Rally Chat Rallying with Children?

[Jaycee3]

Hello, I am after a bit of info please.

We are new Motorhomers and are looking for rallys/events to attend with our nearly 11 year old son and 2 dogs. We are 45 and 52 by the way. It would be great to meet new people but I am wondering if anyone takes children to these?

Are there any rallies which are more suitable for us than others? Are they ever held on sites with play areas or other facilities or is it always just a field?

Also do Funsters tend to do meets at rallies organised by others i.e. motorhome shows? Or is there anything else we could look at? I noticed there was motorhome camping available at a steam rally near Shrewsbury on the BH weekend but we already had other plans. Somewhere to wander round in the day with entertainment or music at night and a chance to chat with others sounds great.

Does anyone know of anything happening at the end of October? Looking at second half of half term week/second weekend. No fireworks because of the dogs though.

Thanks
Jane

 

[tonka]

My grandkids are now 12 and 10..
They have been out on rallies and motorhoming almost since birth..

Motorhome shows are not that exciting for them but there are one's like Malvern where the western theme does appeal to them.
Steam shows like Welland and the Balloon festival are fantastic events for kids to visit.

Fun rallies are very mixed as they are set up and attended mainly by people with a particular interest or the opportunity to visit a certain area so you need to pick and attend the right ones. Example, The May meet at Thetford, big field and a whole forest to explore. Even motorbike riding..
Camping and caravan club is worth a look at, lots of local meets and child friendly on all the ones we have been to.

Even with no kids to play with my 2 will mingle and happily sit and chat with the adults and many of the Funsters do encourage the kids and will play card games or "play them up"..

October.. Weather Cant think of anything particular that is on but you can visit places like Southport, stay on the car park next to Pleasureland for £8 a night.. Lots there to do and not as brash as Blackpool. Even Liverpool, stay on the docks and do the city.

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

When our three were younger and came with us we often went on rallies with various DA's ( district associations) of the CCC. There's lots of kids that go to those. If your child is a mingler they are great . You probably won't see them all weekend !
Ours weren't really , they tended to stick together and play. Bit like me and Ralph !
These CCC rallies are usually in big fields so you can park up far away from the marquee where it's all happening. So your not in the thick of it.
But if you or they , want to participate in anything going off , they can.

But to be honest we went away as a family most weekends , suss out a ccc rally in an area we liked and do our own thing, once there. This you can also do , without feeling you have to stay there with which ever region is running the rally .
Get out exploring the area from the site .
But if you wanted to stay in the rally field all weekend you can . There's usually stuff planned to do by the rally organisers for the kids /adults.

Our three are 21/21/23 now. They were happy when younger with a stream to dam up , tree to climb , fire to start and cook sausages on . Board Games to play plus we used to take their bikes etc .
But they had each other to play with ( and annoy ! ) I suppose.
We did tents caravans before our first motorhome 9 years ago.

They still pop over in their cars , when we're away on a weekend sometimes which is nice . Plus have gone camping with their friends and partners using the tents and equipment we still have in the loft . So they must have enjoyed it all .....

 

[Bobby22]

I agree DA camping is the way to go for kids. If you join the ccc.

There are also opportunities to camp at big commercial sites with them ( at a reduced rate )

Check out some of the big commercial sites they do early / late season offers that are great for kids for a weekend.

 

[scotzsue]

another vote for CCC and DA camping, have also had a good time at the now C&MC raliies with grandchildren.

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[Wildge]

October.. Weather Cant think of anything particular that is on but you can visit places like Southport, stay on the car park next to Pleasureland for £8 a night.. Lots there to do and not as brash as Blackpool. Even Liverpool, stay on the docks and do the city.

Not sure if you're interested and whether there will be room at Pleasureland so you can see this....

https://www.visitsouthport.com/airshow/buy-tickets

 

[tonka]

Not sure if you're interested and whether there will be room at Pleasureland so you can see this....

https://www.visitsouthport.com/airshow/buy-tickets

Thanks.. We did it last year or was it year before last, had a great weekend.. Several funsters were there and we were parked inside by the fairground.. I have a vague memory of having to climb over a gate because we got locked out and a few of us had been up the pub...

 

[Wildge]

@tonka ....sorry perhaps I should have written that more clearly
meant it for @Jaycee3 ........but pleased you enjoyed it

 

[Pilote87]

The rallies of the Motor Caravan Club (MCC) which I have been to have always been child-friendly. However, that was over 10 years ago. We've been in France since then

 

[Jaycee3]

Thanks all, food for thought

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[tonyidle]

Children do well amongst older adults (elderly adults) who have none of the burdens of modern parents. Mine learned quickly and thoroughly enjoyed themselves whether the company was kids or adults. They are now both 40+ and seem undamaged by their experiences .

 

[955matt]

We have an 8 year old son and a pooch. We've had a motorhome since our son was 3 and he loves going away in it.
We have done lots of the motorhome shows over the years. You see kids there but it gets pretty boring for them after the first walk around the stalls. None are really geared for kids to be honest. The Malvern one went down well a few years ago though, with the country and western theme. We've done the Thetford rally for the past 3 years and Retrofestival for the past 2, which he's loved, but he's normally one of a few kids camping in the club area.
We also go to Santa Pod (the dog has a holiday in a nearby kennel) and a 'camping in the forest' break most years. This year we did the MotoGP at Silverstone and will probably do more events at Silverstone in the future, as these have an entire family zone with entertainment for them (again the dog went on his own holiday). We also did Paws in the Park, which was an interesting experience. Next year we'll probably try the Sunshine Festival.
We do a lot of European travel and went to Disneyland Paris twice (you can camp in the car park, for free with an annual pass) and always use the aires and stellplatz (100% recommend you buying All the Aires books for places to stay). Last year we went to the Caravan Salon in Düsseldorf and that was geared for kids (he did a mini Go Ape style circuit) and could go on scooters, etc, around a track. We go skiing most years with the 'van, son and dog too.
We're doing the Flame &Thunder event at Santa Pod again the last weekend of October half term but dogs aren't allowed. Loads for kids to see and do though, if it's your cup of tea and you can get a dog sitter.
Enjoy your new home on wheels and feel free to ask us for any other tips...as you can probably tell, we use ours a lot!

 

[sedge]

The C&MC (the previously named Caravan Club) have a similar system to the C&CC but their 'District Assocs' are called 'Centres'. Our Centre still has a Youth Committee - exactly as they did when our daughters (both in their 40s by now with not only their own kids (in their 20s now) but also grandkids LOL) went on rallies with us as children. (along with 2 dogs (most of which were bitches, plus puppies as and when LOL) and their grandma on occasions, and sundry foster kids) A lot of the time the kids all camped out in pup tents and did their own thing, the older ones making sure the younger ones didn't come to grief.

The Youth C'tee consult their membership and discuss with the adult c'tee on the things THEY would like to do on rallies - they even RUN their own rallies every so often. They still do this at ours.

Like the C&CC the C&MC have proper caravan sites and smaller 5 van locations - any number of either also have rally fields. Both also run rallies at eg village halls, either on an adjacent field or the carpark, using the hall for a 'noggin and natter' (bring your own drinks not necessarily alcoholic) or simply whatever they want to do - Bingo, a quiz, a disco etc etc.

Once you're a member of either you get a monthly magazine with all the rallies listed, not just what your local centre are organizing - any member can book to go on any of these any time whether they're near-ish or 250 miles away. Oh - or abroad!