Motorhomers
Comments
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Peedee
In retrospect that is the choice we should have made but felt that it was quite expensive although that turned out to be a false economy.
David
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Motorhomes have engines and can be used on a day to day basis. The idea that when you book on to a site with a motorhome it will never move for the duration of the holiday, is such a waste of such a convenient and versatile vehicle.
Take the M/Home to where you want to visit. You have your own toilet, your own cooking and picnic facilities . Hills are no problem, parking always possible, just needs a bit of clever planning.
No need for public transport.
K
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We will have to wait and see whether the name change is just superficial or whether as time goes by it does bring about real change. On this trip we used seven sites three of them Club sites and two of those actually had a full width open drain point at the motorhome service point so some progress is being made. We have often found that onsite information is quite comprehensive but you have to be on the site to see that. I find it hard to work out what the Club attitude is to influencing what happens beyond site boundaries. Had the bus stop been a lot closer at Tredegar I think we would have used the bus and perhaps others as well. Do the Club try to influence local transport or perhaps are they willing to contribute modest costs towards achieving that aim? It seems quite common in Europe to have a bus stop immediately outside the entrance to a site. Riding bikes for us is fine if you have off road cycle paths but neither of us now are comfortable using roads.
David
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Where we are staying,there is a bus service that passes the site no bus stop but the bus will stop for you,in the past it was for a rural area quite good,but has now been reduced to,three? a day because when a survey was taken it was used by very few from the cc site or the locals,
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The problem is that whilst a note could be put in the handbook about the hill in the immediate vicinity of the site it would be impossible to list all the stops on the bus's route describing the topography, just in case a passenger wants to alight there. What is a slight insignificant hill to some people is a mountain to others so how would a hill be described? Is it just a short steep hill or a long shallow hill? Which is the more difficult to climb? It all depends on the individual concerned. Regretfully this shows one of the shortcomings of a motorhome if it is to be left on site and never used as 'transport'.
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I see plenty of caravanners also using local transport, buses and trains, it's easier to use than a car in some places, so better information is useful for everyone. Reviews are handy for information about steep hills, if people would only give a bit more local information when they write about a place it would be helpful.
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The Buxton site in Derbyshire which we used a year or two ago has a very enjoyable walk through the woods to the Town.
Yes, the walk down is well worth taking but the return journey (up, up, up) is not for the less able or those with breathing difficulties.
I'd suggest the Local Taxi firms benefit quite handsomely from the C&MC members who ventured down the paths but didn't fancy the return journey on foot.
It doesn't take much research to find out beforehand that the terrain is not flat but even so the prospect of finding the challenge to return to the Site is more daunting than expected could be avoided by just a few words of warning in the Club literature.
That can't be too much to ask, can it?
Yes, we enjoyed the site and I'd recommend it to others but just be aware that Derbyshire is not a 'flat' county when anywhere near the Peak District – there's a clue in the District name.
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Unfortunately I think it would be impossible for the terrain of every place and road therein to be described in a book or leaflet. The only way to know this is to have and to be able to read an Ordnance Survey map. Google Earth can help but it isn't the be all and end all.
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I agree,and where we are now there is a motor caravan next to us (quite large)and when speaking to them,about the bus service,they had an old time table that they got last time they were here, before the service reduction ,they admit they "slipped up"as normally they go on line and check before booking sites, what public transport is available,so as we are going out we will take them as there is a bus for them to get back
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I have just put "how hilly is Scarborough" into a search engine. Even without opening any of the links, it is fairly obvious that Scarborough is a hilly place, and numerous mentions of the terrain being challenging for those with mobility problems. It really is that easy.
I agree that the most helpful aspect for sharing information would be to do it via fairly simple personal review of a Club Site. Forget whinging about speeding cars and dogs that bark, or children that scream, they probably won't be there when the next person visits.......but the hills will be, transport links will be, even if they alter slightly. Facts like these are the very essence of a good site review, and by far the most helpful sort of information.
Slightly off topic, but in the Scarborough area, I visited York yesterday, and for those interested can report the newly extended Park and Ride into York City Centre at Askham Bar is excellent, dedicated Motorhome/camper parking spots, cheap fares in and clean coaches. Even has loos/ information points in the newly built P&R hub.
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I would add to that TDA that anyone with disabilities or mobility issues could rate the sites they have used accordingly, both on site and in the locality. It would help others. However sometimes I read that a place is an easy 15 min stroll, only to find that it isn't, some claims are very exaggerated based on the ego of the writer.
Maybe even the club could come up with a list of easy to use sites and localities?
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One does not even have to be anything of an expert with maps to look at the 1:50000 Ordnance Survey map and see if it is hilly. Just look for how closely the thin brown lines are spaced on one's route. (Don't even have to know what the lines represent either!)
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There are some excellent holiday bloggers out there as well for help. Check out some of the members on here and their own websites. Lots give helpful advice for other members, including details on local transport links.
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OS local mapping is readily available at least on PCs via Bing Maps and to the right selecting the OS presentation from the "road" menu. Whilst initially it does not drop into OS format on zooming in it will, even into 25k scale.
IMO people with the needs of the OP and ourselves really do have to do a bit of targeted research and whilst handbooks could be more informative I doubt that is in this digital age the way things will be going. The info published in the handbook is only going to be suitable if it addresses ones specific needs; sorry if this is read as harsh but I just feel as there is a wealth online for the looking that is the route to take.
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I have not yet resorted to the lengths that some folk do about researching places. We tend to just go and then do what we can once there, if it means the terrain is to steep then we don't do it, there is always somewhere else to go instead or we make a return trip another time. I don't think OH would have the patience to sit over maps or check out google earth prior to going anywhere.
I realise for some that this is a must due to physical requirements.
I rarely even look at the clubs info before going but do look in the info hut once there.
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On the wider issue pf Motorhomes and name change It was the Egg but it never hatched. Attracting more M/H to sites like St Davids ( All Grass) without provision of Hard standing or reinforced grass was short sighted and leading to getting stuck. Again look at All year sites, in Wales you have one at the border in the North and another in the border on the South. None in the scenic part. The club should have addressed these issues first and then spend the fortune on name change. I agree it might have taken negotiations with Local auth and perhaps free holders but surely this should have come first,not the Ego trip M/H still second class members!!
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Oh dear........do I really want to belong to the Mollycoddled Motorhomers section? Personally no. I am quite able to employ enough common sense to get by very well without expecting either large or small changes to be honest.
At least we would have a dual sense of belonging having a van as well!
Cossetted Caravanners, and Mollycoddled Motorhomers! Living life away from the edge!
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sit over maps or check out google earth prior to going anywhere. I realise for some that this is a must due to physical requirements.
For some of us this is actually fun. (Sad ?) I can sit warm and cosy in bed and explore a whole new area that I have never been to before, and then when I get there know it better than the local residents.
Just don't ask me to pronounce place names in Wales!
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We are in the fun category as well regarding paper OS maps. OH did buy a little book, and employ Google to learn more about the Welsh language, but it is a challenge! Hats off to those dual Welsh/English speakers.
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I agree with you 100% Nav., including the Welsh place names (sorry Wales). I look at an OS map and read it like a book. It can tell you so much, not just about the town we may be going to but the wider area in general both the physical landscape and the social landscape (if that is the right phrase). A lot depends on what interests a person but to me, seeing the site and location of old ruins on a map or a disused railway etc etc tells me far more about an area than most local guide books could ever do. A map will also show all the footpaths in an area and, if one looks a bit steep or hard going it is easy to find an alternative. It means I can plan what I want to see and do and not be guided, quite literally, by somebody else's idea of what is interesting to them. The number of places I have been to over the years that I have found on a map that don't appear in guides or reviews is countless.
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Totally agree John, we know certain areas of Cornwall and Dartmoor better than we do our home area! Green Lanes, Byways, short cuts that avoid traffic build ups, interesting relics, deserted swim spots.......it's all there, waiting to be explored!
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I also find it fun Nav. 😂
However, if the club is going to put an information leaflet on its web site, I think they should take a little more trouble over its content. The walk into Buxton through the Country Park was mentioned earlier. The site leaflet states the following.
The town of Buxton is within 30 minutes walking distance ( steep in places),
Well it is better than just saying it is 30 mins walk. However, I would prefer to see a bit more. Say: Buxton town can be accessed from the site on steep, occasionally slippery, paths through the Country Park. Distance 1.25 miles, elevation change 375ft (115m)
For some, my statement would totally rule it out. Whilst the clubs description, gives no indication of how significant the climb is. For us now, the 30 mins stated would be fine for the down, but not for the up.☹️
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I understand that for some they like all the planning before hand, we do a little but prefer to do the exploring once we get there. For us that is the fun of touring, not knowing where we are going to be next or what there is to see and do when we get there. Its different now we are retired we have all the time in the world to explore at leisure. Prior to retirement we had our time mapped out for us, to us its fun not knowing
should we need to do research we know how to.1
