Campsite owner hails spur of moment booking spike

James Gillespie said people were "booking a lot later"

An "awful lot of people" have come to a Shropshire campsite on "the spur of the moment", with many from the local area, its owner has said.

Travel firms have reported many UK holidaymakers were choosing to stay closer to home, due to the impact of the cost of living.

Companies also said holidaymakers were booking closer to when they planned to go away, to make the most of the sunny weather in this country.

James Gillespie, who owns Irongorge Camping in Ironbridge, said business at the moment was "quite good", pointing out this summer's conditions.

"We have found an awful lot of people have been travelling here," he said, "locally, some even from Telford."

Mr Gillespie said he had seen a spike in first time visitors, and more customers were within a week of their arrival, rather than further ahead.

Previously, it would have been "several months in advance", but he had noticed this year "an awful lot of people were coming at the spur of the moment".

He said a considerable number of Dutch people had stayed.

Speaking about visitors, he said: "Because it's relatively near Birmingham, it's a meeting point [for] someone from the north or someone from the south.

"They'll obviously go into Ironbridge, look at the various museums and then they'll come back here, have their barbecues."

Regular camper Lauren Reynolds said she looked forward to visiting "every single year"

Lauren Reynolds said she had not been a camper "at all", but she "stumbled across the site by accident" just before the first covid lockdown.

During her first visit "it was pouring down with rain, it was so muddy, you would never believe it, we had the best time and we've been back every year since".

"It literally started off eight of us and then in-laws and hairdressers have got involved and now there's 20 of us this time, I think."

Asked what made her come back year after year, Ms Reynolds cited affordability.

"Once you've paid to come, done your food shopping, unless you go venturing out all day long, there isn't anything else to spend your money on, so it encourages you to make your own fun."