# Content with the Caravan Club?



## Pard (May 1, 2005)

We've toured and camped for almost 40 years, initially with camper vans, then a trailer tent, a brief foray into caravanning (to my shame), trailer tent again, camper van again, now motorhome. One of the attractions used to be a green grassy field, the small deceipt of being in real countryside if you like, but what do we get now? Acres of regimented grey-white gravelled car-park divided by the remnants of the once-green meadowland. Countryside it ain't. It's not even as if the majority are open all year round. Presumably never heard of the concrete grid paving which allows grass to grow through, maintaining the greenness?

Then there's the pre-booking, which has prompted a lot of reaction in another thread. We like to tour, and only during the trailer-tent child-rearing years did we stay on site for more than one, maybe two nights. Even so, we've never booked in the Uk or abroad, except for a very occasional pre- or post ferry crossing stop. How do you know where you might be? As I say, we tour. [If I want to stay in one place I'd rent a cottage - and we've done that quite often too.]

Some say booking is essential if you can only take holidays at certain predestined times. I'd say that's an advantage they have over those who can only get away at short notice and can't pre-plan, and find all the pitches taken by those who booked 12 months previously.

Incidentally, do you note how often, as a one night stopper, you are allocated the least attractive pitches? Is that a good Club promotional technique, I wonder?

We use the CLs, a brilliant facility thankfully, as it's pretty hopeless seeking a pitch on a CC site in season, and I'm always phoning too late in the afternoon to catch the site managers in the office anyway.

My wife likes the heated toilet blocks etc, but I'm happier using the motorhome's facilities, truth be told - straight to the washroom from bed without searching for shoes or whatever! Just like home.

To be honest, if it wasn't for the CLs and the travel service, I'm not sure we'd bother with membership. It just feels like subsidising those who like/need other facilities we could well do without. But, clubs are like that - they don't suit us all for all of the time, and so.

I guess the answer is motorhomers seeking election to the powers that be, but I for one prefer touring...


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

I looked at the route through to the "powers that be" and decided life was too short - it would take many years of dedicated gluteus maximus licking to get there! :lol: 

Dave


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## coppo (May 27, 2009)

I,d agree with every word of that Pard.

If it wasn't for some great CL's i too, wouldn't go nowhere near the CC.

Comes across as just a money making racket.

When we imported our MH from Germany, we got the ferry back to Hull, phoned the CC from the port, guess what, it was much, much cheaper just paying at the port for tickets.

Paul.


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## MrsW (Feb 8, 2009)

We have been members of the Caravan Club for almost 30 years now, from when we were caravaners (and I am proud to say that, not ashamed as you seem to be Pard) through to now when we are established motorhomers. When we used an awning for extra sleeping areas we were pleased to have the green grass to knock in pegs and for the kids to roll out their ground-sheets and sleeping bags. 

However as my arthritis took hold and I was left with reducing mobility and less stability I became increasingly pleased to be able to move around on my crutches on the gravel of the hard-standing which doesn't get slippery when it is dewy or rainy and where we do not have to put out mats to stop the tyres sinking in. 

In my job I am currently booking my off-duty for Easter time and need to have booked a weekend pitch at a popular site if I want to be sure to have time off and a pitch at the same time. You may not need to book if you can go at any time but while I continue to serve the great British public through the NHS I do need the certainty of being able to stay where I want or need to stay on a particular weekend. Perhaps it would be helpful if some pitches were bookable whilst some were kept for first come first served members. When I do book I also email or phone the site and ask for a pitch close to the toilet block for the disabled and I am always treated courteously (even if only staying 1 night) and am pitched as close as the other members needs allows. 

Each of us has different likes and dislikes, different needs and views. All need to be heard and respected, but please don't knock the organisation which is enabling to me rather than disabling as some organisations can be through having other ways of running things. Find an organisation that meets your needs and stick with them - I have!


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## 96299 (Sep 15, 2005)

Hi

We have had our van now for 30 months or so and haven't nor wont go near a cc or c&cc club site, cant stand the thought of it to be honest. Nah, we use the cl's and cs's of this world, much nicer and quieter. 8)  

Steve


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Got to agree Pard. CL's are simply smashing! All I need is access to water and somewhere to empty the loo. What I dont need is regimented neat and tidy campsites run by little jobsworth Hitlers.

We went away in the south of England for a Month over Christmas and New Year and apart from a bit of wild camping and a small site on the Isle of Wight we used CL's or CS's. (you dont even have to be a member of the CC&C club to use their CS's).

All I did was plan a day or two ahead and picked 2 or 3 likely CL's and the only times we didnt get on was when they were snowed in or bogged down. Had no problems at all in a whole month and always found somewhere. It got tricky in the end as the snow and ice got worse but there were still people willing to take us for a few quid per night. Some where as low as £6 per night including electric. I actually felt guilty just paying that. 

Often we had the places to ourselves and never were we on one that had the max 5 vans.


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## CliffyP (Dec 19, 2008)

The Caravan Club are great at maintaining the sites, and cleaning the toilets/showers (only problem are the pigs that use them and dont leave them clean, I dread to think what their houses are like).

Management wise they are awful, and it just goes to show how much money there is in the Camping game when the Management of the Caravan Club can make profit.

They just dont have a clue, 50% of the site wardens are rude and arrogant (difficult to accept from someone who has aspired in the latter years of their life to clean toilets and cut grass  ). The only problem is whats the choice ??

If they were starting off today, they would fail big time.


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Its a waste of money for me paying for a proper campsite. I know a lot of people prefer to have facilities but we perfer to use our own. In the month we were away in the UK at Christmas neither I or Mrs D used either a campsite loo or shower or CL loo or shower if they had them. I only need hookup once in a while so what would I be paying £20 a night for?

We did try and get on a CC site in mid Jan in the cotswolds when it was snowing and when I rang to enquire they actually laughed at me and said all the CC sites are closed because of the snow. Didnt stop the hardy CL owners letting us stay and doing their utmost to make sure we could get water and on one occasion towing us off in the snow. I offered the guy more money for the tow and he refused.


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

I also like CLs and CSs, trouble is so many of them are unsuitable for motorhomes and I have had enough of muddy fields and pitches. I am happy to go without electric but prefer hard standing. Without these even in summer it can be very difficult. Hard standings are driven by demand especially in the winter months. I would also think grass is more expensive to maintain. There is nothing worse than to turn up on a site to find the pitch is just one big worn out brown patch that collects water at the slightest downfall.

I personally have never had unjustifiable problems with site managers CC or C&CC. in over 20 years and I have lost count of the number of times I have stayed on their sites. My view is if you don't like them don't stay on them then we might have less of a booking problem.

peedee


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## Wupert (Aug 6, 2007)

Please help a doddery pensioner who has no idea what CL CS CC etc are 

Thanks in advance

Wups


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Wupert said:


> Please help a doddery pensioner who has no idea what CL CS CC etc are
> 
> Thanks in advance
> 
> Wups


CL means Certified Location. These are 5 van maximum sites on Farms, Nurseries etc. There are 2500 CL's across the UK and its run by the caravan club (CC) but the sites are owned by the farms etc. 1500 of them are open all year around.

CS is Certified Site and are similar to the CL's but run by the Caravan and Camping Club (CC&C).

You have to join the CC to access the website to book the CL's but the CS's are available to anyone I think (your supposed to join or be given an application)

They range in price from £3.50 per night up to about £12 depending on facilities. Some are very basic and are just a field but all have to have water and waste disposal as a minimum.

Great value and in some fantastic locations.

BD


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## Wupert (Aug 6, 2007)

barryd said:


> Wupert said:
> 
> 
> > Please help a doddery pensioner who has no idea what CL CS CC etc are
> ...


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## drcotts (Feb 23, 2006)

I use CC site and CLs
Sites that are close to town in particular
Cls I use have always been Ok for my 23ft MH after phoning the warden/owner to ensure I will be OK.
The CC is quieter than the CCC which i am also a member of.

there are bad wardens on all sites club or otherwise

Commercail sites I have found sometimes have no approciation of the needs of Motorhomes ie they will park you are the bottom of a field. Or the hardstanding will be there but you have to drive across grass to get to it.
So all in all the CC isnt too bad. I think you only remember the bad ones like Ayr in scotland ( i nealy hit him)

Its horses for courses and it depends what you want.

Of course they are all in it to make money but as long as they give a service and you are preparted to pay for it that s fine. Some CC sites are just plain rip offs like Blackpool. 18 wuid a night when the lights are on and 5 miles away from Blackpool - thats why i dont go. But i do go to others like cirencester park, Braodway, Ferry meadows. etc

Phill


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## Bob45 (Jan 22, 2007)

Content with the Caravan Club? - by and large YES. I know that booking can be an issue especially for those still working but even that can be overcome by planning ahead. I know many don't do that and prefer to roam but they can always use CL's which get better and better.

As for the sites themselves they are fantastic - well laid out, in super locations and with great facilities. Having travelled extensively in France (which we love by the way) the CC sites are in a league of their own.

As for the wardens, well they do vary but the vast majority, in my experience, are excellent. Friendly and helpful. I can only remember one female warden who bitched about the euro/europe etc when I inadvertently tried to pay in euros when returning from France. They keep the sites immaculate and facilities very clean.

Perhaps more importantly most of the people who use them are ok.
Don't know about the C&CC.

Bob


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## Mikemoss (Sep 5, 2005)

Mrs M and I and also firmly in the CL/CS category as well but I have to confess that on cold, dark, wet and windy winter Friday evenings it's quite comforting to know that a club site will like as not have level hardstanding and leccy hookup waiting for us. 

As soon as the gound turns even slightly firmer though we abandon the big sites and head for those thousands of individual, delightful, sometimes quirky but always memorable 5-van sites.

I don't know about anyone else, but I wish the CC would stop 'upgrading' so many of its sites. It seems to translate as masses of different coloured gravel where once trees and flower beds stood, and a general over-tidying, pruning, clipping and plant-potting that makes the sites resemble a cross between car parks and suburban gardens. 

We'd sooner go camping in the country any day.

PS: They've already spoiled Soutlands on the Isle of Wight by chopping down loads of flowering fruit trees to create a vast concrete run-in and late arrivals area, and are planning to churn up perfectly good, well-drained grass pitches for yet more coloured gravel. Ho hum.


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## lalala (Aug 13, 2009)

We have found some of the wardens to be so officious that we have been put off using these sites. I also think that the CC sites are very expensive, especially as we don't want EHU. 
lala


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## Pard (May 1, 2005)

I seem to have touched a nerve here somewhere. To be clearer myself, I do occasionally like a CC site, and the qwuality is undoubtedly good - at a price. But as Mikemoss suggests they do seem to be over-urbanising too many sites. I suppose that's the nature of things as so many townies like to fantasise about country days, until reality creeps in and they find that field grass tends to be rough, lumpy and unkempt, and that it's more homely to have centrally heated loos, nicely mown lawns, regimented parking, all the makings of what used to be suburbia in fact.

Incidentally, being pedantic for Wupert, I think the C in CL and CS stands for 'certificated' rather than 'certified' which is what I might well be heading for! It means that they have a certificate from a specified club which satisfies the local authority that they will abide by certain limitations - one of which, I suspect, is *not *to allow non-members to use them. Others will no doubt know the exact requirements.

Terry


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

I think Mrs D and I have been spoilt really. We have done a lot of camping in Scotland, the Lake District and the Isle of Arran and spent all summer in France and Europe where in all those places you can either wild camp or use a free Aire. I love CL's because they are small quiet and often a bit farm yardy which suits me. I like camping outside old barns surrounded by animals. I realised though that I dont like spending money on camping either. Everyone quotes £20 per night and horror stories of double that in the summer. We paid £15 in the New Forest on the Only CS open in the area on New Years eve and I was horrified! Nomally we have a £10 rule. Any more and we go somewhere else. I reckon if you dont use the facilities charging any more than £10 for filling up with water and emptying the loo with a bit of leccy is too much.

I support that idea of having motorhome only Aires outside campsites. If the clubs or other sites had them then I would use them (providing they were less than a tenner)


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## passionwagon (Nov 13, 2005)

8O The CC has over 375000 families as members and so the usual few moaning mickeys and moaning minnies should be regarded as a miniscule minority. If you do feel that strongly, yet remain members, go along to your regional meeting and the national AGM and explain these concerns. Even propose a motion for the AGM-remember it is a club.
For the record we have been members for 15 years and enjoy all types of sites. As to staff rudeness we have never expereinced this-remember you could have been an awkward customer!
During our continental travels we have recommended the CC to two German and one French couple. They all joined for their UK tours and say how much they enjoyed an excellent standard of site and staff :!: 
As the man said if you do not like the heat in the kitchen-get out. :wink:


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## H1-GBV (Feb 28, 2006)

We joined CC PURELY for the ability to camp at Crystal Palace or Abbey Woods - convenient for public transport into Central London.

We have been in CCC since our teens - definitely a long while ago - and love Temporary Holiday Sites. We like small quiet CLs & CSs and enjoy weekend meets, but have never been to a CC Centre Meet, as they seem to indicate that you have to book in advance (1 month?) whereas CCC take you when you turn up on Friday night or Saturday.

But that ability to get into London for £15-20 per night plus £10pp return transport makes CC a must. They also seem to maintain their facilities, especially showers, to a higher standard than CCC (both usually better than CL/CS) and we both enjoy a hot shower with unlimited water, and "lots" of space, although we will make do with our own little area if we have to.

Finally, both clubs produce magazines which provide 1 or 2 days-worth of interesting reading. They also offer web-sites with information and services accessible over the 'phone. We feel quite happy to continue spending about 10p per day on each of these clubs.

Gordon & Barbara


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## tomnjune (May 1, 2005)

we are members of the cc ,and the quality of the sites is far the best? may be that is why you can never get on them without booking in the mad first days of the years new bookings. what is very upsetting is they still advertise for new members??? when they cannot meet the needs of the members they already have.???? there is no winter sites with in a weekends travel in our area thats not always full??. so it is hard to try and get away we need more sites or places in the northwest.???? 

june :roll:


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## cypsygal (Dec 19, 2009)

what are cl's and cs's? I'm new to this. Know a lot of acronyms, but not these!


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## JockandRita (Jun 1, 2005)

cypsygal said:


> what are cl's and cs's? I'm new to this. Know a lot of acronyms, but not these!


>>See Here<<, on page two.

The key worrds are "certificated" and "members".

Jock.


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## JockandRita (Jun 1, 2005)

For us too , it is the CL and CS networks that we like, however, due to family locations, ie, Ayr in Scotland, and Gorseinon in S Wales, we do rely upon the Craigie Gardens and Gowerton CC sites for visiting family, as they are more or less, on the respective door steps. 

There are no CLs, CSs nor C&CC sites within close proximity either. Another reason for our continued membership of the CC, (20 years now).

Regards,

Jock.


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## blongs (Jan 12, 2009)

tomnjune said:


> what is very upsetting is they still advertise for new members??? when they cannot meet the needs of the members they already have.????


This is what has put me off joining, I may join next year just before the release of the bookings for the next year and crack on early doors with booking places.

We shall see how this year pans out though with availability using the good old telephone to non CC sites i find on this site and the ukcampsite website.


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