# Why Haven't You Added a Camp Site to the MHF Data Base?



## MicknPat (Jul 18, 2005)

We all use camp sites in the UK and around Europe so why haven't you added a Camp Site to the MHFs Data Base?


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

I have added some and would add more but for the fact that my trip diary is in the van. I don't want to bring it home in case it gets lost on my messy desk. Wait until new year when I start a new book and bring the old one home for filing with the other 30 odd.

I'm grateful to those who do and do use the database.

G


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## MicknPat (Jul 18, 2005)

Grizzly,

Thanks for your reply and your contribution to the MHF camp site data base.

My pole is a means where by members can anonymously answer my questions as to why some don't contribute, after all we ALL must visit camp sites, or are we all sitting in our MH's on our driveways? 

I am a member of a magazine which also operates a members only forum and has a campsite data base for UK and European campsites.

The magazine, I believe has existed for over 10 years but in all that time the content of the data base of UK and European campsites can only be described as pathetic.

When I queered this fact on the magazine forum one member replied that there were several reasons but only gave this one,


> if they tell every one else where the sites are then they won't be able to get on them themselves when they want to!


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## 96105 (Aug 23, 2005)

hi I ADDED kessingland on :!: but i will add more in the furture  i am not so :roll: paraniold about campsites can not see the problem there are 365days in a year :roll: .

ray


add a campsite :wink:


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

Mick...when people do add a campsite I wish they'd add a bit about transport - ie how far to public transport and how convenient it is and also if it is relatively easy to cycle to nearby attractions or town centre, shops etc.

I know this is something I haven't always done.

You've spurred me into downloading some of Nuke's database sheets to take away with us.

G


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## sallytrafic (Jan 17, 2006)

I find that I have only added 3, 1 Netherlands 2 Norway which is a pitifully small number so I'll add some Swedish ones today.

Promise

Frank


So I was honest and said I can't be bothered but now I am bothered.


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## baldlygo (Sep 19, 2006)

No MH yet and 15 years since I used a campsite of any sort.


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## MicknPat (Jul 18, 2005)

Guy's 

The response in such a short time has been great, please keep them coming, be honest and get it off your chest why you haven't.  

Just to clarify the first poll option, if you select this it's because you find the MHFs adding camp sites difficult to use and NOT because you are not yet a MHF member and therefore cannot access the data base.


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## nukeadmin (Oct 10, 2003)

good Poll Mick, i have often pondered the same question, as with all aspects of MHF the more a certain section starts to get used the more chance i will add more facilities to it, its how i operate the whole site (No point wasting time on parts people aren't interested in)

I think the MHF Campsite database is in excellent shape nowadays, with loads of facilities to ease narrowing down of campsites / stopovers. The GPS functionality works well now and has been tested to prove that.
We even have the campsite virtual brochure facility to enable you to build a campsite trips section of your own up for ease of printing out etc.

All that is needed is many more campsites/aires/stopovers to be added, there are 1160 entries at present, so lets keep building on these.

Finally if you stop at a nice site then why not approach the owners and let them know about MHF and our large target audience and explain we have a campsite database, let them know that any discounts / upgrades offered mean they get enhanced listing entries and top rankings in search results to see if we can get more campsites offering subscribers a little bonus to stay at their site.


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## MicknPat (Jul 18, 2005)

baldlygo said:


> No MH yet and 15 years since I used a campsite of any sort.


Good point baldlygo,

For the record we also haven't yet bought our motorhome,we have only just sold our caravan.

The main reason for joining this and other similar forums was to learn as much as we could about American RVs.

Once we have sold our house we intend to buy and tour in such a vehicle.

One of our biggest concerns is having bought a large RV to full time in,is where are the sites that will be able to accommodate it ?

Now I know someone who has been RVing for years will reply,"There are loads out there" but are you the RVer who passes on this information, or are you the selfish one who keeps such information close to his chest as as been mentioned in a previous posting in this thread?

Once we have bought our RV I will only be to glad to pass on any sites I find useful to others completely free of charge in the hope that others will do the same.

This forum by far as been the greatest help both with general RVing information and suitable site locations especially with the addition of sites for large 30ft+ MHs to the Camp site data base. =D> =D>

I pay 3x the price of this site for the magazine I have previously mentioned where its content and data base are c**p (I mean poor)  :lol:


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## Pusser (May 9, 2005)

I have added some and got MHF discounts but I have still more to do so work in hand for me. Just got over filling out additional profile stuff. 8O

It would also be handy if members visited a couple of the sites I have put down. I negotiated a discount and so far, I have had two discounts and they have seen no other members. I think they are beginning to believe I am MHF and the total membership of it.


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## MicknPat (Jul 18, 2005)

Pusser, 

Thanks for replying, I would imagine that ALL sites who offer a discount of any sort to a club or group immediately expect every member to visit or buy their product. 

The main thing is that by being mentioned on here there is a greater chance that a MHF member will visit that site which until you recommended and added it to the data base would have gone unnoticed. 

:idea: Perhaps Nuke should think of ways in getting the sites who are on the data base & offering discounts to come on MHFs to promote their site,they could have there own forum heading? How about it Dave?


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## sheringham (Mar 24, 2006)

Mia Culpa

The poll tick boxes may not cover the reasons why people do not add sites that have been visited for any number of reasons.
In my case and for my needs I do not collate all of the info required in the MHF data sheet, dont have a GPS device, Lat & Long is only approximate, do not use Ordnance survey maps, seldom use UK sites,etc. 

However over the last few years we have swopped info via e-mail with like minded people with whom we have spent time having met on various sites. This is in a narrative style with some photos. The info encapsulates the main details of the site and how to get to it plus any comments.

When we return to the UK we collate the sites we have visited and then e-mail the summary to the growing list of friends we have made while abroad. They do a similar exercise so that there is a flow of info on good, bad and indifferent sites. For us it works!

Attached is an example of the format used.


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## sallytrafic (Jan 17, 2006)

Just added a wild camping spot for N Sweden need to edit it and give it a name  but it is in seventh the queue for approval so people have beeen getting busy.


Regards Frank


edited for typo


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## MicknPat (Jul 18, 2005)

Hi Mia Culpa and fellow Staffordian,

There was no way that I could enter every reason why persons do not contribute hence the last option to write your reason in the thread as you have done so.

I for one are very greatful that you have because your posting outlines a number of issues that I have always thought prevent persons from adding an entry.

I see from your attachment that you vist a number of aires or French passion sites,these I understand can be some what difficult to locate without a 'normal' address unlike an actual camp site.

In the past if an aire has been added to the data base *and enough information has been included *I have attempted to added the map location myself, but this can be difficult after all I haven't been to the location so don't know if where I have placed it is correct, only the original contributer knows.


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## sallytrafic (Jan 17, 2006)

Is there a mapping program where you point where you were and it gives the lat long. I am using map quest entering an approx lat long then revising it until the pointer points to where I was. ie the reverse of what I ideally want.

Regards Frank


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## MicknPat (Jul 18, 2005)

Frank,

Yes is the answer and Multimap is the site http://www.multimap.com/

Getting the co-ordinates for the MHFs data base is simple.

You just point and mouse click on the country, then the same area on the map where your site, aire or wildcamping is located is, the map will continue to zoom to the point you indicate with your cursor.

When it won't zoom in any more click on the long Web Address that appears in the Map Information box beneath the map.

You will then see a red circle appear where you last pointed and clicked.

Now go back to the Map Information Box and you will see the Lat and Long figures for your location looking like this:

Lat: 38:47:04N (38.7845) 
Lon: 0:10:15E (0.1709)

Forget the figures in brackets, for the MHFs data base just enter the three figures into the DD:MM:SS spaces for EACH Lat & Long.


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## sallytrafic (Jan 17, 2006)

Mick_P said:


> Frank,
> 
> Yes is the answer and Multimap is the site http://www.multimap.com/
> 
> ...


Ta. As writing down the lat long from your gps is a chore, and one that I have rarely done perhaps this link needs to be advertised in the campsite database area?

Frank


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## MOTORHOMER (May 9, 2005)

Pusser said:


> It would also be handy if members visited a couple of the sites I have put down. I negotiated a discount and so far, I have had two discounts and they have seen no other members. I think they are beginning to believe I am MHF and the total membership of it.


hello Pusser

Just as a matter of interest I cant find a way to search for those sites willing to give a discount or am I missing something somewhere.

Motorhomer


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## 97201 (Jan 7, 2006)

Not mobile enough yet and no UK electrics on board for hook up

Ian


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## sallytrafic (Jan 17, 2006)

Well I've spent an evening polishing up my previous campsite entries and adding 5 new ones - I'm surrounded in maps, TomTom photos etc etc and no one has approved them yet so I'm going off to sulk 

Frank


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## sallytrafic (Jan 17, 2006)

*Giving a rating and multiple photos*

I have noticed a difficulty giving a rating...... when you rate a wild camp do you compare it with other wild camps or with the 5 star campsite? What criteria do you use. I would score many of my campsites lower than wildcamps but that might just be my preference.

When uploading a single photo for a campsite the site makes three sized copies I then have to go back and edit two of them away. Obviously no problem if you have three photos to upload,

Regards Frank


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## sallytrafic (Jan 17, 2006)

Two more added this morning - where are the rest of you?

Regards Frank


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

Hmmm.... a good question and I have voted "I cannot be bothered"  Sad ain't it, but I think it needs a few words of explanation and by the way I treat and have treated other databases the same way.

I have in the past contributed, but I think in essence it is because too much information is demanded and so so often it can all be found in the standard commercially or available club guides. Why repeat this? We also do not stay on sites that long to gather much of the info.

I think sometime ago I made a plea for a unique database specific to motorhomes and made some suggestions. Nuke has added most of these but it has increased the amount of information demanded. Perhaps what we should be talking about is how can we simplify it without loosing the content 
which people want. That might be a $64,000 question  

peedee


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## Telbell (May 1, 2005)

I tend to agree with peedee. A more streamlined database specifically for Motorhomers which would include transport facilities to towns etc- though I know the balance (enough but not too much) is dificult to reach.


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## nukeadmin (Oct 10, 2003)

> I cant find a way to search for those sites willing to give a discount or am I missing something somewhere.


its the 5th checkbox down on the main campsites search page Elizabeth 
the one marked "MHF Subscriber Discounted"


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## nukeadmin (Oct 10, 2003)

> think sometime ago I made a plea for a unique database specific to motorhomes and made some suggestions. Nuke has added most of these but it has increased the amount of information demanded. Perhaps what we should be talking about is how can we simplify it without loosing the content


The thing is not all the fields are mandatory Pete, so although you are presented with an array of fields asking for info you simply enter what you have


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

I'm with peedee, I'm afraid. I feel guilty about it, because I do value members' database contributions and use them in anger. I'd use them even more if I could access MHF sensibly on the road, rather than consuming ink and trees in printing out reams of stuff just in case.

In part the problem is I absolutely hate forms. Nothing to do with MHF, it is a quite general point. Forms and me just don't go together. I might have some campsite data to hand, I open the form, and I lose the will to life, preferring to duck back into the forums to help out there instead.

I'm a logical person, but here, for once, logic has absolutely nothing to do with my lack of contributions to the database. It is simply that I prefer to assuage my guilt by contributing more easily elsewhere with the time I am prepared to devote to MHF.

Dave


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

I realise that Nuke from the entries I have made but do others? It still does not get round the problem of how do you make it a unique guide very different from what is already available and even if you did, would it persuade the "cannot be bothered brigade" to enter their experiences.

Perhaps more of those that have voted cannot be bothered would say why this is the case? 

peedee


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## baldlygo (Sep 19, 2006)

I would value a large MHF database higher than I would any other printed information. For one thing the printed info. is probably a year old by the time it is required.

If the MHF db includes GPS info then it should be a fairly easy job to produce a generic POI file for navigation and information on the road.

Paul


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## 89564 (May 28, 2005)

Ive ticked 'I can't be bothered'

Two reasons...

In the mists of time long gone we used to enter details into the data base, but also to complain to management that there was no proper retrieval mechanism.

Then they had to be amended for some reason,then others wanted gps/longitude & latitude and i lost the will to live.

My entries are no longer to be found.

I have wandered for years without the assistance of comprehensive data bases and in my diminishing time feel less and less need for them.
Why not pootle about and enjoy what's around the next corner.So you might stay on a rough camp site for a night but then you might find a jewel the next devoid of any MHFers.I thought that was what 'motorhoming' (awful word) was all about.

I use a few elderly CC publications and the FP handbook for France.

Nick, Running against the flow as usual. :lol:


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## nukeadmin (Oct 10, 2003)

> My entries are no longer to be found.


They are still there Nick, choose Moondog from the list of dropdown names on the search page and there are 10 entries from you ?



> Then they had to be amended for some reason,then others wanted gps/longitude & latitude and i lost the will to live.


lol if you dont have the gps etc then no need to enter it, all the information is optional, obviously the more you know about a site / stopover the better but you can only put down what you remember / noted


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## 101669 (Nov 5, 2006)

Why should I put info into this database for no charge and then the site owner makes money from MY contribution?. I maybe daft but I ain't stupid


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## 96088 (Aug 22, 2005)

I'm stupid and have added quite a few since I found this site.

Hopefully somebody found something useful in my efforts


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

tigger2 said:


> Why should I put info into this database for no charge and then the site owner makes money from MY contribution?. I maybe daft but I ain't stupid


Clearly tigger2 you've not got the plot as to how this site works. Perhaps you should abandon your remaining 9 posts and leave us. We work to the mutual benefit of all of us.

G


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## nukeadmin (Oct 10, 2003)

> Why should I put info into this database for no charge and then the site owner makes money from MY contribution?. I maybe daft but I ain't stupid


nope just slightly misplaced in your view of mhf, to the point that you create an account simply to post that very constructive comment !!!. I don't make money from you entering a campsite lol i wish i did


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## 96088 (Aug 22, 2005)

Troll alert :wink: 

Take care out there folks

I often wonder why we also don't get many reviews on the sites in the database after they have been added


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## 88781 (May 9, 2005)

Perhaps the site owner making money comment refers to the Campsite,...not MHF, just another point of view, hopefully, tigger2 will clarify?

M&D


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## 89564 (May 28, 2005)

Thank you for finding those Nuke .

My thoughts were that they were not where they should be.They do not appear in the listings when i point the finger at the map.

We shall leave them in the attic though.I see some of the sites have been reviewed with more detail than i managed.

Nick

Nice to see the trollops might be back!I always enjoyed them!


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## Mikemoss (Sep 5, 2005)

I've added a few (usually of the CL/CS persuasion) but could, should and will add some more, taking note of some of the things people are asking for here such as proximity to public transport etc.

My favourite of all CLs will, however, remain a closely guarded secret....Oh go on then, it's Chettle House under Blandford Forum in the CC book. Umpteen acres of glorious open space behind a Queen Anne stately home, so bags of room for everyone (so long as they turn up no more than five at a time).


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