Campingplatz St Gallen-Wittenbach, St Gallen
The fast-flowing, crystal-clear waters of the River Sitter burble past this campsite, some 20 yards (and one row of statics) from my hardstanding pitch.
Reception was excellent, very friendly and welcoming. You are allocated a pitch, either hardstanding or grass. They are all flat and welltended, though not large. At busy times you’re parked closer to your neighbour than you’d expect in the UK.
The washing and toilet facilities are clean, fairly modern and adequate in number in low to mid-season. Filling with fresh water is easy, but grey water disposal is very awkward.
There is a laundry room, a small shop and bar, which serves very well-priced and enjoyable bar-type meals. This eating area is lively and friendly in the evenings.
The site is in a wide ravine and sheltered from higher winds. There is a steep pull up from the site and the River Sitter to the plateau above. Once there, however, it’s easy to cycle into St Gallen and the medieval city. You pass several filling stations only a mile away on the road to the site, together with some smallish supermarkets.
St Gallen houses the World Heritage Site associated with the cathedral and the abbey library. The cathedral is eighteenth century Baroque rather than our more familiar Gothic. The painted circular ceilings and the columns with pale green highlights were especially striking.
Close by, across the courtyard, is the library. It’s very similar in its interior decoration to the cathedral. You are given slippers to put over footwear to preserve the wooden floor. The library is proud of the many medieval books and manuscripts it possesses, together with an enormous globe which dominates the library entrance.
Around the World Heritage Site area are attractive traffic-free squares lined with restaurants, cafés and shops. St Gallen has a railway station with services to Zurich and elsewhere, too.
This is a friendly and very useful campsite for visiting an unusual World Heritage Site that is steeped in plenty of history.