Camping, but not as we know it! Good location, suits those who have an adaptive camping style!

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Expo Map - click to launch - red (& yellow) = camping area, blue = car park

On paper it's position is a quick stroll into the entrance at the back of the grandstands - it is situated behind the museum, next to one of the main car parks. It's a weird place, mostly concrete, very little grass or soft ground. It is littered with structures that are animal shelters in the main. This seems to work well with bikers who can fit one bike and one sleeping bag in each pig pen. Facilities were ok, concrete toilet blocks etc though access by car during the weekend was rather congested as it's near the main entrance.

• Pros: Location & access; pig pens for bikers to camp in
• Cons: Not much grass for traditional tent camping - it's rock hard, "European" feel
• Typical camper: Bikers, Caterham owners and the last minute brigade who were delighted to have got anything!                                                                               

Here is a 2007 update from Beermountain member MiniMan64:

Location & Access: Good, it's close to the circuit entrance, it's outside the circuit so easy to get in and out of, it's handy to the town and Carrefour for supplies, it's close to Jannine's, couple of gates in and out so no queuing

Camping: Bad, it's mostly hard ground and any good spots are taken very early, barns provide some relief but they lack the usual atmosphere of the other sites, parking for your car is usually decent though, lots of inner roads and plenty of hard space

Security: Mixed, the main gate is guarded usually but they are several entrances so it can be hit and miss, bear in mind as well that the Expo parking site is right next door and there's a lot of through traffic, only possible advantages are that the barns can provide some extra help, bring your own locks and they're fairly secure

Facilities: Ok, there's a main block with the traditional long-drops but we shunned that this year in favour of the Porta cabins that had been set-up, one for toilets and kept very clean indeed. Well by Le Mans standards anyway. Showers are a few Euro's but again worth it. Disadvantages, no outside water or power points anywhere on site, although we did note some enterprising and possible mad people had jury rigged a cable into the mains terminal blocks at some points, a seriously bad idea me thinks.

Atmosphere: Poor, it is what you make it but it's pretty quiet, probably one of the quietest sites at the circuit due to it's small size and lack of smaller, wider spaced pitches, there's not much usually going on unless you visit the Dutch tent, probably not a site for the party animals.

Often a baron place, really only a camping area for visitors who want a car or camper van right in the middle of it all with none of the creature comforts

Beermountain rating -

Forum comments

Our ratings system

The business - worth working hard to get

A fine campsite, have no worries at all staying here

No major problems, but if you have a choice, this is not the top drawer of sites

Not a disaster, but unless your needs are very specific, this probably wasn't your first choice

See if you can trade for something better, but at least you have somewhere to camp, right?