Bladon Chains - another lost site?
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Indeed they have. The CAMC have set their face steadfastly against this though. Despite only wanting a "coffee and doughnut" they insist that you have a full sit-down "a la carte four course meal" even if you are not hungry. I suppose it stems from the fact that they consider themselves as four star Michelin establishments rather than a "Happy Eater"
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The thing to remember is that no one is forced to visit the 4* establishment if it doesn’t suit the cut of their cloth.👍🏻
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Yes, AD we found a few night halts with our van between home and Cornwall, it’s not just MHs that need such. We have in the past (a long time ago) pulled up on Service Stations, certainly Taunton Deane a few times, but that was back in the 1980’s, when the traffic was much lighter and you didn’t get as many HGVs as nowadays. Didn’t have to pay either, but they soon cottoned onto that market. Because we don’t do all motorway routes, we do have some tucked away quiet little rest spots. Painswick Beacon was rather nice, but again a long time ago.
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That seems to be a problem as we all get older ,and as we are told by the "youngsters?" we cannot keep living in the past of the days when far fewer were following our "hobby" and we could tour at will ,if that was what was wanted , and as you noted space was not at a premium as now
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Or, to paraphrase, progress and change has occurred!😂
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As was said at times "must try harder"
you must have been unlucky then unless you were heading for a holiday hotspot 
so even then you seem to acknowledge that club sites were more popular than private
t you say you used cls in those days with children in tow
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I did a tour of Scotland and North East England in the summer of the early 2000s without booking a single site. I only remember being caught out once with no vacancies at Berwick on Tweed. Myself and travel companion went to a nearby commercial site instead.
I can only remember using four Club sites for certain, North Ledaig, Grantown on Spey Edinburgh and Nunnykirk. None of these were booked.
peedee
P.S. it was 2005
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Such a pity we no longer feel safe doing it.
+1..'79 / 80's......Many happy memories off stopping overnight at the service area near Lake Garda on the Brenner Pass.....Had mid 1970's Bedford motorhome then (rear door !! remember those ?) with a pup type tent for the girls when we reached our destination.. Usually on the Adriatic around Rimini...
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We tour regularly without booking. Even managed to do it this September, although we did find one Site full, so went to another. Not recommended if you want all Club Sites, but mixing Sites up to include CLs and small private, it’s very easy.
Small hopalong stops would be most welcome though. We use pubs and Britstops occasionally. A Park and Ride type area wouldn’t be high on our preferred list.
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It has been a while since I have toured without booking ahead. Although I have generally 'booked ahead' in as much as before leaving one site after a few nights there I have rang ahead before departure to the next site. I never saw the point in driving 70 miles to a site to find it full when a phone call prior to departure (or in present days of mobile phones - on route).
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We tour with what suits us for use in UK. In the past a smallish caravan and a powerful tow car, now primarily with a sub 6m Motorhome. (We still have the van)
They were bought so that we could meander away from motorways and dual carriageways, we love exploring the A&B roads, which is where most things that interest us are found. Agree it’s a lot more difficult with a car and big caravan, or a big, long wide motorhome. That’s possibly why there’s been a degree of “things are so different in UK” this year, because others prefer a different kind of outfit, which suits overseas and them more.
Hence we can get away from main routes, use Sites that others might not fancy driving to for one reason or another. Our UK touring life is easy to be honest, we are geared up for it.🙂
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Given the size of the Estate you would have thought they could have found somewhere else for "Villa's". Perhaps it's a planning issue in that as it is a change of use for existing accommodation it might be easier to get permission?
I must admit I was wrong footed by this announcement. With the enthusiasm with which the Pop Up Campsite was announce I thought it might have been a prelude to a refurbishment and extension of the existing site? How wrong can you be!!!
David
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If it is a planning issue then there is no hope of using anywhere else on the estate for a campsite. a Lot can happen in 10 years Bru and I think we will see electric motorhomes become more practical in the not too distant future.
peedee
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Agree, very similar, but your journeys are a lot longer than ours🙂 In caravan we would tend to look for a one or two Site stay, in different areas of say Cornwall, pitch up for a couple of weeks at each Site, using car to get out and about. We used to motor on with just one overnight stay to get from home to Penzance area when we were working, and sometimes did the whole run back in one go (around 9 hours motoring with a couple of stops for food and dog walks). That would be M1, M69, A46, A429, M4, M5, A30 route. That Fosse Way section gave us lots of overnight options, either in some hidden layby, or on a CL. It’s was a heck of a tow home though in a day, particularly if traffic was bad. Once we had finished working, we took to exploring, lots more stop offs, and a longer period on a site. We have simply extended this further with MH, and sometimes now on a proper tour, avoid using Motorways altogether, as we love exploring. It’s easier to stop in MH, admittedly.
It would be good if more places like Blenheim, etc.... utilised their car parks overnight for stays. Say 8pm to 8am. I can see NT/EH/HS/Cadw considering it for a small fee possibly. Extra income in difficult times. Needs respect at all times from touring community though.
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Peedee, if you are venturing North, don’t hesitate to ask for any stopovers, we know a good few our side of Pennines. Plus some nice Sites and CLs for longer stays.
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