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We have been rallying with the CC for a few years now. Like most people I expect, we didn't know what to expect the first time. We have found everyone to be very friendly. Whilst many of the rallies have things put on over the weekend (or sometimes longer) you are under no obligation to attend. We have made some very good friends on the rally field and would much rather to be rallying than on a commercial site. We find commercial sites far too unfriendly now. There is something about being on a field full of friends. Obviously, you won't be on a field full of friends at the start but by the end of the first rally you will know a few of them and after a couple of rallies you will get to know the hardcore ralliers that are away every time.

Oh and they are very good value for money too. We would get very little use of our van if we were paying commercial site prices every time.

My parents are keen ralliers, they started when they bought their first van - I was a teenager at the time.  The first few rallies were a little uncomfortable - everyone knew each other and we felt quite left out and isolated.  But they kept going and have now been rallying for something like 20 years and know everyone on the field. They have made some really good friends over the years.  My Dad has been on the local centre's committee a few times but he doesn't bother with that now.  They also run rallies, including some holiday rallies in Europe.

Now I am an adult with my own 'van I choose not to go rallying as it is not what I want from my caravanning but each to his own.

We have in the past been on a few CC rallies, tbh, we felt very young (at the time I was in my late 30's) on the some of the ones we went on, but we nonetheless were made to feel most welcome.  We had young children at the time (1yr, 2yr, 4yr) and although plenty happening it was not noisy to disturb us. We had a good time on every rally we went on, and as already mentioned, paid considerably less than if we had booked alone.

In the past year we have been on four meets (rallies) run by UKCS members in the Meeting Up section, we are about to go on a 5th over Halloween, these again are great fun and it is nice to be able to put a faces to the User name on here, I would certainly recommend a UKCS meet.

Have fun.

Jane

A rally is a group of caravanners or campers who chose to join a club and go away as a group for weekends or weeks away at reduced prices.  There is often 'events' happening whilst on a rally, ie: get togethers, bbq's, etc. you can join in with as little or as much as you want to.

I don't think you have to join your nearest group, I know when we were away with the West Sussex Group a few years back, a member of the West Sussex group lived in Wales (he did use to live in West Sussex, & did not want to change).

We only went on rallies held at campsites with showers and toilets (but that was our preference), there is more choice and of course it is a lot cheaper if you can rally in a field with no facilities.  When we rallied with groups at campsites, the pitch fees were considerably lower than if we had booked direct.

For instance, we joined a UKCS meet this year that went to Cornwall in the Summer Holidays, we paid £15 per night for 5 of us + an extra £20 for two weeks worth of entertainment (entertainer,hog roast, karaoke, etc.etc.etc.) this included electric hook-up.  If we had booked direct with the site it would of cost us £30 per night with no entertainment. We had a fantastic time and are going back next year.

Would definately recommend rallying

On our last outing in the caravan (September 5th-12th) there was a rally in the next field to us. They had full use of all facilities including EHU. I know on two of the nights they had their own entertainment organised in the barn. They also had day trips planned during the week also.

Spent some time chatting to the organizer who pointed us in the right direction to join our local cc rally club

Thankyou for all the feedback sounds like they will be good value for money, i have grandchildren anged 5 and 9 and a 12 year old son of my own.....i know i had him very late in life !!! can you tell me if you see many children at rallies or is it mainly older people (sorry) who prefer the peace and quiet, like my parents with their van in their 70's, i would hate to turn up with children and be the only one.

The bonfire one in York, seems to be aimed at children so think this one will be ok, i think you are right its one of those things you have to give it a go for yourself, can anyone recommend another rally in yorkshire in the next couple of months ??? are you supposed to take anything for the group,,,like boxes of biscuits/chocolates ??

In my experience, and this will probably vary significantly depending on the area, probably 50% of us have children. The amount of children on a rally varies depending on the venue however. The "die hard" ralliers are mostly older couples but there always seem to be at least a few children on every rally. Some rallies are geared towards children specifically and will have more children than adults but on the whole I would expect at least 50% to be families.

There is no need to take anything with you (except the obvious gas, aqua roll etc..) but do make sure your leisure battery is fully charged and it is also worth having a spare too. You will probably find a fair few people use generators. While they are frowned on on most sites, on a rally field with no EHU they are deemed acceptable. Most are fairly quiet and after a little while you don't even notice them.

Some people occasionally take a prize to go in the raffle, usually something they won the last time that they didn't want, but some centres no longer even hold a raffle (due to a VAT issue that I won't go into) so I wouldn't bother taking anything.

I hope you are not shy as they normally drag first time ralliers up the front and introduce them to everyone. Something we got away with since we hadn't booked our first rally the normal way ;-D

Generally speaking the tea, coffee and biscuits laid on at "flag" are paid for out of the rally fee as is anything else put on. Occasionally they may offer a trip which is usually paid for separately but normally only on a holiday rally and it is usually done on the basis of "if anyone wants to do... we have arranged a discount on the normal cost."

Coming up to the end of our 3rd year of rallying, I consider us to be beginners still in comparison to most of the regulars, some of whom have been at it for generations. (Certainly not unknown to have 3 generations of a family on a rally)

But we thoroughly enjoy it. If we were not rallying then I think we would have stopped caravanning. The only downside is that we enjoy it so much that if we go somewhere that is not a rally we miss the atmosphere (and not happy about the cost of commercial sites).

How much we get out of it seems to be on a multiplying scale. If we get ten times what we put in back then it must be remembered that if you don't make any effort then ten times nothing is nothing. I think this is why some people don't enjoy it, plus some people do like the facilities of a commercial site. For us, we are happy to use our own facilities, initially for the financial savings but now we prefer the company too.

To be honest, you don't actually need a generator (ours has not been used since it run out of petrol at easter) but it's nice to have it there just in case. I don't have a problem with generators but would rather not have one running. Other peoples don't bother me as they are not right outside my window. Though I do wonder why some people feel the need to arrive on site and the first thing they do is start a generator.

If you want to know what sort of age groups your local centre attracts, why not contact someone. There should be contact details on the website and probably in the club handbook somewhere. If you are not happy with the reply, try another centre.