Sites open all year
we are sat in Cheddar club site at the moment just wondering why a site like this is not open all year. Surely it would be better for the club to open sites with hard stand and hook up to open all year even if they closed the toilet block and just had skeletons staff or even volunteers to run the sites. It seems a shame that there is not more sites open in the winter as most caravan and motor homes theses days are self sufficient and only need electricity and hard stand.
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This is an often discussed subject. The problem is that it is not as straightforward as people think. Often there are restrictions in place either because of a lease condition or a planning condition so even if the Club wanted to stay open it can't. I think you also have to accept that the amount of people using caravans/motorhomes during the winter is a lot less than in Spring/Summer/Autumn so how much real demand is there beyond the 35 sites that are already open all year plus those that open until just after New Year? I am pretty sure there are more sites that the Club would like to open for longer but are restricted from doing so. The problem with sites being run by volunteers is that there are rarely enough of them to run the sites currently being looked after by volunteers.
David
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The term open all year is a bit misleading. There are in fact quite a few sites that close after Christmas for a few months, so a lot more than you think offer a bit of Winter touring. Admittedly, the SW is a poorly served area, but there are plenty of none Club options.
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I like you, love going away all year but I wonder if the demand is there?
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I think you're right in saying that there are not enough sites open all year, billiejo. When it gets to November, we find ourselves having to rely more on CLs and CSs in this area. The nearest club site to us that's open all year is Brighton but that's 15 miles away, the next nearest is Gatwick which is 30 miles away. Closing sites from Autumn to Spring does tend to make caravanners think of caravanning as a summer holiday pastime rather than an all year round activity, which is a pity because like you say, modern caravans are designed for all year round usage.
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Over the last 4 years we have been going away in January for a couple of weeks and noticed it has got busier year on year.
I noticed that for this winter coming that Beechwood site at York is not open all year as it was last winter, however Knaresbourgh is to stay open. I wonder if the club are trying different sites out to see what the usage is in any area.
We like going away over winter its one of the rare times you can tour in our country. We are going to join the other club as well to give us more choice this winter.
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The Club opened BG in response to Rowntree Park flooding I think? Do agree it would probably be popular though, but might depend on bylaws, leasing terms etc....?
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It is a busy site so would probably benefit from more toilets and showers, and the existing ones are starting to show their age, though very clean as usual. A possible re-arrangement of the pitches may be planned too as some large pitches are designated non-awning due to them being too close together.
We were pitched opposite the block and noticed that all the big bushes behind those pitches had been removed and some new hedging or small shrubs planted. It looked really bare!
On one day a van marked "Survey Solutions" arrived and 3 men seemed to be tracing and mapping the drains.
And of course the wifi needs improving!
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There seem to be very few club sites in Scotland that are open all year. So any touring holiday in Scotland in Autumn, Winter or early Spring would mean having to use CLs especially in the far north.
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There aren't many CLs in the far north of Scotland, Malcolm. There are a few decent commercial sites but I don't know if they stay open. I imagine the demand for pitches in the far north in winter is very low.
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That's a bit unfortunate for those who would prefer to visit Scotland outside the peak summer season. It's mostly sites near big cities that stay open all year. Just 35 out of about 200 sites which is less than one-fifth! I can't believe that the demand is less than twenty percent in the off season months!
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I can't believe that the demand is less than twenty percent in the off season months!
I can Malcolm. Folk with kids use school hols. Folk with limited leave availability use warmer months.
The 50 pitches on site here had 5 outfits on thursday. On weekend 11 or 12.
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I would also suspect demand is fairly low.
Not the far north, but Grantown on Spey is a very nice affiliated site, open all year. I remember phoning them one January, to make a booking for later in the year, and they had two feet of snow. Whilst I know they also get some very nice winter weather, for me the risks are too high. The journey up the A9 alone can be challenging at that time of year. So although we have occasionally taken the van out in winter, it has always been closer to home. Even one of those trips was cancelled by the CC, because Chatsworth was snowed up.
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We tour all year. Never have a problem finding a site. Some lovely CLs are open all year, complete with HS, loos and showers, and many other extras. Some great events on in Winter months, and snow usually predictable a few days in advance.
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This is Glenshee in September this year....can you spot the snow poles?!
One of the reasons there are just a handful of sites open in Scotland during the winter, everything depends on the weather doesn't it? Same for Bodmin Moor and many UK places in a bad winter. We seem to have avoided this problem recently but it's probably why not everyone wants to venture out unless they have to when it happens.0 -
The incidence of snow is fairly predictable, often several days in advance. However, the one time we were snowed off, the severity was totally unexpected. Clearly we all like different things. For us now, towing over 400 miles from home in winter weather conditions is not one of them. Particularly when there are major mountain ranges in the way. Local (within 130 miles) still relatively happy with.
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Us too, although we doubt that we'd head to the north of Scotland at that time. We've only once had to cancel a trip in the last 20+ yrs because of the weather, when we couldn't get out of our drive because of ice. Have been snowed in on a CL a couple of time, so waited there till the roads were clear for moving on.
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750,000 swallows can't be wrong.
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Does that mean we can't visit John O Groats in the winter?
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If you can find a site open up there, which will probably be difficult. Plus of course the 750 miles of driving, each way. Personally I would leave it until May.😀 Days are also very short in December / January. While in May there is light until 10 or 11 pm.
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As Steve said, probably not impossible, but I am struggling to understand why you would want to!
Daylight hours will be short, the weather will likely not be great, much better to go between April and October.
It is a long way to go, and fuel costs will be high, so you would want to take enough time, and have the hopefully good weather, to see as much as possible on the trip.
No fun spending your time sitting in the van watching the rain!
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Found this one Malc, open all year not far from JoG. Has electric hook up available, plus WC and shower.
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You could book early for May.👍
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