Rip off Britain
We've just returned from 3 weeks in France where we paid on average 14 euros a night incl electrics. Our first night was at a cl near Portsmouth, cost £24. Next week we're off to Dunfries, £25 a night. It's a rip off in the UK and especially CC sites and
I've been a member 40 years, I begin to uestion why. If you check out the prices in the Overseas Brochure, it's half the price if you book direct with the site.
Comments
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We've just returned from 3 weeks in France where we paid on average 14 euros a night incl electrics. Our first night was at a cl near Portsmouth, cost £24. Next week we're off to Dunfries, £25 a night. It's a rip off in the UK and especially CC sites and
I've been a member 40 years, I begin to uestion why. If you check out the prices in the Overseas Brochure, it's half the price if you book direct with the site.You knew the price of the CL presumably before you arrived there. There are plenty that charge half that price, all one has to do is look through the Site Directory. The same goes for CLs in Dumfries.
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Sorry, Ron, but if you book the sites you know the prices in advance. If you aren't happy to pay the asking price why book the sites instead of looking elsewhere? Cheaper sites are available.
I'm afraid you're falling into a well used trap of assuming overheads, taxation and so on abroad are the same as in the UK. They are not so it is a false comparison.
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Agree with Tinwheeler, with that many sites at vastly different prices, there is something out there for everyone's pocket or extravagant tastes, On our recent 5 week trip down to Italy, prices varied from 15 to 33 Euros depending how near and convenient
to the attraction we wanted to see,0 -
I suppose they have you by the short and what's it's .. Unlike a Motor Home where we can find Pub Stops and Other places for overnights you are stuck with having to be on a camp site. We do use CL's but with the weather we try and find ones with hard standing. We normally pay £12 - £15 for a CL night or Derbyshire Car Park for a £1. We can have a weekend away for a couple of £
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We've just returned from 3 weeks in France where we paid on average 14 euros a night incl electrics. Our first night was at a cl near Portsmouth, cost £24. Next week we're off to Dunfries, £25 a night. It's a rip off in the UK and especially CC sites and I've been a member 40 years, I begin to uestion why. If you check out the prices in the Overseas Brochure, it's half the price if you book direct with the site.
Which is one of the reasons we haven't caravanned in this country for quite a few years, and why we now store our caravan in France. For people who have time on their hands, we find it works fine for us. Hopefully long may it continue, post referendum!
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I suppose they have you by the short and what's it's .. Unlike a Motor Home where we can find Pub Stops and Other places for overnights you are stuck with having to be on a camp site. We do use CL's but with the weather we try and find ones with hard standing.
We normally pay £12 - £15 for a CL night or Derbyshire Car Park for a £1. We can have a weekend away for a couple of £Write your comments here...But is a fortnight on a car park in Derbyshire really a great holiday experience?
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Here we go again......of course it's reasonable to complain about the price of something.....yes, even if it was your choice to book it.
And of course it's reasonable to compare with a country like France - they aren't a third world country, they have taxes and overheads just like over here, they have a similar cost of living in many other areas.
How can anyone possibly say otherwise?
(I'm sure they will though........)
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£24 for a CL? You're having a laugh surely? We certainly wouldn't have paid that - in fact, in June we probably wouldn't pay that for a site of any description. There must surely be cheaper alternatives in the area, particularly if it's just for a stopover.
As far as comparing UK sites with French ones goes, yes it's a valid comparison, but only if it goes along with comparing the prices of food & drink, meals out, fuel and visits to places of interest, all of which are also much cheaper over there. What's
not valid is to suggest that caravan sites, and CC sites in particular, are somehow unique in that respect!
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Same old same thing but completely insignificant to the hundreds of thousands of people who use uk sites ,and the Large continental contingent who use this country for their holidays,if only the uk was large enough to have the thousands of sites as the
continent to cater for the off peak bargain hunters that wouldn't use the same sites at the eye watering prices charged at peak times0 -
The only trouble with these comparisions is no one adds the cost of the crossing and insurance into the equation. As a rough calculation for me that would have added about £9 a night to my cheapest site on our latest trip, so £19 instead of £10 which I
paid on site. On that basis some sites were as much as £30. What must be understood is tht France has vast over capacity of camping pitches except for those short two months in the summer. Therefore filling them, even at ridiculously low prices is economic
because its all additional income which otherwise would not be there. UK sites by comparision tend to be used much more over a longer season. By all means go to Europe, as we have for the last 29 years and enjoy but completely pointles comparing with the UK
in my view.David
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The only trouble with these comparisions is no one adds the cost of the crossing and insurance into the equation. As a rough calculation for me that would have added about £9 a night to my cheapest site on our latest trip, so £19 instead of £10 which I
paid on site. On that basis some sites were as much as £30. What must be understood is tht France has vast over capacity of camping pitches except for those short two months in the summer. Therefore filling them, even at ridiculously low prices is economic
because its all additional income which otherwise would not be there. UK sites by comparision tend to be used much more over a longer season. By all means go to Europe, as we have for the last 29 years and enjoy but completely pointles comparing with the UK
in my view.David
Write your comments here...+1
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+ 2
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It always strikes me as odd that people pay site prices - even at the ridiculously expensive CC Broadway site - and then come on here to moan about them. If CC prices are too dear, don't use them. If the Club is such a huge rip off merchant and such a rubbishy
set up, why stay a member? Vote with your feet and your wallet and go elsewhere. However, if you book and pay, simply accept responsibility for your own actions and stop whinging.0 -
I am not sure the OP was moaning more like he was simply expressing surprise at the cost differentials and that's perfectly valid. It is also perfectly valid to say if you don't want to pay these prices, then don't, it's not rocket science. Plenty of low cost alternatives are available from CL's and C&CC THS.
I also think it is reasonable to compare and contrast the UK experience with that of the experience in Europe. Yes they are very different but is that not what makes it interesting?
I try not to be dogmatic about anything, camping in europe is great, camping in the uk is great, camping off grid in a field is great, camping on a 5 star site is great. I just choose which suits at any particular time.
I also like to hear other peoples opinions even if they differ from mine.
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The only trouble with these comparisions is no one adds the cost of the crossing and insurance into the equation. As a rough calculation for me that would have added about £9 a night to my cheapest site on our latest trip, so £19 instead of £10 which I paid on site. On that basis some sites were as much as £30. What must be understood is tht France has vast over capacity of camping pitches except for those short two months in the summer. Therefore filling them, even at ridiculously low prices is economic because its all additional income which otherwise would not be there. UK sites by comparision tend to be used much more over a longer season. By all means go to Europe, as we have for the last 29 years and enjoy but completely pointles comparing with the UK in my view.
David
Write your comments here..
.An excellent post David - valid points clearly expressed.
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Sorry chaps, got to disagree. I don't see the validity of comparing campsite costs by adding in the cost of ferries etc.. They are different things.
On that basis, a pitch in the UK would vary depending upon if you got to the site by a small car and caravan or a large car and caravan as the fuel costs would be different. Does using the M6 toll change the cost of the site fees?
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We've just returned from 3 weeks in France where we paid on average 14 euros a night incl electrics. Our first night was at a cl near Portsmouth, cost £24. Next week we're off to Dunfries, £25 a night. It's a rip off in the UK and especially CC sites and
I've been a member 40 years, I begin to uestion why. If you check out the prices in the Overseas Brochure, it's half the price if you book direct with the site.0 -
I suppose they have you by the short and what's it's .. Unlike a Motor Home where we can find Pub Stops and Other places for overnights you are stuck with having to be on a camp site. We do use CL's but with the weather we try and find ones with hard standing.
We normally pay £12 - £15 for a CL night or Derbyshire Car Park for a £1. We can have a weekend away for a couple of £Write your comments here...But is a fortnight on a car park in Derbyshire really a great holiday experience?
If you are out and about during the day then it's just somewhere for a night. If we fancy getting the chairs out or a BBQ then we find a site. We do make it up as we go along and it's all part of the fun. We spent a great 2 weeks earlier in the year on the
South Coast. Certainly not weather for sitting on a site so we spent our money on other things like a night at Rick Steins new restaurant in Sandbanks. We had the bikes out and cycled along the front at Bournmouth. Never went near a site for whole 2 weeks.
So saved 15 x £15 roughly £200 and had a really great time.0 -
I suppose they have you by the short and what's it's .. Unlike a Motor Home where we can find Pub Stops and Other places for overnights you are stuck with having to be on a camp site. We do use CL's but with the weather we try and find ones with hard standing.
We normally pay £12 - £15 for a CL night or Derbyshire Car Park for a £1. We can have a weekend away for a couple of £Write your comments here...But is a fortnight on a car park in Derbyshire really a great holiday experience?
If you are out and about during the day then it's just somewhere for a night. If we fancy getting the chairs out or a BBQ then we find a site. We do make it up as we go along and it's all part of the fun. We spent a great 2 weeks earlier in the year on the
South Coast. Certainly not weather for sitting on a site so we spent our money on other things like a night at Rick Steins new restaurant in Sandbanks. We had the bikes out and cycled along the front at Bournmouth. Never went near a site for whole 2 weeks.
So saved 15 x £15 roughly £200 and had a really great time.Bet the meal at Rick Stein's took a fair chunk of your savings
We paid £64 for fish & chips in a box in his Padstow place
last summer, only did it for the experience.Our preferred restaurant is Heston Blumenthal, not the Fat Duck at Bray, but the Little Chef at Popham on the A303
Much better value,
and no food poisoning0 -
Bet the meal at Rick Stein's took a fair chunk of your savings
We paid £64 for fish & chips in a box in his Padstow place last summer, only did it for the experience.Our preferred restaurant is Heston Blumenthal, not the Fat Duck at Bray, but the Little Chef at Popham on the A303
Much better value, and no food poisoning (Yorkshire man's cry) HOW MUCH!
£64 for fish 'n chips! No wonder Rick Steins always smiling!
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Bet the meal at Rick Stein's took a fair chunk of your savings
We paid £64 for fish & chips in a box in his Padstow place
last summer, only did it for the experience.Our preferred restaurant is Heston Blumenthal, not the Fat Duck at Bray, but the Little Chef at Popham on the A303
Much better value,
and no food poisoning(Yorkshire man's cry) HOW MUCH!
£64 for fish 'n chips! No wonder Rick Steins always smiling!
We had better f&c from the visiting van on site at Trewethett a week later, for £14
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I suppose they have you by the short and what's it's .. Unlike a Motor Home where we can find Pub Stops and Other places for overnights you are stuck with having to be on a camp site. We do use CL's but with the weather we try and find ones with hard standing.
We normally pay £12 - £15 for a CL night or Derbyshire Car Park for a £1. We can have a weekend away for a couple of £Write your comments here...But is a fortnight on a car park in Derbyshire really a great holiday experience?
Nothing wrong with Derbyshire. If you've been you'd know.
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I suppose they have you by the short and what's it's .. Unlike a Motor Home where we can find Pub Stops and Other places for overnights you are stuck with having to be on a camp site. We do use CL's but with the weather we try and find ones with hard standing.
We normally pay £12 - £15 for a CL night or Derbyshire Car Park for a £1. We can have a weekend away for a couple of £Write your comments here...But is a fortnight on a car park in Derbyshire really a great holiday experience?
Nothing wrong with Derbyshire. If you've been you'd know.
Write your comments here...I have been plenty of times FYI but never stayed in a car park except to park the car of course!!!!
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Bet the meal at Rick Stein's took a fair chunk of your savings
We paid £64 for fish & chips in a box in his Padstow place
last summer, only did it for the experience.Our preferred restaurant is Heston Blumenthal, not the Fat Duck at Bray, but the Little Chef at Popham on the A303
Much better value,
and no food poisoning(Yorkshire man's cry) HOW MUCH!
£64 for fish 'n chips! No wonder Rick Steins always smiling!
He knows the saying about a fool and his money, Fysh! You won't find many local people in his eateries.
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