has anybody used these type of sites?

[Telstar]

CLs and CSs

I have used quite a few of these, belonging to both the main clubs. You have to be aware that although a few will be very good, most are basic. The owners are basically allowing you to stay on their land for a few quid although costs are higher in some places or facilities offered. Very few will probably be making money out of this venture. You have to be a member of the respective club to use them. The reason for this is that the CC and CCC have issued a 5 van site license to these places (the motorhome club also have a few sites that they license). If you are not a member and the site is inspected, the site could lose its license and then it will lose its license.

It is possible that a 5-pitch site could be located alongside a full commercial site, but it may be cheaper because you may be barred from using the full site facilities.

I know of a site in the grounds of a very old pub. Beer is (or should I say was as it has been a long time since I visited) good, charge was approx £3 per night plus and extra £1 for electrics. You parked in the orchard and walked 10 yards to the bar. You have free and full use of the pub toilets even when the bar was closed.

Another that I like is just south of Chesterfield (North Derbyshire), £4 per night, once was an old farm. You go down the track past the farm and you get to park anywhere in the field behind the house. Very peaceful but also near the M1 for traveling to/from.

I would suggest that anyone gives them a try. Don't be put off if you don't like the first one, they are all different. They offer cheap legal stopovers, and these can be in sensitive locations where full sites won't get planning permission.

But please, if you book in advance to use these and cannot make it, let them know as early as possible. They can only allow 5 on site at any one time so if you don't turn up (a) the site loses that income (b) it denies anyone else the opportunity of using it.

Jon

 

[vindiboy]

Hi, the red H on a C C C certified site means it's a HIDEWAY SITE, this means it's remote with basic facilities IE a water tap and an Elson emptying point, These sites are MEMBERS only and are allowed 5 vans or motorhomes or a mix of both but maximum 5, unspecified numbers of tents are also allowed. I very much doubt if you will find one as cheap as you think, the cheapest one I know of and use is in Frogham in the New Forest, it's £3.50 per night and is behind the Foresters Arms pub who serve excellent food,as with most things the owner wants to make a little money on his investment or at least wants to break even ,so as I say you are unlikely to find many as cheap as this one.

 

[Deleted member 967]

You have to be a member of the respective club to use them. The reason for this is that the CC and CCC have issued a 5 van site license to these places (the motorhome club also have a few sites that they license). If you are not a member and the site is inspected, the site could lose its license and then it will lose its license.

Legally you do not need to be a member of the respective club to use them. It is the clubs policy agreed with the site owner that imposes this on a site and breaching this agreement with a club is what causes the certificate to be removed. See thread on the scheme below on this forum.

The Motor Caravanning Club/Practical Motorhome PUBSTOP scheme is using exemption status issued by that club but is not restricted to members of that club.

 

[biggirafe]

Most Things have been said in the thread that I wanted to say, so I will just add my endorsement of the Certified Location whether its through The Caravan Club or the Caravan and Camping Club. I have used both over the years in Tents, Trailer Tents and recently our Van.
Both clubs websites make finding them easy and both clubs provide a 'book' which you can keep in the van, I would expect that anywhere in the UK you are going to be close to a site of some sort. I've been on CS's that have everything a big site could provide but for only £15 a night some far less. Other sites are just a field with a drain to empty the toilet and a tap on the end of a blue water pipe, which is the minimum they must provide, In my experience these are between £5 and £10 per night depending on the area.

The thing for us with children for a few pounds we are close to wild camping but legal and able to get the awning out and let the kids run free in a field without fear of being harrased or moved on. Many of the sites we have visited are in absolutley stunning locations which you would not have access too any other way.

If you have not tried it you should. The CC&C club is about £35 a year and IMHO the benefits it provides far out weight the small cost.

 

[barryd]

Think Sid James and Charles Hawtry and carry on camping and you get the general idea!

CL's are great. Dont know if anyone else got this but the Caravan Club sent us FOC a great days out book with hundreds of discounts such as 2 for 1 entry fees on places like castles and museums, sea life centres etc. We have saved a fortune (way more than the membership fee) on entrance fees. Even if you havent got the book if you have a Caravan Club card, flash it when you next go in somewhere like a castle and ask if they do a discount for CC members.

I reckon most of these sites take non members though. We have stayed on a couple of CC & C sites and we arent members and although we are members of the CC we have only been asked for a card number when booking once. I think however in order to find them and access the website you need to join. Well worth the money I think. Cant comment on the actual club campsites as we dont do campsites and why would you if you can get a CL probably on your own with hookup for a tenner?

Cheers
BD

 

[Deleted member 967]

Think Sid James and Charles Hawtry and carry on camping and you get the general idea!

I reckon most of these sites take non members though. We have stayed on a couple of CC & C sites and we arent members and although we are members of the CC we have only been asked for a card number when booking once. I think however in order to find them and access the website you need to join. Well worth the money I think. Cant comment on the actual club campsites as we dont do campsites and why would you if you can get a CL probably on your own with hookup for a tenner?

Cheers
BD

Club sites usually have extra facilities like clothes washing and drying. C&CC sites also allow dumping and refilling plus use of facilities above for a small charge.

Each type of site from wild to bells and whistles have a use for someone.

The one person you forgot in the film "Carry on Camping" was the owner of the site. Mr Grasper where every facility they asked for was met with the response "that'l be a quid". Played by Peter Butterworth.

CC and other club sites have a bookings diary that is inspected when the site is reassessed each year. One of the columns is "club membership number". Some site inspectors are real jobsworths and have had sites removed because the diary was not filled in correctly with all of the details. I suppose it depends on the site inspector for the area how strictly they keep the site to the "Members only" agreement. Each month there is a section in the club magazine of sites that are closed with a reason often M (miscellaneous) or BC (breach of conditions).

 

[westbay]

Never used one as yet. I've been put off by the fact that when you find (using the C&C club website) the ideal little Hide-a-way site and click on it, it turns out to be a hugh site for umpteen hundreds of units with bars and clubs etc. Don't fancy being in a field (no matter how cheap) next door to all that.

 

[barryd]

Cant speak for the C & CC CS sites but the Caravan Club CL's we have stayed on have always been quiet. The CC website is quite good now in that you can search out the CL's in the area and look at a satellite image of them where you can zoom in and out to look at the area around the CL. Or you could just Google Earth the postcode of the site and have a nosey around that way. I often use Google Earth to find wild spots as well and sometimes its succesful and sometimes not. When you find a likely spot, hover the mouse over it and screen dump the picture and the GPS co-ordinates. Put the co-ordinates into your sat nav and find the spot. Its not a totally reliable way of finding a wild spot as you cant really see height barriers or no overnighting signs from Google Earth. What I tend to do if I am in the UK is try and find a wild spot first and if I cant find one get on the laptop and find the nearest CL.

 

[biggirafe]

The CC website is quite good now in that you can search out the CL's in the area and look at a satellite image of them where you can zoom in and out to look at the area around the CL. Or you could just Google Earth the postcode of the site and have a nosey around that way.

Thats a very good tip Barry, The C&CC site offers the same facility, we always use Google's satalite view of a campsite before staying, It helps with navigation but mostly you can see just how quiet the site is going to be,

I remember travelling to what was supposed to be a quiet site once only to find a dual carriageway 500 yards across 2 fields, never again. personally I only want to hear nature when I wake up

 

[vindiboy]

There are basic rules in the C C C which make life easier and more pleasant if adhered to IE 5 mph on site ,no kite flying around vans, pick up your dog ****,restrict noise after 11 pm, 20 feet between vans for safety, these rules are common sense really and that is why you need to be a club member to use the 5 van sites as you have agreed to abide by them, if you ar'n't then don't use our sites ,the site owner can and will loose his certificate to run the site in the clubs name and without it he does not have planning permission, I am not a jobs worth, but you must have seen some of the cretins in the Motorhome world who you would prefer to give a wide berth to.

 

[Firefox]

There are basic rules in the C C C which make life easier and more pleasant if adhered to IE 5 mph on site ,no kite flying around vans, pick up your dog ****,restrict noise after 11 pm, 20 feet between vans for safety, these rules are common sense really and that is why you need to be a club member to use the 5 van sites as you have agreed to abide by them, if you ar'n't then don't use our sites ,the site owner can and will loose his certificate to run the site in the clubs name and without it he does not have planning permission, I am not a jobs worth, but you must have seen some of the cretins in the Motorhome world who you would prefer to give a wide berth to.

That's probably the spirit behind the law but I believe in order to get a 5 van licence it can be membership of any organisation, it doesn't have to be the CCC or CC. I'm not sure what the exact membership rules need to be, but it comes down to a bit of red tape in the end.

 

[Deleted member 967]

Never used one as yet. I've been put off by the fact that when you find (using the C&C club website) the ideal little Hide-a-way site and click on it, it turns out to be a hugh site for umpteen hundreds of units with bars and clubs etc. Don't fancy being in a field (no matter how cheap) next door to all that.

It is rare to find a CL next to a Licensed Caravan Site. One of the things that clubs are requested not to do by Natural England is to site a site near a commercial site. Clubs are also required to consult the local planners and they would raise the location as an objection to granting an exemption.

The C&CC do list sites that are commercial in their list among the CL sites and this may be where the confusion comes from. The CC list them in a different location in their book.

 

[Deleted member 967]

That's probably the spirit behind the law but I believe in order to get a 5 van licence it can be membership of any organisation, it doesn't have to be the CCC or CC. I'm not sure what the exact membership rules need to be, but it comes down to a bit of red tape in the end.

The organisation must hold a paragraph 5 exemption to issue a Certified Site with a certificate.

There are only 10 such organisations that have paragraph 5 exemption status out of 400 plus exempted organisations. Most of these only hold exemption status for 5 day rallies.

 

[Firefox]

Ah yes maybe, but what are the particular requirements needed by the organisation such that it may be granted a "paragraph 5 exemption" and be able to issue the certificates to sites?

 

[Deleted member 967]

Ah yes maybe, but what are the particular requirements needed by the organisation such that it may be granted a "paragraph 5 exemption" and be able to issue the certificates to sites?

Quote from Natural England Guidance notes.

Touring caravan exemption certificates are intended for organisations that occupy or use non-licensed sites with the landowner’s permission for recreational purposes. In this context touring caravan includes a motor home and campervan.
•
Organisations are expected to consult local planning authorities about sites before they use them. We would normally expect organisations not to use sites to which a Local Authority maintains a valid objection.
•
Before issuing a certificate an exempted organisation is expected to have a system for consulting neighbours and the relevant local licensing authority
•
Organisations which issue certificates are also expected to have systems in place to inspect their sites to check that the terms of the certificate are being observed; and for dealing with any inquiries or complaints from the public about their sites.
•
Each organisation must send details of certificates it has issued to the relevant exemption certificate issuing body.

 

[Firefox]

Thanks for that.

Interesting to note that main accent is on consultation and planning, and not any general stipulations by the organisation on its members conduct though I guess planning conditions might govern local, but not necessarily global restrictions on members behaviour.

 

[Deleted member 967]

Thanks for that.

Interesting to note that main accent is on consultation and planning, and not any general stipulations by the organisation on its members conduct though I guess planning conditions might govern local, but not necessarily global restrictions on members behaviour.

You are right there is nothing in the regulations about members behaviour or in planning.

The main points the planners look for:

• is the site going to be visually intrusive?

• Is there safe access to the site from a road without causing problems for other users? This includes access roads to the site as well as a safe entrance.

• That use of the site will not cause a nuisance to nearby residents.

Other requirements about a safe water supply, rubbish disposal and waste water disposal are expected to be provided to a satisfactory standard as part of the inspection process by the club.

It is expected that clubs will have their own rules that will determine conduct.

Before Natural England give a club a particular exemption the club must submit all of the rules and methods by which it intend to meet the standards required including an agreed prodedure for dealing with complaints from any source. These are picked over by Natural England until they are satisfied with them. This can involve quite a lot of bits of paper going back and forth before everything is agreed. This process is then gone through again at every 5 years renewal of the clubs exemption.

 

[ajs]

.

staring from a point where..."i know norrrfink"...
the term exception/exempted keeps cropping up in this and similar discussions.


exemption means..., exception, exclusion, immunity etc etc

my question is.... from what...


planning permission is it... or summat else

regards
aj

 

[Tco]

On our last trip, we pulled on to one of these "Hideaway" sites in Staffordshire. It was a long way down gravel track (about 3/4 mile) when we got there, there was a caravan rally going on in the next field (100+ vans), the three lakes attached to the site were running a large fishing match and to cap it all, the main west coast railway line ran by on the other side of the fence! Some Hideaway! In fact the couple running the site were very pleasant and the site was well run, clean, neat and tidy. er... we only stayed one night.

 

[AndyC]

.

staring from a point where..."i know norrrfink"...
the term exception/exempted keeps cropping up in this and similar discussions.


exemption means..., exception, exclusion, immunity etc etc

my question is.... from what...


planning permission is it... or summat else

regards
aj

It means exemption from the local authority planning and site licence requirements that would otherwise apply to anyone who offers a place for caravans and motorhomes to stay overnight. These were laid down in The Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act (1960).

I have a resume here: UKMotorhomes.net - UK Motorhome Stopover News

AndyC