Less fussy members
Comments
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Aspenshaw - the club did run a trial on a limited number of sites and concluded that despite it being popular with members it was too confusing for them so the idea was dropped.
Cynics might say that they discovered grass pitches remained unbooked so to protect revenue they are keeping it as it is - ie find out you're on grass after you've paid.
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According to a warden on one of the sites that ran the trial,members were having "problems" understanding why they could not have the "empty" hardstand for their week ,as it was already booked in 3days time.and also being unable to extend on the hardstand they were on,and would need to move possibly the next day, even that day at times
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Thanks, JayEss. I'd forgotten. I haven't bothered what cynics say for the last 20 years or more. They add nothing and waste a lot of everyone's time. So I'm only sceptical of the CMC findings!
The CMC manage the muddle of booking awning/non awning pitches so I doubt they would have a problem managing grass/hard standing if they really wanted. We book non awning pitches where we can, even though we might end up on "pitches in the back of beyond or by the bins". More often, the timing of our stay coincides with empty awning pitches so wardens give us a choice. Perhaps, the weather will continue to encourage the CMC to increase the number of hard standing pitches until it reaches a stage where the number of grass pitches is about the same as non-awning pitches.
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Worrying that members driving outfits weighing possibly 4.5 tonnes + at speeds up to 60-70mph on busy motorways are so easily confused! And that they are so forgetful that they cannot remember they booked a grass pitch.
After all, how many people turn up at a site without having booked? A very small percentage I would think.
We used one of the sites in the trial, pretty much all the HSs were in use, but only a few outfits on grass, I think that shows what most members want.
We avoid sites that have a lot of grass pitches, and these days are using CCC sites far more as we can book a HS. They also offer the wrinkly discount, and shorter peak periods, so work out better value for us..
M........presume that price at Cirencester is due to a mid week discount?
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No - just more common !!!
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I just don't buy this. You can book a service pitch without getting confused, you can book a non awning pitch without getting confused so why would anyone get confused between booking a hardstanding and a grass pitch, it makes no sense. The real problem with the experiment was that it was only done on a minority of sites, it should have been done network wide and for a complete season and reviewed. I have my suspicion that wardens, who were getting unwanted flak over influenced the decision to leave things as they are. Members certainly don't seemed to have been asked. Every C&CC site and every commercial site I use I have a choice of a hardstanding why does it have to be so difficult for the CMC?
David
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It isn't difficult for this club David. The introduction of an additional field on the booking system seemed to cause no problem at all.
The unwillingness to continue with the concept of booking pitch surface will be down to financial matters. I considered booking Malvern which was a trial site. However there were no HS available so I booked the C&CC site next door instead. If all things were equal I'd have booked the CC site as it was slightly cheaper, the booking system is better and there's no faffing around with deposits if you need to make amendments. However as I've been on a grass pitch at Malvern before I will never return to that site while there's a chance I'll end up on grass. How many other people feel the same way? Possibly enough to see a downturn at the trial sites.
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If the motive for the Club for not allowing the booking of different pitch surfaces is that they will lose money surely that suggests the Club haven't yet got the mix of pitches right? Whilst there seem to be a few contributing to this thread who seem to prefer grass they must be in the minority of Club members if other members refuse to book a site without the guarantee, or at least a fair chance, of a hardstanding pitch. I am sure it is the case that on some sites for reasons of the lease or planning considerations that pitches can't be converted to hardstandings. I accept this but that does not prevent different types of pitch surfaces being bookable. It just needs a note on the page for a particular site explaining that it is not possible to either have hardstanding or convert more pitches to hardstanding. Members will then make a decision based on facts or risk depending on how they see it?
David
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No I don't buy into this excuse either. A badly thought out "experiment" doomed to failure. The only way pitch selection and booking will work is to introduce clear price differentials on sites that offer mixed types of pitches. It works well with the other club and they often have more grass and non ehu too. Surprising how popular grass non ehu is and not just for tent users, the price differences can make the idea more attractive.
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Quite possibly, but many won't be - I just gave what I was paying as an illustration. PD didn't specifically mention couples did he?
And of course, therein lies one of the big advantages of using club sites if you're solo, rather than certain commercial sites with their "up to 6 adults" price structure!
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Agree with your post , we are members of both clubs & when we use the C&CC sites the pitch choice available to their members is better .
If you book a certain type of pitch .....thats what you get , there is no lottery for who gets the H/S first. 👍
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oh, you are a one!
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I was saying it's not worth more than £15 to me. I was being quite generous with that figure
We paid £116 for six nights at Warwick recently. We knew it would be a grass pitch but the location was perfect so we went for grass rather than Tarmac next to the race course fence.
If it had been £150 we'd have stayed elsewhere.
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the weather is set fair (blooming hot and dry) for the next two weeks .... or more.....
why would folk choose to pitch on hard chippings if a lovely grass pitch were available....and especially if cheaper?
this is an objective question.....I'm interested in the advantages or disadvantages of HS over grass when we are now in 'perfect grass conditions'.....
i can think of little more pleasant when touring in the UK than being on a lovely mown, dry sward of grass.....to park on chippings would be missing the opportunity....
yes, I get the boggy, wet pitch in winter thing....but in June, July August?
OK, the overall answer might be 'personal preference' but what practical issues contribute to the answer...?
for us,it certainly won't have anything to do with an awning as we don't have one....
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none required for me either, I much prefer grass.....
Ive been running, jumping, throwing, batting, bowling, kicking, scoring
, putting, lying and now vanning on it for as long as I can remember.....not really into chipping much....
....unless it's off grass and over a bunkerto have the choice at booking time is nice, to have it cheaper is nicer
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My answer is 'personal preference' BB
There's a variety of reasons mostly relating to awning use. There's less condensation on HS, no need to lift ground sheets (no need for groundsheets at all), etc
I'm not a fan of the 'great outdoors' and it's easier to ignore when you don't have to step out into it
But most importantly my preferred footwear does not function well on grass.
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The weather might be set fair at the moment and I hope everyone enjoys it. However the Great British weather is rarely that predictable. Even if you book only a week or two ahead as we often do the weather can change either way. At least with a hardstanding you have all options covered although even if I was guaranteed hot sunny weather I would still prefer a hardstanding pitch.
David
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I guess you don't THS then David?
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Jay, I didi think some of the reasoning would be awning associated. as I said, we don't 'awning' so don't consider this aspect.
my preferred footwear works great with grass...not so good on gravel (too much blood)
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Rocky, perhaps you could get a contract with CC....
get rid of all those gloomy trees at Cherry Hinton and turn them into chippings (nice ones) for their pitches....
better then those horrible hard things.....
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