Have you tried a CL yet? 2,266 to choose from
New to the club? Did you realise there are 2,266 CL’s across the British Isles?
A CL is a 'Certificated Location. An independently run site with just 5 pitches. They can cost from as little as £4 (for a very simple site) to over £20. Most have very simple pricing.
The CL network has around 11,000 pitches available to club members every night in the summer season. Although some are seasonal, many are also open year-round.
If you haven’t given CL’s a try yet, you might be pleasantly surprised. Many members love their rural locations, tranquillity and the fact that they are only sharing a site with 4 other vans.
Find a CL to suit you here
All CL’s will have Chemical Disposal Points (CDP), fresh-water and have insurance. Each one is inspected annually by the Club. Many are on farms in lovely places. They all differ in some way, so it’s worth doing your research to ensure they meet your needs before booking with the owner. It’s well worth reading the reviews for a CL before booking on the CAMC website. An increasing number offer email or online booking.
- 2,129 welcome dogs
- 1,839 have Electric Hook Up (EHU)
- 582 have both Toilets and Showers
- 923 have Hardstandings
- 319 have WiFi
- 391 are Adults Only
If you have enjoyed a CL yourself, please leave a review or nominate it for the CL of the Year competition.
Many members say they only join for the CL network. Are you a CL supporter?
Comments
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Anybody new and looking at staying on a CL, I would check the reviews that other members have left, but please, please try them out. There are many members who only use CLs and find they meet their requirements perfectly.
Nice Opening post, CG.
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However a fair few of them have moved on to become small commercial sites, the odd full blown CC site, or left the CC to join the CC&C. So not all of them have been lost.
We too much prefer CLs for the reasons you state.
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Never used one.
Why, well as stated above the ability to search by location, services, and other conditions is not possible and I really don't have the time to sift through hundreds until I can find what I need.
Why the club can not replicate the search functions from the most commonly commercial websites is beyond me. Look a UK Campsite or Pitchup and see the search utilities, this is what is required.
The highstreet died when the internet came along, having a good internet presence is essential. The club site is poorly designed, clunky, slow, and is not E commerce focused. Fortunately I think a lot of the membership are not early adopters or the club would struggle.
Put as much effort into the website as you do the site directory and the map, these should only be available as online resource. Even the phone company has given up on directories because they are expensive and pretty much useless in todays world.
I tried to use the book but gave up the will to live after a while.
How about a CL app that is geographically searchable by service or feature and bookable on line from a mobile. Its like whichcraft only better, give it a go.
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Phishing - I wholeheartedly agree with everything you say. At the same time the new app / service needs to make it easy for visitors to leave a review of the CL and for the owner to respond if necessary (aka AirBnB).
Perhaps now that the club has spent circa £20M on Club sites, a few pennies can be spent on supporting the CL network before it slides off the map altogether.
I look forward to the well-overdue app that you describe, and a new generation of members keen to explore the UK countryside being given the tools to do so. This might even extend to online booking! BTW you can already book our CL (and 30-odd other CL's) online.
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Sorry Ted, CLs are the past, not the future.
Turning away non members, turning away younger people with a tent, turning away everyone beyond the rigid limit of five, and because 75% of CLs have no facilities also turning away folding caravans and VWs without on board toilets, is not the way the offer a modern tourism leisure facility.
That plus the fact that with such a restriction on size few of you can afford to invest in the facilities that visitors want these days I think CLs will continue to fade gracefully away.
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The last CL I used was in 2007. I have tried to book a couple since then but they were full when I wanted to stay. They were chosen for the closeness to where I needed to be. One thing missing from the list above are the number of CL's near to public transport. As a motorhomer this is an essential requirement for us. Since retirement we don't visit sites or CL's just to sit around, we can do that at home. I won't rule out using a CL in the future but they are rarely my first port of call when looking for somewhere to stay.
David
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Given the nature of a CL ie often a farmer's field, I would expect them to be off the beaten track & therefore miles away from a bus stop.
I'd have though a field would be the perfect place to sit around .... you then have the excuse of being away from those jobs you could be doing
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I tried one last week for the first time. Wonderfully clean and tidy with stunning views across the Cheshire countryside.
Although a CL, there was also another 'section' with around a dozen more pitches on their 'caravan park' so perhaps not what some might expect when booking.
The CL has it's own gated entrance, shower and toilet, and the 'caravan park' is advertised separately, but it's basically all within the same area with only fencing to separate one from the other.
A different issue but, for two of my four nights, there were actually six vans on the CL until I left on the Sunday morning.
I chose this particular CL to attend a local event and enjoyed my stay but, because I am often on my own, I prefer to be able to chat at the washing up area etc., and be closer (preferably within walking distance) to local shops/attractions which wasn't possible on this CL so I did feel a bit 'isolated'.
I might try another one if available in a location I want to visit in the future.
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The answers on this thread show the problem:
"nature of a CL ie often a farmer's field"
"miles away from a bus stop."
People make assumptions and form opinions because there is a lack of easily available information.
If there was a searchable web based system that had a comprehensive list of facilities that were searchable then people would find sites that suit them. An online booking, payment, and availability system would also give more traffic. CLs are are varied and have a vast range of features but this is no good if you cant find out this information.
Then we can get really into the 20th century and monitor the traffic based on search criteria. This shows the club what features are searched for and thus what to promote to the CL owners to maximise their visitor numbers. It also shows occupancy rates based on features and thus allows the club to target me with sites they know I already like by my previous search preferences.
Also just for a bit more fun you can skim a pound off each booking and use it to reward CLs with high standards thus encouraging investment from the owners improving general quality of CLs.
This is standard business model for service based business.
The situation is this, I am aware of these things but still carry cash, have maps, use cheques, own books, buy magazines, drive to a takeaway, have bank cards, buy from shops, use off line services.
The next generation carry a smartphone, want to buy now, and will not use CC services if they are not on a good app. If you don't write it someone else will.
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We are on our fourth CL tonight, in ten days away. It's on Hadrian's Wall, scenery to die for, lots to see and do. All grass, in the rain. Somewhat surprisingly, of the five outfits on site, four are Motorhomes. Everyone is touring, using MHs to get about, picnicking in gorgeous spots, hopping about all around the fantastic historic sites and stunning coastline up here in Northumberland. We have seen a good few hired Motorhomes as well.
Up here, I think you could use a big Motorhome and tour around a lot easier. We have had no problems parking up, even in towns like Berwick or Alnwick. We have averaged £12.50 per night, and that includes using a Club Site (Nunnykirk) for three nights. Places of interest, such as Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh, EH and NT properties have huge car parks, often with dedicated parking for MHs. Seen lots of big MHs around and about, doing same as us.
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Thank you to the OP for starting this thread. Anything highlighting our wonderful CL network is great news and will bring it to the attention of new members. My thanks also goes to all CL owners who open their gardens/farms for us to share and enjoy. Many are in lovely locations which we would never see if it wasn't for the owners. They are very much appreciated. Thank you.
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Totally agree with everything you say ADD. I regard it to be a great privilege to be able to share in all those wonderful locations, in what is essentially, someone's home - be it a 'back garden' or a farm. We have always been made so welcome on every CL (and CS) we have visited and have always enjoyed a relaxed atmosphere, where common sense and consideration for each other prevail over a myriad of rules and regulations. If these sites were to disappear (and contrary to an earlier comment, I don't think they will) - I doubt I would continue my membership of either Club.
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But you are a caravanner with a car for transport - ask the motorhomers what they think to grass fields in remote rural locations with no bus routes within miles.
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Well they should have thought of that before rushing out to buy something not "suitable" for the CL network then!
(No, really, that wasn't serious ....)
....but we were staying on a CL just outside Builth Wells earlier this year with a lovely couple next to us in a MH, which didn't move the whole time we were there - they were quite happy to book a taxi into town which, by the time you knock of the parking charges they reckoned was a bargain. In fact there has been at least one MH on every CL we've stayed on this year and some of them have been pretty "remote"
It just need a little planning.
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I suppose people have different priorities when choosing a MH. Some prefer a big outfit with fixed beds, big bathroom, lots of storage for essentials. And nothing wrong with that if it's your choice and you don't mind parking up on a site and perhaps not moving for days. But, coming from a camper van background, it seems a strange concept to us, to have a touring outfit, but not actually pootling around our lovely countryside, getting out into some of the loveliest spots, using it as a mobile cafe/picnic spot, somewhere to have a shower/ get dry after a beach swim, or doing some bird spotting in comfort and dry if it is raining, etc......
I'm not criticising anyone's choice of how they tour, but just puzzled at parking it up rather than actually using it to visit lots of lovely places. We have gone out and about in ours, everyday bar one this last ten days, down on beachside, up into forests to do a walk, to a nature reserve watching wildlife and birds, into Alnwick and Berwick sightseeing and shopping, we drove all through the North Pennines AONB and into Alston and Barnard Castle today, stunning scenery. We saw lots of others in much larger outfits than ours doing same as well.
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We used to love visiting a remote creekside CL in Cornwall both with our motorhome and previous caravan. We had wonderful times there, relaxing on site, walking to a local pub and walking the beautiful walks both on the CL itself where the owner had masses of land and around the local area too. Every time we arrived there we breathed a sigh of relief, it was such a lovely place to stay. Since then we have moved on to other CLs as we thought there must be other similar interesting places and there are!
Give CLs a try, you'll be surprised at the variety of places and facilities on offer. We have never needed any extras, CL owners don't need to provide much for us to enjoy what's on offer locally in the UK.
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You may well do that Brue, but most motorhomers don't. Look at the calls for town centre car parks to be opened for them - hard standing, and shops and buses within reach. As motorhomes increase - and they will- remote rural CLs will continue to decline. UK is just now playing catch up with mainland Europe.
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I would think the majority of MH's have 'some' form of alternative transport - bike, e-bike, scooter, TOAD. Brue, the creekside CL sounds interesting. Where is it?
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I think you are out of touch Eurotraveller, every CL we've stayed on has attracted motorhomers, in fact they are often easy for motorhomers to use for short stays when touring. Remember that restrictions on arrival times etc are often much less of a consideration. People can enjoy the freedom of CLs. But just like the larger sites, some are off the beaten track and others aren't, there are more CLs to choose from then there are formal club sites, there's a thought!
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My aim is to have tried 10% of those with EHU, and I would guess that I'm well in the way there.
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We have used four CLs this ten day trip, all had Motorhomes on, despite them all being grass pitches. The most remote we were on, right on Hadrian's Wall, four out of the five pitches in use were Motorhomes. Only Club Site we used, Nunnykirk had about 50/50 MHs to vans.........but the vans were on seasonal pitches. All grass pitches, middle of nowhere, nothing but birdsong, blue skies and peace and quiet. Even the Warden used a hand pulled cart to do the bins! £14 a night as well.....dream on!
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We have a motorhome, we like peace and quiet, watching wildlife, we have bicycles, we like cycling and walking and choose sites/CLs with that in mind. We're off to Dartmoor soon for a change, not been for a long time, and the plan is to either walk from site, or get a bus and then walk, or vice versa. We like grass, but wouldn't want to do damage in wet weather, so hardstanding would be good in winter months. With a solar panel we don't need EHU, so have booked an economy pitch at Cheltenham on the way down for a couple of nights, never been before.
Last time we went, we stayed on a CL near Sheepstor, sadly no longer. Still looking for a couple more sites/CLs to complete the trip.
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InaD, we have used this CL at Okehampton on numerous occasions:
https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/certificated-locations/england/devon/okehampton/crosslands/
It's close to A30, so there is a bit of road noise, but we never found it excessive, and it's easy to get about all over Dartmoor from here. Okehampton is a very nice town, good shops, plenty to see and do. The Granite Trail Cycleway runs from Okehampton down past Lydford, very interesting cycling! My OH stayed on one closer to Lydford, which was no EHU. I am not sure which one it is, but will get him to tell me and post details soon. I think CLs actually on the Moor are few, but there are some nice looking private sites if you use UKcampsites. We know and love Dartmoor, it's our chosen cottage holiday bolt hole. Seen quite a bit of the wild Moors on horseback in our younger days! Hoping to get down later in year!
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InaD, the CL my OH used was The Knole, look under Okehampton. It does have EHU.
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