High Onn, is it closing
I've just been on the web page for this site and the latest review, 25/8/2022, makes mention that the site is to close at the end of the season because of lack of use. There's no availability showing at the start of next year.
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That will be a shame. We were wardens there 2003 to 2005. By the time we left, after a lot of very hard work improving the site following neglect, the site was in profit. It was completely sold out every Bank Holiday weekend, and very popular for peaceful weekend breaks for people from the West Midlands. Seasonal pitches were fought over!
If it is no longer popular, the CAMC needs to look at where they have gone wrong. Why has it become so neglected? What can be done with the local council to keep the lanes tidy with good forward visibility? Why has the Regional Manager allowed the hard standings to become overgrown?
We had a Sites in Bloom Award there, and a few years later some of the concrete pads were replaced with proper gravel handstands, a significant investment.
The club own it freehold, so some money to be made if it’s sold to a developer? Hope the site history as a base for training pilots (mostly Polish) in WW2 will be respected.
It has loads of nearby attractions including NT Attingham Park and Shugborough, RAF Cosford, David Austin Roses, Ironbridge, National Memorial Arboretum etc etc. There are lovely walks along the Shropshire Union Canal. The approach when towing is a little nerve wracking, but you rarely meet any vehicle coming the opposite way.
Funnily enough, we go there tomorrow, for the first time in many years.
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I was just going to post the same, Harry. Yet another non-facility bites the dust, such a shame, the club should be opening more of them not closing them, especially in such times of financial constraints. Fine post R2C, enjoy your stay there.
Wonder when the club was going to get round to announcing that the site was to be closed, and the reasons for that.
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We visited many years go when the boys were younger but not since. Probably wouldn't use it now as its a bit remote. Our next door neighbour (pick-up truck towing a big twin axle) was en route there but actually abandoned his visit because of the access roads! I agree it would be sad if it closed but if its under used I suspect that will be the way that quite a few others will go. Until we get some sort of official confirmation we don't know the full facts. Some will remember the Mildenhall site which closed because it needed money spent on the drainage and clearly the Club didn't think they would recoup any investment. Perhaps there is a similar problem at High Onn?
David
BTW I have reported Harry's post to see if we can get any sort of official confirmation.
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Rob2Cath
If it is no longer popular, the CAMC needs to look at where they have gone wrong. Why has it become so neglected? What can be done with the local council to keep the lanes tidy with good forward visibility? Why has the Regional Manager allowed the hard standings to become overgrown?
Looking at this paragraph from your reply it seems you may know some kind of info. Mentioning neglect and regional manager misdoings. Perhaps you could find out if the news is correct when you are there.
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It’s par for the course. The Club don’t invest in these little Sites, so things do start to look neglected, they aren’t as well marketed as the big earners, so folks decide to go elsewhere. We had exactly the same at Marazion last year, I guess that is another on a wing and a prayer. The service road around there hasn’t seen any improvement in the twenty odd years we have known it, so it’s bumpy and floods after rain. Easier for the Club to close them, especially if there’s another Club Site not far away.
Such a shame.
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Harry
In an ideal world absolutely. But the Club don't seem to work in an ideal world!!! Perhaps their mindset is that no one needs to know until its closed? We always seem to be behind the curve when it comes to getting information from the Club. Mind you they gave us plenty of warning about the new booking system but that hasn't happened yet!
David
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It's a shame to lose any site but a non facility one even more so.
We love these type of sites, they are usually more peaceful and of course around £10 a night cheaper.
Its been mentioned on another thread that SPs are often more busy than Std pitches so that must mean that is what the customers want.
Not convinced that is the case, could it be that MHs book SPs because its a guarantee they will get a H/S. Time will tell once (if) we ever get the new booking system we keep hearing about.
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I thought that Clachan was run by volunteers??
Some years ago before the big increases in LV ownership
The club owned site at Notgrove had a problem with viability, even though it had seasonal storage and seasonal pitches
The regional manager was all for selling it as according to site staff "these non facility sites are a drain on club income it is insurance and overseas travel that makes the money for the club not sites"🤔
As can be seen by many reviews it seems newer members want all the facilities they can get on sites rather than as us older members who can still walk to a service point🤗
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It may also be a problem of finding people willing to live out there in that location and staff it in the traditional Club way as resident wardens.
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I have only been to High Onn once - 7 years ago. The review I wrote at the time is positively glowing. Because of its remoteness, I would not stay there long, being in a motorhome, but it is better than many remote sites because the cycling is very good with mainly flat ground on quiet, narrow lanes (and on cycle route 55 following an old LNWR railway) and lots of points of interest including the Shropshire Canal, the airfield and its fascinating history and many interesting villages and other hidden gems.
The thing I really disliked was the very narrow lanes in getting to reach it. I described this as "nerve-jangling" in my review.
A combination of remoteness and the narrow lanes put me off returning quite honestly, but I regret that now because I feel I have contributed to the closure of a lovely, peaceful site - assuming closure is what is going to happen.
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Hi vbfg
I am sorry, I really could not say as I have not been to either of those two sites. I am not a lover of the Lakes, but I have been to the region in my car, once only, and I remember being very nervous of some roads, especially on hill sides where I felt that oncoming vehicles could easily push me off the side! But, in truth I really don't know. I suppose I ought to admit that I get nervous easily when driving on narrow lanes. It has always been something of an Achilles heel for me - especially in my van.
You'll see in DK's post above that someone he knows actually abandoned going to High Onn, because of the lanes, so that tells a bit of a story I think.
In my review of High Onn I said this about the lanes:
The “official” route to the site is challenging with a very few muddy, improvised passing places. Contrary to other reviewers who saw this as “no problem”, it made me nervous. I met a concrete mixer lorry; its driver kindly reversed some distance to let me through. Two tuggers meeting head on would be an issue ......... For a two or three night stay this site is close to perfect with, for me, just the nerve-jangling approach the only real negative.
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As I recall, the lanes are narrow but not too twisty. I think we did it in our coachbuilt MH but can't really be sure now which van it was. The lanes were quiet though and we never met any oncoming traffic. I've visited CLs with far worse access.
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I think a lot of folks worry about approach lanes, and it puts them off such lovely places. Marazion is another case in point, yet we have seen some enormous outfits on there. I think it’s possibly another reason why a lot of folks don’t do CLs either. Such places are a bit easier with a motorhome or camper of course, but we got our caravan into some tricky locations, back when we used to tow.
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Yes, some are confident about narrow lanes and are bullish about it; I get that and I also get that those kind of drivers will get their outfit through almost no matter what.
I have admitted (above) that narrow lanes make me nervous so, if I start with that mid-set, I am much more likely to be put off when I encounter them and especially when I get into difficulty, like meeting the cement mixer lorry on my way to High Onn. The driver of that lorry was very kind and helped me out. He had to reverse some distance. If it had been a more aggressive driver, I might have given up like DK's neighbour (though he was navigating a pretty big rig).
If I infer from your post that I shouldn't worry, it won't help me sadly.
Also I would not want my comment about the narrow lanes to take over this thread. High Onn is a lovely site and the club have no control over the lanes. I shall be sorry to see it go and, I repeat, I regret not having felt able to revisit. I doubt the narrow lanes are much of a factor in its demise - if demise it is to be.
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Thank you GJ, TW and TDA for the replies regarding the narrow lanes. High Onn has always been on my bucket list for a visit as I have been in that area on a number of occasions on a narrowboat, so I had better get my skates on if I want to make a visit, in view of the recent sad news about its closure. Personally, I have always been far more nervous when driving along the narrow, motorway lanes, where they are converting to "smart" motorways, alongside a huge lorry, than I am on a narrow road as at least with the latter, you can see a vehicle coming toward you and can slow down.
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When we visited we found it a beautiful and peaceful place, vbfg. If it’s still like that, I recommend visiting.
This was Sept 2016 and we had our coachbuilt MH at that time.
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No problem GJ😁 and I wasn’t inferring any are wimps either, we all have our likes and dislikes. I detest motorways, find them much more stressful than country lanes, and as you say, we are all at the mercy of those drivers around us.
HO is a Site I had never considered to be honest, but it looks our kind of location. Probably too late now sadly.
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The worst one I have ever been to for narrow lanes has to be Plymouth sound. High onn, Borrowdale and Coniston are all a breeze compared with the lane to this site. Have to say though, it is well worth it for the view at Plymouth Sound
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Don’t go to Start Bay if you thought the road to Plymouth Sound was narrow.😆
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We went to High Onn and left this morning after five nights of peaceful nights and four super days out.
The wardens this season have put great efforts in to make the site attractive. The grass is all short where appropriate, the entrance is welcoming with attractive flowers etc. The dog walk is well maintained.
Due to the closure they have tidied the hard stands but not completed weeding them all. It is backbreaking work and only four weeks until permanent closure.
The access was absolutely fine, no change there, lots of opportunities for passing in the lanes, apart from the last bit, which is very straight with good visibility. We hardly met another vehicle even though we were out and about every day, walking and driving.
The site is beautiful and incredibly peaceful. No traffic noise at all, not even a distant hum. The places to visit from the site are numerous, on foot, by bicycle or vehicle.
Why do I think it’s closing?
well the wardens confirmed that bookings are down, the rest is our own speculation…is this because the Caravan Club’s Regional Manager has allowed it to become neglected and the reviews have discouraged visitors?
Are members wanting more facilities on site and serviced pitches?
Are motorvanners reluctant to use sites from which it’s a long walk to a pub or shop?
Are the Club so short of staff that this frees up two more for a large full facility site?I really don’t know, but we are disappointed that the CAMC seems to be changing its ethos and that a lovely basic site like this, with its position as an ideal short break for the many residents of the West Midlands, is being closed.
Also, why is this not mentioned in the Club News section of the website?
Why do these facts about a site closure just appear in reviews without official announcements e.g. on the Home Page? It’s a mystery!3 -
I think your last para sums up the problem of communication from the Club. Why do we find out what is happening from what is basically gossip!
David
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We were unlucky when we visited HO many years ago. I hated it. It was incredibly noisy, not the site’s fault. Th sheep were baaing literally all day, all evening. I don’t know if lambs had been taken from ewes or it was, but sheep all bunched up and incredible row.
Then there were the flashing lights and noisy occupants!0
