Caravan Club - the costly way to camp (1 Viewer)

Nov 2, 2014
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It looks good, the location is spectacular, the reviews are good & we found the owners a delight to converse with - glad you like it :)
Have stayed there lots of times lovely site nice owners bit tight getting down there but ok
 

madgeD

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I've just cancelled our cc membership after 17 years we intend rejoining CCC thinking it won't be as expensive as we can use the recycled teenager facility , as this year will be the first full time UK hols ! It's true going over the water spoils you .

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GJH

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I've just cancelled our cc membership after 17 years we intend rejoining CCC thinking it won't be as expensive as we can use the recycled teenager facility , as this year will be the first full time UK hols ! It's true going over the water spoils you .
We thought of cancelling the CC this year but decided to keep it because of access to the CL network as we have used a few in the past.
We mainly use C&CC and MCC meets/THSs but have never used CC rallies because of the need to book.
 

Khizzie

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I've just cancelled our cc membership after 17 years we intend rejoining CCC thinking it won't be as expensive as we can use the recycled teenager facility , as this year will be the first full time UK hols ! It's true going over the water spoils you .

C&CC, old git discount works for me . !! Only use CC when stuck for a site. Roy.
 
Feb 24, 2013
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I found last year that the system favours a single traveller, possibly not as many solo users, but I regularly paid well under £20 / night, one cc club site was £12 / night on my own. IMO we use exactly the same facilities with both of us as we use our own shower and toilet

Back to Scotland in May, wild nights and even when on club sites will be paying less than £20 I don't begrudge them that at all (y)

Don't think I could enjoy a night at £40+, but in fairness to OP don't think I would enjoy a night with 5 up in a MH at any price :)

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Nov 3, 2013
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I found last year that the system favours a single traveller, possibly not as many solo users, but I regularly paid well under £20 / night, one cc club site was £12 / night on my own. IMO we use exactly the same facilities with both of us as we use our own shower and toilet

Back to Scotland in May, wild nights and even when on club sites will be paying less than £20 I don't begrudge them that at all (y)

Don't think I could enjoy a night at £40+, but in fairness to OP don't think I would enjoy a night with 5 up in a MH at any price :)

Hi.
I could pick five............... LOL
Tea Bag

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Chockswahay

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Just booked 3 nights with CC at clumber park week after Easter - 3 adults 2 grandkids 1 motorhome = £140.00

why oh why is it so expensive to camp in UK ? or is it the Yorkshireman in me that's the problem.

cannot wait to get across the water and enjoy my motorhoming without being charged the earth.

Love taking the grandkids and would never not go BUT .............................

I don't wish to sound harsh.... but surely no one forced you to book it! :eek: you saw the site, saw the price, and paid it! You have only yourself to blame if you don't like it :LOL:
 

pigginchilli

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We are intending going to either Beverley or Catterick with the C&CC over Easter weekend. It will be £6 or £7 a night depending which one we go to.

Book a popular site at a busy time of year and it's no surprise that prices won't be discounted.
been to marske today maybe overnite stays??

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Kool Kroozer

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I for one do like the security of a site and to know the facilities are on hand but it seems like they are fleecing you for it too, i remember when you used to have the option to have hook up, seems like you pay for it even if you dont want it - nearly £15 each per night begining of March - Cmon really ?

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sdc77

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We're members of both clubs.
If we want to go somewhere and theres a nice site nearby we will use it.
EHU is a nice thing to have in the UK.. why hope for some sun. We get discount for our disabled daughter with c&cc and sites are often nicer and better equipped than cls and cs.
But we will obviously use private campsites too and the cs cl networks and britstops.
Given a choice .. for more than one night .. a site every time.
 

Anthea M

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When we first started motor homing and were nervous of all the workings ,a friend recommended joining the CC club. We have no regrets and use the sites in the UK . They are usually easily accessible and have great facilities , some are open all year with most having hard standing which is a must in winter! For the two of us the price is good for a night knowing we have the hot showers and facilities available but still have our own bed!
However abroad is different we use aires, municipal sites but try to avoid the very big holiday sites as they are geared up for families and ours are grown up . Some of these can be over £40 a night! The difference between eating out and paying less on a site is a no brainier for us!!
Now we are trying funster rally's! No leccy muddy fields and plenty of fun!!and cheap !!
 

Traveller_HA5_3DOM

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What sticks in my throat is the fact that both CC and CCC are CLUBs. These prices certainly do not reflect organisations that are in existence for the benefits of the members. Another good example is their willingness to match ferry prices offered by commercial companies, MATCH, them I expect a club to beat them. Someone in these clubs is milking or wasting the proffits away. Their survival is for the most part down to hard working volunteers.
 
Oct 26, 2014
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Just booked 3 nights with CC at clumber park week after Easter - 3 adults 2 grandkids 1 motorhome = £140.00

why oh why is it so expensive to camp in UK ? or is it the Yorkshireman in me that's the problem.

cannot wait to get across the water and enjoy my motorhoming without being charged the earth.

Love taking the grandkids and would never not go BUT .............................


It's Easter weekend prices are always high at Bank Holidays , there are 5 of you so it equates to £9.33 per person , per day for the unlimited use of Showers and toilets , unlimited 16 amp hookup up and rubbish disposal and any other site facilities .
Sorry but your not being realistic .
Folks say us Scots are thrifty but you flatcappers take some beating :whistle::whistle:
 

GJH

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What sticks in my throat is the fact that both CC and CCC are CLUBs. These prices certainly do not reflect organisations that are in existence for the benefits of the members. Another good example is their willingness to match ferry prices offered by commercial companies, MATCH, them I expect a club to beat them. Someone in these clubs is milking or wasting the proffits away. Their survival is for the most part down to hard working volunteers.
As Nick says, they are businesses. We are members of both but I don't recall being forced to join or to remain members :)
It's Easter weekend prices are always high at Bank Holidays , there are 5 of you so it equates to £9.33 per person , per day for the unlimited use of Showers and toilets , unlimited 16 amp hookup up and rubbish disposal and any other site facilities .
Sorry but your not being realistic .
Folks say us Scots are thrifty but you flatcappers take some beating :whistle::whistle:
Prices aren't high at bank holidays and other popular times, they are normal. Prices are discounted at less popular times, as with other industries - for instance cheap Christmas cards in January rather than November/December :)

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C

Chockswahay

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@MannClan

I have just realised that my answers are as 'short' as yours are 'sweeping' therefore I will give a more considered response.

You made a generalisation in your first post that UK sites are expensive. The one you chose is indeed expensive :eek: but my point is that it was your choice. You could have gone anywhere but you chose to pay the money and go to the site of your choosing. Nothing wrong with that at all, it is a free market economy and whilst there is a demand for expensive sites there will always be a supply.

Before you shoot me, remember you started the thread asking why it is SO expensive in the UK. The fact is that there are plenty of good alternatives that are much cheaper.

I personally don't like big commercial sites and would choose a CL every time (if I had too). That is a choice I make.

We are all different, with different needs. Your choice is good for you but maybe not for everyone else.

:)
 

Philippa K

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No they aren't. Don't make that mistake.

Both organisations are private companies whose main area of operation is selling pitches on their campsites.

There may be club type setups attached to them but they are completely separate from the main business.

My husband and I have caravanned all over Europe for thirty years and am now contemplating buying a motorhome and I've spent some time browsing forums. I have to say that when I see some of the totally uninformed venom from some members it does make me think whether I want to be a member of this community.

You for instance refer to CC sites as 'Stalags'. I've stayed on many sites most of which have a barrier at the entrance, which is there for the security of the people using the site. This barrier however goes up and down, you're not trapped there! Referring to just club sites a some kind of prison is silly and vindictive. Sites in many places are hit and miss. Not with the CC though. They are all well run with first class facilities and whenever we've had a problem the wardens couldn't have been more helpful.

But to get to the main point, which is your latest post. You clearly have no idea whatsoever of the CC's constitution, its business model and its finances. The CC is not a business. It has no shareholders and has never paid a dividend. Every penny made goes back to the club to pay for new sites, refurbishing existing ones and promoting its CL network from which by the way, it doesn't take a penny from the farmers and landowners who take in caravans and motorhomes.

What you're obviously also unaware of is that the CC makes very little money from its sites and sometimes posts a loss. Its main source of revenue is selling extra services such as insurance, ferry bookings etc. Prices on sites vary because some are owned by the CC but others are rented from landowners, sometimes at high prices. Chatsworth is one such site.

I don't think I've ever read such nonsense as in this thread. One member says a guest house will be cheaper. Really? Show me a guest house that will take three adults and three children in Easter week for £140 or show me one that will take two adults for under £20, which is typical in low season.

Let's also put to bed this rubbish about 'They're not clubs'. Yes they are. The CC is member led. All major decisions are taken by committees of caravanners and motorhomers. The paid executives do the bidding of the members. And as a couple who have been a member of a local centre for twenty years please don't tell me that I'm not in a club. We've enjoyed countless rallies both in the UK and abroad.

I'm not sure what has upset you but I'm sorry to have to say that your views on the CC seem to be engendered by some kind of hatred rather than by real facts, all of which are in the public domain so there's really no excuse for stating such things such as the club having a separate company just to sell sites, this is simply not true and I challenge you to prove that such a company exists. The club's accounts are published each year for all to read. You've obviously never seen them.

I'm sorry that my first post is so long but reading some of the ill-informed and biased comments in this thread has had me spitting feathers. Having said this it may be my last post but I think that what I've said needs saying.
 
Apr 10, 2010
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Philippa, that was a very informative and articulate post, so please don't make it your last. (I agree with you about some of the intemperate postings, BTW.)

What I took from earlier posts about these organisations being companies was the way they appear to be rather than the legal framework. Rather like the big 'charities' that are effectively big businesses. We're members of both clubs for a variety of reasons, but we use club sites very little, and there is no doubt that some CC site operations are very highly regulated, to say the least. Equally I've found some very friendly and more informal CC sites.
 

Charlie

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Crikey, that's a way to say hello :eek::eek::eek:

Does make some good valid points though !

There are times when sites up their prices. We had it last year when on our 3rd visit to a site the cost had doubled. It was of course a bank holiday weekend. Were we happy ? Well not really but then the way to look at it is we had two previous stays at that site and it was excellent value for money. So equal it out and all is well.

We are at times a captive audience and will pay over the top. But we also have the choice to look elsewhere or dont go at all.

Like others we find over the water far more palatable in every way. But its not really practical for 3 or 4 days so the comparison is not really valid. That said We would go over the water at every opportunity as we get real value for money..

Book or dont book the choice is there,
 

Anthea M

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My husband and I have caravanned all over Europe for thirty years and am now contemplating buying a motorhome and I've spent some time browsing forums. I have to say that when I see some of the totally uninformed venom from some members it does make me think whether I want to be a member of this community.

You for instance refer to CC sites as 'Stalags'. I've stayed on many sites most of which have a barrier at the entrance, which is there for the security of the people using the site. This barrier however goes up and down, you're not trapped there! Referring to just club sites a some kind of prison is silly and vindictive. Sites in many places are hit and miss. Not with the CC though. They are all well run with first class facilities and whenever we've had a problem the wardens couldn't have been more helpful.

But to get to the main point, which is your latest post. You clearly have no idea whatsoever of the CC's constitution, its business model and its finances. The CC is not a business. It has no shareholders and has never paid a dividend. Every penny made goes back to the club to pay for new sites, refurbishing existing ones and promoting its CL network from which by the way, it doesn't take a penny from the farmers and landowners who take in caravans and motorhomes.

What you're obviously also unaware of is that the CC makes very little money from its sites and sometimes posts a loss. Its main source of revenue is selling extra services such as insurance, ferry bookings etc. Prices on sites vary because some are owned by the CC but others are rented from landowners, sometimes at high prices. Chatsworth is one such site.

I don't think I've ever read such nonsense as in this thread. One member says a guest house will be cheaper. Really? Show me a guest house that will take three adults and three children in Easter week for £140 or show me one that will take two adults for under £20, which is typical in low season.

Let's also put to bed this rubbish about 'They're not clubs'. Yes they are. The CC is member led. All major decisions are taken by committees of caravanners and motorhomers. The paid executives do the bidding of the members. And as a couple who have been a member of a local centre for twenty years please don't tell me that I'm not in a club. We've enjoyed countless rallies both in the UK and abroad.

I'm not sure what has upset you but I'm sorry to have to say that your views on the CC seem to be engendered by some kind of hatred rather than by real facts, all of which are in the public domain so there's really no excuse for stating such things such as the club having a separate company just to sell sites, this is simply not true and I challenge you to prove that such a company exists. The club's accounts are published each year for all to read. You've obviously never seen them.

I'm sorry that my first post is so long but reading some of the ill-informed and biased comments in this thread has had me spitting feathers. Having said this it may be my last post but I think that what I've said needs saying.
Hear hear @Philippa K !! And hello. ! Don't make it your last post please . Join in and you will find us a friendly helpful bunch! Sometimes things do get heated but I try to steer away from those threads! I found they used to upset me.
So it's a hello and welcome from me!!:WelcomeFlag:
And yes I do use and like the CC Club!!

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