# is ten quid too much....



## 89335 (May 20, 2005)

... for a spot for the night?

Sounds a bit steep too me considering all we did was park on a spot of their land. We only got there for 8:30pm friday and never used any of their services and we had cleared off by 9:30 the following morning.

Perhaps I'm just a stingy git.

Perhaps it's the going rate for the area.

Perhaps I should have spent a bit more time searching for a CC CL site.

Perhaps I should have more bottle to go wild.

Perhaps I should stop moaning and cough up the dosh.







hehe



andy


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## 88797 (May 9, 2005)

funally enough we were thinking the same thing - we spent last Sat night in a site @ £5 each - thats £10 total. Shure it had a great view but the showers , acording to our camping friends were disgusting and we were effectivly in a fields worse than a CL since it sloped dramatically unless you were at the top, like us and no hook-up - basically a farmers field. This was a private site, the first we have been on. BTW it was on the Llyn Panincular. Our friends were shocked to hear we thought it was expensive!

Thank heaven for CL's


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## autostratus (May 9, 2005)

andy_m said:


> ... for a spot for the night


Compared with:-
a night in the centre of the lovely little village of Les Eyzies in the Dordogne. On grass, just like a small campsite, 3 euro for the night and an extra 2 euro if you use the services
or
a night in the village of Mery sur Cher all sevices incuding electricity free.

Need I go on?
To answer your question. Yes, ten quid is too much.
You don't need many of those to pay your ferry to France!


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## 89335 (May 20, 2005)

I suppose that they must think that if they allow us m/h-er's on their site then we take up as much room as someone who would use all of their facilities. So they want their moneys worth so to speak. Blinking rip off all the same :twisted: 

We probably need to keep ourselves informed of these expensive places.......... I feel another database coming on :lol: 

Our first night was spent at Fell Gate which is a C&CC site in Grange-Over-Sands. Really bad sloping site and we, like you, had to srive up to the top of the site where it started to flatten out again. Fine for caravans cos they can be levelled to a great extent. The dog walk was fine though although that won't be enough to temp us back to the place.

Saturday night was spent at a place called The Old Post Office at Stanton Bridge near Wast Water. They wanted nine quid for me and the missus, a quid for the dog and two quid for hookup. In hindsight we could have done without the hookup. We did check out the Wast Water NT site as Wasdale Head and that would have cost us nine quid for the night for just a parking spot. A lovely spot it was but a coupla quid more than I wanted to pay.

If I'd have known how noisy it was going to be at The Old Post Office I would have stayed at Wasdale Head. What seemed to be a quaint country pub called The Bridge Inn turned out to be hosts of a wedding that evening. And the site owner knew that cos he was joking about it later on. Not that I'm a party pooper... I think it was just daft of us not to realise the situation ann in future we'll look out for pubs that have large function rooms next to seemingly peacefull campsites and give them a wide birth.

Mind you, I'd had my usual one litre of Organic Cider so I slept through most of it... even someone slapping the side of our van in the early hours :lol:


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## 89335 (May 20, 2005)

autostratus said:


> andy_m said:
> 
> 
> > ... for a spot for the night
> ...


mmm.... yeah, it makes you wonder why we bother with country at times :roll:

Then again, it has so much to offer. The scenery on our trip this weekend was stunning and I know that the Lleyn Peninsula is also a wonderfull place.

It may be that a lot of the farms and campsites lost quite a bit of revenue when the foot'n'mouth thing was on. But how long are we going to carry on paying for that.

Supply and demand comes in here too...... as long as there are people like me paying those sort of prices then they don't have to drop 'em.

Perhaps a revolution is in order :lol:


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## peejay (May 10, 2005)

I think £10 is about average nowadays for a night on a site. Thats inflation i suppose. Regarding CL's and CS's, has anyone noticed a marked increase in price over the last couple of years? Gone are the days of £1.50 - £2 a night, i've seen several now for £7-£8 a night.

I agree with Gillian, get yourself over to France. If they can provide municipal campsites and aires for a few euros a night why can't good old UK? The French recognise that providing these facilities will bring revenue to their towns but the blinkered UK authorities probably spend as much money keeping us Away from their towns with height barriers etc. 

Vive la revolution! (or is it 'le').

pete.


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## kentucky (May 1, 2005)

*a week in ireland*

after a week in ireland being charged an avarage of 19 euros a night then electric 3 euros 1 euro for a shower and not a lot pubs near sites which was very upsetting i think £10 per night is ok

regards 
geoff


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## 88905 (May 10, 2005)

For me anything more than £5 a night for parking up is excessive.
Thing to do is ask the price before siting and have some response ready if it's too expensive.
For example " Sorry I didn't realize you were trying to sell me the whole site", but be prepared to drive off and go elsewhere...Isn't that what you do when you go shopping for food or clothes, ie opt for what u want to afford.

I can thoroughly recommend becoming a "Grumpy Old Man" as life becomes so much more interesting when you watch their faces.

nobby


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## kentucky (May 1, 2005)

*grumpy old man*

i tried this recently over a set of tyres £80 each in the midlands down here in the south up to £132 each 
I was told to clear off and buy them when i said what a rip off


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## 89992 (May 1, 2005)

think about the question a minute, £10 for one nights parking, works out at £70 for a full weeks holiday, where can you get better value than that, you could always check out the wildcamping site before you set off. there is plenty of places to camp wild you just have to seek them out. bed and breckfast can cost upto £70 per couple a night, you do have the choice to pay or drive on, some sites charge £17 per night high season. it is still a cheap holiday, why go onto a site for only one night when most motorhomes have all facs. these days.


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## 89425 (May 23, 2005)

andy_m said:


> ... for a spot for the night?
> andy


£10 ouch!
____________________________________________________
*Steve 
aka A very wild....wild camper*
.
Click here for my van website!
.









_I do like a bit of feed back to my posts please_
____________________________________________________


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## 89335 (May 20, 2005)

It was getting late... I was running out of options... we needed a place to stop the night... I paid the price.

Having paid £3.50 for a spot in Lincoln and £4.00 in Cheshire I thought that ten quid was a touch OTT.

Of the five weekends we have been out in our new van we only pre-booked one site. Part of the fun is just getting in the van on a friday afternoon and deciding there and then which way to head.

I also still getting over the shock of paying for my house on wheels 8O . I keep telling myself that it's paid for now and I should move on but it's hard.

I'll get over it :lol:


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## 88797 (May 9, 2005)

With you Andy_m - fri night and anywere to go hee hee!

We only payed because we were invited by friends - they thought it was cheap but unlike tents and caravans we motorhomers have the true freedom - We wild camp normally or use CLs.

I think thats the main reason we resent the price since if we take an extra car they charge us!!!!! how many caravans do you know can get on site by themselves?

Also whats with the 'per person' price?? you pay for the van then its an extra per person!! shure if you have 6 kids etc but shurley the price should include the driver to start with.


GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

a


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## peejay (May 10, 2005)

Apasher.

I think the reasoning behind that is the more people on the pitch, the more they use the facilities (showers etc) not that i agree with it though, much prefer cl's and haven't tried wildcamping in this country yet.

As i said earlier though, evn the price of some cl's is getting a bit silly.

pete.


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## dodger148 (May 9, 2005)

I dont think any of you are tight, I try and limit to 10 quid a night max which I think is probably the highest we should pay for an average site. If you compare us with tuggers, they go on a site, hook up and stay there. If they go out its the car that moves the van stays hooked up.

My thoughts are - ther should be lower rates for m-hs for both pitch and electric as we dont spend the same amount of time messing up pitches and connected to the electric

That said we paid 13 quid a night the other week end in N.Wales. We were going to a reunion and there were limited options near the hotel where the others were staying. But the van didnt move all weekend, we had the gazebo up (for boozing) and we stayed connected to the mains


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## Anonymous (Nov 10, 2000)

*hi*

we were squeezed onto a pitch??next to the maintainence shed on a site on the south coast,although there seemed to be vacant pitche's on site.(motorcaravan syndrome)any wat we were charged£15 for the honour of this pitch,i did take a look at the shower,but realy didnt fancy useing it.next morning after we had two shower's in the van i drove over to the tap to fill up when the owner came over and give us the third degree over the water we were taking away with us,as it's very expensive you know,so is stopping here i said.
pete :roll:


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## Anonymous (Nov 10, 2000)

10 Quid a night is too much!

Most, if not all of us, have all singing all dancing motorhomes, we don't need facilities, just a reasonable secure parking place for the night with fresh water and a disposal point. Paying 10quid or more for a basic pitch in a basic site is extorsion and we should boycott them. 
CLs by and large are still the best value for money but as Pete said even some of them now charge 7 - 8 quid a night. 
Let's all vote with our tyres and drive away...there are plenty of wildcamping spots and reasonable CLs. 

Jim


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## Anonymous (Nov 10, 2000)

Even though I have limited facilities in my camper I almost always wild camp, I would be prepared to pay up to a max. £5 but certainly not anymore for what is in most cases just overnight parking. I can't ever recall having to resort going onto a campsite as there is always somewhere to park up for a nights sleep. The more you wild camp the more you have a knack for finding these places.
If these site owners had some common sense & had specific areas set up much like the aires we all like in France charging a nominal amount (less than a fiver) they would probably have a nice earner on their hands.


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## 89411 (May 22, 2005)

I don't like paying more than a tenner for a night 

And what really p's me off is when they start charging per everything!!!

extra for kids, dog excetra  

I found this as tent camper and now we have Arthur i guess we'll find it still - for instance why should tent or caravaners pay one price which includeds there unit and vehicle when m/h's only get to park the van and get charged more for awning excetra 

Saying that on of the best sites we stayed on was woodnook near grassington and that was over £15

The other thing is the inconsistency region by region :roll: 

any way in answer to your origonal ? yes 8O


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## elbino (May 9, 2005)

And what I object to is having to be off-site by 10 am next morning as happened on a private site in Milford after paying £14 for a Saturday night in March - like they were expecting 200 vans at midday Sunday ! And that was our very first night away in the van


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## Anonymous (Nov 10, 2000)

*£10*

we almost allway's wild camp as we prefer the peace and quiet that usualy goes with it,we dont mind a bit of company though,but i hate being on a large site in the height of summer,it's just no pleasure at all.a good few year's back we stopped on a caravan site on the front at southsea,their were my wife and my self and our dogin our van and our freind's,2 adult's and three children in a caravanover a three night stay it cost us £7.50 more because we took the dog,i asked them what facilities there were for the dog .tv room ,play area, ect, didnt half get a funny look.had to explain that if it cost £7.50 extra for the dog ect(still had to pay up though)
pete


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## RobMD (May 9, 2005)

*Expensive sites*

 Reckon we were ripped off a touch a few days ago when we stopped at a site near Lynton. Small site with well worn facilities, although the location was very pleasant. What annoyed me was the £2.50 charged for my dog who had to be tethered at all times on the site which had no dog walk on site, or even dog waste bins.
There was good walking just off site, but that was no thanks to the site!

It was getting a bit late and we were looking for a place to stop for the night, but although we didn't arrive until early evening, the person in charge wasn't very pleased when we asked if it was OK to leave at about 13.00 (11.00 hrs was normal leaving time), although there was nothing else booked that day
If we are expected to leave after being on site less than 24 hours, I reckon we should pay a reduced rate.

Trouble is, we have never wild camped (Use CLs if poss.) - must get some more info and give it a try sometime.

RobMD


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## Anonymous (Nov 10, 2000)

*hi*

hi rob,we have wild camped for well over 20 year's now,you do have to be carefull where you pick to stop,but in truth we have only had 2 disturbed night's once on anglsea and once when abroad,the one in wale's was quite strange so much so that my wife wont go back there.it's a lot eaiser abroab thoughand if it wasnt for the cost of getting their we would go more often.
pete


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## TerryVan (May 13, 2005)

All,
as a serious wild camper I suggest anyone wanting to try this should find a safe looking spot for the first night to "practice" as it can be a worry the first few times.

There will be the few nutters who will honk their horns or at the most bang on the side of the van but this is very rare. In five years ( not every night) I have experienced only two woken nights and one of these was a woman asking for help and I was glad to assist and transport her to the police.

As long as we sort out our rubbish a waste out in a resonsible manner long live wild camping. I tend to use one site a week to empty and filll up if away for more than a few weeks, but have asked to do this without stopping at a site for a contrbution of a £1.00 and have never been told to leave.

Terry


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## RESCUE (May 1, 2005)

*BARGAINING FOR THE BEST DEAL*

Having lived overseas for 20 years where "haggling" is the norm you should adopt the following strategies.

No matter what price is quoted always look aghast (Brits will need to learn this skill, but just _let go _and look amazed).

Then make puffing noises indicating that you are considering the price but are not impressed. Turning your face away at this point is a good additional tactic.

Offer a much lower price and look for their reaction. If they hesitate you've won. Immediately offer 25% less that their offer and say "CASH."

It works but requires practice.

Of course this does not work in _fixed price situations _but you would be surprised where it does work!

Allan & Dee


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## RobMD (May 9, 2005)

*Fees & Wild Camping*

Hiya All!

Thanks for the comments re: Wild Camping, really must give it a go - I've chickened out in the past.
When lookin for a place to stop-over, any specific criteria to meet? (e.g. tucked away in a lay-by, away from main roads etc.).
Also, if a sign says No Overnight Parking or similar, do you ignore it or move on?

It's reassuring to hear that little trouble has been experienced from passers by or yobs trying to be smart - always a worry these days.

RobMD


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## Anonymous (Nov 10, 2000)

As a member of the CCC I often use THSs This normally works out a lot cheaper and yet no one has mentioned it, is there a reason?

Ken S.


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## 89335 (May 20, 2005)

Hiya Ken... I'm not a member of CCC so could you enlighten us please


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## Anonymous (Nov 10, 2000)

Andy_M

The CCC membership is split into DAs (District Associations) depending on the area you live in, during the year various DAs set up a Temporary Holiday Site (THS) quite often (not always) these sites are set in a field with water and a black water disposal point, often but not always with no electrics, these THSs can last for periods normally between one week to two months and the fee from £3.50 per unit upwards per night.

DAs also hold weekend meets in various parts of the country for a similar fee.

I think the CC do a similar scheme although I’m not sure, I disassociated myself from them many years ago and would never rejoin, but that was my choice, I’m sure other campers are happy with them.

Try and get hold of an “Out and About” Mag published and sent out by CCC to members each month, you could pop into a local CCC site near you and ask if they have an old one, I’m sure they will help after all the are called the “Friendly Club”

Ken S.


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## Malc (May 9, 2005)

Hi,
The best way is to join the CCC, I think you will find that THS or (Temporary Holiday Sites) unless Im incorrect, are for members only under the planning regulations, as are the duration of the permits (28 days) although if the DA is changed to another areas DA they can issue another 28days certificate. You can join online or at the specified THS. They and the CS (certified sites) are good value but if you are a loner THS tend at times to be `organised`.
Regards Malc


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## Anonymous (Nov 10, 2000)

Up until last year I would have been astounded at £10 per night as since my late husband & I took up caravanning we have always used the C & C C weekend meets & Temporary Holiday Sites - brilliant value for cheap family holidays.
However in the last 12 months I have taken to using sites with facilities more as the children are growing up & the novelty of playing with a ball in a field has worn off - they require more sophisticated facilities now! BUT £16 is my top whack, I won't pay any more so the all singing all dancing Haven etc sites are out.
Used a folding camper for a few weeks last year in-between vans, Park Foot campsite in the Lakes tried to charge me double for an extra tent - I had mentioned that my son was sleeping in the underbed tent (that hangs underneath one of the bedrooms) - I explained that it took up no extra room but it took a lot of persuading that I should not pay any more for it!
At another site I had to convince them to count my teenage daughter as one of the two adults allowed in the basic price so that I only paid for one child.
And it annoys me if I have to pay extra for the dog - he never uses the showers or washroom facilities, nor he does use extra electricity.


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## Anonymous (Nov 10, 2000)

Yes THSs are for members or accompanied by a member only, but I disagree with the organised part, just to avoid confusion I am talking about the CCC not the CC, we tend to keep to ourselves on site and have never had a problem doing so, maybe others have found it different. I may have got it wrong about the length of time but I seem to recall one going on for three months at one time, maybe that was an exception to the rule.

Maybe the old brain is getting addled.
Ken S.


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## 89335 (May 20, 2005)

Thanks for the info peeps  

As it is I joined the CC... only cos when I got insurance quotes for my van most were offering discounts for CC members and the saving was more than the cost of joining the CC. I'll have to have a gander at the CCC web site and try to decide if it's worth being a member of both organisations.




Oh... BTW... I've just booked our little break for next week. The kids are off school and we have pursuaded them to come along with us for a few days. They reluctantly agreed to come providing it was just a few days :lol: 

We are going to avoid the bank holiday weekend and we've booked four nights at a site at the south end of Bala Lake... tuesday through friday.

Cost - £12 per night

That's much better than our last trip out which was £12 for just the two of us + dog and no awning. This time we are taking a 17 yr old and 15 yr old AND putting up our awning + POWER and use of their facilities like dish washing area and such.


Much better VFM IMO 8) 


I'll let you know how it goes


andy


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## Anonymous (Nov 10, 2000)

andy_m

Enjoy your Bala trip, we were up that way last July, stayed at the CCC site, ended up with an ambulance job to Wrexham, certainly a trip I won't forget, apart from that we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Ken S.


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## 88781 (May 9, 2005)

Some sites I've been on, charge more for the dog than the kids! whys that??


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## peejay (May 10, 2005)

M&D wrote;



> Some sites I've been on, charge more for the dog than the kids! whys that??


Probably because after leaving the showers, they consume more electricity with the hairdryer drying their coats than children, and just think of the cost of supplying a dog walking area. :roll:

pete.


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## 89335 (May 20, 2005)

> Enjoy your Bala trip


thanks Ken 

Is the CCC site the one that's on the lake just off the main road? We stopped there about eight years ago. Great site for getting onto the lake with canoes. This time round we'll be stopping round the other side of the lake near the little railway station so we'll have to drive up to the public car park each day. I don't think you can access the lake from the railway side.

andy


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## Anonymous (Nov 10, 2000)

andy_m

I dont' think so, I don't know yours but this one is on the left about a mile north of Bala and laid back off the A494 easily missed, from memory entrance is opposite an old school house or something similar.

Ken S.


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## 89335 (May 20, 2005)

KenS said:


> andy_m
> 
> I dont' think so, I don't know yours but this one is on the left about a mile north of Bala and laid back off the A494 easily missed, from memory entrance is opposite an old school house or something similar.
> 
> Ken S.


oh... right. I'll look out for that for future :wink:


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