At the beginning of 2015 I made the decision to only use Cl,s as the Caravan Club sites were getting too expensive for an OAP on a fixed income. Try booking a site in the New Forest for two weeks in summer, it is like paying for a *** hotel. I was surprised at just what was available, Beautiful idyllic spots, run by very nice people who were a delight to meet. Prices ranged from just £8-00 up to £15 in some popular holiday spots. But most of those we have used have had facilities as good as (if not better on one occasion) as the Caravan Club itself. Others are available with limited facilities for only £6. All of these Cl,s were at a roadside with easy access and not at all difficult to find.
So far this year I have been to France twice for a total of six weeks and in keeping with fixed income OAP status decided on a policy of using Aires. What a disappointment. Dusty gravelly places often overcrowded, in some strange places Most of the facility posts had been vandalised or even turned off on my early visit which was in feb/march, because of frost damage I assume. Also the prices are not exactly for nothing, averaging 6/8 euros for those I stayed at. The last straw came in Normandy where I stayed on a municipal aire for 7euros. It was advertised as a site for 70 vans, and in the afternoon on arrival the police were there checking tickets and payments. Not so, later in the evening when a total of 168 vans squeezed themselves onto the site. Yes I counted and photographed them, I was so horrified. Some people could barely open their doors. I shudder to think of what would happen in the event of fire if 168 vans tried to exit. Now France is a very large country and aires in transit can be very convenient on the way to and from your holiday. But what I cant understand is the persistent bellyaching about why we in the UK don't have them . Before you pre judge the cl,s do what I was forced to do and use them for a season. Perhaps the only area of the Caravan Club that hasn't been commercialised, and although I have a lot of time for the club, its site prices are really getting too much. I guess they are responding to market forces driven by the incredible upsurge in motorhome sales.
So far this year I have been to France twice for a total of six weeks and in keeping with fixed income OAP status decided on a policy of using Aires. What a disappointment. Dusty gravelly places often overcrowded, in some strange places Most of the facility posts had been vandalised or even turned off on my early visit which was in feb/march, because of frost damage I assume. Also the prices are not exactly for nothing, averaging 6/8 euros for those I stayed at. The last straw came in Normandy where I stayed on a municipal aire for 7euros. It was advertised as a site for 70 vans, and in the afternoon on arrival the police were there checking tickets and payments. Not so, later in the evening when a total of 168 vans squeezed themselves onto the site. Yes I counted and photographed them, I was so horrified. Some people could barely open their doors. I shudder to think of what would happen in the event of fire if 168 vans tried to exit. Now France is a very large country and aires in transit can be very convenient on the way to and from your holiday. But what I cant understand is the persistent bellyaching about why we in the UK don't have them . Before you pre judge the cl,s do what I was forced to do and use them for a season. Perhaps the only area of the Caravan Club that hasn't been commercialised, and although I have a lot of time for the club, its site prices are really getting too much. I guess they are responding to market forces driven by the incredible upsurge in motorhome sales.