Rules is rules (1 Viewer)

Big bus man

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Why do the Caravan Club print rules like "no arrivals before 12pm" yet will happily let people in if they turn up early and why will they not let you pay and reserve an adjoining pitch if a friend is coming later, add this to their rules about how you must park and the ever increasing difficulty in booking a pitch at short notice I think my membership may be coming to an end. Any recommendations for alternatives?
 

Tincataylor

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Jul 9, 2012
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Never leave a campsite with your clothes line tied to a lamp post.
We also find some of the rules rather strange and only really keep the membership up to enable us to use the CL's many of which are excellent. We have just returned from a 5 week tour of the Highlands in Scotland (which were magnificent) and used CC full sites as opposed to CL's for the first time. What struck us, in addition to the rules, was the lack of interaction between people staying on the sites. It was a bit like living on a new housing estate where people return to their "little boxes" at the end of the day and have no idea what their neighbours are called or have anything to do with them. A polite good morning seemed to be the extent of the contact with others.
Compared to the Funsters (and non Funsters) that we meet on sites abroad it is an impossibility not to inter-react with others and just a short walk to the loo will result in the usual "where have you come from / where are you heading" conversations at the very least and quite often a "drop by and have a glass" invitation.

So why are they so stuffy on CC sites?

The Tinca's
 
Jul 31, 2014
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I'm in CC and C&CC and agree that CC are sticklers for their rules.
I booked for York and was told not to turn up until the afternoon, yet whilst I was there, vans were turning up as early as 1030am on the following days.
Coniston, I was told that we couldn't park up and go walk the site to look for a pitch, so we drove around in the dark looking for our colour of pitch peg/marker. Fiasco! It was only when my wife told one of the wardens that we were ready to go home that he then told us which pitches were available - why not tell us in the first place?
I think it's down to the warden and what mood they're in when you arrive. Yes, they have a tough job and there are some real ar$#holes that they have to put up with but nothing different from the C&CC.
Stayed at their Dartmouth site in July and couldn't be more different.
The downside for me with the C&CC is their website and booking system is very poor.
Sites don't show true availability and don't show available for my size of motorhome, but yet contact the site direct and they have loads of room.
I've reported this on numerous occasions but nothing changes.
I'm sticking with both because I've then got the choice for venues. Better the devil and all of that for the downside parts.
 
Last edited:
Feb 27, 2011
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I have been a member of CC since 2005 and have only stayed on main sites a couple of time. Always a disaster. However the last 6 years of fulltiming I have relied on the CL network and have only found 1 duff one in all that time. I am a member purely for the CL network. Very few rules and the vast majority of owners are so helpful you sometimes feel guilty. I have been given free fruit, veg, eggs and most recently home made honey... I also love the peace and quiet you generally find on CL's.

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Dec 6, 2011
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Use the cl's better value and less red tape.

been a member for a number of years mainly to use the cl's but do use full CC campsites on occasions. I am not a huge fan of the CC's pricing or the " Occasional warden"!

BUT!

that said, stayed at a couple of "commercial" sites in Cornwall recently and would have welcomed "some" form of disciplined approach to pitching up and using the site facilities.

E.G. Was told what pitch we had and struggled to get it changed when we found it unacceptable ( but we did eventually ).
I found that generally the Pitches were narrow and crammed in, with No gaps between the pitch boundaries.

when we arrived at our given pitch one neighbor was parked right on the pitch boundary and had to get out of the drivers door of their camper van into our pitch and on the other side had put up a windbreak encroaching well over a meter into our pitch.
it felt as if we were on an Aire in France crammed in and not a supposed 3 / 4* campsite in the UK.

I politely asked the one guy if it was possible to move his wind breaks into his own pitch so we could fully occupy our pitch and was politely told they had been there for 10 days and others had not had a problem. so he was not going to move anything.
Neither was asked to respect their pitch boundaries by staff and this standard of pitching we found to be common.
The showers were used and abused by all washing wet suits and any other items in them and leaving them in a real dirty condition.

We only visited 2 commercial sites and stayed 4 days at each, both of which have "wonderful write ups" and both suffered the same problems.

SO be careful what you wish for!
 
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Big bus man

Big bus man

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After a long day's drive the last thing you want are grumpy wardens, I know from experience. It gets dark early in the Autumn so they expect you to turn up whilst it is still light, before 4pm! I have had others that insist on seeing me to my pitch then read the rulebook, in by eight or the gate gets shut! but the one thing that really bugged me was we paid for a friends pitch when we arrived in the New Forest but they refused to allow us reserve a pitch, rules is rules sir, yet the next day we witnessed a warden reserve a spot for someone using a traffic cone! just as well I am a calm person.
 
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M1ke

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Mar 12, 2012
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The 5 MPH rule is interesting. I tried it in my car and kept stalling. The only way I could keep to exactly 5MPH was to have the cruise control on, and then the car stalled trying to get over a speed hump? hahahahahahahah:LOL:

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Nov 3, 2013
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Hi.Have a read of this.
Stopping at a Big CL,NOT site,near the coast...100yds. Printed on the top of the site map words to the effect." Parking rear offside to peg..... THEN. IF! you wish to park another way,please ask the warden" That was just the start,on visits before,the back two rows were for m/homes,c/vans down to the bottom fence,and it is DOWN.
On arrival,the First wife asked which pitches were available for the m/home,the warden and his good lady said,"Any empty one" First wife,"ANY".Yes was the reply.
Now i was sorely tempted to drive down to the bottom and have a ringside seat of the sea,but a lifetime of being "Pulled on and pushed off pipeline tracks/spreads,by Cats,blade and 360's. have given me better judgement ,(The only thing they had to pull anybody out,was a ride on mower,LOL),so just up to the brow,went i.
While sat outside in the sun,a movement caught my eye..... That was a wheel barrow..... NO!... Oh yes it was,the warden had fetched some breeze blocks in a Barrow!,to help level up a c/van. (He was a capable type of chap,and i had the impression,had you called him a Jobsworth/Little Hitler etc,you would have had to go to A&E to have your BBQ extracted from your buttocks)

The 12 noon arrival. Some sites have very long narrow access roads,so it gives a bit of lea way for people to leave and not be met on the narrow bit by an oncoming unit,therefore blocking the only access for the Emergency Services.!! should an accident happen on site.
It would be silly to turn away the early arrival,even though they are in the wrong,as this only increases traffic on the NARROW lane.Could be they have forgotten to put their clocks back/forward,but i dare bet good money,they are after the pick of the empty pitches ......... Never? Not all people obey rules,but some are there for good reasons.
Watching a documentary years ago about the "Meat market Merry go Round" Lorries coming from Ireland,loaded with hanging beef,picked up a subsidy in England,ferry over to Calais,another subsidy,around the traffic island and back onto the Ferry,a continous loop...... (Nice little earner)
They tracked down Mr Big in........ Italy. An office the size of an aircraft hanger,(wood paneled),a suite on that must have cost as much as Greece owes the EU,sat at a desk you could land a Jumbo jet on,perfectly at ease.
"So" says the reporter,and tells him what was going on,and that it was against the Rules/ Law.I will never forget his reply,full on to the reporter and cameras. "You can pass as many Laws as you want to,just don't try to impose them all".
I rest my case.
Tea Bag.
PS. Until you have had a go at being a CC warden,please count ten if it is not going well at reception,you can leave,they cannot.It seems form the first bit of the post,"The times they are a changing!!"
 
Jul 31, 2014
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All of this you need to write to head office and complain.
When they then get a rise in complaints, they may start taking these things more serious.
 

Kim H

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I have to admit to having a distinct dislike to both cc & c&cc club sites. I can't stand the regimentation and also the 'oh your door is on the wrong side so you'll have to park nose in' ie away from the view probably! We keep membership of c&cc club as their THS are much less rigid and also very reasonably priced (unlike the extortionately priced club sites!) At the moment we are on a very reasonably priced THS in Seaburn, Sunderland. An area we would never have thought to visit and are enjoying it immensely. We'll move down to another THS on Wednesday at Market Rasen for the pre Lincoln meet. We feel membership is worth it for the 'off grid' meets

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Zepp

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Lets not forget who makes the rules the membership committee so if you want to change the rules get yourself elected :D:LOL:
 
Jan 25, 2013
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Crikey! Am I living on a different planet? I've been MHing since the early 1990's and been a member of C and C&CC since then and have lost count of the number of sites I've stayed on. I cannot remember one instance in all that time when I've ever had any problems with wardens who have always been most helpful. I've also found that C & CC sites seem to have much friendlier people who chat a lot more with me (sadly now touring on my own since my wife died) and are much better value than CL's or CS's for me on my own. I like the guaranteed standard of the club sites, the size of the pitches and the standard of the advertised facilities. CL's I have found to be overpriced, lacking in modern facilities and generally difficult to contact before and during a stay. They are definitely a last option for me. I rarely use commercial sites as they are way too expensive for a singleton and usually infested with children!
 
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Big bus man

Big bus man

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I should say that so far all the wardens have been friendly and very helpful, yes there was the grumpy one somewhere near hull but it only put me off returning to that site again. I like the Littlehampton site but as an example, on a previous visit the kids were playing with a very soft ball and riding their bikes, a warden 'kindly' stated "ball games and bike riding is not permitted", the ball games maybe I could understand but the bikes?? So on this weekends visit we took the boys electric scooter instead, a friendly visit from a different warden stated motorised vehicles are not permitted but bikes were fine....confused!! So why are electric bikes ok then?

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I have to admit to having a distinct dislike to both cc & c&cc club sites. I can't stand the regimentation and also the 'oh your door is on the wrong side so you'll have to park nose in' ie away from the view probably! We keep membership of c&cc club as their THS are much less rigid and also very reasonably priced (unlike the extortionately priced club sites!) At the moment we are on a very reasonably priced THS in Seaburn, Sunderland. An area we would never have thought to visit and are enjoying it immensely. We'll move down to another THS on Wednesday at Market Rasen for the pre Lincoln meet. We feel membership is worth it for the 'off grid' meets

Daughter lives just round the corner from you in Fulwell, we spend 3 weeks there every summer 'dog sitting' whilst she has a holiday. The area really surprised us when she first moved there, a lovely bit of coastline and we were surprised by the industrial heritage of Sunderland, well worth a visit to the glass centre and the museum in the centre. If you bought Pyrex in the UK it was made in Sunderland until foreign competition closed it down and production moved to.......FRANCE!!!
 

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