Rallies???? are they for us

[Charlie4]

We were at ripon racecourse this weekend watching my brother in the triathlon. Next door there was a Rally. We have been thinking about doing some rallies, so on teh saturday morning had a walk up to see what it looked like. All good nice straight lines etc. Thought this could be the thing for us. My other half loves rules and regs so much that she feels guilty if we are 2 inch of the pitch post.

So I took her up later in the day for a look, she was impressed.

However later in teh day we had another look up and there was a group of around 10 at the entrance sitting, shouting and generally being quite intimidating, Shouting out at cars coming and going etc. We stood for around an hour watching the race and this continued throughout. One bloke arrived with his van and was barely 2 foot past the stop point and one of the blokes was shouting at him. Now this could have been friendly banter I dont know.

Now it seemed that these were the people in charge as they were moving cones etc. My other half said that if that is what rallies are like we will stick on our own.

I am not having a go at people who organise these things as I know what organising other things can take.

Is this what rallies are like or should I try one out.

These were Just my observations and no offence is meant to ralliers.

 

[Parksy]

Hi Charlie

There are all sorts of rallies which are run by all sorts of people. Why not try one out to see for yourself, it can seem a bit nerve wracking at first but the ralliers (including those who run things) that we've met have always been friendly.

As a member of the Caravanning and Camping Club we attend local district association rallies almost every weekend but groups of 'intimidating' people shouting at each other is definitely not our experience.

Rally fields come in all shapes and sizes and the steward of the rally will try to make sure that every unit is able to pitch within the available space. There has to be at least 20 feet between units in all directions so sometimes the steward will arrange 'pegs' or at least mentally divide the space into pitches so that everybody can be fitted in to the field but when there is plenty of room ralliers can pitch wherever they want to as long as they observe the 20 foot rule.

My guess is that a bit of banter is what you may have witnessed, there are no rules which prevent ralliers from having a laugh.

We've found that rallies help us to get the maximum use from our caravan without breaking the bank and we've met some lovely people since we tried it out last summer.

We've been made very welcome by the 'established' ralliers, so much in fact that we are the stewards at our d.a. rally next weekend.

It's our first time as stewards, wish us luck and we'll try not to shout at anybody!

 

[WessexDave]

When talking about rallies most only think of those organised by one of the large clubs or possibly by an owners club, but that is only the tip of the iceberg.

There are many types of rally, to a large extent the type depends upon which club is running it. Rallies can only be held by a club holding a Certificate of Exemption issued by Natural England, which is a Department of DEFRA. (Different rules in Scotland & Wales) At present almost 400 clubs hold current Exemption Certificates. These clubs come in all shapes & sizes, and just about every interest is covered from the Amateur Radio Caravan & Camping Club to the Zodiacs!.

At one end of the scale you have the large clubs which have large rallies because they have more members. They have to be very organised with marshals to ensure that you park in neat straight lines etc, & rules to cover just about any eventuality. Not exactly my scene but plenty obviously enjoy it

At the other extreme is the kind of rallying that I enjoy. Often only about a dozen vans in a field next to a good pub. All we need is a water tap & somewhere to empty the loo. I decide where to set up the van, & that's often determined by either the wind direction or where the sun sets. Rules? We have two. Firstly, if your blinds are up you're open to visitors. Secondly .......... can't remember, it's never been needed.

What am I trying to say? Simple, there are many different types of rallies taking place all over the country all year round. We're all different so don't knock something just because you don't like it, & if you haven't tried it maybe you should. You never know but you might enjoy it.

 

[Charlie4]

I understand that each to their own, I was just saying not sure if on first impressions they were for us.

We were actually staying on the racecourse itself as part of the triathlon and it was just turn up and pitch where you can.

I meant no offence to anyone.

 

[Parksy]

No offence taken at all Charlie.

The rally that you saw obviously had straight lines of caravans etc, not really my scene either.

Most rallies that we go to are of the 'just turn up and pitch where you can' variety but a lot depends on the venue, how many units are expected and whether there is any evening entertainment laid on. There were 217 units at last weekends WMDA rally which was the annual 60s, 70s and 80s weekend.

 

[Mikey1]

You will never know what they are like until you try,you go to some lovely places for a fraction of the cost,some rallies are better than others and some rally officers are better than the others.

You may find that the straight line thing is too maximise the field layout

 

[Charlie4]

I appreciate the responses and the encouragement to try, this was our fist experience of Rallies as such, the idea of straighht lines etc pleases my other half as you know exactly where you are (she gets twitch if i make too much noise having a no 1 after 11pm)

The difference is that we love our van, we love being away, spent 140 nights away last year and hoping to beat it this year. we `are spending our honeymoon in the van after looking at hotels all over the world and realising the only place we want to be is in the van. I love new experiences and this could be one for us USING RALLIES, just first impressions can make an (ill)infomred perception.

 

[Parksy]

The rally that we are stewarding next weekend costs

 

[Surfer]

Never been our scene to sit in the middle of some muddy field without EHU as we think it is quite boring. I paid for my caravan with inbuilt EHU and would want to use it. To pay

 

[Parksy]

Many campsites become muddy after heavy rain and rally fields are no more muddy than anywhere else.

We used to be EHU dependent until we tried real rallying, no EHU means that we don't have to listen to the tv in the next door caravan blaring away all night and our caravan works fine using it's 12 volt systems. We use a solar panel to maintain the charge in the leisure battery but in the colder months most of our rallies have EHU available because we use our caravans all year round including Christmas and during the New Years festivities.

The owner of this weeks rally site which is in the middle of the Shropshire hills and which would be unavailable to non club members charges

 

[Charlie4]

Many campsites become muddy after heavy rain and rally fields are no more muddy than anywhere else.

We used to be EHU dependent until we tried real rallying, no EHU means that we don't have to listen to the tv in the next door caravan blaring away all night and our caravan works fine using it's 12 volt systems. We use a solar panel to maintain the charge in the leisure battery but in the colder months most of our rallies have EHU available because we use our caravans all year round including Christmas and during the New Years festivities.

The owner of this weeks rally site which is in the middle of the Shropshire hills and which would be unavailable to non club members charges

 

[Gafferbill]

..so you ask a question about rallies.

A contributor spends a considerable amount of time giving extensive answers and the benefit of his experience.

Then you appear to 'nit pick' in your Comment above.

The answer to your OP is for YOU to go and try some rallies and make your own mind up.

 

[Parksy]

To reply to a post you should use the REPLY TO TOPIC tag rather than the COMMENT tag Charlie.

You wrote:

'It's interesting that you go on rallies off EHU so you dont have to listen to next doors tv blaring , but mention that you have marquees and a sound system'

The point that I was trying to illustrate Charlie was that rallying offers something for everyone. Some rallies like our forthcoming meet this weekend are very quiet and are held in fairly remote locations and other rallies can be quite noisy, in large rally fields with a lot of units. Many of these offer entertainment etc.

You pay your money and take your choice.

 

[Surfer]

"Our particular DA owns two marquees, lighting rigs and a sound system which are also used for entertainment purposes on some of the rallies"

Which is better a loud Tv in the caravan next door or a blaring sound system? At least you can ask the neighbour to turn down the volume but you can't at a rally otherwise you are ostracised!

Think there is a bit of a clash here? Charlie get on a rally and try it. At least that way you will know if it is for you or not. Probably the latter.

 

[Soozeeg]

"Which is better a loud Tv in the caravan next door or a blaring sound system? At least you can ask the neighbour to turn down the volume but you can't at a rally otherwise you are ostracised!"

The difference being that if you go on a rally where such entertainment is planned, presumably you'll already know about it and will be going for that reason. So why would you then ask for the volume to be turned down?

 

[Parksy]

Thanks Sue, that's correct.

A forum member asked a question about rallies. Because I often attend rallies at weekends I did my best to provide some answers and possibly to dispel some common myths.

My comments are then used and twisted in order to try to score cheap points, how illuminating is that!

The only further comment that I will add is that I'm really glad that I will never be unfortunate enough to be on a rally with someone who's sole aim in life seems to be to sneer at others.

 

[Charlie4]

Thanks Sue, that's correct.

A forum member asked a question about rallies. Because I often attend rallies at weekends I did my best to provide some answers and possibly to dispel some common myths.

My comments are then used and twisted in order to try to score cheap points, how illuminating is that!

The only further comment that I will add is that I'm really glad that I will never be unfortunate enough to be on a rally with someone who's sole aim in life seems to be to sneer at others.

I meant no offence and no cheap point scoring. I simply found an interesting and valid point, as a person who has not been on a rally I may find the fact that a sound system being used as interesting.

 

[Charlie4]

clicked wrong button

 

[Gafferbill]

Some rallies are quite a feat of organisation and require a marquis and a sound system (often driven by a generator) for rally briefings etc as well as optional entertainment events or poor weather activities.

Rallies are also useful to attend big events such as...

The Air Tattoo at Fairford, the Bristol Balloon Fiesta and the Somerset Carnivals to name but three.

Here the rally is simply a cheaper and convenient way of attending an outside organised event.

Here is an example organised by C&CC Avon & Bristol District Association in conjunction with the Bristol Balloon Fiesta.

http://www.avonda.co.uk/miniweb2/index.php?module=sitebuilder&sitebuilder_id=11
There are other rallies organised by the CC and the Motor Caravan Club at the same event but different locations.