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Hi all

Just a small question on whether there is normally a charge for staying on a late night arrival pitch.  We were charged just recently (after staying on the late night arrival section for the first time) even though we didn't arrive until 11:30pm (due to traffic and weather conditions).  We weren't booked in until the next day and we were charged at normal rates.  We had to park at the side of their car park without using the facilities - i.e. electric/water etc. as the late night arrival pitch located just before the main gates was on grass, and we would have got the caravan and car stuck in the water logged ground if we stopped overnight on it.

As we are planning to go to another site which looks like they have a hardstanding late night arrival area, I wanted to make sure whether it is normal to be charged and maybe it is more worthwhile pulling over on a hardshoulder or servies like we have done before.

Many thanks

S

Blimey - I think we had a bit of a raw deal - they must have been upset with us getting in late!!  We paid £14 and that was by my persuading them as they originally were going to charge us as a full night of £16 (as on a fully serviced pitch)!!  Have just phoned up the site we are hoping to stay at in September to ask what and if they charge and it works out about £10 (and that's a five star compared to the four star we stayed at a week ago!!).  Oh well you live and learn - think we'll stop on the services or check out the prices first next time!!

S

I can understand sites charging (maybe full rate is a little high) but surely they must let you use the facililities, thats all part and parcel of the rates.

Motorway services allow night stop overs, last time I used them for going up north, stopped at one near manchester and cost about £10 if I'm remember correctly, and could also use the facilities.

Andy

They were good to provide a late night arrival pitch which supplied an electric hook up and drinking water, but unfortunately in our case as it was on grass we had to park up just inside their gates opposite the toilet block. We did have to use their toilets when we got there (as ours weren't set up) but nothing else, just seemed a bit steep to charge full price (even if using the late night arrival pitch). Can understand charging something, but to be asked originally for the full price of a fully serviced pitch seemed a bit much. We have stayed at services before and I think that if we find a campsite that charges full prices again we will opt for the services as at least we know it will be on hard ground!!! All the joys of us learning in our first year of caravanning!!

S

Had you arrived earlier and got onto your pitch you would have been charged the full rate. If you did not arrive until late they would not have let out your original pitch to anyone else and so would have budgeted on having that income from that pitch for that night so to speak. A bit harsh I know but the economics of business I am afraid. They obviously do provide a fully serviced late arrivals pitch but it was unfortunate it was wet though not altogether the site owners fault. Sorry if I seem a bit harsh to your predicatment just trying to look at it from the other point of view!

No that's fine, you don't sound harsh at all - not taken that way, so don't worry!! We hadn't stayed on a late night arrivals before so didn't know what to expect. Can understand their view entirely, but judging by the price of the other site we may be soon staying at, it seems more generous as a whole what they do - charge half pitch price for the late arrivals, plus the price of all the extras (dogs, adults), which still works out cheaper even though they are of a higher grade to the one we have just stayed on - I guess they all vary so it's a case of trial and error. On the point of arriving late, we hadn't actually booked for a night there so if someone else had booked over the weekend and stayed the Sunday night too, we just would have waited until the pitch was available. At least we know now...

S