Are there any sites with good children's facilities
We're just starting our 4th year caravanning and are on our second van. We have 2 young children of 7 and 3.
For a usual weekend break we travel no more than about 1 hour-ISH as we need to get back on the Sunday ready for the 'rat-race' of work and school on the Monday. Am I not looking hard enough or are Caravan Club sites not geared up for children as much as
they could be? I understand that not everybody likes to see/hear children running around and I'm fine with the fact of 'adult only' sites.
When we pitch at a site, we don't often wander too far and hence look for certain facilities on a site. The main one is a "GOOD" children's play area. We're not bothered about licensed bars or anything like that, and being a Caravan Club site, cleanliness
of toilets/showers should be of a high standard. We have only stayed on one Caravan Club site ever, and although there was a children's play area it seemed more of a token effort rather than somewhere children can play for longer than 10 minutes. The looks
we got from other campers as our 2 children (then 1 & 5) played on the limited equipment I felt was unbecoming of fellow Caravan Club members as the children tried to enjoy themselves.
Are all sites like this or did we just experience a bad one? The nearest town to us is Yeovil in Somerset. Can anyone recommend a good site for children in respect to having a good play area on site?
Thank you
Comments
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I could recomend a few but they are up north, however on the serch and booking page you can clcik on the show options under facilities and then click the ideal for families box. Apologies if you know this already.
there are always those who frown on anything different to themselves (dogs, children, flags, fairy lights... the list is almost endless), but as long as your children don't interfere with anyone's pitch then just ignore them. you have paid your site fees and have as much right to be there as them, especially in the play area. Our children grew up on club sites and they had very happy times, the experince you describe does happen but its very infrequent
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Doesn't sound as though you enjoyed your first stay FB, but many of the Club's sites do have children's playgrounds on the site, albeit of a quite conventional swings, climbing frames type. But a lot of the sites are surrounded by parkland, with wide open
spaces, room to run around, set up small games, ride cycles, scooters etc.... Some have much more, including a swimming pool. They are not all close by of course. What might work for you closer to home is to try a CL, hand picked for space, nice walks, etc...,
and you can also make more of the time away you have if you can stay on site a bit longer. I appreciate that what I have mentioned may not suit you, but I think once you have visited a few more sites, you will see that they are all different, some very good
for children, others requiring doing a bit more, taking a bit more for children to do. Happy caravanning anyway.
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How strange to get the error page when I look at Fred Basset's profile. A new joiner to CT as well. I was hoping to see what part of Somerset he's from. Ah, I see now, he says Yeovil. Very odd though.
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Whe our children were small we didn't use club sites as we were living in Germany. The sites there at that time had no childrens play areas. Our children used to go exploring, they wouldn't have thanked you for a play park, that was something they could
use any day of the week at home. Going away with the van was an adventure for them to do something differant.Have you looked at commercial sites, they usually have much more to offer families.
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Longleat CC site, not that far from you, seemed to have plenty of things on site, from a play area to large chess and an indoor games room. Then of course there is all the things at Longleat House itself, though at a cost. Although if you buy a 2 or 5 day pass as a CC member, they are better value for money.
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All the club play areas that I've seen have been similar in terms of equipment. i would agree that Longleat would be worth a look.
Unfortunately the looks you got from other campers are not uncommon in my experience but it is rare for them to come from more than one camper as the majority of people on site seem very friendly
I followed my children down to the shower block on one site. They were walking quietly, keeping to the paths and behaving well but the glares they got from a man standing near his van were unbelievable. Luckily they didn't notice. Perhaps you were unlucky
enough to meet this charmer who really shouldn't be on anything other than an adult only site0 -
Encouraging younger families joining the cc or the caravaning community how do you think they are going to fund this venture. To perches a caravan for two adults three children a tow car, storage ,site charges, fuel, mortgage, cost of living, a young family
doesn't have that kind of disposable income to fund such an expensive venture .Ps not all oldies shun young families but try to encourage if allowed to do so.
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Unless the CC adopt a family friendly policy by providing facilities for families, they will find their customer base reducing as the current aged members retire from caravanning. The kids of today are the caravanners of tomorrow and they will be inclined not to use the CC if they are not made welcome when young.
The CC should carry out a trial using a small number of sites in or on the outskirts of towns and cities where proper facilities for youngsters can be implemented.
The ostrich syndrome, (doing nothing), is a not an option.
The future of the CC as a caravan organisation, is at stake.
K
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There are sites around which cater for families with children. One I have quoted before is Trewan Hall in Cornwall - their website is worth a look.
They offer 36 acres of gardens and woodland with a separate field for ball games, a covered/open heated pool, a games room, library, table tennis, basketball, volleyball, story telling, visits by a magician, a juggler and local bands, wildlife shows, tractor
rides, baths as well as showers for small children, a snooker table for adults, free wi fi, a shop selling local produce, and so on.The Caravan Club has chosen to go down a different route.
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Encouraging younger families joining the cc or the caravaning community how do you think they are going to fund this venture. To perches a caravan for two adults three children a tow car, storage ,site charges, fuel, mortgage, cost of living, a young family
doesn't have that kind of disposable income to fund such an expensive venture .Ps not all oldies shun young families but try to encourage if allowed to do so.
We bought our first caravan very cheaply second hand and already had the car. It cost less than a package holiday and lasted for 3 years so paid for itself very quickly. Many other families do the same as we did. It isn't necessary to spend a lot of money
to get into caravanning and it needn't be expensive.It is unfortunately the perception of the club that puts off new younger members. Both clubs really. Joining a club is not necessary and very many people never do
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Unless the CC adopt a family friendly policy by providing facilities for families, they will find their customer base reducing as the current aged members retire from caravanning. The kids of today are the caravanners of tomorrow and they will be inclined
not to use the CC if they are not made welcome when young.The CC should carry out a trial using a small number of sites in or on the outskirts of towns and cities where proper facilities for youngsters can be implemented.
The ostrich syndrome, (doing nothing), is a not an option.
The future of the CC as a caravan organisation, is at stake.
K
A bit nebulous K, what do you propose and what do you think the affects of providing these facilities on costs might be.
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FB, we're not far from Yeovil! Hillhead has excellent facilities for children, good play area, playing field and swimming pool (plus some free entertainment if that's your thing.) Also shop and bar food/take aways. Moreton in Marsh has a good adventure playground and playing field, plus a mini putting pitch. We're off to the Brecon Beacons soon and that sounds well equipped for families too, looks as though they can ride bikes in the playing field there which is good! Further afield I would imagine some of the sites in wooded areas might be good fun, places like Borrowdale (nice little lakeside beaches there too) also Coniston and the New Forest area.
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To honest when the kids were young we used very few club sites, and that doesn't mean we went to the extreme of the hoseasons type place where the tourers can be very much the poor relation to the statics, as others have said the CC know their market, we
found plenty of good commercial sites with great kids facilities, also again as others have said some CL's offer a great alternative0 -
Have to agree that families should be encouraged to join, but also have to agree that lot's of facillitys are always needed, sometimes nothing more than a ball ( in the appropiate place) and your time.
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Fred - have you thought about Tewkesbury Abbey CC site? There's nothing for children actually on site, but immediately outside there's a huge park with an enclosed children's play area and a fitness trail if they're a little older. You can also stroll across
to the river direct from the site and feed the ducks & swans. Easy to get to off the M5, maybe a bit further than you want to go but maybe worth a look?0 -
I would agree with the person who suggested considering rallies. I don't have children, but love to see the children going out and about in small groups and exploring at rallies with friends they get to see again and again. Obviously, your young one is too young for this and your older one is still at an age where you need to watch her/him. However, if you rally with the same centre a couple of times the children will get to know the other children and have someone to play with. As they get older they will have a ball going out exploring, things that we don't perhaps see as much these days.
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But if you're looking for play areas available with the CC there are very few pictures available
