voxol51
Guest
Hi folks,
As a result of the Stratford meet up I thought I'd start a 'Meet' thread.
Organising a meet / rally is not as daunting as you may think.
Meets/Rallies held at venues without a camping license such as farmers fields, etc, can be very cheap but must be held under a DEFRA Exemption Certificate, which has to be applied for and only allows members to attend.
(EG If the Wild Camping Forum Webmaster held one only Wild Camping forum members could attend.)
ACCEO (Association of Caravan and Camping Exempted Organisations) can offer all kinds of help / details to anyone thinking about applying for an exemption license.
The easiest meet/rally to organise is one on a rally field that is owed by a caravan site ( such as Riverside in Stratford) so the meet/rally is covered by the caravan site's own license.
1) If you fancy organising a meet/rally in your area, check with local caravan sites to see if they have a rally field.
Ask if they charge a set price for the field (which can be expensive if only a few units turn up) or if they charge per unit per night.
(Charges per unit per night are far better because you can advertise the price well in advance, rather than wait till the day to see how many turn up and divide the cost between them.)
Also, ask in they have a minimum requirement of attendance and tell them the number you expect.
When booking we state we expect a maximum of 20 units. This gives sites with large rally fields a chance to rent out the remainder of the field to others.
2) Decide who you want to invite.
From experience gained this weekend we think in future we would initially invite forum members. If initial response seems low, open the invite to all motorhome forums, if response is still low, open it their friends as well.
3) Don't try and pay it all out of your own pocket. Don't be shy, ask those attending to donate something.
All we paid for at Riverside was a couple of cartons of milk, a jar of coffee, a few teabags, and a couple of packets of biscuits. Everything else was provided by those attending
4) Some sort of get together on the first day/evening introduces everybody to each other and makes the remainder of the rally easy
5) Keep times flexible - a get-together organised for a set time often starts later or earlier depending on weather, external activities, and how many want to watch coronation street!!
Liz and I attend about 20-30 rallies per year with our own club (suntreckers.org.uk) and various forums, so we are fairly well 'geared up' for it.
If you haven't got a gazebo or other shelter, ask anyone attending if they have one they can bring.
To save your gas bottle and a stove full of saucepans ask others to bring a kettle of hot water to a coffee morning, etc.
Motorhomers are a friendly bunch with a common interest. Strangers soon become friends, and are happy to 'muck in' and help out.
Lastly, many people go to gatherings such as motorhome shows, etc. If you go with a group its often cheaper than going independantly.
If you are going to a show, see if anybody else is going, and if so, try a group booking. Arranging a meet/rally this way is with the show being the main 'entertainment' makes for an easy meet/rally.
Voxy.
As a result of the Stratford meet up I thought I'd start a 'Meet' thread.
Organising a meet / rally is not as daunting as you may think.
Meets/Rallies held at venues without a camping license such as farmers fields, etc, can be very cheap but must be held under a DEFRA Exemption Certificate, which has to be applied for and only allows members to attend.
(EG If the Wild Camping Forum Webmaster held one only Wild Camping forum members could attend.)
ACCEO (Association of Caravan and Camping Exempted Organisations) can offer all kinds of help / details to anyone thinking about applying for an exemption license.
The easiest meet/rally to organise is one on a rally field that is owed by a caravan site ( such as Riverside in Stratford) so the meet/rally is covered by the caravan site's own license.
1) If you fancy organising a meet/rally in your area, check with local caravan sites to see if they have a rally field.
Ask if they charge a set price for the field (which can be expensive if only a few units turn up) or if they charge per unit per night.
(Charges per unit per night are far better because you can advertise the price well in advance, rather than wait till the day to see how many turn up and divide the cost between them.)
Also, ask in they have a minimum requirement of attendance and tell them the number you expect.
When booking we state we expect a maximum of 20 units. This gives sites with large rally fields a chance to rent out the remainder of the field to others.
2) Decide who you want to invite.
From experience gained this weekend we think in future we would initially invite forum members. If initial response seems low, open the invite to all motorhome forums, if response is still low, open it their friends as well.
3) Don't try and pay it all out of your own pocket. Don't be shy, ask those attending to donate something.
All we paid for at Riverside was a couple of cartons of milk, a jar of coffee, a few teabags, and a couple of packets of biscuits. Everything else was provided by those attending
4) Some sort of get together on the first day/evening introduces everybody to each other and makes the remainder of the rally easy
5) Keep times flexible - a get-together organised for a set time often starts later or earlier depending on weather, external activities, and how many want to watch coronation street!!
Liz and I attend about 20-30 rallies per year with our own club (suntreckers.org.uk) and various forums, so we are fairly well 'geared up' for it.
If you haven't got a gazebo or other shelter, ask anyone attending if they have one they can bring.
To save your gas bottle and a stove full of saucepans ask others to bring a kettle of hot water to a coffee morning, etc.
Motorhomers are a friendly bunch with a common interest. Strangers soon become friends, and are happy to 'muck in' and help out.
Lastly, many people go to gatherings such as motorhome shows, etc. If you go with a group its often cheaper than going independantly.
If you are going to a show, see if anybody else is going, and if so, try a group booking. Arranging a meet/rally this way is with the show being the main 'entertainment' makes for an easy meet/rally.
Voxy.
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