To Club or not Club?? (1 Viewer)

[fbuey]

Hello all you worldly wise motorhomers out there!

I am considering joining one of the clubs, 'Caravan club' or 'Camping & Caravaning club', but when I go on the websites and stuff to look at all the sites etc. you have to be a member to see locations and prices, other than their main club sites which, if I'm honest put me off completely, as they are so expensive. I want to know which club you would recommend joining, if any and, if it is value for money?? Are they just the sme sites that I can find in any campsite book, or will there be lots of additional sites that are not listed elsewhere??

I didn't but my motorhome to then spend almost £30 per night for a pitch, considering there are 5 of us in our van...2 adults, 2 kids and a Boxer dog, this is what some of the club sites I have been able to access information on, are wanting.:Angry:

Please help, as finding suitable sites is taking some of the fun out of our new hobby. We do have the problem that it is usually in school hols when we can get away ie. High Season.

So any advice on wether joining a club, and if so which one, would benifit us or not, would be gratefully recieved.

Many thanks.:thumb:

A Rather Clueless Motorhome Newbie

 

[WillH]

Hi, we are members of both clubs. Caravan Club sites are always top quality, Camping and Caravanning Club usually less so. Note the slight difference in prices on site. Some find the CC a little snobbish, again, the C&CC less so. Both have magazines, my preference is the CC magazine.

Being in both gives you a much greater choice of sites and they are normally cheaper than commercial sites, especially in peak season.

Both give you the ability to book on line which is invaluable for us. Given the cost of membership it is minimal when you look at the annual cost of motorhoming, to have both memberships cost less than a tank of diesel!

The choice is yours.

Rgds
Bill

 

[moandick]

Hi fbuey

You pays your money and takes your choice - you do not need to join either of the Clubs mentioned - you can simply buy an Alan Rogers Guide and find hundreds of other sites BUT those sites might not be to the same quality of the Caravan Club sites.

What are you doing about breakdown/collision recovery cover - have you got a separate policy for your 'large' motorhome - or is it covered by your normal policy - if not you might find it much cheaper to join the RAC Arrivals scheme through the Camping and Caravanning Club.

Finally just google Caravan Sites in the area you fancy and you will be presented with an abundance of choice and probably site reports from visitors as well!

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[hilldweller]

Please help, as finding suitable sites is taking some of the fun out of our new hobby. We do have the problem that it is usually in school hols when we can get away ie. High Season.

So any advice on wether joining a club, and if so which one, would benifit us or not, would be gratefully recieved.

Comes as a shock, doesn't it !

Lets go here... No full.
Here ? No full.

Pull up the bookings of CC and any good weekend at a good site is booked in February for the whole summer.

Prices are outrageous.

I'm not sure of the answer but using google to find the independent sites is probably as good as it gets.

Better still, head for France. Loads more sites though many are pricey, many, especially municipal sites are good and in the €10-15 price region.

 

[meanders]

We are members of both clubs and only use main sites off peak, but we do use the certificated sites a lot as they only cost a few pounds a night and many of them are excellent with toilets & showers as well as very friendly owners.

 

[Boo]

I aint renewing my subscription to CC or CCC this time.................waste of money as you can never get on the sites cos of greedy BMW tuggers block booking and cancelling at the last min :Angry:


Boo

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[zaskar]

I didn't but my motorhome to then spend almost £30 per night for a pitch, considering there are 5 of us in our van...2 adults, 2 kids and a Boxer dog, this is what some of the club sites I have been able to access information on, are wanting.:Angry:
A Rather Clueless Motorhome Newbie

The problem with the big Club sites and a great many commercials is that they are just soooooo expensive.
The only way you're going to find a reasonable network of smaller, cheaper sites is to join one (or preferably both) of the big clubs. That way, you gain access to, and have locations of, the CL and CS network. As far as I am aware, there is no comercial (ie Alan Rogers) type guide which will give info on the smaller sites in the UK.

Big club or commercial sites = Big, busy, lots of facilities........but you pay through the nose!
CL's Cs's = Small, quite, very few facilities..............but very cheap camping.

The above is, of course, a generalisation, but I believe not too far off the mark.

You want facilities, your gonna have to pay for them.
You want peace and quite and are happy to use your onboard facilities, use a CL or CS.

 

[zaskar]

I aint renewing my subscription to CC or CCC this time.................waste of money as you can never get on the sites cos of greedy BMW tuggers block booking and cancelling at the last min :Angry:

Boo

...........and it's about time that BOTH clubs did something drastic about this cos it's DEFINATELY getting worse!:Angry:........on both big club sites AND CL's.:Angry:

 

[Kon tiki]

Maybe another one to consider is the Motorcaravan Club , although they don't have a great list of sites & CL's they have rallies running most weekends throughout the country at very reasonable prices. A big plus for us is that most of them don't need to be booked & you just turn up, our home group charge about £6 a night on average.
We don't consider ourselves as big on the rallies but have found the ones we have been on really good with everybody friendly but with no pressure to participate in any of the activities that may be going on. We have also made a lot of new friends & are looking forward to visiting other areas.
We are booked on one of the holiday rallies near Newquay in Sept for £10 a night inc. electric hook up :thumb:

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[Stephen & Jeannie]

It is worth joining either site for the CLs and the discounted ferry tickets !!:thumb:

 

[lufcdave7]

We are new to motorhoming but have been "tuggers" and "tenters" for quite some time. We are members of both clubs and have found the CL sites with the caravan club brilliant. These sites only allow 5 caravan/motor homes and are usually on farms etc with the basics, ie electric hook up, water, waste disposal. Some have shower blocks etc but are usually in quiet locations. The C&CC offer similar sites known as CS sites with similar amenities.

Both clubs offer so much more than just sites - the C&CC have "carefree" and we have yet to beat their prices on ferry crossings over to France etc. They offer an excellent service.

It may be worth noting too that although you are advised by the Caravan Club that sites are full, some sites especially abroad, have "block booking" pitches available to the Caravan Club and these may all be booked up - but other pitches are still available. If you know the name of the site then try contacting them direct.

CC Sites are spotless and well maintained which unfortunately allows them to charge a premium price. However, on searching the net you can usually find sites all over the country but I would suggest checking to see if there are any reviews available from previous visitors. There is nothing worse than thinking you are heading to an idyllic location with your family only to find on arrival you are in a scene from "the deliverance"!

Always get chatting to other visitors on sites - they are your best recommendation - there is always someone who has been to a site in an area you are planning to visit.

 

[Boo]

Maybe another one to consider is the Motorcaravan Club , although they don't have a great list of sites & CL's they have rallies running most weekends throughout the country at very reasonable prices. A big plus for us is that most of them don't need to be booked & you just turn up, our home group charge about £6 a night on average.
We don't consider ourselves as big on the rallies but have found the ones we have been on really good with everybody friendly but with no pressure to participate in any of the activities that may be going on. We have also made a lot of new friends & are looking forward to visiting other areas.
We are booked on one of the holiday rallies near Newquay in Sept for £10 a night inc. electric hook up :thumb:

Care to say where it is mate and a link maybe?

Boo

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[Losos]

I'm not sure of the answer but using google to find the independent sites is probably as good as it gets.

Or how about an idea that one stand had at the Peterborough show? You pay one annual subscription, about 30 pounds IIRC and then they have a network of sites where you can stay for free. About 200 but growing (He said)

Apparently these are quite often pub sites (In country areas) and the hope is that you'll pop in for a drink (or three) and maybe a meal and you don't need to worry about driving home or back to the camp site.

I picked up a leaflet (Which of course i can't find right now :Blush seemed like an idea with some merit but until I find that dam leaflet I can't give any more details, maybe someone will come on help with a link, or at least a name.

 

[zaskar]

Or how about an idea that one stand had at the Peterborough show? You pay one annual subscription, about 30 pounds IIRC and then they have a network of sites where you can stay for free. About 200 but growing (He said).

Price wise, i like the sound of that and would like more info please.
The only thing that worries me is that every time we've stopped on a site AT or TOO CLOSE to a pub, it's been nothing but hassle. It just seems to attract idiots who think it's ok to come out of the pub late at night and wonder onto site shouting at the top of thier voice!
It put us off pub sites some years ago which is a shame cos I'm sure there are some really lovely ones out there.:Sad:

 

[hilldweller]

Or how about an idea that one stand had at the Peterborough show? You pay one annual subscription, about 30 pounds IIRC and then they have a network of sites where you can stay for free. About 200 but growing (He said)

I watched this from the beginning over in Facts. If it's the one started by a pub landlord. I saw at least one guy who on first attempted use got a rough time from the pub but things may have improved now.

At the beginning the guy played it very close to his chest, no details of sites available were offered until you paid up. Maybe that has changed too.

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[pappajohn]

I aint renewing my subscription to CC or CCC this time.................waste of money as you can never get on the sites cos of greedy BMW tuggers block booking and cancelling at the last min :Angry:


Boo

and i bet there aint many that ring and cancel either......
they just block book and decide which site to go to when they're ready and forget the rest.
make a mockery of the booking system and its time deposits where required for EACH AND EVERY site booked.
that'd stop 'em.

 

[kenj]

I am not a member of the two club's you mentioned,but a web site that has a lot of info that may be of help to you is Link Removed. there's a lot of reading on this site for UK and Europe.

Ken

 

[Kon tiki]

Care to say where it is mate and a link maybe?

Boo

It was there in the post MOTORCARAVAN CLUB just click on the name.

Regarding the MOTORHOME STOPOVERS (again just click on the name for the link :thumb: I think it is a bit mis leading. I spoke to the guy running it at one of the shows & I joined the forum. The idea is you can ring up & stay one night for free anymore it is up to the landlord. The assumption is you will eat or drink in the pub & reading the forum it seems that this excepted as part of being able to stay. Personally I'm not a great lover of pubs & prefer to go in ones when I want & not have to go in for a drink just to be sociable so I can park there. There is a map on the site showing the spread of the pubs.

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[Caztur]

and i bet there aint many that ring and cancel either......
they just block book and decide which site to go to when they're ready and forget the rest.
make a mockery of the booking system and its time deposits where required for EACH AND EVERY site booked.
that'd stop 'em.

I can't speak for Caravan Club as I've never been a member, but re C & C C I have been for 17 years.

Deposits are always required with bookings on all Camping & Caravanning Club Sites. As far as I am aware they do not have the problems that I hear Caravan Club sites have with no shows.

Not sure where OP gets the figure of £30 per night - cost for pitch with EHU in high season at C & C C sites for a family is around £25.

As others have said, the CSs are great value and in some lovely places. These are supposed to be only open to members and most sites enforce that.

When our kids were young we used the temporary holiday sites - bit like rallies - and had some really cheap camping.

 

[vindiboy]

I would reccomend C C C . over the C.C personally, with the C.C.C. there is no requirement to book week end rallies, just turn up .I came out of the C.C because of all the booking palaver for week end meets, a no no for me especially when I was working as I never knew exactly what I would e doing from day to day.Both clubs have superb sites and costs are probably on a par, to those who think them over priced I would say make a comparison with like Commercial sites for the same periods and compare the order on club sites to the mayhem on commercial sites ie, drunks late at night , noise late at night, closeness of pitches etc. and you will soon see the value of being a member of a club of your choice. No one seems to mention the Motor caravanners club in these debates, I know they have no actual sites ,but they must be good value or why have they so many members.

 

[Kon tiki]

The MCC do have some CL's listed in the handbook. I think they are also the only one of the orginizations who have tried to raise the issue of aires type stopovers.

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[Brisey]

We are members of the Motorcaravanners Club, they offer rallies all over the country throughout the year. Have a look on the following link for dates and locations.

The Motor Caravanners' Club - Groups Rally Programme 2009

 

[American Dream]

Originally Posted by Boo Link Removed
I aint renewing my subscription to CC or CCC this time.................waste of money as you can never get on the sites cos of greedy BMW tuggers block booking and cancelling at the last min :Angry:


Boo

My Sentiments EXACTLY.Denying others the chance.

My initial reason for joining was to be able to see my parents.Now I can't get on the B++++Y SITE.

 

[Benni-Boy]

We've been with both clubs for years but I agree with "Boo" about the sites always being booked up. We have been wanting to stay at the Rowntree park CC site in York for a couple of years now but it is booked up for months in advance. It's the same story at all the big sites. Seems to me we would be better off cancelling the membership and booking on some weekend meets with the "Funsters":thumb: They seem to have more fun than sitting looking at a load of snobby tuggers!

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[The Wild Ones]

Or how about an idea that one stand had at the Peterborough show? You pay one annual subscription, about 30 pounds IIRC and then they have a network of sites where you can stay for free. About 200 but growing (He said).

Funnily enough I joined last week. I stumbled across it several months ago, and figured it would be ideal for my Scotland tour in the summer hols. Im actually staying at a participating pub in the new forest tommorrow night before sailing to the IOW.

So will keep you posted on my experience. As you mentioned a couple of stays and you get your money back. Incidentally as I understand it, from the web site the first night is free. Extra nights if available are around £2.50, or possibly (landlord dependant) free if you patronise the pub.

 

[pappajohn]

We've been with both clubs for years but I agree with "Boo" about the sites always being booked up. We have been wanting to stay at the Rowntree park CC site in York for a couple of years now but it is booked up for months in advance. It's the same story at all the big sites. Seems to me we would be better off cancelling the membership and booking on some weekend meets with the "Funsters":thumb: They seem to have more fun than sitting looking at a load of snobby tuggers!

hey!!!
dont think about .....DO IT :thumb:
you wont be disappointed....

 

[gazznsam]

i was in the CC untill they had to introduce the electric charges included in the pitch price (and put all prices up a bit at the same time) very rarely i used electric in the old van, and this one has solar panels and a large battery bank, so only need electric when it's time to replace the batteries, like now, otherwise as long as we get a bit of sun we can last indefinately.

so i joined the C&CC, did it 2 years ago only to get on their rac arrival breakdown scheem, as they were the only ones i found i could get my 4.5 ton self built motorhome covered for european breakdown and recovery, and it cost us a whole fiver more than we were paying for the family rac membership for the cars (moved the rac membership to arrival, and the family deal covered the motorhome and the cars on one policy)

we did use a site just before we went abroad, and it was nice, not as regimentalised at the CC sites, ok not as prettily laid out with whitewashed kerbs, neat roads to all pitches etc, but all CC sites use the same layout, i prefer the C&CC's variety, you get a different layout at all sites, some are fields with a few gravel roads, some are all tarmac and hardstandings, some in the woods,

looking online the CC sites are more expensive, they do a pitch fee then a per person fee, where as C&CC is just a per person fee unless you opt for a super pitch upgrade, and all CC sites seem booked up all the time, the C&CC sites are only booked up at bank holidays, like this weeeknd and following week, it's the camping and caravanning week, so everyone is trying to go camping, we're going home and will be back out when the crowds go away.

The best bit is the C&CC do the 'basic' pitches with no lecky, which we always try to use, we also like the sites with no toilet block, paid £3.36 each a night on a site just outside london, i built a large bathroom in my van, got a shower, toilet, sink, washing machine in there, what more do i need, at least i know i'm the only one who's ever pee'd in my shower :Blush:

Both clubs do not charge extra for dogs, at C&CC sites children camp free in low season, if your over 55 theres a discount, no charge for a trailer and car or motorbike on it towed by a motorhome.....

i havent stayed on a commercial site since 1997, when in the pouring rain i pulled into a site at 8pm, asked for a place to park for the night, will be gone by 9am, "yes certianly sir, park over there on that 3 way sloping bit of boggy grass, that's £10.50 a night as it's just you, oh, what a lovely dog you have, that's £2.50 for him, and i can spy your toad.. that'll be another fiver and you have to park it in the carpark outside the security gates, and the picth your on has electric, would you like that for an extra 3 quid?"

After the stratford show, we meandered home, went to just above oxford, then to just outside brum, but both those sites we were forced to use a hard standing due to the rain, hence it cost us £15 a night, and we didnt leave the van due to the rain (really wish you could opt not to use the toilet blocks and get cheaper fees, be simple enough to do, coded locks and the code given on the reciept of those who pay the full price)

Right now we're on a CS just up the road from the conkers club site, to stay on that site was £7.50 each a night on a basic pitch... £3.13 extra for a hardstanding and lecky.. whcih i'd imagine we'd be made to use, so we decided to use our first CS (had used the CC's CL's a tiny bit before, in a field of sheep in wales with a dog we'd just got from a dogs home, (and no i wont make the joke about it being a welsh brothel

Anyhoo, this CS is 8 quid a night, thats per unit not per person, is a grassy field but it's well drained and has gravel roads around it, were in the village of moira i think, 2 miles to conkers, about 5 to swadlincote, and another 5 to burton on trent, excelent chippy just up the road,
so peacefull here, sheep bahhing in the field next door, birds singing in the trees, 3 lovely chocolate labradores at the farm house, fishing available on the private lake if wanted,

i'm deffo staying on more CS's from now on,

Maybe we should do what the motorcaravanners club do, start our own CL's, call em FL's... Fun Locations, if you have room for 5 vans in your garden/drive/farm, let fellow members stay a few nights for a few quid a night,

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[Mrs Capper]

Having bought our first van at the end of April, with images of just hitting the open road, being spontaneous, having the freedom to go where we wanted when we wanted etc. etc. I was somewhat disappointed to find that things weren't that simple. On contacting what felt like several hundred sites (large and small) it seemed you had no chance booking in for a bank holiday anything less than 5 years in advance (another very small exageration). So much for freedom.

But, all was not lost. I joined the C&CC which gave us access to their Temporary Holiday Sites. This has meant we've spent both May bank holidays in stunning surroundings for very little cost. Both sites we stayed on were about £5.50 each night for the van. The sites themselves generally seem to be basic in terms of facilities but if all you need is water and elsan point you can't go wrong. How else could you stay in the Lake District on a bank holiday without needing to book? And I know it's corny but all the people we've met have demonstrated why C&CC is known as "the friendly club"!! Well worth the membership fee in my opinion :thumb:

 

[ant & Linds]

to club or not to club

We are members of both clubs and use the Temporary holiday sites and District association campsites of the CCC most of summer. Most you don't need to book, many are often basic sites as last post suggested, but sometimes based adjacent to sites with facilities, sometimes they put on social events, No pressure to attend anything.
They do have good rules like its all quiet after 11pm so no rowdies camping next to you:thumb: waking the family and 5 miles an hour speed restrictions so children are safe from driving like mad idiots round the camp site. Also everyone tends to look out for each other so security is good.
Always a good welcome and lots of help. For example weve just been at Ripon racecourse with showers and toilets for 6.00 a night (that is cost of unit adults X2 and would include 2-3 children if required) Lots for kids to do
Our friend camped on a commercial site paid +++ to be entertained !!!! by neighbours loud music until 2-3 in the morning.

Plus all the other benefits others have mentioned from being club members

 

[duetto owner]

being new to this hobby joined both clubs when we got our van after looking at their wonderful sites on their webs but the biggest disappointment with both is that its hard to find a site thats not fully booked.