We are done with the Caravan Club

[Barryh]

Good point!

I will kick it off by contacting them. I dint hold out a lot of hope I have to say

So the next question is how much are you prepared to pay for this service? Clearly a lot of people think that the £7.50 the C&CC charge is too much. Can’t see the CAMC doing it for any less really. When you think about it, fill, dump, shower, safe parking for 3 hours, possibly plug-in leccy, it’s not bad is it? Then you’ve got another 2-3 days of non-site camping for the equivalent of £2.50 per night.

 

[ceejayt]

Personally, having a black tank in the U.K. , I am more than happy with £7.50 and mostly just do a quick empty black and grey and rubbish bin maybe fill fresh if needed.
In and out as fast as we can

 

[cyberyacht]

£7.50 seems reasonable to me for such a provision. I had a very negative response (surprise, surprise) from CAMC.

 

[TDub49]

£7.50 seems reasonable to me for such a provision. I had a very negative response (surprise, surprise) from CAMC.

What did you ask and what did they say? I agree that £7.50 is very reasonable and personally I am not bothered whether the service (to members only) is offered or not.

 

[cyberyacht]

Why could CAMC not copy the C&CC provision? Can't remember the exact response but it was along the lines of "we're not interested"

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[Captain Birdseye]

Hi folks. I am sure this has been discussed but this is our little rant.
we have been in the Caravan Club for about 20 years. We have used very few main sites as they used to look down on our older Motorhomes and so we used CLs. For the last few years we have toured in France, Germany etc but maintained out club membership.
This year, we have taken a trip in the UK. We have enjoyed the places we have visited and spent money in the towns. We stayed on a quiet part of York away from houses, and found locals, we think, driving past us tooting their horns in the early hours. Do they not want tourists? The camp sites were full and they don’t allow overnights at the park and ride car parks.
We have tried to use small place, pub stops, small ‘overnights‘ etc. We have called Caravan Club sites to see if we can do Service stops. The answer is always No. I did ask why and was told this is ‘Caravan Club policy from the centre’. So why have we been paying the£50 a year? What have we got for it? We stayed on one site, open to non members and saved £3 as members. So this is the last year we will be in a club that appears to be for the HQ rather than the members. We love this country but find the poor reception from so many towards Motorhomes such that we will go back to Europe and spend our money there.

Perhaps in the days to come councils will realise Motorhomes bring money into the towns and do something to promote stays. Perhaps the Caravan Club will realise that not everyone wants to stay on manicured sites with rules and flags and ‘keep off the grass’ signs.
Oh well, we can but hope.
Rant over
D

Agree with you

 

[Mr porky]

Why could CAMC not copy the C&CC provision? Can't remember the exact response but it was along the lines of "we're not interested"

I think the reason quoted was that it helped persons to freedom camp and at the time the head office didn’t approve as it gave a bad name to the industry. This is what I heard so take this with a pinch of salt. Probably too much hassle.

 

[Riftzoner]

Personally, being a CAMC member I don’t see a problem with fellow members being allowed to use the service facilities. All it requires is a pre-booking service with a small charge say £5. If there was also a specific time window with a limited amount of ‘slots’ this would prevent a wagon train of vehicles rocking up at anytime of the day & the fee charged would go towards sites own service charges ( sewage, septic tank emptying, fresh & waste water provision etc ).
One would hope by being a member & having already bought into the ethics of the CAMC that the members who used the facility would respect & adhere what we’ve come to expect, respect & consideration to others.
After all it is meant to be a club which is there for the benefit of ALL it’s members, not just the privileged few.

 

[PeterE1947]

Right!! I personally also think that CMC sites are expensive and told them so. As for spacing between units, we are currently on a Spanish(Barcelona, Euro 25 pn. ) site where spacing is more like 6 feet let alone 6 metres.
We like to use CL's normally but even some of them have rocketed in price to £20+!! Obviously we do not use these. There are still CL's with prices of £7 if that is what you want. You spends your money and take your choice.

 

[Harrietliberty]

Torrington council ,Of which Bideford comes under ,has been allowing the car parks to be used for years. I used one 5 or 6 years ago?

And South Hams is trialling allowing overnight motorhome parking in some car parks this year. We have stayed at Bideford - lovely car park with estuary on one side and park on the other and plenty of room. We'd intended to stay at Appledore but moved on at 8:30 pm because it was so busy and noisy.

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[Trumpton]

The Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act dates back to 1960 and hasn't been reviewed since. Most site staff & wardens don't have a clue what's in it and simply repeat parrot fashion what they're told by officious suits reminiscent of a 1970's local councillor.

The 6 metre rule was brought in for caravans made of a plywood skin.

If you have a wind out awning you only need to be 5 metres apart & at corners only 3.5m apart.

If you have a full awning the space between units can be as little as 3 metres and towing vehicles must also be 3 metres apart.

Aluminium clad caravans need only a 5 metre separation.

Hard standing is only applicable if or where units remain in place over winter.

These where the days of highly flammable insulation, highly flammable upholstery and particularly toxic plastics.

The world & technology has moved on, sadly the C&MC hasn't.

The distance between units on a club pitch is for fire breaks and to be honest I like as much distance from the unit next to me as possible. We stayed on a site in Switzerland where they pitched 2 vans 2 foot apart.

 

[Harrietliberty]

I do take the point about CAMC but they do have their uses - I've booked 10 days away in October in Yorkshire which we might have to cancel if our puppy has her first season - it's much easier to cancel with CAMC than other organisations and we recently stayed at Hillhead Brixham (we wouldn't normally go somewhere like that in the summer holidays but we were meeting up with friends) and despite it being fully booked it was not noisy and it didn't feel crowded

 

[Ivory55]

So the next question is how much are you prepared to pay for this service? Clearly a lot of people think that the £7.50 the C&CC charge is too much. Can’t see the CAMC doing it for any less really. When you think about it, fill, dump, shower, safe parking for 3 hours, possibly plug-in leccy, it’s not bad is it? Then you’ve got another 2-3 days of non-site camping for the equivalent of £2.50 per night.

To be honest if you paid them to come and use your facilities they would still moan it’s a rip off. Just do what is best for your site and don’t worry.

 

[TheTwoOfUs]

For those doubting the need for a 6m spacing take a look at this pic taken at the Old Hartley C&MC site and in particular the scorch marks on the grass. Then just imagine what that sort of heat would do to acrylic windows, plastic mouldings etc. It is a distinct possibility that a unit next to this could also ignite.

As for using site facilities for emptying and topping up, I can only see this being practical after the staff have done their jobs round the toilet blocks. Before this time is probably the busiest period for facilities to be used, units leaving can already be queuing to empty their tanks, add a couple of vans coming onto the site to do the same and then add into the mix that they might also want a freshen up themselves and I think you have a recipe for confrontation. Additionally where would these vans actually park without blocking the roadways if the occupants were using the showers?
The one aspect of the C&MC policy which I don't understand is why are we spending money on glamping pods? Their introduction adds nothing for the current membership to benefit from. If there is land available for building these pods on wouldn't it be better utilised creating more pitches, especially if the sites are already over-subscribed at busy times. Will the club have to change its name to the Caravan, Motorhome and Glamping Club?

 

[frenchie46]

Although for decades we never booked a site and just turned up at whatever site was handy, so had no need of clubs (this was before the clubs started voraciously buying up sites and making them members only. Example: there used to be a great campsite in Rhayader we just used to turn up to - now CCC members only), but I joined the CCC a very long time ago because then it was the only way the AA would give us European breakdown cover for our very old camper van. (We are now with the Nationwide, who give you full recovery, home and roadside cover at Home and abroad as part of their flexplus account). In all those years, we only stayed at a CCC site once. Unless you booked up months in advance, it seemed they were always full, at any time of the year. Let me give you just one example, typical of many. A fortnight before visiting an aged relative in Pool, I tried to book the CCC site in Corfe Castle - full up (midweek, the very end of September 2016). When we got to Corfe castle and carried on a few hundred yards past the full CCC site, we saw a sign to Church Farm Campsite. It was completely empty, £10.00 per night (put the money in an honesty box). Hot showers, everything except EHU. We were the only ones in a huge field. These experiences have made us determined, now we have a motorhome, to be as free from the corporate take-over merchants as possible. I realise this is not everyone's cup of tea, and no doubt in the beginning the idea of a club of like minded individuals seemed a good idea, but the CCC and CMC, like all companies that are growing, lose site of their objectives and, as has been noted earlier in this thread, the account's tail starts wagging the dog. I believe "small is beautiful". Family run individual high street stores, coffee shops and restaurants are fast disappearing, except in rural Wales and parts of provincial Europe, as they are taken over by the money-men. Rant over - sorry for the length.

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[Neil S]

For those doubting the need for a 6m spacing take a look at this pic taken at the Old Hartley C&MC site and in particular the scorch marks on the grass. Then just imagine what that sort of heat would do to acrylic windows, plastic mouldings etc. It is a distinct possibility that a unit next to this could also ignite.
View attachment 529065

As for using site facilities for emptying and topping up, I can only see this being practical after the staff have done their jobs round the toilet blocks. Before this time is probably the busiest period for facilities to be used, units leaving can already be queuing to empty their tanks, add a couple of vans coming onto the site to do the same and then add into the mix that they might also want a freshen up themselves and I think you have a recipe for confrontation. Additionally where would these vans actually park without blocking the roadways if the occupants were using the showers?
The one aspect of the C&MC policy which I don't understand is why are we spending money on glamping pods? Their introduction adds nothing for the current membership to benefit from. If there is land available for building these pods on wouldn't it be better utilised creating more pitches, especially if the sites are already over-subscribed at busy times. Will the club have to change its name to the Caravan, Motorhome and Glamping Club?

The Camping and Caravanning Club (C&CC) also have these camping pods on some sites and static caravans I believe

 

[Peppadog]

We didn't renew membership of the C&MC a few years back, as we like to be spontaneous when travelling in the MoHo, just as we do when sailing. Simply, we could never get into C&MC sites at short notice, so no point remaining.

When sailing, there is no equivalent to club sites. Marinas usually have space as a few of their own berth holders will also be sailing. Plus there will always be a way to get you in should dire or dangerous weather occur. So we generally don't book ahead and sail to our preferred location and find a place to stop when there, or nearly there. Thats how I would like to go motor homing, but its often not possible nowadays sadly.

 

[DJT]

The one aspect of the C&MC policy which I don't understand is why are we spending money on glamping pods? Their introduction adds nothing for the current membership to benefit from. If there is land available for building these pods on wouldn't it be better utilised creating more pitches, especially if the sites are already over-subscribed at busy times

One hundred percent right on that!!

 

[Peatmoor]

Hi folks. I am sure this has been discussed but this is our little rant.
we have been in the Caravan Club for about 20 years. We have used very few main sites as they used to look down on our older Motorhomes and so we used CLs. For the last few years we have toured in France, Germany etc but maintained out club membership.
This year, we have taken a trip in the UK. We have enjoyed the places we have visited and spent money in the towns. We stayed on a quiet part of York away from houses, and found locals, we think, driving past us tooting their horns in the early hours. Do they not want tourists? The camp sites were full and they don’t allow overnights at the park and ride car parks.
We have tried to use small place, pub stops, small ‘overnights‘ etc. We have called Caravan Club sites to see if we can do Service stops. The answer is always No. I did ask why and was told this is ‘Caravan Club policy from the centre’. So why have we been paying the£50 a year? What have we got for it? We stayed on one site, open to non members and saved £3 as members. So this is the last year we will be in a club that appears to be for the HQ rather than the members. We love this country but find the poor reception from so many towards Motorhomes such that we will go back to Europe and spend our money there.

Perhaps in the days to come councils will realise Motorhomes bring money into the towns and do something to promote stays. Perhaps the Caravan Club will realise that not everyone wants to stay on manicured sites with rules and flags and ‘keep off the grass’ signs.
Oh well, we can but hope.
Rant over
D

I completely agree with this post. My experiences are similar. What annoys me in particular is that the servicing facility for touring motorhomes has now been discontinued.
I am also not going to renew my membership.

 

[gus-lopez]

But this is the UK thank goodness

& the reason why there are no public toilets .

Sorry to be a newbie but can anyone tell me what and Aires is??

Cheers James

As the first answer but on the main roads there are also Aire de Repos with toilets, water , picnic tables & shade where you can take a break.

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[Upandabout]

I belong to both clubs and have done for over 30 years as they can both provide solutions for my needs. However I hate the CAMC policy of not taking deposits with a passion as it leads to any good club site being fully booked at weekends denying those that want to book a week or 2 as a block for a holiday but I live with it.

Yes in full agreement you can never get in over weekends for a full week then they get cancelled for free 3 days in advance they should at least loose 50%

 

[DT]

Recent visit by car to a CMC site to take a look for future planning. Warden let us take one lap driving, not getting out of car after showing our membership card. But after the arrival and hallo was quickly told that if we were rule breakers this was not the site for us. A bit shocked as she could see our age.

 

[pandas]

Here is a thought. All those that free camp and are finding it difficult to empty the toilet and grey water maybe somebody could set up a register via an app of people that are happy to allow somebody to get rid of their waste at their home. For a small fee of course.
This would establish a network of locations. All sorted. Sorry not mine we only very rarely free camp occasionally and then in Southern Italy.
Same principle as those that rent out their drive for parking.

 

[tonyidle]

One hundred percent right on that!!

As members start to feel they're to old to tow a pod is preferable to having an aged caravan towed onto a pitch. Anyway pod users might start to see the advantages of touring.

 

[Mr porky]

As members start to feel they're to old to tow a pod is preferable to having an aged caravan towed onto a pitch. Anyway pod users might start to see the advantages of touring.

Maybe they are imagining a future without caravans just electric cars. No towing wobble box’s

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[Barryh]

One hundred percent right on that!!

But current members must surely be getting some benefit, otherwise the pods would be empty and clearly they’re not. We were one of the first sites to introduce camping pods back in 2008. We put them onto a piece of land that was unsuitable for general pitching. We had a mix of people using them and a fair few stayed in the pods whilst their family or friends stayed in their tent, caravan or motorhome.

A pod generates much more return than a normal pitch even allowing for the initial investment. We used the extra revenue to pay bills. Maybe the Clubs use the extra revenue to reinvest in their sites? And actually the number of pods or whatever compared to pitches must be pretty insignificant.

Like it or not camping in all its forms is changing and sometimes you’ve just got to accept it. I know from my experience of the Camping and Caravanning Club that a cold tap in a muddy field is not what the majority of Club Site users want.

 

[Ivory55]

The pods must be a nice little earn for the club or they would not do them.

 

[Barryh]

The pods must be a nice little earn for the club or they would not do them.

Yes I’m sure they are. It depends what you do with it, hopefully it’s reinvested into the network.

 

[Gellyneck]

Some of the sites even have cottages on \ close to them. One is Hawes and it's regularly occupied.

 

[amarch]

I joined the C&CC in the hope of making savings on insurance more than anything else. I found that they were at least 30% more expensive than my lowest quote through Adrian Flux and could offer no discounts. Can't understand that as they must have huge buying power with their large membership.

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