Worth joining the 'friendly' club for
We are currently staying on a fantastic CS about 2 miles north of Barmouth. This is without a doubt the best small site we have ever had the pleasure of visiting.
We have our own very private serviced pitch with wonderful sea views on this perfectly manicured site with small immaculate shower/toilet block. Actually there is also a CL here too also run by the same couple and that is nice too but we would have felt very envious if we had been staying on that small field.
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Now that both clubs are accepting all comers at almost every site and running similar insurance, recovery, and whatever services it is just the quality and location of the certificated sites that differentiate between them. Even the membership cards look so similar.
I wonder if an amalgamation is quietly being planned behind our backs?
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along with their own network of 5 van sites, one great reason to join the CCC is for access to the fantastic THS (temporary holiday site) program......turn up when you like, leave when you like, no booking, pay on departure, usually less than a tenner a night.
we are on a great site in the Wareham heathland (£9) and will be moving into Wareham itself later this morning as a 2nd THS opens at the Rugby club there at lunchtime, again £9 pn.
so easy to put together a tour (or be totally impromptu) with these sites being the primary (or even 'fill-in' secondary) locations.
one of the great differentiators between the Clubs IMV, and worth the CCC membership on its own.
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We joined the C&CC just to use one CS near Malton which is idyllic. Set in an orchard on a farm / equestrian centre, with a stream at the bottom and with a fabulous new toilet / shower block - peace and quiet and lovely views - we go there two or three times a year and in my opinion well worth the £38 membership fee (or whatever it is) just for that privilege.
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david, as many caravanners as motorhomers currently use these sites from my own experience.
as PD says, a solar panel (roof mounted or free standing) can allow 'virtually endless' stays provided folk dont go overboard with battery usage.
rather than post more here about how easy it is to camp free from an orange cable, check out the thread in the making caravanning cheaper section where Merve has a long list of helpful stuff re solar, refillable gas and inverters....
the kit can pay for itself pretty quickly with THS sites around £15 a night cheaper than a club site....and usually very close to town centres due to the lack of required planning permissions.
three weeks away (21 nights) would pay for a large SP to be roof fitted.
another three would cover a Safefil refillable gas supply and inverter.
good luck.
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I guess that as the OP appears to say 1 site has better facilities than the other that it is possible there may be a difference in nightly costs & that the couple running the 2 sites are catering for 2 different types of campers.
C & CC advertise their membership cost varying from £38 to £54 depending on how you choose to pay & receive their magazine etc.
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Toilet/shower facilities available to both sites and same pitch fee for both sites.
Only difference we have the open space they have lots of dogs 😉
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"david, as many caravanners as motorhomers currently use these sites from my own experience."
just to add to my earlier post re all sections being present on THS sites,
this site is being run by the MCS (Motor Caravan Section) while one recently at Salisbury was organised by the BCA (British Caravanners Association) all affiliated through the C&CC, so if you're a member, youll be made welcome at all the events
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The site booking system is dire. I've not used many sites but they met needs at the time. Quite pricey as I recall - cheaper if you're a pensioner
We rejoined to use a particular site but will probably stay with it for access to CSs once our access to CLs finishes
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Yes we too joined the C&CC as they have some sites in areas we like to visit but their booking system and availability checker are poor compared to CAMC, particularly the requirement dependent upon site & time of year to book up to 5 nights on a site. Not really suitable for those of us who want to tour (or even book a weekend away).
Toilet blocks seem to be hit and miss, some good ones, others not so...
Not met any rude staff yet but the being taken to a pitch is ridiculous, either allocate it or just let me go and choose like CAMC....
Overall we view C &CC as providing a bit of extra choice but inferior to CAMC in sites and their website......
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Not met any rude staff yet
Try ringing HO to change a booking (as you cannot do it online) and see how you get on!!
Yes I forgot about not being able to book 1 night in the summer minimum of 2, also the inability to transfer a booking from one site to another, have to cancel, refund deposit then rebook and take another deposit.
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We belong to both Clubs, like others, to provide us will a better choice of sites. We can take advantage of the concession prices for pensioners which seems to cover all sites outside of the peak periods, unlike the CMC mid-week discount which is very selective in what sites it is available on. Always felt I have had a pleasant welcome on their sites and certainly never got the impression of being frog-marched to a pitch. One advantage of being taken to your pitch is that there is no need to return to reception to say which pitch you are on. Also the site manager can explain where everything is from your pitch. Perhaps all a bit OTT for those whose only contact with site wardens is when you book in!!! Some of their sites are a bit more quirky compared to the general standards of CMC sites. But the likes of their Cambridge and Devizes sites are well up there compared to CMC sites. I can think you can view the two booking systems in several ways. The CMC system is simple and straightforward, you can book, cancel or amend online with ease. The C&CC is obviously more problematic. However, because they take a deposit you can usually book much closer to your stay so the need to cancel/amend or lose a deposit is less likely. One thing where the C&CC to win hands down is the ability to book the type of pitch you want. We have never really been given a full explanation why the Club abandoned the ability to book a hardstanding except that it emerged that it was difficult for wardens to explain or administer which is hardly a customer focused way of making a decision?
David
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I don't understand "being frogmarched" to a pitch - they have always been most helpful with helping me choose a pitch suited to my needs - Number One being near as possible to dog exit points! I have certainly never had one of this Club's Wardens offer to help me unhitch etc. Not that I have had bad experiences lately with this club's wardens but the others seem to go just a tad further for this old single! I think its a nice touch to be shown to a suitable pitch. I hate driving round and round trying to decide!
Membership of both clubs gives more choices and the THS network is very useful.
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well it's good to know the CAMC does something right! From you read on here it would appear that it's terrible.
I once went to a CCC site thinking it would be similar to the CAMC. The toilets were disgusting, pitches untidy and we refused to have the first pitch the warden (or site whatever they are called) took us to as being too small, and there was rubbish on it and weeds growing out of the gravel. The chap sighed and went back to his reception, came back 20 minutes later and we got a much better pitch, which we could have chosen if they had followed the clubs method. Also because of the taking to pitch routine the arrivals took much longer than it should.
We left after a few days and went to a club site.
I know that may have been one isolated example but never once have I been disappointed with a club site. People do complain about club sites as they are all the same but at least they have a far higher and (more importantly to me) consistent high standard.
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we are members of both, they do things a little differently, so wont go down well with those who only use one other system.
the booking system is probably the biggest difference, pain to use but far more flexibility in the pitch type being booked.
however, less flexibility on cancellations, different folk will have different views on how good or bad this is.
sites are pretty much as CC, some are definitely better....as David says, the Cambridge site is far nicer than the gloomy Cherry Hinton.
CS/CL much of a muchness, weve been on some glorious CS sites, mainly due to location...
this 'frogmarching' nonsense, is just that....nonsense....
we have said that we are familiar with a site and can find a pitch on our own....yes, this really is ok.
its just the other clubs way of trying to help, however, it obviously seems a bit foreign to those who are used to other processes.
we just look at it as different, not better or worse.
however, as i said earlier, for us its the terrific THS program that seals the deal.
all in all, worth the sub.
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Just to dispell some of the myths surrounding C&CC - we've stayed on 4 of their sites in the last year or so - Devizes, Polstead, Cheddar and Wolverley.
On none of these have we been "frogmarched" to an allocated pitch, we've been able to choose each time, just like CAMC sites, and accompanied by one of the wardens to check that we were happy and point out where everythng was. The facilities on all these were the same sort of standard as CAMC sites. At Wolverley we could book just one night. At Cheddar we had to cancel our original booking on the day we were due to arrive. A phone call direct to the site resulted in us being allowed to rebook for later without penalty.
Yes, the booking system is less straightforward than CAMC and yes, you have to pay a deposit, can't see any unsurmountable problem there though! Oh, and you can choose which type of pitch you want. And as for the staff, we've never experienced rudeness at any site we've visited.
We'll continue as members of both clubs as long as we continue caravanning!
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We were frogmarched to a pitch on the first C&CC site we used. We didn't like it much and asked if there was an alternative to be told that wasn't an option. The site was pretty scruffy as well. We didn't renew because we weren't using any aspect of membership at all
Fast forward 4 years and we needed to rejoin to use a particular site. Lovely tidy site, friendly staff, choice of pitch. Couldn't fault it.
We returned to the first site at new year. We weren't frogmarched to the pitch but we were told which one we had to have. Again not our preferred sort of location and again no possibility of change
It's not a big deal in the scheme of things
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Richardandros could i ask which is the cs at malton please?
and i also agree with bb the ths are well worth it , have only been to porth beach one this year, but went to a couple last year ,and really enjoyed them, the olivers mount at scarborough was great ... Loads of space, and ripon racecourse too , if i had more free time id spend half the summer going from one to the other :- i think they have them abroad too , i cant understand why cmc dont do them cheers mrs bc:))
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perhaps find a THS close to home so that you can have a try without the initial worry that often goes with a first trip without EHU.
i check the batteries each morning and they (2x95ah leisure and the cab battery) were fully charged by 8:30 this morning....and we watched a couple of hours TV last night....
certainly a different 'feel' to being on a club site (far nicer in our view) and worth a go to see if its your thing.
good luck.
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We went to our first c&cc site last week , found it a bit strange being shown to our pitch by the warden on his bike !.Cripes he went off like Bradley Wiggins on speed , I couldn't keep up with him 😁.So much for a 5mph site limit . Have to be honest wasn't particularly impressed with the facilities block very tired and outdated. Hope this was the exception and not the rule.
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Depends which site you choose, trellis, some are even better than the CC's ones.You do know that it's not compulsory to use the site's facilities if you're not happy with them. Surely it's the location that's the major reason for choosing a site, not toilet facilities.
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BC - it's Thornthorpe Caravan and Equestrian Centre - about two miles south of Malton / Norton. Have a look at my reviews on the C&CC website. We are there again, next week.
Bear in mind that the owners, Andrew and Tracey are running a working farm and may not get back to you immediately but they usually do within 24 hours. I find email is best.
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R&R thanks for that i will give them a ring next time im off in van
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