Coronavirus Discussion

If you want advice Takethedog I would say that is too far, the journey will become arduous. Ours is a four hour journey and I would say that is the down side. The van is in the right place and suits what we want from it but we would like to half the journey time, especially as we get older.

No idea where you live TW but as you referred to Cornwall I thought you were referring to a particular area

Be aware of the licensing terms of the park/site as a holiday licence will not allow van owners to make it their main home and proof of a UK residence may be required. It's the holiday licensed sites that hit the headlines when permanent residents are turfed out for breaking the terms.

Residential parks are the opposite and generally require you to declare that the unit will be your main UK residence. The right to live on that pitch is granted in perpetuity. The 'main home' requirement prevents it becoming a ghost town in winter.

You are right about Holiday parks with statics ,you will find" if memory is correct" they can only be for a 10 month max availability and cannot be used as your main residence,

which is not the same as a Park Home site where it is your normal main residence 

Sadly someone has now died at the home and they have been unable to get repeat tests. Without access to testing the risk is out there for everyone especially anyone connected with the home and their contacts. 

We've gone through the same scenario several times, basically we don't want to go to the same place too often so chalets, statics, seasonal pitches have gradually gone on the back burner. What I do regret is not buying something when places were relatively cheap and the family could have enjoyed it too. 

We have a holiday place next to us, the owners make a very long journey down from the Nottingham area, horrible M Way journeys that they tend to do at night. I'm not sure whether they are really going to continue for much longer, health and age are creeping in the wrong direction.

It's nice to think about these things and there's usually a solution that suits different situations. 

The one thing we thought about when looking at holday parks ,is the length of the time they open some are qiute short seasons ,below the max 10 month  legal period usually allowed by the local councils,

At our age we would not buy a new static,as the outlay would not be worth it as the depreciation ,as with most things can be quite high ,and depending on area the ground rent and other expenses can be quite considerable "£5000 at Haven +extras?

"I have considered the options for continuing when long distance towing may be a problem but would not put myself in the hands of a a park operator."

What would worry you about that,  David? We signed a contract for a 15 year lease when we bought our van. It has been honoured by the new owners, in fact we have had an extension on the lease. We did our homework before buying, decided against any site "company run" and have never had a moment's regret. And it hasn't stopped us touring further afield, both in this country and further abroad. Best of all possible worlds in our view. 

All sorts of options😁We did look at doing what you did EuroT, somewhere in SW, but our house was bought as a project many years ago, liveable at the time, but needed lots of work. It’s now just about finished, but as you say, too many underused rooms. But we do love it. So we decided not to go through the same again.

I could get on with a two bed lodge type affair somewhere really nice, even if it’s only for 10 months. We kept a second big van on a farm in Cornwall for years, using it around 5-6 times a year. We even did weekends! We would only go on something quite small though, not bothered about holiday park type affairs. It would be all about the area for us, and proximity to coast. We do occasionally see some lovely looking places, well off the beaten track. 

Same for us David. I can see us moving over to a motorhome but going to the same place every time as with a static is a step too far.

Depending at what age our touring finally ends, I could see us taking more short break European holidays in addition to our 2 week AI holidays. I suppose it all depends on insurance costs, health and just as important if that common affliction, of loss of confidence with age, starts to affect us.

Residential parks(some) were in the past at times problematic for those on them ,but their residents status has been much more secure with the regulations introduced in the past years 

Holiday parks are not covered by such regulations, and it has we have found a good idea to visit and speak to those owners with statics on the site before committing to buy one for ones own use

We have looked at some in Norfolk ,and it is very much an eye opener ,how they differ from each other as per how they are run ,also in what is and is not allowed,in the same area even,  ,we have found 

That may be so for residential parks - ours is a mixed park, still some tourers,  increasingly seasonal pitches and a small number  (26 spread across 3 fields) of static caravans like ours. More and more of the formerly touring sites in the area are going over to this style of mixed accommodation and I'd guess that will be increasingly the case in the post Covid and energy conscious times we're heading for. 

Since we've been on the site, nearly 10 years now, a number of folk have moved on and the  site owner has bought the vans off them and exported them to Spain!