Advanced booking required?
We have recently joined, and I am looking to use our van at weekends whilst working, we don't need facilities, and would like to take advantage of rallies, but these all seem to need 14 days advance booking, is this rigid? would we be able to book at last minute?
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The best thing to do is ring up and ask. Rallies are organised under the banner of the local centre"s and there are variations on how each centre operates in terms of booking and payment.
Remember that the centres and Rallies are organised and run by unpaid volunteers so if you don't get an instant response maybe the person you are trying to contact is doing his or her day job. There needs to be some preplanning so if a plaque is issued these need to be ordered in advance so if you book last minute you may not get one. Something I assume doesn't bother most people. Equally if not enough people have booked in advance a decision might have to be taken to cancel a rally, so booking in advance is helpful if possible but sometimes people's circumstances dictate otherwise and some Rallies are just popular and fill up very quickly.
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I am also looking at getting away at weekends more and trying a few rallies. We have just joined the motorcaravanners club, the majority of their rallies do not require any pre booking just turn up on the day. We have not had a chance to rally with them yet so unable to comment further.
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I help run some Rallies for my local centre. I make absolutely no apologies for what I am going to say next.
I enjoy running Rallies and most participants are wonderful people and appreciative. But if I had to run a Rally on the basis that someone might turn up, then simply I wouldn't. I wouldn't be prepared to operate on that basis. I can't plan or budget. So. Maybe the weather is like it is today so no one turns up, so I end up sitting in a field by myself for a weekend no thanks! Alternatively if the weather is cracking the flags then loads turn up. Do you want to be the one that is turned away because the Rally is full?
It costs me money to run a Rally. I actually buy extra holidays in order to run Rallies, this is not a moan, I do this as a volunteer I and many others could just as easily un volunteer. All that said if someone rings up late and their is space you would be more than welcome.
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Some rallies are very popular, another reason for booking in advance or like me you end up on a waiting list. But you might get a last minute cancellation if you get in touch with the rally organisers.
Temporary Holiday Sites (THS) run by the C&CC sometimes offer turn up and go rallies but it's always best to ring the contact number first.
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Thanks for the responses, and Boff, appreciate your side, maybe Rallies are not for me, I bought my van as a "last-minute" weekend getaway opportunity, unfortunately I don't/can't plan more than a week or so ahead, so will have to wait a few years until retirement before rallying, looks like CL's will be the way forward.
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I thought that after this spring's fiasco THIS was the motorcaravanners club - that is what it says on the box!
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Most rallies don't fill up nowadays as they used to a few years ago and I would always give the marshals a ring and I bet in the majority of cases there will be no problem getting on.
I take it that this is your first caravan and I believe that rallies do give you a little more security and endless years of problem solving amongst ralliers if you have an issue and as a rally marshal I always carry a load of spares !
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Thanks for understanding. I wasn't trying to put you off Rallies and I appreciate that you and others may not have the flexibility to book up months in advance. So on a personal level, I would say again if I am running a rally and you ring me up. Even on the day of the rally, if there is space you would be more than welcome to attend. If you are a new Rallier then I would do my best to fit you in.
Other centre's and organisers might operate a different policy, but I have never heard of a 14day policy before. You have to realise there are lots of people who are experts on Rallies, they have just not actually ever been on one.
PS. Have a look at bill's post above and the one from arrivakids to get an accurate description of what to expect.
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Well, as a non expert, who does enjoy rallying on a limited basis due to family commitments etc I'd say try joining your local centre and see how you go from there. You don't have to join a centre but it will give you an idea of what's on offer. I've found rally organisers welcoming and a phone call might be all you need. Good luck with your plans WH05.
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For information to the OP I can point out the other major club does operate the bulk of their rallies on a no booking, please feel free and welcome to turn up basis.
In my working life I could go to work on Friday morning not confident I could go rallying that evening, let alone knowing even a week before.
So, we used them predominantly and now in retirement can do our bit and run a fair few.
That club seems in that regard to be more suitable for your needs.
In 40 years I have yet to be turned away or turn any away through lack of space; been close though once or twice.
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I've run many rallies and it is nice to get bookings in advance but if you don't want a plaque and don't want to go to an organised social you should be able to get in, a phone call or email will normally get a quick response. One problem I have is I run a rally at a vintage and veteran show and because we are inside the show I have to let the organisers have names and registration numbers before hand for the security gate, haven said that I know the security people so well I can walk up and give them a name and number when I am there if I get a late booking.0
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lots of valid points here, we have marshalled many rallies over our 30 yr membership and thankfully (with the exception of a few christmas rallies which filled up VERY quickly and because there was a hall and catering concerned - could not be stretched) we rarely had to turn anyone away, in fact there are more likely to be spaces if you ring the day of or day before a rally starts, there are all sorts of reasons why we get cancellations last minute. So if you suddenly have a free weekend it is always worth seeing if anyone is running anything where you fancy going, you don't need to be a centre member just a Club one to go with any centre.
Alison
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