Hardstanding or Grass Pitches
Hello all, we recently joined the club & have been looking at the club sites booking options.
Whilst I can see that I can book a pitch with or without an awning I cannot see any option to choose between Grass or Hardstanding pitch on sites that have a mixture of both.
As the owner of a heavy front wheel drive motorhome I am sure you will appreciate that a hardstanding pitch is sometimes essential to avoid getting stuck or churning the grass up when it is very wet.
Can someone please point me in the right direction to select this option when booking.
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Oh, I wish I could, Ian. Bring it on!
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As pointed out already, there is no option to choose grass or HS in this club when booking a pitch. However, during winter months, grass pitches aren't used at all, so HS are the norm in that period. Unfortunately during spring/summer and early autumn, grass pitches are in use, and it's first come, first served as far as pitch is concerned.
As EasyT pointed out, if you want to be able to choose type of pitch, then the other club is your answer.
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I think I am right that a few sites do have the option of booking a hard-standing. Was it not the case that the CMC announced that it was going to try it at selected sites as an experiment. I definitely saw a site with hard-standing option only recently but I cannot recall which one. I think they are few and far between
I loath pitching on grass for various reasons and I won't use grass only sites now. In the last 8 years I have never failed to secure a hard-standing at those sites where there is a mixture of grass and hard standing.
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Some of the confusion could be because sites that are all hardstanding show as hardstanding with awning, or hardstanding without awning on the booking page. Although there are no grass pitches available.
The only site I know where you can book a sort of hardstanding is Tewkesbury, where it is possible to book a multi surface pitch. MH or Outfit and car goes on the pad, awning on the grass if conditions permit.
Of course on some sites it is possible to book a service pitch. All the ones we have booked have been hardstanding. I'm not sure if there are any grass ones. They do come at a £3.90 per night premium though. £4.90 for the super pitches at Chatsworth.
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If you want a HS pitch then either choose a site with all HS, or chose a service pitch as these are (mainly all there is one grass SP site?) HS. In winter grass pitches are out of service so that might help too. Another tactic is to choose sites with a high proportion of HS v grass and get there early.
Like you I would love this facility as I won't touch grass (or rather won't let my wheels touch it, the club doesn't want to do this for some reason, probably to do with losing money I suspect.
A lot of the newer sites are all HS so it's not too difficult to find an all HS site, and many grass pitches are being converted to HS each year.
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Yes, I guess in the grand scheme of things there are onlya few grass pitches on the network as a whole. Mind you, there are only a very few sites that have mostly them. When the conditions are right, I actually quite like them for a night or two.
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Thank you for all the replies. I must say that I am surprised though. I've only had problems on one pitch in the South of France, last year after a heavy downpour. I did manage to back off in the end although I must say the pitch looked more like a ploughed field afterwards. Still it is up to the club, & if that is what they want then so be it.
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You really do need to study the Site Plan & details if it's a site you are not familiar with. Places such as Old Hartley do have nice 'van sized hard standings BUT you have to drive across the grass to get on or off. Last Spring 2018, I needed all the wardens h/duty mats AND a couple of bodies pushing to get my Ducato onto the roadway
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Places like St Agnes it's a case of mats and more mats on some of the sloping pitches, same for much of Plymouth Sound but motorhomes there have to stay near the back due to the extreme slopes. Both nice sites to visit, great sea views. Steamer Quay is mostly grass too and at Warwick if you book non awning you'll be on tarmac. As said check the site details.
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Hmm, sounds awfully complicated....perhaps an option on the booking page would have been simpler, after all
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Seems to me a lot of these motorhomes are not fit for purpose best keep them on the road.
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Although we normally choose a HS, we have used grass a few times when the weather is dry without any problem, certainly no worse than any 2 wheel drive car. Regarding sites with few or no grass pitches, we have, for example, been to New England Bay near Stranraer a couple of times, there are few HS pitches, put it is a coastal site, there is sand and indeed pebbles very near the surface and a HS really isn't needed, the ground is very solid over much of the site.
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Dunnet Bay is another all grass site that is a site that I have been on following and during wet weather which is well drained with a good turf.
I am generally happy to use all grass sites like this and St Davids as these are not a problem in wet weather
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we have one of these parked a few pitches down, seems perfectly fit for purpose to me.....
their pals have a Land Rover conversion, also fairly capable, I'd imagine.
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although on a HS at the moment, in general when sur le Continent, with more sunshine, we prefer grass pitches..... they're usually firm and dry.
at home, in good weather, given a choice we'd also rather have a grass pitch....have used many a THS site (open fields generally) without issue.
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Ian, I think it's all been said now........
a) join the CCC, they let you choose a H/S pitch, they are far more motorhome friendly than this club, who only pretend to understand M/H'ers by recently & expensively changing the name....
b) use commercial sites, they also have computer software capable of letting you book a H/S and customers that don't get "confused" about the difference between grass & gravel
c) book an SP where available...
d) avoid sites with significant percentage grass pitches
e) get to site well before noon to "bag" the best pitches, the wardens let you do that....
f) go abroad because everything is far better over there.......
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Or even better do as we have done over the fifty plus years of using cc sites mostly in most types of LVs including two motor caravans, do not get stressed out , as any "problems that "might" arise are so rare,the only time we tend to be a bit "apprehensive?"is when useing commercial or cl sites for the first time as there are some real shockers out there,and that includes "over there"
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The other thing, is that grass pitches are, by and large taken out of use from about October to approx March. I always ring the site and ask them to make sure that grass pitches are 'out of use' before I book.
If you ring the site anyway and tell them you have a particularly large Motorhome, they could very well reserve a hardstanding for you, on the basis of not wanting the grass churned up.
My opinion to favour the booking of hardstanding or grass pitches is well documented, both on here and in Club Council and I will continue to push for this.
David
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No worse than some towcars, same problem, on grass pitches with poor traction......the pitch ends up like a ploughed field.
Its the pitches that are not fit for purpose....
I too avoid poorly drained, potentially soft grass pitches, if possible, if i cant, i carry bread crate bases, to put under the wheels. That has kept us 'moving' so far.
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If you ring the site anyway and tell them you have a particularly large Motorhome, they could very well reserve a hardstanding for you, on the basis of not wanting the grass churned up.
As long as motorhomers do not get the 'right' to effectively book a hardstand. Were that to be happen I think that the C&CC would find an increase in bookings from caravanners like me who don't like plodding on mud.
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,most cars are also front wheel drive
