Simple question: Should we join a club? (1 Viewer)

[beejay]

Yes we're complete beginners, not getting our motorhome for another month yet, but was wondering should we join CCC and/or CC? I suspect that there are fans out there of one or another or both.

 

[Badknee]

You are going to get an awful lot of different answers to this for a lot of different reasons. We have been in both, camps in different areas, cheap insurance, yadda, yadda, yadda. Right now we're only in the CC as we are living on one of their 5 van sites during the week.

 

[Janine]

When I started motorhoming, I joined both and then decided which I preferred. Each has it's advantages/disadvantages, just a matter of personal preference.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Khizzie]

Entirely up to you depending on how you wish to use your motorhome..i am in both clubs because it suits my requirements,I.e. Nice places to visit ,great facilities on site and usually a bus stop outside of gate..but many others enjoy there motorhomes without the need of facilities.so I can't answer your question and unlike many others on this forum cannot say which is best .. Roy

 

[TheBig1]

we have been in both for many years for the benefits from both. We find we use the C&CC a lot for their temporary holiday sites THSs because they suit our style of camping and can be found in some great locations. The CC we use for their sites and small 5 van CLs due to convenient locations for visiting family

 

[Zigisla]

Only in C&CC because we use the new forest sites which are part of C&CC. However recently I have stayed in a few ths and these were great so was the couple of cs. Will always renew because of the camping in the forest sites.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[GJH]

We are in all three but keep thinking about dumping the CC (only kept up membership this year because of access to the CL network and possibility of wanting to use one). Some notes Here.

 

[beejay]

Think might need help with some abbreviations!!

 

[Puddleduck]

We are in both because we like the CL and CS networks. It's also handy to be able to use a "full service site" now and again for laundry facilities.

CL= Certified Location and CS=Certified Site. They are 5 caravan/motorhome sites for members only. The facilites on offer vary from site to site - most (all?) are privately owned and certified by the relevant club for planning purposes. You have to be a club member to use the site but not all sites ask to see your membership card.

There is also Britstops @BritStops where for a membership fee you get a book of places where a host will allow an overnight stay.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Muddibootz]

You don't have to be in any of the clubs but both the CC and C&CC have sites that we use fairly frequently so we're in both. Like many I have considered leaving one or both clubs in the past but have stayed in as I would miss out on some of the sites and it's not a huge amount of money really.
I don't really think of either as being clubs, but more like companies that run camp site businesses.
Some people don't like the site rules which both club's sites enforce but I don't mind as some of them protect us from other campers.

 

[Kool Kroozer]

Used to be in the C&CC when we had our fist van, but found we preferred not to be in any and just let it expire, putting up with other people's noise n crap facilities, stroppy wardens wasnt for us especially after paying a premium price for a patch of turf, we choose where to camp and who by... An if we dont like it we can move.. At no cost... Just my opinion, as i know a lot of folk are a little concerned about wild camping but we love it

 

[Lot lover]

We are not members of either CC or C&CC as we are unlikely to spend much time in UK.

But when planning our trip over there for this autumn I discovered that if you are not a member you may struggle to find places to stay (seems that you are a bit short of aires)

1. large parts of the country where we want to go are ACSI deserts

2. when looking at ukcampsite.co.uk I realised that I could not stay at quite a lot of sites without being a member of something

Maybe you could start with not joining (in the style of Groucho Marx) and see how you get on or ask any friends what they do.

When compared to the other costs of buying and running a MH membership fees cost b***** all.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[GJH]

Think might need help with some abbreviations!!

CC - Caravan Club
C&CC - Camping & Caravanning Club
MCC - Motor Caravanners Club.

 

[Puddleduck]

With a club site you know what you are getting regarding facilities and standards..... you also know about the rules and if following the rules will or won't bother you.

 

[Paul an Jane MK]

Hello and welcome.

We only got our first motorhome at the start of May so not highly experienced but ended up going for c&cc (camping and caravan club.) cannot remember why over cc.

Stayed in a couple of CS sites (certified site, privately run maximum of 5.)

Owners seemed very friendly, and reasonably priced with hook up for a tenner a night compared with some regular campsites at nearer £30 a night. Also they have an app which I have loaded on my phone so you can find a cs site near a specific location so you can risk being a bit more spontaneous as there seem to be loads to choose from.

I feel membership is worth it for the access to these smaller sites they also came up with a fairly good insurance quote.

We have wild camped a couple of times on route but like to have easy access to water and waste points plus hook up is handy to save worrying about your batteries.

Would strongly suggest at least one of the two cc or c&cc for access to their private smaller sites.

Paul

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Khizzie]

Used to be in the C&CC when we had our fist van, but found we preferred not to be in any and just let it expire, putting up with other people's noise n crap facilities, stroppy wardens wasnt for us especially after paying a premium price for a patch of turf, we choose where to camp and who by... An if we dont like it we can move.. At no cost... Just my opinion, as i know a lot of folk are a little concerned about wild camping but we love it

The facilities on club sites are most certainly NOT Crap .

 

[beejay]

Thanks for replies. This is a bit overwhelming really. We need to learn all about running the motorhome and then all about where we can take it to. Good thing only working part time.
I guess I need to look into these organisations and make our own minds up. Do you think that as we will be starting out after the main season has ended (we take delivery at end of September) we can find somewhere where we want to go and book independently? It's probably a case of learning on the job!
Possibly I should also have read some of the old posts regarding this subject

 

[Khizzie]

Thanks for replies. This is a bit overwhelming really. We need to learn all about running the motorhome and then all about where we can take it to. Good thing only working part time.
I guess I need to look into these organisations and make our own minds up. Do you think that as we will be starting out after the main season has ended (we take delivery at end of September) we can find somewhere where we want to go and book independently? It's probably a case of learning on the job!
Possibly I should also have read some of the old posts regarding this subject

Not roo far from you a big private site lovely facilities loads of free evening entertainment. At Warren farm Brean sands near Burnham on sea.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[beejay]

After we pick up the motorhome the dealer has arranged for us to stay overnight at a local site to make sure we are happy before we head off on our own. We thought for our first adventure we would go to Weymouth. It's not too far and we know the area as day trippers. We went to Brean after visiting the dealers up there, it seemed pretty hectic!

 

[Khizzie]

After we pick up the motorhome the dealer has arranged for us to stay overnight at a local site to make sure we are happy before we head off on our own. We thought for our first adventure we would go to Weymouth. It's not too far and we know the area as day trippers. We went to Brean after visiting the dealers up there, it seemed pretty hectic!

Once the kids go back to school it calms down and you can chill or be entertained at clubhouse..

 

[Anthea M]

You opened a can of worms asking that question!!!
It will be your choice in the end but we joined for a year to see which we liked and as newbies found the CC sites seemed luxurious compared to some of the many campsites we used with a tent in the previous 30 years.still members .
We liked the CC because they have many town and city sites where we can walk into town or catch public transport.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Reallyretired]

We are members of C&CC, but only for a few days we stay in the New Forest every year. We could stay as non members so probably not really cost effective. We normally only tour on the continent where membership of either of the big clubs doesn't really help at all (though ACSI* does)

* I don't know what ACSI stands for though

 

[mikebeaches]

The Camping and Caravanning Club have a discount scheme for seniors at most of their own managed sites outside peak holiday season - quite worthwhile if applicable.

And, as mentioned by others, C&CC also have good temporary holiday sites in interesting places, usually no booking required and very reasonably priced, especially mid- summer.

We are members of both clubs, but we have made less use of CC.

 

[beejay]

Looks like we will have to join both. I think we would prefer smaller sites but like the idea of places close to town and of course discounts being over 60. The reason we are buying a motorhome is that I have seen very little of the UK, never been to Scotland or the Lakes and only been to Cornwall a couple of times. My partner wants to revisit the Isle of Man. So now we want to tour. Once we become more confident then we do plan to go to Europe

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[TheBig1]

if you do choose to join the C&CC, you are welcome to pm me for my membership number for a referal

 

[sdc77]

Another advantage of the C&CC is that if a member of your family is disabled you can get them special membership .. which means they are free on club sites

 

[MattR]

We've been members of both and did not renew at the end of both years. We didn't use their sites enough to warrant the membership fees and felt that the quality facilities that they provided were more than we needed and wanted to pay for.

However, if we were retired and had more time to explore the England and Wales when the weather is good, we would consider re-joining for easier access to their small basic sites.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[TerryL]

Although we're no great fans of club sites, we're members of both CC & C&CC, mostly for the CL/CS's. However unless we want to be in a particular place at a particular time we never book, just look for somewhere when we are about ready to stop for the night. Apart from Club sites we've used Night Stops, Britstops, commercial campsites and also don't mind wild camping if we find somewhere nice. Abroad we use aires almost exclusively unless we decide to stay for more than a day or two and want/need full facilities.

Our advice, don't rush to join every club you see although as mentioned earlier the subscriptions are not a huge amount of money. Unless you are in/near big towns there's always somewhere. Sometimes a nice looking country pub will happily let you overnight in their carpark if you have a meal/drinks. We've never yet failed to find somewhere okay to stop.

 

[davidbaldam]

Hi and welcome to FUN, we are members of the CC and have the ACSI card for abroad.

 

[Nigel L]

We had same query, only got our first MH end of May.
We haven't joined any club as yet, apart from this site, best £15 we have spent this year!
We stopped at a MCC site this weekend (The Horse and Jockey in Grindley Brook). 4 acre field next to pub, water, chem disposal, max 5 MH's. The pub had 8 real Ales, food was superb, and they only charged £5 for the night. They also welcomed non members. Think we will join this club. Spoke to them at Malvern show, and seemed very relaxed about things.
If you are looking to go to Weymouth, there is a MCC site at Causeway Farm, which also has hook up as well.