Creating a new CL
Comments
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Thankyou Vicmallows and Takethedogalong. There is a very old church in our village which we open daily so that visitors can look around and we have also set up a bookswap in there for visitors. We have two small wildlife lakes on our plot and get a lot of wildlife visiting. In the next village there are fishing lakes and walks and the sea is a 3 mile walk away down a bridle path.
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We don't have electricity in our van and usually prefer the very basic sites because they are cheaper and usually have fewer people.
My parents have a CL and when they first opened were basic. They found they were getting very little in the way of bookings so have since installed ehu and a couple of hardstandings and are now often fully booked in high season and rarely have a week without at least one person right through the low season.
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Are you anywhere near Donna Nook? One of Britain's wildlife spectaculars every Autumn, something we shall take a look at this year. Gibraltar Point is another wonderful visit as well, any time of the year!
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Yes we are just under 2 miles away.
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The Viewing Area (Donna Nook) - open late October to December
The viewing area at the foot of the sand dunes reduces disturbance to the seals and ensures the safety of visitors.
Seals are large predators and are very powerful. They can move surprisingly quickly and, having teeth similar to a dog, can inflict a nasty bite – including the pups.
Mothers with pups can be very protective and big bulls can be aggressive. A mother seal may abandon her pup if it smells of humans or dogs.The first seal pup was born on 24 October 2016, please visit the Weekly Update page for details of the numbers of seals present.
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I try to find basic Cls too. If you are able to open during the seal season you should be busy as there are very few campsites open at that time. I would get on and start basic and see where you go. While you might be too local for me I would be tempted for views of deer and otter!
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NCG - go for it, I don't think you'll have much to lose by your basic start up. We seek out non EHU for the peace & quiet. Our most important criteria is location and yours sounds lovely. We happily spend two weeks without EHU. With a solar panel there is plenty of power for everything we need including charging tablets,phones & batteries. I hope we can look forward to spending two weeks with you one day 😎
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NCG - If you'd like to bounce your ideas off some other established CL owners who offer 'basic' sites and operate more on a 'hobby' basis than a commercial basis I'm sure that some of the members of the CL Owners Group (250 in total) would be happy to advise. Around 1/3 of our membership are 'hobby' owners and I can put you in touch. Just email me your details.. tedhj@btinternet.com
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Thankyou Cholsey Grange.
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I have just used a really good CL nr Okehampton in Devon, I think it was called Crossways, but will confirm tomorrow when I can check my CC year book. All grass (Great) cut short slightly sloping in parts. Lovely views in all directions EHU, but nothing else. £10 per night! Yes TEN pounds!
TF
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It seems to me that there are more people looking for basic CLs now than there were about 10 years ago. People realise they don't need EHU to have all mod cons and many of us are seeking peaceful getaways. I hope you stay open for the Donna Nook season! CS s of the other club allow tents on top of the 5 vans - not sure of the amount but that might appeal to more people.
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We have a cl Resthaven Farm in North Devon near Woolacombe. The world is more technolical than it was when site set up 20 years ago.We have now made a Facebook book page Resthaven Farm Cl Site as we are finding you have to work at promoting yourself. Good luck with your site
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Thanks for all your comments everyone.
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We stayed on a Cl in Surrey last year in June which had three of four vans every night. Talking to the site owner she said that usage had tailed away so they were thinking of closing, A local caravan dealer told her to install electrics and they took a chance and did so in 2015 and in one month that year they had more bookings than the whole of the previous year. Since then they had been turning away bookings.
I have to say we mainly use CLs but would not consider one without electrics.
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We van all the year. M/Homes are notoriously bad on grass whether wet or with the slightest slope. In summer if weather OK we will use grass. Anytime from October to May we will only use Hard standings and then with EHU. Each to his own but anyone thinking of starting a CL needs to consider if opening all year. If so then Hardstanding and hard access will be necessary. If the site is say1 acre or more put in more than 5 EHU as the chances are you will move away from Cl into more commercial as no way will the restriction of 5 vans make it economically viable.
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I think the last one of that sort I stayed at was somewhere around 1972. The world has moved on.
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Thank you all for your comments. On reflection we have decided that we are not going to apply for a CL. We have also made the decision to move from where we are now next year. It all depends where we go to as to whether we would think again.
because of the nature of our land it would be very expensive to put in EHU and we feel that the income we would receive wouldn't be justified here.
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We're just starting out, only one tour under out belts so far, but we're setting up with our solar panel and aim to use basic, non-EHU CL's, so if you set up in your new home, please post about it. That's exactly what we're seeking!
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