Our First Holiday & Cotswold Trip this June
We are pretty much novices in this motore home/caravan world, We bought our first ever motor home last October and apart from staying a couple of weekends away to get the feel of it and taking it back to Perth to get something fixed we soon called it a day for 2018 as it was getting too cold, so this year was our first venture for real. We made plans for a 12 day June break in the Cotswolds region which we have just returned from, we planned each stay to be within walking distance to a market town as this was our number one ‘must have.’ It took a bit of organising but we were soon looking forward to our trip and seeing all the lovely old Cotswold places for real.
We broke our journey from Scotland and stayed at the C & M site in Kendal for one night which we found to be so overhung with shrubs and trees it made a grey day very drab indeed and trying to avoid some scary potholes as we approached the site was shocking but the site staff were lovely and helpful.
We planned our first 4 day Cotswold holiday in beautiful Tewksbury staying at the Tewksbury Abbey Caravan & Motorhome site but having seen TV reports of torrential rain in and around this area I called ahead before leaving only to be told the site was totally flooded and they were cancelling all bookings for the foreseeable future, I did think it lucky I made the call to them as their plans to call us the day before our arrival would have been too late as by then we were under a low hanging tree in Kendal with no phone signal, however we soon altered things and added those days onto our next stop in Cirencester which is a lovely town with lots to see and do and also offers public transport nearby. Our stay there was a big success.
Our next stay was 3 nights in Morton-in-Marsh, a pretty little market town, again with lovely independent shops and of course beautiful architecture. Again we stayed in a C/M Club site as we did on our last two nights when staying in Broadway which is another beautiful little place full of character and charm except for the speeding traffic which cuts through the town at horrendous speeds, it would be good if the local council slapped a 20mph limit as the road users are awful.
Our holiday was a great success and our architectural, historic, walking & and shopping pleasures were well taken care of but I do have to say although this is our first real motorhome venture I have been saddened and disappointed in all the sites we stayed at. Choosing them for their connivance to town was a must and will always be our biggest priority but despite the good facilities i.e. Shower/toilet blocks & hook-ups we found each site lacking in any kind of customer community facilities, not even a small coffee shop to pop into for a chat with other holiday makers, read a paper or two and just chill out meeting and maybe making new friends.
We went from bay to bay until we found one slightly further from these huge trees in order to get a digital signal for our TV and would still be looking if it wasn’t for our satellite finder app.
Why the trees have been allowed to become so enormous without control is beyond me, I did ask and was told they trim branches once a year, that’s not what’s needed, they need to look upwards and cut down at least half of their height in many cases which would look so much better, far less domineering and frankly, oppressive not to mention allowing light to flood and even help dry out rain puddles, sadly each site is more like arboretums offering nothing more than huge green walls to look with no views whatsoever and little sky to look up to.
In our opinion, little to no facilities other than a weekly pizza & chip shop is not really good enough in this day and age, coupled with high site charges, no comunity services & extra charges for internet makes us wonder if we will renew our membership next year.
Comments
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Rob
It was a bit sad reading your story as some of the reasons you sight as your disappointments are often the reasons others like the sites you visited. Perhaps you haven't given yourself long enough to get used to Club sites. We had a satellite dish on our previous motorhome and we did have to be selective on where we pitched in order to get a picture. When that wasn't possible and the site didn't have a built in co-ax system we used a small portable aerial to good effect. Some of the facilities you crave are available on a few Club sites but not many. I would have thought being near the towns and villages you visit that they had plenty of the facilities you mention.
One other thing I would add is that the one thing missing from your story are pictures which is a shame as they really enhance a story.
David
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lacking in any kind of customer community facilities, not even a small coffee shop to pop into for a chat with other holiday makers, read a paper or two and just chill out meeting and maybe making new friends.
exactly the reasons why I choose club sites is that they don't have these things, but each to their own. Now you know what club sites are like so if that is your cup of tea then research sites where this is possible?
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Maybe some people prefer the trees to the TV . Just a thought Rob
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I assume you’re new to the club, Paul. Perhaps you didn’t realise the type of sites on offer, although the website details of each site tell a pretty comprehensive story. Haven/Butlins they’re not and most of us are glad of that.
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I have to say that I agree with the criticism regarding the trees at Moreton in Marsh, we stayed there in May and thought the same thing, it made every thing too dark and dismal, we then moved on to Ramslade CC site where the trees had been pruned properly and the difference was amazing, a lovely site.
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