sail by Saturday night. You are not responsible for guests' equipment, but you are responsible for a safe site, so set out some basics:

• Guests must peg out and use storm straps in windy weather.
• If the forecast shows high winds, you may ask guests to take their awning down.
• You are not liable for awning damage unless it is your fault, and you should say so in your terms.
• Guests must not leave awnings pitched and unattended during a severe weather warning.

Pair this with your storm plan. Our storm preparedness guide has a checklist, and a quick text or email before bad weather lands is a kindness guests remember. Guest messaging makes that a two minute job.

Groundsheets, grass and longer stays

Turf takes a beating under a sealed groundsheet. After a week you will see yellow, and after two you will see dead grass and mud. Rules that help include:

• Ask guests to lift or air groundsheets where practical, especially on stays over a week.
• Ask them to use breathable matting, not solid plastic, on grass pitches.
• Rotate pitches where you can so no spot is permanently covered.
• Charge a small repair fee only if you have said so in advance.

If you take long term or seasonal guests, the groundsheet question matters more. Our seasonal pitch hire guide covers what to put in those agreements.

Extra people and awning fees

Be careful here. An awning is not a separate sleeping unit, but it can hold extra people, and your pitch price is probably based on a number of adults and children. Some owners charge a small flat fee for large awnings. Others charge only for extra guests. Whichever you choose, put it in writing and keep it consistent.

If you do charge, make it part of the booking so there are no surprises at the gate. A sensible approach is to state your price clearly, show it on the booking page and include it in the confirmation email. Our pitch pricing guide has more on that.

Sample wording you can copy

Here is a short version for your terms or booking confirmation. Change it to suit your site:

• Awnings and porches must fit within your marked pitch.
• Please tell us the size of your awning when you book.
• Awnings must be pegged securely and may need to come down in high winds.
• Please do not leave groundsheets down for long periods on grass pitches.
• Extra people sleeping in an awning must be included in your booking.

Put that in your terms and conditions, in the confirmation email and on the arrival page. Guests are far more likely to follow a rule they have seen three times.

The takeaway

Good awning rules come down to four things: know your spacing limits, tell guests the pitch size, ask about awnings at booking, and be clear about wind and grass. None of it needs to sound heavy handed. A friendly note and a tape measure on arrival day solve most problems.

If you would like those questions and messages to happen automatically, start with CampSuite for free. It takes about 15 minutes to set up, and you can see how it works for your type of site on the small sites page.

Rob