which club?

[eclaire]

hi, we joined the camping and caravanning club last year as we were told it was 'friendlier'. we havent used any of their sites so havent recouped the membership and the anti 4 x 4 article in this months mag made me livid. i am now wondering what the advantages of being in a club are - and why people join one club rather than the other.

cheers

claire:-}

 

[ERICA1]

Hi Clare, we are in both clubs but much prefer the c/c club. They dont make a charge if you have a disabled person with you if that person needs to come with you all the time they can get "special membership" by writing to the club. It lasts for 12mths and then you need to write again. The other club don,t do this and when I approached them they weren,t very helpful. I,m just so thankful to the c/c club that if it wasn,t for using there cls i,d not rejoin. At least the cls are good value for money.

 

[ERICA1]

Hi Clare, we are in both clubs but much prefer the c/c club. They dont make a charge if you have a disabled person with you if that person needs to come with you all the time they can get "special membership" by writing to the club. It lasts for 12mths and then you need to write again. The other club don,t do this and when I approached them they weren,t very helpful. I,m just so thankful to the c/c club that if it wasn,t for using there cls i,d not rejoin. At least the cls are good value for money.

 

[Ken_5040834]

Claire

I suppose you have to weigh up what you want from club membership to see it if any use to you.

We are members of the Caravan Club and always stay on their sites because we like them, or at least the ones we have stayed at - we know what we are likely to get, even down to the signs! You don't have to be a member to stay on most sites and you can book online, I think, without being a member.

We also like staying at CLs and you do have to be a member, so for us it is worthwhile.

Regards

Ken

 

[Lol1]

9 iron, straight onto the green. This practical golfing forum is a god send....

 

[Lol1]

9 iron, straight onto the green. This practical golfing forum is a god send....

Sorry, miles away, go for the Caravan club, no doubt about it.

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

Been in both, only the Caravan Club now, the best one by far.

 

[Wendy-Norfolk]

Yes, we're members of both, but favour the CC more!

 

[BrianStAlbans]

I'm in both clubs but cancelling C&CC after only one year.

I joined because I thought it would be better for my children but I really can't find a site that interests me and having put up with the noise and behavior of tent campers last year on a private site I am not in a hurry to repeat it.

The magazine is poor and obsessed with recycling and the lastest waffle from president Bellamy on 4X4's in the same issue promoting their own driving courses sponsored by Land Rover shows that they lack any true direction.

Brian (",)

 

[colin(bridgend)]

I joined th C&CC as I have a motor home which is 19ft. 6ins. long and over the normal size for recovery purposes by AA, RAC,etc. Have joined the RAC "Arrivals" as this covers all size vehicles and also overnight accommodation in an emergency.

Went on a club weekend rally meet and found it very cliquey - did not enjoy the weekend at all therefore will not entertain another outing. Haven't used a C&CC site yet - still to find out what these are like

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

The waste disposal facilities aren't as good as the CC Colin and overall neither are the wardens as friendly. They have their rules and they stick to them rigidly, common sense doesn't come into the equation.

 

[colin(bridgend)]

Lord B the CC have recovery with Green Flag which I had troubles with last year when I had an accident with my caravan and it has left a bitter taste regarding this company. This was the only reason I went with C&CC. I must thank you however for pointing out the fact regarding friendlyness which only endorses my experience on a weekend rally.

 

[Paul_5081721]

Claire, We are in both clubs. The CC sites are better but we found the C&CC caravan insurance cheaper and joined their RAC arrivals package which was more suited to us.

 

[lolly_5087162]

Just wondered, we are in the c&cc, if we cancel membership now (only joined in Nov 05) does anyone know if we can get a refund?

Lolly x

 

[AnnM1]

We are members of both clubs (CC / C&CC) but are seriously considering withdrawing from the Camping & Caravanning Club as we don't especially like the sites. The wardens are either over fussy or too lax on the rules. The sites are, in some cases, poorly looked after.

There were some many humps and bumps in one we visited last year that it was like off-roading on the so-called pitch!

We definitely favour the Caravan Club.

 

[Guest]

I am a member of both Clubs although I admit I have been with the CC for far longer, mainly due to circumstance. I accept that there are differences between the 2 oranisations, and that is not really surprising as they are catering for different audiences. The CC is strictly caravan and motorhome while the C&CC also includes tenters, backpackers etc. I admit that although I thoroughly enjoy the CC sites I also like the difference with the C&CC. I also can meet a wider spectrum of people. As far as wardens are concerned there are good and bad with both organisations. Some of the worst are certain CC wardens, who shall remain nameless, but also some of the best. Do remember that dealing with Joe Public is the most stressful occupation anyone can imagine. There will always be someone who isn't happy. Look on the down side. If there was no C&CC then there would be far more occupancy of the CC sites and then you wouldn't get your choice pitch when you wanted it, would you? Live and let live.

 

[Chrissylizzie]

We cancelled membership of the Caravan and Camping Club as we didn't like a club who 'fined' members for arriving 5 minutes early. We accept there must be guidelines but this inflexibility is not compatible with a hobby which is supposed to be casual and less regimented. The Caravan Club are efficient but in a better way.

 

[Guest]

Chrissylizzie,

You don't mention if this actually happened to you, or you just object to the rule in general. Unfortunately, there are some people in this world who will take advantage of any situation and will try to 'squeeze' as much time for their money as possible, namely arriving early, and leaving late. I think I would be a bit upset if I was sitting on a pitch at 11.30am knowing another outfit was waiting at the gates for me to skedaddle. It is also common for hotels to operate a similar rule and as the C&CC one is well publicised, I cannot see why you cannot plan your journey accordingly. I am sorry but if you are condemming a whole operation solely on that, then I think you are being a bit unfair.

 

[Chrissylizzie]

Scotch lad

It didn't happen to me because we waited until some time had passed otherwise it would have done. I wouldn't condemn a whole operation on one single action, but it was the last straw after several less than enjoyable stays.

It is not always possible to judge exactly how long a journey will take especially when visiting a new area although we do our best.

I do not quite understand your point about staying on a pitch and keeping people waiting, as we wouldn't do that.

I accept that hotels etc. operate a similar policy but I doubt they would be SO inflexible in the case of just 5 minutes, which was my main complaint.

 

[Guest]

The point I was making was that if I had booked the pitch then I would feel I was being unduly pressured into leaving early as someone was waiting for me to leave. I normally do leave long before lunchtime but I also know the wardens often wish to inspect a pitch before subsequent use. Some visitors, not all I may add, and I am not suggesting you are one, merely set off after their breakfasts, drive 10 or 20 miles to the site and expect to get on there and then. The are usually the same ones that expect to be allowed to stay until 5 pm so they can then drive their 20 miles home in time for tea.

I am sorry you have found the C&CC not to your liking, I do agree there are some aspects I don't necessarily agree with. But if everybody only used the CC sites then the congestion would hurt us all. Plus they do have some sites in areas where there are no others, and that is worth a few things in my book.

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

I have posted this on the forum before. At Ashchurch I realised my indicators weren't working so pulled into a layby. I couldn't get them working so decided to carry on to the C.C.C. site at Winchcombe. I arrived at 11.40am and duly apologised to the female warden, explaining my predicament. She then told me I would have to pay the "early arrival" fee but if I didnt wish to pay I could leave the site and come back in 20 minutes. I pointed out the foolhardiness if I did go back out with no indicators but she said she couldnt do anything about it, rules were rules so we paid the

 

[Guest]

Sorry LB. Don't quite see the connection in this one. If you had no indicators and were safely parked in a layby, why not telephone your recovery service for help? If you were close to the site then telephone them to ask the situation, again wait the time and no problem. If you were far from the site you then decided to travel a long distance with no indicators??

The young lady on the site has no idea what is the correct situation, nobody was hurt or anything damaged, she can only follow the guidelines she has been given, whether she agrees with you or not. I also cannot see the issue of a price of

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

The layby was close to a roundabout by the busy A38, I was taking my life in my hands by checking it myself. I did wait for awhile in the layby but misjudged the timing of our arrival by those 20 minutes. This was the first time I had arrived at any CCC site early and as there was a late arrivals area I dont think it would have put them out to let me stay there, after the paperwork/booking in was done it was only another 10 minutes. As it turned out there were lots of places available because unusually for CCC sites they showed us a plan to pick our pitch, all other CCC sites we had been visited our pitch was already allocated before arrival.If the young lady doesn't know what the correct situation is I dont know who does, after all she is the warden. As I put in my post above "It wasn't the

 

[Guest]

Yes, but she did know, and did follow the correct situation as far as the Club is concerned. As soon as she books you in via the computer the time is logged and she cannot change what the dastardly machine tells her to do. Both the CC and the C&CC have 'interactive' computers directly linked to central systems. I have seen the CC cursing the system a lot of times as well, especially when you are the nitwit like me who 'suddenly' finds his Free Site voucher after the booking has gone through. Ah well, the next time??

Talking of time limits, here in Scotland OAP's can travel free on buses after 9.30 am. The number that get on at 9.28am and get upset when the driver says' Sorry Luv' I cannot accept you without paying 40p, that is the rule and my Wayfarer machine is marking the time so i cannot overule it.

Don't be too surprised if the CC does not introduce a similar rule if it gets too many early arrivals, especially if they are all ex C&CC members.

 

[Chrissylizzie]

Scotch lad

There is a lot of difference in estimating the time a journey will take if only travelling 10 - 20 miles. In our case the journey took 4 hours and if you can accurately judge your time of arrival to within 5 minutes you should tell us your secret. I agree with Lord B. it is not the