If you have a tent and wish to join a club then the C&CC is the only one that really caters for tent camping. However, I think it only fair to advise you of my experiences to date.
I joined in May this year and decided to go to my first club site not too far from home. I wanted an EHU pitch but when I checked out the online booking this was showing EHU pitches fully booked. Undaunted, I telephoned the club bookings and they still said there were no EHU pitches available. Ever determined I phoned the site directly hoping they may have a cancellation and was told they had more than one EHU pitch available.
So lesson 1...phone the sites directly because the online booking system is not up to date.
After all that, when I arrived at the site I found the pitches in an awful state with rabbit holes, some quite deep, making it difficult to pitch a large tent without placing the sewn in groundsheet over a hole...not impressed, although I had no complaints about the rest of the site.
My second attempt to stay at a club site ended in failure. Because the site was so popular it was necessary to book at least two weeks ahead. Not a long time one would think but all club sites insist on a deposit up front and if, like me, you have to cancel due to adverse weather conditions which you could not have anticipated two weeks earlier, you don't get your money back nor do you get a credit.
Again undaunted but now out of pocket I booked the same site a little later only to find on arrival that every pitch was totally grass-less. Because the site is so busy they fill every pitch regardless, without any grass recovery plans, and you end up having to pitch your tent on a combination of hardened earth and roots...not very pleasant especially if wet. On this occasion I got my money back and went on a private site just up the road which had beautiful pitches.
I have been searching for other club sites in the south of England but they are actually a bit thin on the ground and well away from the advertised location i.e. the one at Cheddar is about two miles away from Cheddar. Lots of CS's and I may try one, but most have few facilities and for a solo camper many are as expensive as a commercial site.
Needless to say I am not impressed with the C&CC. I will persevere throughout the rest of this year and see if I can find something that warrants the joining fee but I am actually finding better deals and certainly better pitches at ordinary non-club sites. At the moment I doubt I will join again next year.
I know others will say they have been to some lovely C&CC sites and I have seen photos of some with lovely pitches but not apparently in my area!
|
Topic: Clubs
