Review of Oxford C&CC Site: Grass Pitches and Navigation Issues

[Abacist]

Just spent 3 nights at Oxford C&CC site which is all grass.

First off the site post code given on the booking confirmation form took us about 500 yards past the site which is behind Go Outdoors. The Go Outdoors postcode took us direct to the site when returning in the toad. Emailed head office suggesting that they use the Go Outdoors postcode for directions. Reply ignored the suggestion and said detailed instructions for directions given in the sites book!
Given Oxford now has a ULEZ and a ZEZ it is dangerous to pass the site but we are OK in a ULEZ fortunately.

Problem with the toilet block and tenters had to leave as it had to be shut. Everyone told to use van facilities but no offer of any refund!

Leaving this morning I am at the end of a cul de sac in the most awkward pitch to get to on the site with my tag axle fully on a jumbo grass pitch whereas most grass pitches are front on tarmac with rear on grass which would have suited us well especially as no length restrictions!

Anyway some prat in a Hymer reversed out in front of me blocking my exit. He was still attached to his mains hookup and the caravan beside him had to alert him to that fact. So he comes out, still blocking our exit, with his rag to dry off and wind up his cable. I think I can wait it won’t take long. Then he has to retrieve his levelling blocks, then it seems he has a pile of his waste water hog, aquaroll and sundry other crap in a pile on the road in front of his Motorhome to wipe off and put away in his garage. Absolutely no apology for blocking our exit. Gets back in his van, then another interminable wait whilst he caught his dog in the van and fixed its seat belt mounting!

What a pig ignorant selfish twat. But for the fact it was not yet 9 o’clock I felt like leaning on my horn in frustration!

Apart from that we enjoyed our visit to Oxford!

 

[Janine]

Haha! It’s a pretty unique site, isn’t it?

They have been waiting years to get the facilities block revamped due to many problems.

I was there too -would’ve come said hello if I had known. (You’re not the one with the Sheltie, are you? )

 

[Abacist]

No I said High to the Sheltie who was tied up outside the van and keen for a play.

We were in our 9m N & B Arto with Citroen C1 toad. I have fun stickers on both front & back!

Would have loved to say high.

 

[Janine]

No I said High to the Sheltie who was tied up outside the van and keen for a play.

We were in our 9m N & B Arto with Citroen C1 toad. I have fun stickers on both front & back!

Would have loved to say high.

I was in the little Nuevo on the corner by the water tap with the black cocker spaniel and Funster stickers front and rear. Perhaps we should make the stickers bigger!

 

[Grasmere9]

I was in the little Nuevo on the corner by the water tap with the black cocker spaniel and Funster stickers front and rear. Perhaps we should make the stickers bigger!

Slightly off topic but while in France last year my friend's son embroidered a blue hand towel with the MH fun logo on it! I lay it on the dashboard of our Arto for all to see.

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[David and Sally]

We were supposed to be there next week. Had an email from ccc to say facilities are now shut. Transferred to Salisbury.

 

[Janine]

I am now 5 miles down the road at a THS on Abingdon Cricket Club. A beautiful location right on the Thames and a short walk into the town.

 

[Abacist]

We came home today having started at the Shepton Mallet show then Pembrokeshire, Brecon Beacons, Hereford & Oxford.

 

[pelican]

Patience is a virtue.

 

[Abacist]

I can be patient when someone is appreciative of it and considerate but I object to being treated like a doormat.

In hindsight, when he just ignored me, I should have got out and told him he was being unreasonable and should have packed his stuff away before blocking the road! Perhaps he might then change his behaviour in future and not inconvenience anyone else in future!

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[Coastal Cruiser.]

I can be patient when someone is appreciative of it and considerate but I object to being treated like a doormat.

In hindsight, when he just ignored me, I should have got out and told him he was being unreasonable and should have packed his stuff away before blocking the road! Perhaps he might then change his behaviour in future and not inconvenience anyone else in future!

Unfortunately there are plenty of Knobs around, favourite one it at the service point they pull up then watch the grey drain out then do the cassette then start to fill with water they then sit there sorting out their SatNav

How hard is it to have the water filling and thre grey draining while you do your cassette!!!

I don’t think a lot do it to be funny I think they are just generally thick and cannot do more than one thing at a time

 

[DangerMousy]

We were supposed to be there next week. Had an email from ccc to say facilities are now shut. Transferred to Salisbury.

Do you have any more info on what's going on at the site, is it closed? We were hoping to stay there in a few weeks but the booking system shows no availability on any dates for the next few months.

 

[DiggerJon]

If I remember correctly, the Club does not own the site but rents it from the council who are unwilling to spend any money on upgrading the facilities and the club won’t spend as they don’t own it! The EHC was only 6 amp when I last stayed and the site manager was forever having to come around to reset RCBs when the hookup was overloaded with electric kettle and toaster on the go. Shame as it’s a lovely site otherwise with the bus into the city so convenient.

 

[David and Sally]

Do you have any more info on what's going on at the site, is it closed? We were hoping to stay there in a few weeks but the booking system shows no availability on any dates for the next few months.

Talking to staff at another ccc site they said the facilities had been condemned. Given they rent the site they are unlikely to invest in facilities on a one year lease basis. Not likely to be resolved any time soon.

 

[Brains]

Do you have any more info on what's going on at the site, is it closed? We were hoping to stay there in a few weeks but the booking system shows no availability on any dates for the next few months.

We were up that way last weekend.
We stayed at Bridge Villa Campsite in Wallingford.

Nice site, all grass.
EHU, decent showers and loos.
Walking distance to Wallingford high street with no shortage of pubs and restaurants.

To get to Oxford you go 5 miles to Didcot (Bike or bus)
Then train (15 mins) to Oxford

Only down side to the area, is taxis are expensive.

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[DangerMousy]

Talking to staff at another ccc site they said the facilities had been condemned. Given they rent the site they are unlikely to invest in facilities on a one year lease basis. Not likely to be resolved any time soon.

Interesting.....

In the meantime hubby called the booking centre who told him its an access issue: apparently there's no vehicular access to the site right now, they should find out next week when its going to be restored.

The toilets being condemned does make sense though....they're in desperate need to being updated. Also last time we were there (in March) one of the wardens told us about the 12 month lease too - so its understandable that the club are reluctant to spend any money on it. There's also a lot of expensive work needed on the grounds too which are getting more and more uneven due to being build on landfill - its noticeably worse than when we first went there.

I wonder what the truth actually is

 

[DangerMousy]

We were up that way last weekend.
We stayed at Bridge Villa Campsite in Wallingford.

Nice site, all grass.
EHU, decent showers and loos.
Walking distance to Wallingford high street with no shortage of pubs and restaurants.

To get to Oxford you go 5 miles to Didcot (Bike or bus)
Then train (15 mins) to Oxford

Only down side to the area, is taxis are expensive.

Thanks - its a bit far out though: we like to walk or get a scooter into town (if its not raining).
Though if the site doesn't re-open we're going to have to look at different options - I guess there's always the P&R if we're desperate.

 

[David and Sally]

Interesting.....

In the meantime hubby called the booking centre who told him its an access issue: apparently there's no vehicular access to the site right now, they should find out next week when its going to be restored.

The toilets being condemned does make sense though....they're in desperate need to being updated. Also last time we were there (in March) one of the wardens told us about the 12 month lease too - so its understandable that the club are reluctant to spend any money on it. There's also a lot of expensive work needed on the grounds too which are getting more and more uneven due to being build on landfill - its noticeably worse than when we first went there.

I wonder what the truth actually is

Somewhere in the middle probably. I am assuming it’s goodbye to Oxford.

 

[David and Sally]

Thanks - its a bit far out though: we like to walk or get a scooter into town (if its not raining).
Though if the site doesn't re-open we're going to have to look at different options - I guess there's always the P&R if we're desperate.

We are Salisbury CCC. Good bus service into town and about 30 mins walk.

 

[Brains]

Thanks - its a bit far out though: we like to walk or get a scooter into town (if its not raining).
Though if the site doesn't re-open we're going to have to look at different options - I guess there's always the P&R if we're desperate.

From what we are hearing, Camping within walking distance of Oxford will no longer be possible for the foreseeable future.

Therefore I think it's a case of finding a campsite within walking distance of a railway station direct into Oxford.
(Or a reliable bus route, that runs every day until late, which as it's a university town, may actually exist)

It looks like there may be some sort of pop up camping at Abingdon by the football/cricket club.
But that may be only during the 'off season' and when the ground is hard enough

Otherwise it's the Oxford P&R, which looks like you can pay £12 to park for 72 hrs max. (I can't see any rules forbidding overnight stays, but that does not mean it's permitted!!)

Bridge Villa Camping at Wallingford may be the next best option.

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[Janine]

That’s a shame - I have been going to the Oxford site a couple of times a year for a long while. My son used to full-time there before moving to Bridge Villa at Wallingford.

While I was at the Abingdon Cricket Club THS last weekend, I noticed quite a few motorhomes staying overnight at the adjacent public carpark So that might be another option.

 

[Abacist]

The entrance to Oxford is tight as you pass by the Go Outdoors building one side and a thick hedge on the other. We were fine in our 9 metre tag towing a toad.

The site is very uneven.

The wardens told us they had to close the toilet and shower block and only the outdoor grey and chemical disposal points could be used.

Without you own built in facilities you were required to leave.

There was an engineering van on site for our last 2 days but presumably the boiler has had its day, hence the need to close.

The site was brilliant with its proximity to Oxford with the park & ride opposite giving a fab bus service into the city and back, free with a pensioner bus pass!

 

[cyberyacht]

The trouble with the water at Oxford C&CC is there is no drive over grey dump although they do have a waste hog you can use.

 

[Abacist]

The trouble with the water at Oxford C&CC is there is no drive over grey dump although they do have a waste hog you can use.

Very true - I didn't have mine with me and used a bucket back and forth to the toilet block as I didn't know about their waste hog!

 

[DangerMousy]

So, its back open again and it sounds like the issue was indeed something to do with the toilet block because when you book there's now a message:

Please note there are no longer washing machines, toilets or showers at this site, own sanitation is essential.

Looks like they decided whatever was wrong either wasn't fixable (or not economic to fix) but have decided to open as a no facilities site. Doesn't bother me (I never used their showers anyway), I'm just glad its back open again (for now).

It also shows that you can't trust what the central call centre tell you
Hubby and I had bets on who was right....I reckoned the info here sounded more realistic/reliable, but he thought the call centre would have better information.
I won

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[Janine]

When the warden told me they were closing the facilities a couple of weeks ago, he implied that it was due to long-awaited repair work. Hopefully they have deemed the site worth a little bit of money spending on it.

 

[audlin]

I was in Oxford a couple of weeks ago. I was told the floor of the washrooms was suffering from some subsidence due to it having been built on landfill. Because I had booked beforehand, I was given a 25% discount. There are hardstanding pitches on the campsite although I chose grass. I hope the site remains open as I love visiting Oxford and the P&R is so handy.

 

[Detnor]

The site was indeed the local tip, hence the subsidence. From memory, this land is owned by Go Outdoors and the club have never been able to get more than an annual lease, hence spending money on developments would require a lot of thought. There was a plan a few years ago to turn the pitches around the outside edge into hardstanding, the site was closed for booking and again, it never happened. I would imagine Go Outdoors would like to develop their facilities on the site. In winter, they normally only allow parking on the site roads due to issues with the grass.

Still, we love the place, the wardens have a thankless task with what they have to work with and I think, 10 amp supply, which seems to cause some users a bit of an issue.

 

[Janine]

The site was indeed the local tip, hence the subsidence. From memory, this land is owned by Go Outdoors and the club have never been able to get more than an annual lease, hence spending money on developments would require a lot of thought. There was a plan a few years ago to turn the pitches around the outside edge into hardstanding, the site was closed for booking and again, it never happened. I would imagine Go Outdoors would like to develop their facilities on the site. In winter, they normally only allow parking on the site roads due to issues with the grass.

Still, we love the place, the wardens have a thankless task with what they have to work with and I think, 10 amp supply, which seems to cause some users a bit of an issue.

It was my understanding that the council own the land and Go Outdoors have their hands tied regarding investment too.

 

[DangerMousy]

I was in Oxford a couple of weeks ago. I was told the floor of the washrooms was suffering from some subsidence due to it having been built on landfill.

The whole site suffers from it.....the first time we went there (2017 I think) it wasn't really all that noticeable, but its gradually got worse over the years. Last time we were there earlier this year it was so bad that we couldn't get level, even with the E&P levellers, and had to avoid driving on the the road past the toilet block....it was so undulating that we'd have probably grounded.

In winter, they normally only allow parking on the site roads due to issues with the grass.

Still, we love the place, the wardens have a thankless task with what they have to work with and I think, 10 amp supply, which seems to cause some users a bit of an issue.

We're usually there in the winter time, I think we've only been parked on grass there twice. They usually warn people about the 10a supply, but I guess some people don't pay any attention. We love it there too, I really really hope it doesn't close permanently.

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