Online Booking System - choice of pitches
Comments
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CC Quote "When managing pitches on site it is occasionally necessary for us to take into account weight, length and/or size of an outfit. This can apply to both caravans and motorhomes, as not all pitches can accommodate all types of outfits."
If caravanners arrive at a site where there are empty coned off pitches awaiting the arrival, maybe days later, of a motorhome it is going to cause aggravation and friction.
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We have a strict shoes off at the door policy, they get left on a mat outside if we have the canopy up, or on the doormat if not and it is raining.
Either way, I cannot say I have ever found gravel being brought into the car or van.
However, grass clippings and mud/sand are another matter!
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Considering very few people will turn up at a site without booking, I am at a loss to see how the booking trial can possibly have been confusing to members.
If you had booked on one of the trial sites, you would have had to select your pitch type.
This would have been stated on your booking confirmation.
We booked one such site, when OH checked us in, the warden reminded her that we had booked a HS. She enquired which were free and selected one there and then. It was within sight of reception, so the warden could see it was free.
Presumably there may have been some who had booked grass as that was all that was left. If they wanted to swap they could ask the warden if there were any unbooked HSs, and if that was the case the warden would have said they could swap. If not then the warden would just say "sorry, they are all booked, so even if you see a free one you must not take it"
How is any of that confusing? Surely members can understand plain English?
All the HSs were occupied for the duration of our stay, almost all the grass pitches were empty other than over the weekend.
I have no doubt that there will have been quite a few people who booked elsewhere as they had no prospect of getting a HS.........and this is the reason the trial was halted.
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What makes you assume the coned of pitches would be for a motorhomes.
The Quote reads This can apply to both caravans and motorhomes, as not all pitches can accommodate all types of outfits." so it is quite possible that the cones could be for a TA caravan or even someone who has a Blue badge.
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I said it at the time the book a hardstanding trial was ended that the reasons given were baloney.....
The real reason is that in the real world nobody wants a grass pitch and the Club would be left with unsaleable pitches if we were given the choice.
Sure their might be the odd day in July in a freak dryspell that you might, if forced, go on one, but in reality for all year round use, especially motorhomes, we need H/S.
For heavans sake CC,(sorry ....CAMC) get on with it....!!
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Out of eleven bookings for 2017 five bookings are on private owned sites were we have booked the pitch and the pitch number that we want twelve months in advance. OK we have had to put a deposit but we can enjoy a steady relaxed drive knowing the pitch is there empty and waiting, The club are trying to change there image, but not only a name change will do this.
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The real reason is that in the real world nobody wants a grass pitch.
I do.
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That's all very true. Some of us predicted well in advance that this would be the outcome and that the experiment would be quietly dropped.
That's exactly what happened and they gave the (rather patronising) excuse that their members were confused.
A better outcome would have been to have realised the obvious and get on with installing all hardstandings.
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I appreciate that you say you do..........
But..... my comment is based upon my own observations over many years of watching outfits pull onto a site after they have booked in at the wardens office. They circulate the site endlessly looking for a H/S passing any free grass pitches.
Not at all surprising, because in good ole blighty, if it isn't raining as you pitch up, it will be during your stay. And that's in peak summer. The rest of the year it's worse.
I look forward to seeing you on a site one day. I will know it's you because you will be the outfit choosing a grass pitch in April or September leaving the H/S free for someone else.....Nice one....
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Strangely, the site I run at present is all grass and is in fact one of the busiest club sites in the south west. Last year alone rain or shine we had 47000 people through our gates and also we had to turn away approximately a quarter of that number away for lack of space.
No one wants a grass pitch? Mmmmm only the few in the world of CT methinks.
JK
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It's great to see so many members have taken the time to reply to my original post.
We took our motorhome over to France June 2012 - following a very wet spring. The sites in France are mainly grass, and whilst over there we saw several motorhomes axle deep in mud. In our last two sites we were told to pitch on tarmac roads running between the pitches.
What I'm saying is that there are grass pitches and then there are grass pitches. I've been on both one or two puddings but also several firm ones aswell.
Is the one offered when I book through the Caravan & Motorhome Club a good one?
This is a lottery I can well do without.
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I can only speak from my own experiences. I have only caravanned in the UK and have been doing it for the last seven years. I don’t get the number of nights away as some that post on here as I still work full time and mostly use the caravan from April through to September. I generally try to get at least one 2 week break away but to maximise the number of breaks through the year the average time away is 4 nights. But believe me I’m looking forward to retirement in a few years time use the caravan year round.
In the seven years I’ve been caravanning I’ve never been caught in a weeks rain, and always keep an eye on the weather forecast and take the awning down early if rain is forecast for the day of departure.
Why would I be the first to have my booking cancelled? As we can’t specify the pitch type at the booking stage the chances of having my booking cancelled is the same as everyone else’s.
I concede that I have been to some sites were a small number of grass pitches have been closed due to wet weather, hence my suggestion that drainage should be improved. I would also be happy with the compromise of reinforced grass pitches.
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My rule of thumb says that if it is an all grass site it is probably well drained and fine. If you tend to take long weekends and are arriving before the usual Friday Nighters therefore I would suggest that if a site is 70% hard standing you will be fine, that is how I look at it. I have not been forced onto grass in the last 10 years on a mixed site and we are away 120 nights on 21 sites probably 17 of which are CC sites. We avoid school holiday weeks generally and if away at the end of August and through September make sure that we are on site a day ahead at the bank holiday
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I've had a booking at Morn Hill cancelled due to waterlogging. Given that there is a slight slope across the site as a whole and the fact that it is primarily on chalk, I am surprised, or perhaps not, that CC or CMC cannot construct suitable pitches. I suppose too much of the budget is earmarked for "ego" projects.
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We have only once been on a grass pitch, on an all grass private site.. Over 3 or 4 days the ramps had sunk in to about 4 or 5 inches... When we moved on, we left a couple of trenches where we had been. Can you imagine the uproar had it been on on a Car and Van and Motor and Home site.. Still, if we can't book a HS that's what may happen..
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Jolly,
I accept my assertion is a simplification for the sake of brevity on CT.
I have no knowledge of your particular site but in fairness I can think of the odd site with predominantly grass pitches that is fine, eg New England Bay, which is basically a well drained, but grassy sand dune. Even in the rain i have had no problems there. I am sure there are others......yours obviously being one of them.
However there are many sites where the grass becomes soft mud when it rains, and as the membership grows and more people (like myself) now wish to caravan almost year round the utilisation of pitches increases and people don't want a soft muddy pitch.
Looking at the picture of your own rig, I can visualise many grass pitches you would not park that on!
To suggest that it is only people on CT that dont want a grass pitch is quite frankly complete rubbish, again based on my observations in the real world of the antics of people rushing to secure a H/S over a grass pitch.
There are many popular club sites for example Black Knowl, that has a lot of grass pitches, but I dont think Black Knowl is popular because it has grass pitches.
I appreciate that we could argue forever and a day about whether people want grass or not, here's a radical idea.....let us choose !
Pardon....what do you mean, we tried that and no one wanted one............ really.....??
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