Which Club?

Toffeecat

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Hi all. When im away I like wild camping. The missus prefers camp sites. So when we go away together or with the cats Ive always stayed on the Camping and Caravan Club sites who I first joined when I got the motorhome. The sites are excellent I must say. The other club sites ive seen The Caravan and Motorhome Club also look good. I just wondered what everyone on here is a member of and is there any difference between the two?
Weve just returned from The Camping and Caravan site at Barnard castle and its a little stunner. 30 mins walk across countryside and woods into town.
 
We belong to both as you get more choice of sites although the actual club sites I find expensive. I think the Caravan and Motorhome sites are more superior but no difference between the CL’s or CS’s. I also like the Camping and Caravanning's temporary holiday sites during the summer. I never book up on these just phone up on the day and have never been refused a pitch.
 
I am in both. The C&MC have better C/L's and more club sites in cities and towns. The C&CC have cheaper rates for over 60's in club sites and a lot of temporary sites, which are quite useful.
This topic comes up very regularly so if you look through past topics you will find lots of opinions.
 
Same here, we are in both. The CAMC is a bit more prim and proper than the C&CC which used to be quite laid back but that`s changing as well these days.
 
For us the CAMC has better and more locations in the areas of the UK we visit regularly. However we are also members of the CACC as their sites are better value, there is the seniors concession, and at the end of the day it’s just another £39 a year to have a wider selection of sites. We do a mixture of wild camping and sites, and when using sites only using club sites where possible or CLs with hardstandings.

So favour the club with the better site locations for you.
 
I am in the Caravan & Motorhome Club.

Every year when the new Sites Directory Handbook comes out I go through all the listings in the areas of the country I want to visit, only marking those sites charging £10 or less per night, tight git that I am.
But like so many of us, I don't need a shower block, a campsite bar, EHU's, indeed anything other than a flat(ish) bit of ground where I can park up overnight and of course, only sites that allow dogs.

Having been in both major clubs I honestly do find the C&MC CL sites are head and shoulders better than the CS sites of the other club as they are limited to only 5 units.

I now have some absolutely amazing sites in various parts of the country with fantastic views, fantastic walking and most of the time we are on them all by ourselves............ what more could I possibly want?
 
Both clubs are freindly, don't understand anyone saying certain ones are snobbish.Weve been on both club sites with home converted vans without problems.

We rarely use sites but still like to belong to one for magazine and reduced ferry crossings

Advantages of camping club are temporary sites which operate in summer, good value.Also there are discounts for seniors.

We have been in both but prefer Caravan and Motorhome club sites and magazines.Both have good selection of 5 van sites, both provide discounts on ferry crossing.

My recommendation is to join both for a couple of years then drop one off.
 
Another person in both. C&CC for 37 years, CMC for 21 years. I have stewarded weekend meets, Temporary Holiday sites and on the big National Feast of Lanterns for Camping and Caravanning Club. I now steward an overseas rally for them. If you want a site there is more choice if you are in both. They do have a different feel to the sites, but this harks back to where they came from. The C&CC started in 1901 from people who had their camping equipment on their backs or on their bikes. The CMC stated in 1910 with people who could afford to have something towed to site. Even although both sites are mainly Caravans and Motorhomes now there is still a whiff of their origins. The CMC do not encourage wildcampers to use their sites to discharge and fill up, unless you stay the night. The C&CC have a scheme where you can use some site to discharge, fill up and have a shower during a period of three hours. Cost for that is £7.50 - a lot less than an overnight stay.
 
Sadly, there's a lot of inverted snobbery about clubs and campsites here but, personally, I've never found any campsite to be particularly formal or rule-bound. It's more down to the people there at the time as to whether it's friendly or not... you get back what you give out don't you think? I grant you there was just one Warden one time, who was a bit too 'little man with a big hat' but it didn't spoil the stay... most people laughed and took no notice because all campers are rebels at heart :raofl: Obviously, wildcamping is tops but I kept up my membership of both big clubs after being widowed because for me it's more about proximity to the person/place I'm visiting and there may not be a POI in the area where I'd feel safe on my own.

I'd agree that the C&MC has a far better network of small CL sites... there are far more of them than the C&CC and in my opinion, they're often better situated and quite quirky. Many C&CC sites are open to non-members anyway. Leaving aside cost of fees, discounts, etc, if I had to pick just one club for locations and convenience, it would be the C&MC.
 
Minisorella said:
Sadly, there's a lot of inverted snobbery about clubs and campsites here but, personally, I've never found any campsite to be particularly formal or rule-bound. It's more down to the people there at the time as to whether it's friendly or not... you get back what you give out don't you think? I grant you there was just one Warden one time, who was a bit too 'little man with a big hat' but it didn't spoil the stay... most people laughed and took no notice because all campers are rebels at heart :raofl: Obviously, wildcamping is tops but I kept up my membership of both big clubs after being widowed because for me it's more about proximity to the person/place I'm visiting and there may not be a POI in the area where I'd feel safe on my own.

I'd agree that the C&MC has a far better network of small CL sites... there are far more of them than the C&CC and in my opinion, they're often better situated and quite quirky. Many C&CC sites are open to non-members anyway. Leaving aside cost of fees, discounts, etc, if I had to pick just one club for locations and convenience, it would be the C&MC.
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You are correct in saying there are more CMC Sites, especially the CL type. It's strange that when I was a member of both while using my motorhome as my home when working around the country, it was nearly always a C&CC Site that was handiest for me. This also applied to Club Sites although I don't know the numbers involved at both clubs. I could normally shower at work, so did not need any facilities apart from hookup, fresh water and waste. I was often on a site on my own, especially during Winter and really enjoyed the solitude.
 
I'm in both too, the C&CC is better value as often I can pay as little as £7 a night as a single midweek pensioner.
 
All this talk of little Hitler wardens is a little over the top. Traditionally the club's recruited from the police, army and prison service, but the current generation are people like us looking for a way of enjoying the love of Motorhome by earning a living at it. I'm at a club site tonight and the wardens are young modern and couldn't do more to be helpful.
 
antiquesam said:
All this talk of little Hitler wardens is a little over the top. Traditionally the club's recruited from the police, army and prison service, but the current generation are people like us looking for a way of enjoying the love of Motorhome by earning a living at it. I'm at a club site tonight and the wardens are young modern and couldn't do more to be helpful.
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That's generally been my experience too... most wardens are lovely and really relaxed and welcoming.
I remember pitching up at a club site once, on the off-chance. It was pitch dark and snowing heavily, so I knew I wouldn't make it to the pub stop I was heading for. They were really busy but not only found me an 'unofficial' space next to some building or other so I'd be on hardstanding but they threw in ehu for no extra charge because of the weather and because it wasn't a fancy pitch. They even connected my cable to one of theirs so it would reach! Definitely above and beyond and they tried to give me change from a tenner!
 
Been members of both in the past but now just turn up, if they want us, great, if not, sod 'em, we take our money elsewhere. Only ever been turned away once and that was because they were full.
Currently at week 8 on the Willows Touring Park in Nantwich, another 4 weeks to go. Must admit, despite it being an excellent site we are going a bit stir crazy:wacko:
 
Been a member of the caravan and Motorhome club for three years now, and although I much prefer wild camping, I have found every site we have visited of a high standard, with helpful friendly staff.

We have visited sites only to find that there were plenty of wild camping opportunities available. So I take note of these for future reference. But places like York are s bit more difficult, and getting booked into rowantree Park means booking months it not a year in advance, if you want to visit at the weekend.

We bought a Motorhome to give us the options of wild camping or going to a site, we much prefer wild camping, but have enjoyed the sites also, particularly with our grandson.
 
I was part of the CAMC down to the fact where I wanted to be they had a presence where others didn't but that is alottery dependant on the part of the country you frequent

My favourite site was Clumber Park visited as a kid etc so all sorts of reasons I could mountain bike and let the dog walk me off my feet. In respect of wardens some good some bad some indifferent just the same as fellow campers

£7 a night off season mid week inc ehu access to a good long soak in the shower block and a laundry so made a lot of sense opportunity to do the black/ grey water take on board fresh and dispose of rubbish

Once spent Christmas there and we got collectively snowed in wardens certainly earnt their money assisting people who perhaps weren't as prepared as they should have been

Channa
 
hairydog said:
Anyone who thinks the Caravan Club sites are all friendly clearly hasn't been berated for not parking exactly in line with the marker posts or had visitors refused entry because we hadn't made an appointment for their visit, or hasn't been glowered at for arriving in a travel-stsined motorhome (after many thousands miles of journey).

As for the intolerance and narrow-minded intolerance demonstrated in the awful magazine...
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Never had a problem, I even watched a poor chap who was obviously new to using his caravan struggling to reverse it in. One of the wardens stepped in and not only reversed it in for him but gave him a few tips about reversing.

Another time a child was injured after falling from his bike. The warden drove him and his parents to the local hospital and brought them back after their son was treated.
 
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