First of all, thank you UKCAMPSITE.CO.UK for a useful 2013 and I look forward to reading more posts and visiting sites recommended by users - in 2014!
I would like to ask a question to the members regarding 'camping and caravanning club'.
As walkers, Cherie and I have been spending a lot of money on B&B's etc, purely because my Outwell Nevada XL is too big for the 2 of us for a 1 night stay .... With this in mind, we have purchased a small Vango Tempest 300 ready for this year.
Question I have, for visits to the peak district and Yorkshire dales, Snowdonia etc - is it really worth me paying to join the camping and caravanning club?
We will be looking for small sites with a shower block and toilets, to simply sleep between walks. Nothing major.
I'm thinking I should but wondered what you thought before we signed up.
We camped a couple of times this year to sites we found on here - as a family unit ... This site has certainly added to our camping experiences and I thank you for that.
Don't forget to leave a review of the campsites you have visited this year or last!
We are not members of anything with the exception of UKCS and we have never struggled to find a nice site both when and where we want. This site is a mine of information, what else could you need?
Quote: Originally posted by robcherie on 28/12/2013
We will be looking for small sites with a shower block and toilets, to simply sleep between walks.
You can certainly look for the Club's Certificated Sites before joining, both on UKCS (tick the Club CL/CS box on Camp Site Search and ignore the Caravan Club's CLs, as well as those CSs which don't list the facilities you need) and on the C&CC website.
It's usually possible to join the Camping and Caravanning Club on arrival at a CS (or a Club Site or Temporary Holiday Site).
I am afraid my experience of the C&CC was not good. Having paid the joining fee I discovered that many of their campsites are a long way from the specific area they are named after.
I also lost two deposits due to weather and deposits are not returnable for that reason nor do they give credits. You have to book in advance at busy sites to secure a pitch so paying a deposit is unavoidable. That alone made it very expensive, especially after adding those lost deposits to the joining fee and I hadn't been anywhere by then!
The final straw was that the first two campsites I did finally manage to visit had absolutely awful pitches. One was so riddled with rabbit holes and scrapings that it was difficult to find a clear area to pitch the tent, and pitches at the other were just mud patches with tree roots sticking through. At this point I went half a mile down the road to an ordinary campsite with plush pitches and didn't bother with any more C&CC sites.
I must stress that this was my personal experience and others may well find the C&CC much more appealing than I did.
Don't forget to leave a review of the campsites you have visited this year or last!
We mostly camp in France, but for UK short breaks, weekends etc, I just book directly with a site found on here, a couple of days before we want to go, having studied the weather first. We have seldom been disappointed, for any reason.
Quote: Originally posted by Hacksaw Bob on 28/12/2013
Quote: Originally posted by robcherie on 28/12/2013We will be looking for small sites with a shower block and toilets, to simply sleep between walks.
You can certainly look for the Club's Certificated Sites before joining, both on UKCS (tick the Club CL/CS box on Camp Site Search and ignore the Caravan Club's CLs, as well as those CSs which don't list the facilities you need) and on the C&CC website.
It's usually possible to join the Camping and Caravanning Club on arrival at a CS (or a Club Site or Temporary Holiday Site).
I agree. We have recently cancelled our membership because we always have disliked having to book in advance, but their new "I am not going to tell you the rate until you get here" policy was the final straw.
Their affiliated, rather than club sites can be useful.
I have been a member for 10 years but don't think I will be renewing it this year.
Which is a shame as one of my favourite sites ebury hill is a members only I believe
but guess I will just have to forego staying there,
I think their pricing is too high and to be honest I just use here to search for sites now and the caravan club sites and cls do seem to be better quality.
------------- Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.
Don't forget to leave a review of the campsites you have visited this year or last!
Never had a bad experience with the c&cc.. The temporary sites are great and the cls are good.. Nice smartphone app and good reviews.. But it is becoming more expensive and that may well be the deciding factor in us renewing
For someone with a small tent like a Tempest 300 I do not think that "having to book in advance" applies. I do normally book 1 day in advance but this is for my own convenience. I have never been in a position when I would have been turned away from a club site if I had not booked.
Having said that, I do avoid camping on bank holidays and do not want an electric hook up.
It is appreciated.
I'm going to do what many have said - find a few sites on here and decide if I need to be a member of C&CC to get on them. or with decent discounts etc.
If I need to join, I can then join on site as suggested - great advice guys, thank you :)
Peterspal - yes, this will be non bank hols and no electric hookup.
I am a caravaner but I would say to you join for a year and see if you like it . If you don't then cancel or don't renew.
Or try one of their sites then make the decision . I know you have to pay a bit more if your not a member . But just try for 2 nights . If you like it join.
What's to dislike . You know what your getting . We only use club sites for this reason. Even thou they are to always cheap.
We do use some cls / cs,s I'm sure you will be able to use these more than we do , as the access is not always suitable for caravans .
Good luck
Don't forget to leave a review of the campsites you have visited this year or last!
I am a caravanner, and have been a c&cc member for a couple of years. Some sites we have been on have been great, others not to good, I tend to read the reviews before I go if I don't know the site , although that isn't always accurate. Good luck!
We have just cancelled our membership this year. I think of all the sites we have stayed at the C and C club sites have been the ones we have least enjoyed. Some of the Certified sites are excellent, but from my experience many of these are very happy for people who are not members to stay. You could try it out for a year, but I would say they are a bit expensive and over rated!
I was a member for many years but I left about 5 years ago because caravan pitches were taking preference over tent pitches
It now appears that the company is more in favour of statics and log cabins. I say "company" because I fail to see how they can call themselves a club, bearing in mind the amount of money they are spending on developing the rental accommodation at the expense of tent and caravan pitches for members.
No doubt they have many highly paid executives who will argue otherwise.
We are members of both clubs and recently have stayed on quite a few ccc sites which have been very nice with good facilities, we are lucky enough to have the age concession and usually go midweek and it costs us about 35 - 45.00 cheaper if we are on a CS which are about 12.00 a night with electric hook up. I have noticed a lot of campers/backpackers just turn up without booking. I agree with others, just join for a year and see if you need a club or not.