Be kind!

[GaryB]

We arrived on site on Saturday at 1.05pm to be greeted by several cars and motorhomes in front. The wardens looked stressed and one in tears. Apparently folks had started arriving at 11.00 (1.00 is the earliest allowed - the access road is tight) and a few had become very aggressive when refused entry. It really is out of order!

 

[Jcloughie]

Completely agree.

John

 

[otherclive]

Plus 1 in agreement. Why folks can’t abide by the booking conditions defeats me.

 

[GaryB]

It’s the anger that defeats me. I have no real problem with folks chancing things/trying it on, but if “you” get caught then just take it on the chin. Swearing and shouting at someone who’s just doing their job is bang out of order. Not posted this to discuss the ins and outs of CAMHC arrival times or anything, I just found it so sad to arrive at a holiday destination and see so much unhappiness in the faces of those that were greeting folks.

 

[RogerL]

Plenty of sites have narrow access roads where opposing motorhome/caravans simply cannot pass each other, making it a no brainer to have departures complete before arrivals - this shouldn't be unusual to any motorhomer/caravanner so it's pure selfishness trying to arrive early.

On our recent Scottish tour we had to leave our site in Abington by 10am which would have meant arriving at the Laurencekirk site before the 2pm earliest arrival so we just parked up at Stracathro services for an hour - with a bit of pre-planning there's always somewhere en-route where you can wait until the appropriate time.

 

[Mr Plodd]

Yet another example of the me, me, me attitude that is creeping in everywhere. If tge abuse was recorded on video etc then the person responsible should be refused access, and have their club membership terminated.

 

[Mel]

No need for it at all. Aggressive folks should have their booking immediately cancelled with no refund.
Mel

 

[Beachball]

Plus 2 in agreement why can"t they arrive at the suppose time of 1.00pm .

 

[Buckman]

Another of the reasons why we prefer commercial sites as no mad rush to find the "best" spot. To us there is no such thing as a "best" spot as long as we have the EHU and water hookups. After all you should not be sitting in your caravan all day staring out the window at every one else enjoying themselves. No need to insult the wardens because you broke the rules arriving early!

 

[Hutch]

Another of the reasons why we prefer commercial sites as no mad rush to find the "best" spot. To us there is no such thing as a "best" spot as long as we have the EHU and water hookups. After all you should not be sitting in your caravan all day staring out the window at every one else enjoying themselves. No need to insult the wardens because you broke the rules arriving early!

Some people go to sites. Purely for the view, why should you not just sit in your caravan or outside it, doing nothing else than relax , there is no need to "Do Something" every day.

 

[Buckman]

Some people go to sites. Purely for the view, why should you not just sit in your caravan or outside it, doing nothing else than relax , there is no need to "Do Something" every day.

I apologise for upsetting you as never knew that you were one of those that arrived at 1pm to join the rush to get the "best" pitch. Surely a any change of scenery is as good as a holiday?

 

[audiorob]

On many sites the time gap between departures and arrivals also allows the ground staff to mow the pitch or the strips of grass between hardstandings or trim the hedging. Indeed we can think of many tasks that need to be undertaken when time allows instead of receiving harassment from the inconsiderate minority of early arrivals. And as stated we have all been on sites where the road access to the site is effectively single track.

 

[Buckman]

On many sites the time gap between departures and arrivals also allows the ground staff to mow the pitch or the strips of grass between hardstandings or trim the hedging. Indeed we can think of many tasks that need to be undertaken when time allows instead of receiving harassment from the inconsiderate minority of early arrivals. And as stated we have all been on sites where the road access to the site is effectively single track.

When we arrived at New Forest at about 3pm, it looked like the grass around our pitch had not been cut for at least a week however was acceptable. Rest of the site similar. I don't think it has rained here for a couple of days prior to arrival.

 

[Steve1962]

We always use fully serviced pitches and so far have only been disappointed with one site that we stayed on.
For our recent trip to Norfolk we left home at 6.45 am and planned a couple of lengthy stops to break up the journey so we would not arrive before the allotted time which was 2pm - we like to arrive promptly if we can.

We got there at 2.15 and had no queue to contend with, which is just how we like it - the approach road to the site is narrow and it's not feasible to wait outside the entrance on that site (Deers Mead).

It just takes all the stress out of it, especially if you are newcomers to caravanning.

Steve

 

[Sam Vimes]

I confess that on one trip Mrs V was a bit impatient to get to the site so that we could have a good choice of pitch. I knew what would happen so I drove as slowly as possible but still arrived 20 mins before the 1pm deadline. We snuck in to the approach road but not up to the barriers and just parked at the side and waited - not blocking anyones exit. The site warden politely told us we were too early and would we mind just turning around, park down the road at the rear of the petrol station and come back at 1pm. We smiled, said sorry and did just that.

 

[Dustydog]

May ask which site you are on Gary?

I’m plus 4 , been away all weekend.

Most sites we use, CLs Commercial , like CAMC deliberately set a departure and arrival time. Usually 1.00 pm. As others have said it gives the Wardens a chance to tidy up , check safety aspects ,and then as they are humans have a quick lunch at 12.00 pm midday before the onslaught.
I have avoided CAMC main sites as far as possible in recent years. I prefer to check out the sites online , review their site plan , Google earth maps etc and then select our pitch. Arrive after the allotted time knowing my chosen pitch is waiting for me.
This arriving, parking up, dashing across the whole site looking for a pitch , bun fights etc🤮
Get a life! It’s a holiday🤪🤪

 

[Niall_McIntosh]

No need for it at all. Aggressive folks should have their booking immediately cancelled with no refund.
Mel

There was a thread on the CAMC forum a year or so ago where someone who had turned up early at Hillhead, and refused the Warden's instruction to leave and come back at 1pm, not only had their booking cancelled, but also their membership! Aggression towards the Wardens is totally unacceptable.

 

[Niall_McIntosh]

I confess that on one trip Mrs V was a bit impatient to get to the site so that we could have a good choice of pitch. I knew what would happen so I drove as slowly as possible but still arrived 20 mins before the 1pm deadline. We snuck in to the approach road but not up to the barriers and just parked at the side and waited - not blocking anyones exit. The site warden politely told us we were too early and would we mind just turning around, park down the road at the rear of the petrol station and come back at 1pm. We smiled, said sorry and did just that.

We recently stayed at Chatsworth. On one of the days we left the site at 12.30, and found a motorhome parked up on the left hand side of the entry road (if you know Chatsworth, there is what looks like a small island at the beginning, splitting the entrance road into two).

 

[Johnb]

Not to digress too much but it can be equally frustrating when people don't vacate their pitch until well after the appointed time.
We suffered some months ago on a CL. We arrived after 1.00pm to find 5 places occupied. Our option was to pitch in another spot - there are spaces - or sit twiddling our thumbs until someone made a move.
We set up and left to visit a relative returning later to find one small motorhome packing up having just turned up after a walk with a dog and another van almost ready to leave but still chatting to perhaps a friend still set up and not leaving.
Either of the vacated spots would have been preferable than the one we were using and either could have been ours if the selfish "gentlepeople" had left at the appointed time. Grrrrrrrrrr!

 

[otherclive]

Not to digress too much but it can be equally frustrating when people don't vacate their pitch until well after the appointed time.
We suffered some months ago on a CL. We arrived after 1.00pm to find 5 places occupied. Our option was to pitch in another spot - there are spaces - or sit twiddling our thumbs until someone made a move.
We set up and left to visit a relative returning later to find one small motorhome packing up having just turned up after a walk with a dog and another van almost ready to leave but still chatting to perhaps a friend still set up and not leaving.
Either of the vacated spots would have been preferable than the one we were using and either could have been ours if the selfish "gentlepeople" had left at the appointed time. Grrrrrrrrrr!

No need for them to leave, just ask the owner if they can park up off pitch thus releasing the pitch. We have done that on CLs

 

[RogerL]

No need for them to leave, just ask the owner if they can park up off pitch thus releasing the pitch. We have done that on CLs

We've done similar when "needing" to arrive early due to ferry bookings - just contact the site owner/warden and ask if any early arrival facilities are available - in our case our ferry from IoW meant a 10am arrival but the site had room to wait until after lunch.

 

[Dustydog]

No need for them to leave, just ask the owner if they can park up off pitch thus releasing the pitch. We have done that on CLs

Snap but only once .

 

[GaryB]

May ask which site you are on Gary?

Coed-Y-Llwyn CAMHC site about 5 miles from Porthmadog. A nice site but the approach road is narrow with lots of residents cars parked so the 1.00pm rule makes perfect sense.

 

[Buckman]

We always use fully serviced pitches and so far have only been disappointed with one site that we stayed on.
For our recent trip to Norfolk we left home at 6.45 am and planned a couple of lengthy stops to break up the journey so we would not arrive before the allotted time which was 2pm - we like to arrive promptly if we can.

We got there at 2.15 and had no queue to contend with, which is just how we like it - the approach road to the site is narrow and it's not feasible to wait outside the entrance on that site (Deers Mead).

It just takes all the stress out of it, especially if you are newcomers to caravanning.

Steve

Went to visit Back of Beyond today and really impressed. Polite and helpful staff opened the gate to allow us access with the vehicle and allowed us to have walk around. Nice beer garden. However it seemed that you had to negotiate steps if you wanted to use the loo?

 

[Johnb]

No need for them to leave, just ask the owner if they can park up off pitch thus releasing the pitch. We have done that on CLs

Except when we arrived the people in the campervan were nowhere to be seen (out walking with the dog) and the outfit that left late was , how can I put it, completely established with large awning and having done nothing to start the packing up process. We had no idea who should have left.

As it happens we use this CL a lot (close to family) and it's exactly our sort of site. The elderly owners are lovely people who will often go for a walk around the field and stop for a chat. People who use it are, in many cases, regulars. You pitch where you like except only hard standings used in winter of course.

Although arguably I could have done as you suggest it would have been churlish of me to put the owners into the position where they would be expected to "police" the site.

The truth is that the place is relaxed and anything but formal. (Our kind of site) And the owners simply rely on visitors to "play the game". Sadly, as in many areas of modern life, some people either don't care about disrupting others or are simply unaware of the disruption they cause.

Who can say which "camp" (sorry!!!) the late leavers belong to. A sunny day, a short tow home, why not stay late!