Closing your campsite for winter, the complete checklist

The last guest leaves, the field goes quiet, and the temptation is to lock the gate and think about it all in the spring. Resist it. Almost every springtime crisis we have seen, from burst pipes to lapsed insurance, traces back to a rushed shutdown the previous autumn.

Here is the checklist, in the order we would do it.

Water and waste

Frost damage is the most expensive winter problem and the cheapest to prevent.

• Drain and isolate every water line you can, including standpipes on the far pitches.
• Leave taps open a quarter turn so trapped water has somewhere to expand.
• Drain water heaters and toilet cisterns in the amenity block.
• Book the final chemical waste and septic collections while contractors still have slots.
• Lag anything that must stay live over winter, and label the stopcocks so anyone can find them in the dark.

Electricity

• Switch off and lock hook-up bollards, then test the RCDs before you do. It is easier to fix a tripping circuit in November than on reopening weekend.
• Photograph meter readings for your records.
• If you keep any supply live for storage pitches or CCTV, note exactly which circuits are on.

Buildings and grounds

• Empty, clean and prop open fridges in any communal kitchen.
• Move anything mice would enjoy into sealed containers.
• Cut the grass one final time; long wet grass in March is twice the job.
• Walk every pitch and note repairs while you can still see the season's wear. A ten-minute voice memo now becomes your spring works list.
• Check trees near pitches before the winter storms, and get a tree surgeon's opinion on anything doubtful.

The paperwork nobody remembers

• Tell your insurer the site is closed and check what your policy requires while it is. Some policies insist on weekly inspections.
• Renew your site licence if it falls due over winter.
• Reconcile the season's takings while the numbers still make sense to you.
• Cancel or pause any subscriptions that only earn their keep in summer.

Keep the bookings engine running

Closed is not the same as switched off. Winter is when next season is won:

• Open next year's booking calendar before you shut the gate. Your best weeks sell to this year's guests, and January is when the browsing happens.
• Set an autoresponder that tells enquirers when you reopen and links to your booking page.
• Send one short email to this season's guests: thank you, here are next year's dates, returning guests can book now.

Sites on Pillowcase leave the booking page live all winter with the site marked closed until opening day. The calendar quietly fills while the water pipes sleep.

The one-page version

Print this and stick it in the office:

1. Drain water, book waste collections.
2. Isolate electrics, record meters.
3. Clean, secure and mouse-proof buildings.
4. Walk the site, write the spring works list.
5. Insurance, licence, accounts.
6. Open next season's bookings and email your guests.

Do it in this order over a fortnight and reopening becomes a pleasure rather than an excavation. For what to do with the quiet months that follow, see Planning next season starts in December.