Moorhampton Club Campsite Update
Hi everyone,
You said, we listened! Exciting news, we’re running an adult-only trial at Moorhampton Club Campsite for 2025! The campsite reopens on 25 April 2025 and will be a place to relax and escape for an adult-only experience.
We understand family adventures are cherished and creating memories with children is a joy. While the trial at this campsite offers a peaceful adult focused atmosphere, we of course still welcome families at all other Club campsites across the UK! Let us know what you think and if you'll book a stay at Moorhampton Club Campsite this year.
Comments
-
. . . . or perhaps not. I have read with reference to other sites with a length restriction that there are often pitches that will accomodate a longer outfit and this can be checked by a phone call to the site.
0 -
It’s a sad day for the Club when a sizeable minority can exclude children from a campsite. Children are the future of our leisure activity and keep us young. Shame on you who pushed for this! Give me children any day to such people who call themselves adults.5
-
I saw this on some of the Facebook Groups. Someone at the Club really seems to be shaking things up? A couple of days ago we had reserving pitches for friends and now we have an experiment with an adult only campsite, what next? I don't have a particularly strong opinion on either but find it interesting that the Club seem to be slaying a few sacred cows recently. What next, motorhome aires within a campsite, allowing motorhomes on site to fill up with water and get rid of waste? I could be wrong but I would have thought that the latter had more interest than the other two changes but then I am not privy to Club research?
David
0 -
I'm a member of the 'sizeable minority' who prefer adult only sites, am not 'ashamed of myself'!
A large majority of commercial sites in the UK are family orientated as are all the other CMHC sites. Those who want to be around children can choose to do so with ease.
I see this as an interesting experiment.
It is good that the club has responded to the wishes of their members to at least consider the need for an adult only site.
It would be interesting to know what criteria the club are using to decide the success or otherwise of the trial and if they would consider developing more adult only sites if the trial turns out to be a success.
4 -
I know that Adult only sites are quite popular and there are some very good ones out there. However I am completely puzzled as to where the demand from within the Club have come from as I have never seen people clamouring for them here or other forums. Perhaps its down to Club research from people who are not members but might be if certain things were available that are not currently there?
David
0 -
What next, motorhome aires within a campsite, allowing motorhomes on site to fill up with water and get rid of waste? I could be wrong but I would have thought that the latter had more interest than the other two changes but then I am not privy to Club research?
I think it would do more for the Club than the the other changes which I have no real interest in. I estimate close to half of the registered owners of motorhomes are not members of the Club. It's a fair bet a good slice of those would become members to be able to use Stop and Go pitching.
ppeedee
0 -
What puzzles me about this experiment is where does it go to? If its a success how many more sites could potentially become AO? No doubt the Club are basing their decision on sites that currently don't get much use by families and work on the basis that it might make such sites more popular if they were AO without disenfranchising families? Watch this space I suppose.
David
1 -
I can now use AO sites so not personally affected but I too feel it's a bad decision. It's effectively excluding a section of the membership and if I still had children I'd feel quite annoyed.
1 -
It’s a difficult balance for the Club. Some sites are perhaps not as child friendly as others. It could be seen as a reasonable move to provide a tiny number of AO sites where there are few additional facilities to attract children, like the smaller, more remote sites, but concentrate on putting in enhanced, safe playground areas like those at Clumber Park at the larger sites. Bored, poorly supervised children can be an issue (not the fault of the children) and this will show up more on the smaller quieter sites, but I can’t help thinking having AO areas and child friendly areas would be better, rather than excluding children altogether. Club needs to be very clear as well around the inclusive/excluded age range.
We once found ourselves on a lovely CL, normally quiet that had two families, obviously together arrive. From setting up to 🤔departing the young children were left to roam the CL while the parents “had a break” that mainly seemed to involve copious amounts of wine and no attempt at looking after or supervising their children. They ran riot around awnings, left taps running, shouting, screaming, no respect for others around. We were out all day but came back to find the other visitors very upset and CL owner doing his best to sort things out. Hard to negotiate with drunks though. Huge sigh of relief next day when they packed up and left. So I can fully understand why some CLs, and some private sites are AO. But it is a huge departure for the Club.1 -
II find it interesting that the club has chosen this site to carry out this adult only experiment. Moorhampton is a very small site which holds little to interest children. We visit this site quite regularly as it is within a 30 mile radius for us. Ideal for a quick break, never seen many children there.
1 -
I don’t actually understand what makes a site child friendly. I don’t remember club sites having playgrounds etc when our son was little. We were out and about during the day so he didn’t need site amusements. I do remember him going round the site collecting car registrations! Something that seems frowned on today. We also used to send him to the wash block by himself, again not allowed these days, I understand.
0 -
I don't know who the participants of the "Survey" or other information gathering that the club "listened to" were but it would be interesting to know the make up of them and the numbers compared to total membership. I can't remember seeing any notices about it.
It does indeed seem a strange departure for the Club to make. I wonder whether it was as a sop to those members upset at losing non facility sites as whenever we stayed at one we noticed that they tended to be occupied by members without children or very few with. So I suppose it might appeal to that core.
Personally if I want to find a site without children, mainly in school holidays, I generally find what I'm looking for in a CL, occasionally an Independent site and there's no shortage of them. Most of the time the reasons are Health & Safety related (open water etc). So why are the club setting out to upset a section of the membership? Will they be experimenting with a No dog site anytime soon?😱 It would be commercial suicide if they did.😀
I have stayed at sites that used to accept children and have changed due to problems encountered with them, principally due to lack of parental guidance/training.
I've always considered the club sites to be generally boring for children , the play areas basic and made for smaller children. Sorry to mention it but "Over there" do it so much better.
I too remember AO areas on Morris Leisure when we last stayed at one. It worked well from memory.
2 -
I think it’s a different world for children nowadays @Hja . Nowhere, home or away, holidays, school or even home environment seems quite a safe. I think there are quite a few children who don’t get the time and attention that they require either. Some are in the care of much older people who perhaps don’t have the energy or mobility to be as active as youngsters require. There are some really good Club Sites for small children, with enclosed playgrounds, little football pitches, basketball hoops, places like Clumber Park where families can walk or cycle for miles, Ferry Meadows with all the amenities on the pitch step there, but others have very little for children without leaving the Site area. We once heard a Warden lecturing little toddlers on bikes for going the wrong way round Marazion’s road loop☹️
Child friendly has a big play space, grassed, dog free, car free, well away from outfits, but in sight lines. Soft ball games, kite flying, bit of cycling, just a few adults keeping an eye on things. Really child friendly would have an on site activity staff member devising a few activities like nature hunts, sports etc…. With parental supervision ratios in place. My mind springs immediately to litigation though, sad to say.It’s not a problem for us as we always check out local school holidays and go to a CL or small private site if the schools are off. Club Sites are even less child orientated than they used to be 20 years ago. Hard surfaces, little in the way of open spaces, constant traffic (often going too fast) on the site roads……☹️
1 -
We used to use Buxton club site many moons ago when the club had a section of it for AO and it worked well. The play area was at the other end of the site, so everyone was catered for, but as others have mentioned, parental supervision and a higher level of respect for others was more common place then 🙄 I remember it was remarked upon by a portion of members, that they were upset about not being able to pitch away from the play area, just because they had kids, so the club stopped the practice. Maybe the wheel is coming back round 😂
0 -
@Hja some sites are clearly more child friendly or focused than others. Playgrounds have been always there since we joined over 25 years ago, although they were basic affairs compared to what's on offer now - see pics
On this site there's an excellent play area, a very large indoor games room. Other facilities I've seen are large playing fields, some with goal posts and baskets, there are outdoor games, table tennis tables and there will be individual toddler and family bathrooms which really are useful. And of course a very few have swimming pools too.
There's also the kids for a £ sites which really help to keep costs down for up to 18 year olds.
We went for an area and things to do there rather than the facilities and using our caravan and pitch for evening entertainment but anything extra was welcome.
0 -
I'm wondering what the success criteria will be for this trial? I assume increased numbers?
0 -
Hi everyone, thank you so much for your comments and feedback which we value at the Club. I have been taking notes of all your comments and collating these to feedback to my colleagues and as always I am so grateful that we have Club Together as a means to communicate with you, our members.
In answer to some of your questions, we are trialling adults only at Moorhampton Club campsite as this beautiful campsite has experienced low levels of family bookings in recent years yet it is much loved and popular with solo and adult bookers. After careful consideration it is considered to be the perfect Club campsite to trial as an adult only destination.
As mentioned in my original post we understand family adventures are cherished and creating memories with children is a joy. While the trial at this campsite offers a peaceful adult focused atmosphere, we welcome families at all other Club campsites across the UK, and we have the Kids Stay for a £1 offer allowing families to have a great holiday for less in 2025. Kids aged 5-17 stay for just £1 per night, at all other Club campsites*, any time, any duration, all year round. Plus under 5s go FREE.
0 -
Well here’s a thought, maybe a few sites should be Adult Only but only with the following caveat. They are only Adult Only during School Term Times. I’ve often wondered how some in the Tourist industry, actually compound the problems for schools by reducing fees during term times thus incurring fines for families on tight budgets who try to take advantage of the lower rates.
Of course this ‘ban’ on children on club sites I’m suggesting during term time would include weekends in that period but at least families could go to these sites during school holidays. Adult only weeks may just be the way forward.0 -
Either way, Hja, the end result is the same. It’s all part of dynamic price structuring. Todays families are tomorrows couples, well that’s what happened to us. Our children and grandchildren still come with us occasionally but have their own camper vans. Most often than not, it’s the site’s location, not the site itself that is the draw. On another point, when they do ‘camp’ with us it’s great to have them on adjacent pitches but only if we don’t jump the first come first served etiquette which has been in operation for decades, even when I went to CC sites with my parents. I would never dream of ‘bagging’ a pitch for them before they arrived.0
-
The CLUB is also a business and while profits are put back into it it's still a good thing to have profits so I don't think it's all to do with following suit.
Other holiday companies may have more demand than supply and so can put it's prices up.
With the club while that is true of some sites but not others. And likewise fuller at peak times and not others. So I would imagine it puts higher prices in peak times to maximise income over the year, full sites at peak BH, school holidays especially the summer. This will create more income that balances the books over the year and perhaps balance some books of other not as popular sites up to a point of course.
It's been mentioned a few times but the kids for a pound and treating children up to 17 (some have 14) is a real help to families in bringing the prices down and of course the far more lenient T&Cs (like deposits) also help so in that respect the CLUB is really acting like a club and certainly not following anyone's suit.
1 -
@rodgerthat We live in an era where many Grandparents are helping raise smaller children, pre school. So having anything that would stop children using many Club Sites during term time would be counter productive, meaning that those Grandparents who take toddlers along with them simply could not go. We have seen quite a few outfits with Grandparents and toddlers, mid week, places like Ferry Meadows and Clumber. Long may they do so. I don’t think of Grandparents being of pensioner age, many are much younger.
I can understand the Club trialling it at Moorhampton, and perhaps one or two more less family orientated smaller sites. Club is doing its best to see what will maximise pitch take up.
1 -
Thanks, Takethedogalong, I hadn’t thought of that point, the preschool infants. Valid point, I’ll modify my thoughts accordingly, there shouldn’t be Adult only sites in this family club of ours. Appreciated, like often in life we don’t always see the whole picture or we miss things to consider if they don’t specifically meet our needs. In this instance I was ‘guilty’.👍1
-
I am not sure what percentage of members prefer adult only sites but I know there are many of them. The club seemed to have picked a site with little interest for children for the test, which is probably the right thing. If it works there is no reason not to try it on a very limited number of sites in my opinion. It should help keep those who do not want children around be separated from those who do. The people with children should then complain less about the grouches complaining about the children.
2
