Site fees

[emmerson]

I've just been asked to pay £55.00 for two nights at CCC Chertsey, with age concession.
I politely declined and will look for a CL nearby.
Am I out of touch or what?

 

[DeliDave_]

Is that for Easter? Seems expensive to me for a normal booking

 

[emmerson]

Aha, well spotted, Dave. It is in the week following Easter. Still seems very dear though.

 

[otherclive]

£18pn for a CL inNorthumberland good sea views and EHU but no loo or showers though in early September. Followed by £174 at CC Hawes second week in September. Doesn't seem such a value hobby as it once was whereas late notice breaks to the sun don't seem to have risen that much if at all. Hence we now split our holidays more like 50% van and 50% other breaks particularly as we do like visiting places that you can't take a van to. But we still really enjoy the relaxation of being away in the van.

 

[Raywood]

The Easter week is high season so I would doubt you got the age concession. I think that you will find £20 to £30 is about the going rate for high season pitches on both clubs sites and some are even more.

 

[emmerson]

Yes it appears to be the Easter rate,so we've booked a CL instead for £12 per night.
We usually take a week in a hotel somewhere warm this time of the year, but have not done it this year as we've had some rather large expenses, and decided that we couldn't afford it.At those site fees, it would have been almost as cheap to have a week in Madeira!

 

[carper2]

We have booked 4 night at Seaview in Weymouth (haven) 25th March the pice is £42.70. We then decided to try to stay an extra night which would have made the price £80. When we declined even the lady I was talking to said I'm not surprised.

Les

 

[DeliDave_]

Aha, well spotted, Dave. It is in the week following Easter. Still seems very dear though.

It does indeed mount up, though we try to keep off bank holidays but sometimes it is necesary.At £12 a night you have done well.

 

[X5Neil]

We are looking at only CL's this year. 8 nights in Suffolk at Easter inc bank holidays £10 per night 2 adults 2 teenagers and 2 dogs also ehu also have 15 nights in August down in Cornwall also £10 per night all in.
Bang on if you ask me.
Can't wait.
Neil.

 

[joeby]

if any body over 50 is looking for a cheap break go to www.dolbryn.co.uk , 4 nights from the 15/4/13 till the 18 , is £13.5 with electric hook up , thats about £3.37 per night , free fishing , the site is about a mile fron Newcastle Emlyn west Wales

 

[bill_374352895]

Hi, Just come back Sunday from CL at Lower Killigorick Farm, near Looe, Cornwall. Lovely site, owners currently have one hard standing and are making two more pitches hard standing. On site toilet and shower. Own apiary in front of site and very friendly owners. £12 per night.

 

[whitetop]

I've just been asked to pay £55.00 for two nights at CCC Chertsey, with age concession.
I politely declined and will look for a CL nearby.
Am I out of touch or what?

I was looking to book 10 nights at the beginning of August at the C&CC site at Scarborough. Price came in at £35 per night for members, which we are....£35 per night, Eh, no thanks.
Booked a site a few miles away for £26 per night.
Not renewing my membership. Dumped the CC last year for the same reason.....

 

[colin-yorkshire1]

I've just been asked to pay £55.00 for two nights at CCC Chertsey, with age concession.
I politely declined and will look for a CL nearby.
Am I out of touch or what?

I was looking to book 10 nights at the beginning of August at the C&CC site at Scarborough. Price came in at £35 per night for members, which we are....£35 per night, Eh, no thanks.
Booked a site a few miles away for £26 per night.
Not renewing my membership. Dumped the CC last year for the same reason.....

hi whitetop,
sorry you are agrieeved with the major clubs but there is more to membership than just big expensive club sites,
whats wrong with the dozens of CL/CS sites dotted along the east coast, all within 30mins of scarbro we use one just outside Filey, last time there last year in july £15 per night, EHU showers, and very quiet, even in peak,
besides do you not take advantage of the clubs insurance and breakdown cover, sorry but it seems like a no brainer to me.

 

[Gafferbill]

.........I have 3 nights over a weekend coming up at the end of this month at a CCC Club site for £8.60/night.
This is with double age concession and no electric hook up but with full use of all other facilities.
You can get reasonable deals from the two major clubs sometimes!

 

[whitetop]

Re the above comments......
We are a family of 2 adults, one child..(11 yrs old)...a dog, and awning and we like electric hook-up.
We have never tried CL sites etc, but may do so in the future.....seems like the obvious way ahead.
As I am in the police, I get breakdown and a lot more for a one off fee through my federation. The van is covered through the house insurance for a small additional fee.....a lot less that seperate cover would cost and gives full cover away from home. Believe me I asked all the questions......
There are plenty of sites out there to justify NOT being a member of the big 2 clubs.......
Just MHO

 

[Parksy]

I'm a C&CC member but I rarely use main club sites now because some of them can be a bit pricey even with the age concession.
We often use certified sites which justifies the membership fee and there are some lovely small sites which are not expensive if you spend a bit of time looking and comparing prices but taking account of customer reviews at the same time.
We also attend C&CC rallies which are worth a try, cheap caravanning sometimes in places where caravans don't normally have access to and a good way to use your caravan to it's maximum potential.
We also use good commercially owned sites which sometimes offer easy to afford deals on prices.

 

[colin-yorkshire1]

hi again whitetop,
just couple of comments regarding your last post, of course you do not need to be a member of any club to use your van there are plenty of commercial sites out there that are very good value for money,
although the smaller 5 van club sites are well worth a visit, CL's are exclusive to the Caravan Club, although CS's though the C&CC are similar, the only difference is CS's do allow non members, I believe. I would definitly give these a try before deciding.
as for breakdown cover will the .company really just recover the van if it develops a fault. "yet the towcar is perfectly serviceable" and take you to your destination not just the nearest garage or home again I would be very suprised if it did, I know for sure the AA won't and I was a 40year gold member, Mayday through the CC definitly will and will bring you home after your holiday if repairs were not possible.
as for insurance well each to there own I suppose, my van is also covered by the house insurance, and yes I asked all the questions but and it's a big but, I still prefer to have seperate van insurance, "belt and braces" if you get my drift.
regarding site fees I have never stayed on any of the big club sites far too expensive "and noisy" they do offer something I suppose or they would not be booked up solid hours after the opening of the booking day, Iv'e looked round a couple but there definitly not my cup of tea, and I stay well clear. in the end being a member of one of the clubs does have some advantages if one takes it but then that depends on your view point entirely, I was a member of my local golf club for a couple of years but gave it up as the only time I could go was sunday morning along with everybody else and wait an hour before getting on the first tee definitly not worth the green fees so I know were your are comming from.

 

[otherclive]

we have been using a mix of CC, C&CC main sites as well as CL and CS' for years now and whilst the main sites do seem to have got more expensive there are still good offers which give reasonable prices in off/mid season. What is noticeable is that CL/Cs now seem to offer more facilites probably as more owners see that caravanners are looking at the costs of their breaks but still like hardstanding, EHU and shower/wc.
In reply to Colin's comments re "and noisy" I cannot say that we have ever been bothered by noise on a main club site; yes you get kids playing at weekends and school holidays but hey whats not to like about kids out in the country with their parents and enjoying themselves. Better than a couple sitting ensconced in their MH with their aircon chuntering away which we had in France once. Fortunately I diidnt have to say anything to them as they moved on the next day.

 

[Parksy]

........although the smaller 5 van club sites are well worth a visit, CL's are exclusive to the Caravan Club, although CS's though the C&CC are similar, the only difference is CS's do allow non members, I believe. I would definitly give these a try before deciding.
as for breakdown cover will the .company really just recover the van if it develops a fault. "yet the towcar is perfectly serviceable" and take you to your destination not just the nearest garage or home again I would be very suprised if it did, I know for sure the AA won't and I was a 40year gold member, Mayday through the CC definitly will and will bring you home after your holiday if repairs were not possible............

Non Camping and Caravanning Club members are not allowed to stay on certified sites Colin, but new members are alllowed to join the C&CC on the certified site if they wish to stay there. Every time we stay on a certified site we are asked if we are C&CC members and our membership number is written down on the site owners list, so they always check to make sure.
The C&CC 'Arrival Return' breakdown service will take your car and caravan to your pre booked destination so that you can still enjoy your holiday and then back home again if your car can't be repaired locally while you are on holiday. The RAC will recover your caravan if it can't be towed and there was recently a price promotion whereby the C&CC £40 membership fee was deducted from the cost of the breakdown cover which in effect allowed free C&CC membership.

 

[colin-yorkshire1]

In reply to Colin's comments re "and noisy" I cannot say that we have ever been bothered by noise on a main club site; yes you get kids playing at weekends and school holidays but hey whats not to like about kids out in the country with their parents and enjoying themselves. Better than a couple sitting ensconced in their MH with their aircon chuntering away which we had in France once. Fortunately I diidnt have to say anything to them as they moved on the next day.

hi Clive, I'm not anti kids "had 3 of my own" or dogs had a few of those as well, but a busy site is by nature a noisy one, whether it is the above or the contstant commings and goings electric drills winding the legs up and down or the hamming of awning pegs going in,
either you hear these things or you dont, personally I prefer my precious time in the van to be with the volume turned down,
sat in the chair with the morning coffee listening to the dawn chorus, or sat by the lake where the loudest thing is odd dragon fly buzzing past,
each to their own I suppose but that whats so wonderful about caravanning and why we all like it so much

a change of scenary and lifestyle for a few short weeks every year,
is the price of sites getting expensive (trying hard to get back on topic) yes probably, even some of the CL's that offer good facilities can be more expensive than larger sites offering deals, if you want them but for me "peace and quiet" is the key and that is priceless.

 

[colin-yorkshire1]

Non Camping and Caravanning Club members are not allowed to stay on certified sites Colin, but new members are alllowed to join the C&CC on the certified site if they wish to stay there. Every time we stay on a certified site we are asked if we are C&CC members and our membership number is written down on the site owners list, so they always check to make sure.
The C&CC 'Arrival Return' breakdown service will take your car and caravan to your pre booked destination so that you can still enjoy your holiday and then back home again if your car can't be repaired locally while you are on holiday. The RAC will recover your caravan if it can't be towed and there was recently a price promotion whereby the C&CC £40 membership fee was deducted from the cost of the breakdown cover which in effect allowed free C&CC membership.

hi Parksy.
thanks for setting the record straight, I did not know that, we have stayed on a couple of 5 van sites affiliated to the C&CC and assumed they were all the same not being a member of the C&CC I did not know the difference.
regarding RAC cover from Arrival I was aware that this is available PROVIDING you are a member of the C&CC just like Mayday is a cover from the CC you have to be a member to get it!.
non members cannot recieve this level of cover even if you have been with them for years hence my comment!
my conversation with the RAC man in B&Q carpark is well documented, and needs no explaination, suffice to say that either of the clubs offer good deals to members, even if it only on ferry tickets or one other service and well worth the cost of membership, a week on a CL or CS could just about cover the cost of membership for the whole year and caution before ditching your membership.
that all I was saying.

 

[Parksy]

I agree with you Colin. I was an RAC member but changed to the Arrival scheme but I was already a C&CC member. I didn't know about the C&CC membership fee deduction from RAC arrival and was surprised that it wasn't more widely advertised.
There is some confusion about whether certified sites are exclusive to club members at times because the C&CC website shows 'listed sites' which are open to everybody and are apparently not the same as certified sites. The online reviews on the C&CC Siteseeker and from UK Campsite are very useful for finding out about a site before commiting to stay

I considered becoming a CC member as well my C&CC membership but at the moment I'd be hard pushed to be able to visit enough sites to justify the membership fee. Maybe next year

 

[Gafferbill]

.........I have 3 nights over a weekend coming up at the end of this month at a CCC Club site for £8.60/night.
This is with double age concession and no electric hook up but with full use of all other facilities.
You can get reasonable deals from the two major clubs sometimes!

Re the above comments......
We are a family of 2 adults, one child..(11 yrs old)...a dog, and awning and we like electric hook-up.

.......on your criteria whitetop the same CCC Club site for the same 3 day weekend quotes £15.95/night.

 

[otherclive]

Sorry Colin I wasn't meaning to imply that you were anti-children I was using that as a possible source of noise. Having spent too many years in close company of men and machinery I have developed the knack of being able to switch off anywhere, much to my wife's extreme irritation!! I also think (know) that my hearing isn't what it was either.

 

[woodsieboy]

We normally choose to stay on CC sites, as we find they consistantly provide good sized pitches,well kept toilet and shower blocks with plentiful water and waste points.While the locations may vary we find them a bit like Mcdonalds, wherever we go we know what we can expect. We have tried commercial sites and while some have been very good others have been less so. I was told of a large site in the New Forest asking £68 a night over Easter,which while it sounds a lot is not really any different to other types of holidays where prices are increased at peak time. We all have the choice,and while some people choose to pay the high prices, the expensive sites will continue to charge high prices.On breakdown cover we are happy with Mayday Green Flag,covers 2 of us in whatever vehicle either of us are travelling, whether driver or passenger,plus homestart and recovery,plus no restriction on length or size of caravan,all for less than £3 a week.We used to be inCCC also,but chose to leave when we perceived an anti 4x4 attitude in the magazine,and we were let down by CCC European breakdown insurance in France.