# What Club to Join ???



## Chrissy (May 6, 2009)

Hi Ev1 

Just wondered which is your preference of the many clubs there are to join to get discounts on site bookings.  I had a look at the Motor Caravaners Club @ £27.50 per year didn't seem too bad - had some good CL's at very reasonable prices and across the UK.  

I would appreciate your comments and guidance as to who (if any of them) you have chosen and why.  I would also appreciate the negatives of joining these clubs.  

I have to join one to validate my MH insurance as they gave me 15% discount.  We have a Bedford CF (1981) with a Holdsworth Ranger coachbuilt.


Thanks for looking
kind regards
Christine


----------



## runnach (May 6, 2009)

I am a member of the Caravan Club. The subscription is about £35 per annum and tbh I soon get this back on discounts when I stop on their sites

There is also an extensive range of cl's which vary in facilities and you never seem far away from one.

I havent really found a negative other than on occasions things are perhaps a touch too regimented. But I guess that is a byproduct of any organisation.

I hope you have many happy miles in your camper

Channa


----------



## salopian (May 6, 2009)

Me too, The discount for the ferries are worth the membership alone, £53 for an 8 metre MH dover -calais 6 weeks ago !!!...


----------



## tresrikay (May 6, 2009)

I used to be a member of both the big clubs, but I sacked the caravan club as I found their attitude a bit stuffy to M/Hs , whereas the C&CC seems a little more M/H friendly and the sites dont look like mini Housing estates.
Don't know much about the Motorcaravan club so can't comment.


----------



## robert b (May 6, 2009)

i to am a member of the c@cc i have found it to be a cheap club and never had any probs on their sites.


----------



## christine (May 6, 2009)

Why not join both then you have even more CL's to go at? We have belonged to both ever since we have had a motorhome (13 years). I can't say I like Caravan Club full facility sites, way, way too organised for us. We only ever use CL's, and mostly the ones without electricity, unfortunately  these are becoming less and less.


----------



## bob690 (May 7, 2009)

Hi Chrissy, I was a member of the caravan club and the C&cc at the same time when I started some years ago. But I repeatedly found an underlying animosity with the caravan club, towards motorhomers.  Especially towards single members who take pitches up when, in their eyes, they could have the fees for a couple. Also a lack of flexibility, and a love of dont do signs. 
   I have not found the same inflexibility with the Camping and Caravanning club, and they do seem more freindly. But hey, thats just my pennyworth. After 2 years I packed in the Caravan club and have not missed anything, camping club also do ferries, overseas etc. Good luck with your choice......Bob


----------



## kalamitty (May 7, 2009)

i have been in both the cc, and the c&cc and can say there is no need to be in any the only benifits are you get a book in each giving info about cls/cs's. i found the c&cc wardens at winchcoombe to be the most unpleasnt i had met and never renwed after that visit. if it's only the discount from the insurers you are after then just join the cheapest, as what you will find most caravaners tend to leave their caravans on a site club or cls all season usally in the best spots, now i just tour an area and take pot luck that i will find somewhere. i now have a tomtom sat nav and was able to download all locations of sites onto it,


----------



## Chrissy (May 7, 2009)

christine said:


> Why not join both then you have even more CL's to go at? We have belonged to both ever since we have had a motorhome (13 years). I can't say I like Caravan Club full facility sites, way, way too organised for us. We only ever use CL's, and mostly the ones without electricity, unfortunately  these are becoming less and less.


Thanks Christine - these are definately our kind of sites as well


----------



## Chrissy (May 7, 2009)

kalamitty said:


> i have been in both the cc, and the c&cc and can say there is no need to be in any the only benifits are you get a book in each giving info about cls/cs's. i found the c&cc wardens at winchcoombe to be the most unpleasnt i had met and never renwed after that visit. if it's only the discount from the insurers you are after then just join the cheapest, as what you will find most caravaners tend to leave their caravans on a site club or cls all season usally in the best spots, now i just tour an area and take pot luck that i will find somewhere. i now have a tomtom sat nav and was able to download all locations of sites onto it,


Thanks Kalamitty - we have a Blaupunkt sat nav - I will investigate getting the download too or would it be the same for both models, does anyone know? - a brilliant idea


----------



## boblyn (May 7, 2009)

*wot club*

hi chrisy i aint joined any club thinkin bout it though ccc apeals cos of site network,but then again i like goin wild so dont see much point.seein as our kids dont come with us i dont want to put up with screaming kids etc not been on a full site since we ditched the tent THANKS for this thread btw


----------



## bob690 (May 7, 2009)

Hi again Chrissy, what kalamitty failed to tell you is that you cant use the cl,s or ci,s unless you are a member of the relevant club!....Bob


----------



## shortcircuit (May 7, 2009)

Member of CCC and now starting to make more use of.  Was just about to book a CL when I found out I was far cheaper on a CCC site with what I have found so far spotless facilities.  Possibly the age concession makes the difference.

I have to say I find the Big Book a bit confusing.  I do use CLs but try to find one with at least a WC.  Look in the listing and find an entry indicating a WC then an inspectors report stating  "Own sanitation essential".  I then phone the site to find out.

Good value for money and so far and have only met extremely friendly and efficient wardens.


----------



## derekfaeberwick (May 7, 2009)

kalamitty said:


> i have been in both the cc, and the c&cc and can say there is no need to be in any the only benifits are you get a book in each giving info about cls/cs's. i found the c&cc wardens at winchcoombe to be the most unpleasnt i had met and never renwed after that visit. if it's only the discount from the insurers you are after then just join the cheapest, as what you will find most caravaners tend to leave their caravans on a site club or cls all season usally in the best spots, now i just tour an area and take pot luck that i will find somewhere. i now have a tomtom sat nav and was able to download all locations of sites onto it,



Couldn't agree more. They are a complete waste of money so take the cheapest then just Wildcamp !


----------



## shortcircuit (May 7, 2009)

""Kalamity     "i have been in both the cc, and the c&cc and can say there is no need to be in any the only benifits are you get a book in each giving info about cls/cs's. i found the c&cc wardens at winchcoombe to be the most unpleasnt i had met and never renwed after that visit. if it's only the discount from the insurers you are after then just join the cheapest, as what you will find most caravaners tend to leave their caravans on a site club or cls all season usally in the best spots, now i just tour an area and take pot luck that i will find somewhere. i now have a tomtom sat nav and was able to download all locations of sites onto it"""

There is always two sides to a story and I do not envy anybody that has to deal with the public today.

"leave their caravans on a site club or cls all season"  What a load of tosh. For a start you are limited to the time on a CL.  In addition I think I have now been on at least 20 sites and have yet to encounter the situation you describe.


----------



## runnach (May 7, 2009)

shortcircuit said:


> ""
> "leave their caravans on a site club or cls all season"  What a load of tosh. For a start you are limited to the time on a CL.  In addition I think I have now been on at least 20 sites and have yet to encounter the situation you describe.



I think you are accurately describing what should happen but I know of a CL just outside Doncaster where two vans are sited on a pretty much permanent basis and only occupied at weekends. They have definitely not diasspeared after 28 days although the 28 rule relates more to occupancy, Which leads me nicely to the next part.

The CC club do deals on selected sites for long term campers Clumber Park has been one over the winter. Has an example they will charge say £500 for the period 2nd Jan till the end of May. I suspect the campers are supposed to disappear for 24 hours every 28 days. I was told by someone taking advantage of the promotion a lot of the time it boils down to the wardens and there willingness to turn a blind eye.

I guess in the case of a Cl and the CC, and I suspect the CCC ( albeit I am not a member ) There is additional pressure nowadays on occupancy rates to make and keep the sites viable particularly off season. 

Some of the pitches are earmarked for this purpose as well ( not all ) but iMHO they tend to be the more basic pitches or fully serviced. not thos middle of the road 

Channa


----------



## shortcircuit (May 7, 2009)

Thanks for your info Channa.

I only posted due to the blinkered input.  If you are in business and somebody guarantees you money if he can book a spot you would be a fool not to take it.


----------



## runnach (May 8, 2009)

shortcircuit said:


> Thanks for your info Channa.
> 
> I only posted due to the blinkered input.  If you are in business and somebody guarantees you money if he can book a spot you would be a fool not to take it.



I would agree, It has occured to me that the CC particularly and its CL's are sailing towards stormy seas.

Has discussed on another thread  re driving licences, The next generation of caravanners will have passed their tests after Aug 1st 1997. With the exception of micro caravans they are not entitled to tow in effect . Bearing this in mind the CC and its Cl's are heading for a significantly diminished potential customer base. Also considering that a lot of their membership are in the autumn of their lives.

Of course it isnt going to be good for used caravan values either. when you consider the boom the industry has had over the last few years. Supply and future demand etc.

My thoughts are probably flawed, but they do seem to be a distinct possibility 

Channa


----------



## Chrissy (May 8, 2009)

boblyn said:


> hi chrisy i aint joined any club thinkin bout it though ccc apeals cos of site network,but then again i like goin wild so dont see much point.seein as our kids dont come with us i dont want to put up with screaming kids etc not been on a full site since we ditched the tent THANKS for this thread btw


It's good to know it's not just us that don't want to hear others' screaming kids - we have 3 grandchildren - lovely, scrummy, yummy.  Hiowever, I don't want to deal with or even listen to the ones on sites that just don't have any manners or respect for their own parents, let alone anyone else.


----------



## kalamitty (May 8, 2009)

in reply to bob690 the cls and cs's are run by farmers etc. you don't have to be in the clubs to use as they won't turn money away, next time you are out and about have a look at some of the grass around the caravans and it is those that have stayed all season the grass is longer around the edge of the van. as for the winchcoombe site i pulled on a friday evening heading north on the return from my trip to the isle of whight, i did not want to phone ahead but i was getting tired, on asking if they had a spare site the warden told me it was friday and after a lot of mumbling and eyes rolling found me a pitch, then the next problem was when he showed me where the water tap was in the middle of his prised lawn and don't drive the van over it there was no way i could fill up the water tank apart from a little container, so after a meal we decided to move out for the evening, i didn't know the layout of the site so was going down a deadend when missus warden screamed at me where do you think you are going turn around now. as doing this another warden shouted something so on leaving the site i came across another little gem and ended up there for the next two days vowing never to use a c&cc site again. i have since used the cc crystal palace site as a non member and found this a good one, regarding tom tom downloads i got these from tomtom home site as pois. sorry if this has hijacked the site but there are two sides to everything.


----------



## Dezi (May 8, 2009)

Hi, I have only had a quick look at this thread,but has anyone mentioned the motorcaravanners club. ????
You usually get your money back from your savings on the first ferry booking, and most c.l. sites are attached to pubs

Dezi


----------



## christine (May 9, 2009)

I fear that if the clubs knew the CL's were being used by non members, the owners sites are likely be removed from the network.


----------



## runnach (May 9, 2009)

christine said:


> I fear that if the clubs knew the CL's were being used by non members, the owners sites are likely be removed from the network.



And I think your fear is well founded.!!!

Your observation is one difference I have notced between the UK and France.

Here it is expected cl's are 'exclusive ' to the organisation that lets them post their respective pennant.

In France I stopped on private aires, which on occasion turned out to be part of the France passion scheme.

I never did, But it did occur to me to perhaps ask the question why i was being charged on some aires when the patrons of France passion weren't!!!

To be truthful I let it go, I had no desire to be confrontational or awkward. but a bit of cerebral excercise the following day when driving to the nex stop point.

Channa


----------



## Chrissy (May 9, 2009)

channa said:


> I would agree, It has occured to me that the CC particularly and its CL's are sailing towards stormy seas.
> 
> Has discussed on another thread  re driving licences, The next generation of caravanners will have passed their tests after Aug 1st 1997. With the exception of micro caravans they are not entitled to tow in effect . Bearing this in mind the CC and its Cl's are heading for a significantly diminished potential customer base. Also considering that a lot of their membership are in the autumn of their lives.
> 
> ...


Probably not such flawed thoughts


----------



## Deleted member 3802 (May 9, 2009)

we are members of both clubs have been for years since we were tuggers,at £70ish a year it gives us piece of mind if we can;t find some where to stop by tea time we just check our club maps and ring round,we can top up with water and empty the thunder box,gone early next morning to get parked up for the day it works for us,£4 / £5 a night takes some finding now though


----------



## kangooroo (May 17, 2009)

I joined the Caravan and Camping Club - purely so that I could have the occasional shower while away.  I have to say, I found them extremely friendly on each site I visited, the facilities were spotless and even when they didn't have a pitch for me, I was allowed to park in the private lane outside the site and still take advantage of all facilities - free of charge.

I find the C&CC better than the Caravan Club - the latter charges per pitch rather than per person which makes it too expensive for a solo traveller.


----------



## Imbiber (May 18, 2009)

Hello all, sorry long time no post 

Have just re-joined the Caravan Club (CC) purely for their flexibility of booking!

The Caravan & Camping Club (C&CC) have a minimum advance booking of 2 nights, therefore if we choose to indulge ourselves for a weekend on these sites we have to book for a Friday & Saturday night.

Unfortunately we often cannot get away from home on a Friday till well after 6pm (work!) and struggle to meet the 8pm 'curfews' imposed by the wardens. I know if you inform them beforehand they'll open up late on for you, but I still don't think arriving on site at 9pm offers value for money at £20+ for a family of 4!!

The CC on the otherhand allow you to book in advance online a single night pitch (including Saturday's) on any of their 200+ club sites.

This allows us the opportunity to commute a reasonable distance on a Friday evening (wild it) and then check in at a leisurely pace Saturday afternoon on site to relax and unwind close to our preferred destination for the weekend.

They have a late-availability section on their website so you can easily identify the sites that appeal most.

Sorry for the rather long winded post, but I do believe that the flexibility of booking just one night (even on a weekend) has great merits to those of us who generally enjoy the 'wild side' of life


----------



## Chrissy (May 19, 2009)

*Big THANKS*



Imbiber said:


> Hello all, sorry long time no post
> 
> Have just re-joined the Caravan Club (CC) purely for their flexibility of booking!
> 
> ...



Thanks, that's very useful inforrmation as we almost always can not get away on Fridays as hubby works Satruday morning - not this one though YAY      .


----------



## tresrikay (May 19, 2009)

Imbiber said:


> Hello all, sorry long time no post
> 
> Have just re-joined the Caravan Club (CC) purely for their flexibility of booking!
> 
> ...



    yea, you'll be lucky. As the CC don't take booking deposits most tuggers book every weekend in the season ( at the opening of the booking office ) and then only turn up if the weathers o.k. another reason I left as you could never get a pitch, apart from in winter.


----------



## runnach (May 19, 2009)

tresrikay said:


> yea, you'll be lucky. As the CC don't take booking deposits most tuggers book every weekend in the season ( at the opening of the booking office ) and then only turn up if the weathers o.k. another reason I left as you could never get a pitch, apart from in winter.



Sadly a lot of truth in your statement, if their own magazine is to believed and what hisses the wardens off.

It seems some even book multi sites ...and then choose at the last moment.

Knobs 

Channa


----------



## runnach (May 19, 2009)

***** said:


> You can't do that, if you have a site booked and want to change it, you have to cancel the booked site first before you can re book




I stand corrected, it was something I had gleaned from the magazine. It seems my interpretation of events was wrong 

Channa


----------



## runnach (May 19, 2009)

***** said:


> This brings us back to the other thread about interpretations. Rules are rules and not open to interpretations
> Thanks



It doesnt !!!!!...lol  Not going there 

Back OT from reading the posts, All the clubs have merit, I think it depends what you are looking for from your break and possibly from the club.

One mans food is anothers poison and all that.

Channa


----------



## BedfordMJ (May 19, 2009)

We've been members of the camping and caravan club for only a year and not found any warden to be grumpy - in fact most welcoming. Can't speak for other clubs. I'd expected a less than warm welcome with the truck and especially the tyres but no problems at all.


----------



## Nosha (May 19, 2009)

We are now members of both caravan clubs, but it's a bit early to say for now. What I have noticed straight away is the Camping & CC want a deposit the second you ring up and allocate a pitch to you, but the CC just takes details and will then show you what pitches are available when you arrive for you to choose from - NICE!

But if people start multi booking or not bothering to cancel I guess the CC will start to take deposits!!

The CC seem to have more CL's/CS's than C&CC and boy is the C&CC difficult to find your way around - or is it me and O.S. Maps?

The CC now do a POI down load for main sites & CL's which is great and if you use the Garmin sets they open up in Autoroute which I find the easiest of all!!! Type in a town or village and look for the nearest flag - SIMPLE! (I have found a source of third party POI's for C&CC but they are a bit out of date, I hope they follow suit... and soon!

As others have said C&CC are a bit cheaper if any or both of you are over 55.


----------



## Imbiber (May 20, 2009)

I only rejoined the CC Friday of last week, checked late availability for that weekend and pitched up at Blackshaw Moor Saturday 2pm, 4 of us for £15.40!

Not sure on how up-to-date the website is but there even appears to be a number of last minute options for B/H weekend?

http://www.caravanclub.co.uk/CaravanClubApps/Applications/UK%20Sites/Late%20Availability.aspx

I only mentioned it as a 'possible' advantage over the minimum 2 night booking imposed by the C&CC.

I appreciate it is only worthwhile to those who are prepared to be flexible in where they wish to stay, and also leave any decision till the last min!


----------

