Seasonal pitches versus touring...

[judsley]

Hi
Can I have anyones views on seasonal pitches? Are they worth the money if you work monday - friday and can only get away at weekends or when booking holidays?
I've been looking at sites in Anglesey and, albeit the ones I've seen are on the beach, the annual cost in excess of £2K per year seems expensive.
I want to get maximum use out of my new van this year but am struggling weighing up the cost of towing/fuel/site and storage fees versus a seasonal pitch. I know ultimately it's down to my budget but am keen to get other views, experiences and opinions.
Thanks
Jon

 

[colin-yorkshire1]

hi, it's really down to doing the maths, the cost of a seasonal pitch plus winter storage on a nightly tariff for the times you can get to use it. plus the convienence of having the the van ready set up, against the the cost of full storage, fuel when towing, and the nightly tariff, while away in the van, theres no easy answer, just what suits best, bearing in mind that if the van is set up somewhere your are more likely to use it, for shorter breaks,

 

[otherclive]

£2k is about the right price for a nice seasonal pitch. One other option is on site storage where with a quick phone call you can arrange for the van to be put on a pitch. Of course if the notice is too short the site may not have pitches available. But when I worked I found it easy enough to get away for a weekend which was a real blessing but tended to limit distance to 100 miles or less.

 

[Parksy]

Hi Jon
We had a seasonal pitch for a few years when I was ill and towing would have been difficult, although it didn't cost anything like 2K per year. We live about as far away from the coast as it's possible to get and pitches in the countryside can work out cheaper, and ours was just a 40 minute drive away from home.
On the plus side, the caravan is set up so after you fill up the Aquaroll and plug in the ehu that's it, sorted! We got to know the Vale of Evesham and some parts of the Cotswolds very well, local traders knew us and some publicans treated us as regulars.
At the time the seasonal pitch was a Godsend, I would probably have sold the caravan if I hadn't had it.
The only negative aspects were that it was easy to become stuck in a bit of a rut, swapping our home life for more of the same somewhere else. We often felt that to get our moneys worth after we paid from March - November up front we needed to go as often as possible which sometimes meant that instead of sitting indoors at home watching the tele we sat indoors in the caravan watching the tele.
My health improved and we began touring just a little bit while keeping the seasonal pitch on at first but we were really paying twice.
We now use the caravan just for touring, this is made much easier however because I don't have to work five days per week so I can pick and choose where and when I go.
I'd say that Clive's suggestion of a store and pitch option is the best. You would probably pay for storage anyway, so you could store on a very secure site where the caravan would be pitched for you when you arrive if you want to stay for the weekend. You also have the option of touring, you could tow your caravan out of the storage area to go wherever you liked without feeling that you are paying for two pitches, the seasonal and your touring destination, but you would still be sure of your seasonal pitch when you came back.

 

[judsley]

Thanks, you all make sense and it's great to hear your experiences and opinions.
One thing in my favor is that I'm not in a positon to pay out for a seasonal pitch this year as I've had considerable outlay buying a new caravan and the necessary extras such as awning etc. The other side is that alot of the pitches for this year appear to have been snapped up already!
It's our intention to find store and pitch sites this year so maybe I'll get the "seasonal pitch' idea out of my head early enough!!
Thanks again!
Jon

 

[emmerson]

Parksy, my lips are sealed!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Parksy]

Parksy, my lips are sealed!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You're perfectly entitled to offer your opinion and advice Emmerson, it's nothing like the previous case where a new forum member was forced to defend his preference for a seasonal pitch so fire away

You might convince Jon that your point of view is the one to follow because he has yet to make up his mind.

 

[3.0ghia]

We have just taken the plunge regarding siteing the van for the season, having been to France for the last few years for a three week break and having odd days here and there we thought we would try a seasonal pitch to get more use out of the van, we are situated in the central belt ( Scotland ) that is !, when we started looking at prices we were astounded by the different prices which ranged from £1000 to £2500 some not including electric !! and some having sites having a limited season, after much searching we found a lovely Bellamy gold award winning site,set in Twenty shilling wood 35 miles from the house in Comrie perthshire the site fees were £1050 per season march to november and the price included three months secure storage off the pitch it also included 40 nights electric hard standing pitch with sat dish. what i have saved in storage fees and lowered insurance because the van is not being towed on the road is a good saving in its self, we have now used the van more times than we have for the last couple of years so for us it has worked out well.

 

[Parksy]

Congratulations, all that's needed now is some fine weather for you to enjoy it to the max

 

[Surfer]

Reasonably priced nice sites that are flood free are difficult to find within a 50 mile radius of Worcester. One site we know of has increased their fees from £1200 in 2008 to £1500 this year. We did find a nice site in Malvern, but you had to take your rubbish home with you and if you have been staying there for a week, it can be a fair amount so scrapped that idea.

 

[TonyG]

Surfer
if you get stuck you can always come and park on my drive, in Salford Priors.

lol

 

[WatsonJohnG]

Does the site policy vary as far as leaving awnings erected or do they all require them to be removed when the caravan is vacant?
What about electric hook up and heating the van/powering the fridge and charger when its empty?
Is it required as I was told on one CC site that you unhook from the mains electric when not in residence?
I was considering a seasonal pitch so that daughter could use the caravan

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Jon
We got to know the Vale of Evesham and some parts of the Cotswolds very well, local traders knew us and some publicans treated us as regulars.

.

I bet their profits dropped when you started touring again! LOL.

Like Otherclive we try and do as many mini breaks as we can. All are within a 50 mile radius, circa one hour travel max. Just got back from a site 29 miles away. This keeps fuel costs down but allows us the pleasure of new discoveries on every trip. A lot of people just don't know what's on their own doorstep.

Personally if I felt the need for a seasonal, health aside, I'd have to buy a static!,

 

[Surfer]

The way my health is going there is a possibility that we will have no choice, but to find a seasonal site next year however they are so expensive! The awning will need to be left up full time along with the windbreaks.
The one that we looked at in Malvern charges £300 per season and £10 per night that you actually stay on site. That could work out at about £150 per month if you went every weekend for 3- 4 days which is quite expensive!