Arrival time at Ferry Meadows changed to 1pm
Please note arrival time has changed for Ferry Meadows. We are due to stay there in a few days and checked our booking which said arrival time 13:00 not 12:00 . We have noticed a few sites have changed booking in times, so best to check before setting off, as the wardens will not let you in earlier.
Comments
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We are at Ferry Meadows and although it states 1300arrivals have been accepted at no earlier than 1200 it has changed as very well advertised last year on many sites to 1300 as add time was needed to give site staff more time for the add covid cleaning and sanitising around the whole of sites,
A problem it seems is the shortage of staff on some sites , so it is best to check the arrival times on all sites as many were changed to 1300hrs for earliest arrivals last year, and it has not changed this year
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I thought the arrival time at Ferry Meadows was changed some time ago when they installed the outer barrier so it was not longer possible to get into the quite large outfit parking area?
David
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We arrived at 1250mostly because of very light traffic, ,but have noticed many coming in at just after 1200
Actually it was 1300 last year but the site staff were forever having to clear Ham Lane with early arrivals even though the clubs covid info did advise of the amended times. ,and as you probably are aware, with the extra security barriers ,to deter some arrivals
there is now no access to the LNA so when busy a member of the site team is stationed at the first barrier to check arrivals are booked 0 -
Loads of Caravans / motor homes ignore arrival times and turn up early , knowing the club will do little, so simply carry on ignoring arriving early
So 12 or 1 , no matter what site it is, for some it is irrelevant,and comes under the bracket of it does not apply to them
Been a member of the club for over twenty years, i have never seen a caravan or motor home refused admission ,or turned away ,so why should they start paying attention to arrival times, when the club , and site managers ignores them3 -
I think you are being a bit harsh when. saying site managers ignore arrival times, as they have little or no choice at most sites, ,although in the years we have been members, site staff where possible try to restrict entry before the time shown on the booking pages ,, ,where possible tend to make arrivals wait, but not all sites can do that. ,it depends on the site access roads in most cases,
And as stated it seems it has got worse ,as has speeding on sites in recent years, which may be it is more noticeable with the big increase in membership and LVs
And less members reading rules and information that is published for every ones benefit. even the generations that think it does not apply to them
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Re you last Para JV, you are correct👍🏻. Old folk are like that, its called ‘aged entitlement’☹️. Happily not all of them👏🏻👏🏻
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We were turned away once at Ferry Meadows when we arrived at 11:50 and told to go and park up on the lay-by and come back at twelve o clock. Parked up in the lay-by and lots of caravans going up Ham Lane and not turned away. So do you arrive early or do you arrive at the allotted time. There will always be members who break the rules as some think the rules do not apply to them but I think the rules should be enforced more.
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... We were turned away once at Ferry Meadows when we arrived at 11:50 and
sounds like the same wardens that kept the gates shut till the exact stroke of 12 when the site in question was virtually empty. They were both quite put out when I queried why it was 12 & they were keeping the 3 units waiting outside ... it was comical when they made sure that kept my place in the queue in the office 🙄
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There are plenty of reviews written by disgruntled members saying they were turned away because they were 'only' 30 minutes early and there others complaining that people were being let in early.
I think the wardens are caught between a rock and a hard place. Should they refuse to let early arrivals in when a queue could form blocking both the public highway and the site exit? Not really. The alternative is to let people in and incur the wrath of those who do abide by the rules. People don't seem to realise "no arrivals before 1200/1300" means exactly that, not that you can arrive early and sit and wait for the office to open.
Before somebody tells us there are far better ways of handling arrivals, let's remember the OP is writing about club sites here and working with the existing system, and specifically about FM which has unique issues.
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... and specifically about FM which has unique issues.
How does it have unique issues? It has an access road that is the access to the country park and then there's room to park up in a queue at the office itself.
And there are also sites that are on main roads. I once arrived mid afternoon at Moreton-in-Marsh along with others ... did I queue on the road & block it or pull up with others at the barrier?
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If arriving early at FM how do you expect to wait as the access barrier is on the very entrance to the site before the as put "waiting area" ? It without staff checking your booking would mean blocking Ham Lane
As posted as other sites on the network who also have problems if arriving earlier than requred
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The 'issues' aren't necessarily of space but have been the reason for installing extra barriers. I'm saying no more but it's clearly changed since you visited.
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30 Minute early and so they should no excuse with all the routing apps now available
I have learnt if i want to be at a site, say 12 simply route it with tom tom or google and as they are routed for a solo car , with a Caravan it puts about 5 to 10 minutes an hour extra
So if i leave home at ten ,and google or tom tom says 12 pm arrival with a caravan it will be 12.15 at the earliestNo excuses
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"No excuses " - I agree.
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Whilst I agree that any arrival time should be adhered to and equally enforced by the site team, it is clear that it creates a false bottleneck. Admission criteria should be "is there a pitch free?". Why create a queue when you don't need to?
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Revolutionary stuff, CY . Sites of a similar size to FerryMeadows often employ a full time receptionist in the office to welcome newcomers from 9am. - one outfit comes in as one goes out and pitches become available.
I have seen sites where young ladies living locally are employed to come in and do that job - at the same time as answering the phone and dealing with enquiries.
But the Club is wedded to its resident warden must do everything system and the customers have to wait.
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If there is no arrival time ,then there should be no denature time
If you arrive when ever you want, how do you know there is a pitch free
If you arrive ,and there is no pitch free, then you do not create a false bottle neck ,you creaet a real bottle neck0 -
I suggest you need to visit a wider range of large sites to see how other staffing systems work.
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For 19 days out of the next 21 Ferry Meadows has vacancies. There is no reason at all why people have to wait until 1 pm. to be allowed in when there are those vacant pitches. And on the other two days when the site is currently showing as fully booked they could be admitted as soon as the early risers depart. It just needs a fully staffed reception office to count them out and count them in.
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What it needs is all members complying with the rules
We all know why some members do no2 -
for those who've used the type of site you describe it does seems a mystery..
why hold folk outside, causing the very queue they're trying to avoid, when vans could be ushered in one by one as they arrive, with no queue, no waiting, no rushing around the racetrack, no bow wave of arrivals etc, etc...
for once, wardens could be ahead of the game rather than running to catch up...
but then, the daily routine doesn't allow for this sort of schedule 'improvisation'.
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