Caravan sites opening and safety measures feedback

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  • SteveL
    SteveL Club Member Posts: 12,304 ✭✭✭
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    edited July 2020 #62

    Both my inbuilt ones, XTrail and MH can be programmed for speeds on different types of road. I haven't  bothered changing those in the XTrail, so it estimates a lot longer than it actually takes solo. It of course becomes very accurate in the last few miles.

    The one in the MH even knows our dimensions. Didn't stop it trying to take us under a 2.20 max height underpass in Avignon though.😂 We ignored it.😀

  • Rufs
    Rufs Club Member Posts: 4,072 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited July 2020 #63

    I think most modern sat nav's recalculate journey times as the journey progressess, but i believe the journey time is calculated using the max permissable speed on any single road, so if you are doing a journey on the motorway for most of the way your journey time will be calculated at 70 Mph, and being law abiding citizens we know we should only be doing 60 Mph max when towing a caravan  , so in fact any sat nav should calculate a shorter journey time than you would expect towing a caravan.

    My sat nav allows you to enter the details of the caravan, but this only allows the sat nav to make decisions as to what route to take based on the size of the caravan.

  • birderbilly
    birderbilly Forum Participant Posts: 349
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    edited July 2020 #64

    Yes, mainly from locals

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited July 2020 #65

    Our Garmin also "sdvises"  What speed limit the road you are on when towing ie will advise 50mph if on a national speed limit single carriageway and also advise of certain other adverse road conditions when towing

  • EasyT
    EasyT Forum Participant Posts: 16,194
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    edited July 2020 #66

    if you are doing a journey on the motorway for most of the way your journey time will be calculated at 70 Mph

    I think that satnavs calculate on average times at that time of day and day of the week. Mine seems to.

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,142 ✭✭✭
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    edited July 2020 #67

    Moderator Edit:

    Post reported prior to being Deleted User.

  • SeasideBill
    SeasideBill Forum Participant Posts: 2,112
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    edited July 2020 #68

    We shouldn’t be surprised. The early arrivals are exactly what you’d expect. There were plenty parked up in lay-bys last night waiting to pounce. I had my first encounter yesterday afternoon behind a 4x4 towing a twin axle caravan. He slowed to crawling pace at every lay-by (holding up traffic on each occasion) to check it out between St Austell & Mevagissey, rejecting them all until almost reaching the point of maximum mayhem, then executing a 10 point turn on a narrow, busy road and repeated the process in the other direction!

    A significant minority will continue to behave inconsiderately for the entirety of their stay, whether it will be ignoring parking restrictions, encroaching on others at busy beaches or ignoring social distancing in queues. Most locals aren’t anti tourist, the ‘silly season’ is an annual event and what it brings good & bad goes with the territory. This year the difference is a lot of people are genuinely frightened.

  • moulesy
    moulesy Forum Participant Posts: 9,402 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited July 2020 #69

    "Some things don't change though, there's 2 outfits outside the gate now (6.15)Happy Days."

    Well, there's no excuse for that whatsoever - we travelled down the M5/A30 this morning (not towing!) arrived 9am and the traffic was barely busier than a normal day. Lots of vans and MHs parked up in the lay bys, many clearly overnighting, but there was space in every one of them for anyone ahead of time to park up and wait!

  • Takethedogalong
    Takethedogalong Forum Participant Posts: 17,049 ✭✭✭
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    edited July 2020 #70

    I think you have had a lucky journey M (experience counts!). Cornwall Live is reporting very heavy traffic now, and sadly Air Ambulance has been active for an accident on A38. 

    Dont know Cheshire that well AD, but the traffic always seems very busy to us, more so than other places we have been. We tend to come across going to Wales, so suppose we are using a popular route.

  • moulesy
    moulesy Forum Participant Posts: 9,402 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited July 2020 #71

    You should try coming to Cornwall for a holiday, David! wink

    Take my word for it, all along the A30, at regular intervals, are large lay bys, set back from the road (with a wide grassy area between you and the road) with ample parking space for at least half a dozen outfits. No excuse for arriving 3 hours early to any site in Cornwall, even on a day such as today when one might have expected considerably more traffic than there was. 

  • Takethedogalong
    Takethedogalong Forum Participant Posts: 17,049 ✭✭✭
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    edited July 2020 #72

    Given that the Sites have only been open around 4 hours, and lots of patrons will be currently still on the way there, I don’t think we are going to get a great deal of feedback at the moment, so folks are just whiling away not travelling awaiting updates a bit later?🙂

     I think it’s useful to hear how things are going on the roads, with or without a Satnav, and if the lay-bys are getting used. We seldom have an issue using routes we know well, particularly as we tend to vary our travel away from all motorway and dual carriageways. 

  • brue
    brue Forum Participant Posts: 21,176 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited July 2020 #73

    There really isn't the sort of usual holiday traffic on the SW roads, just had look at the traffic cameras. Glad you got down to Cornwall ok Moulesy, hope you enjoy your visit. 

    It will be good to get some feedback from the latest site experiences later.

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,142 ✭✭✭
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    edited July 2020 #74

    It’s looking quieter than many expected. We'll have to see how things progress in coming days/weeks.

    Meanwhile, let’s hope the sites are doing well.

  • brue
    brue Forum Participant Posts: 21,176 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited July 2020 #75

    Queues at hairdressers rather than on the M5! wink

    I hope the sites are doing well too but I think it will not be the usual busy season.

  • moulesy
    moulesy Forum Participant Posts: 9,402 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited July 2020 #76

    Even at that length you'd have been able to find several places to stop on the A30 this morning, Kj. These are not motorway service areas but large, long lay bys. Not sure if it's the same on the A38, but I guess when the main routes into Cornwall were upgraded some thought was put into the need for folk to break long journeys to the area. 

  • Cornersteady
    Cornersteady Club Member Posts: 14,428 ✭✭✭
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    edited July 2020 #77

    I saw on the BBC that some caravans had pitched up on the Quiet Site in the lakes (which is a few miles from Troutbeck Head but more expensive) at 6 am. So it's not just club sites where this happens.

    I am amazed that everyone is so keen to be in their outfits.

    Slightly off topic, I've been reading about the Windermere Cruises and how they are operating from today, They are running but you have to book in advance a specific seat on a specific date, also just circular cruises atm. I suppose it saves all that queuing.

  • Unknown
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    edited July 2020 #78
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  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,142 ✭✭✭
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    edited July 2020 #79

    Busy but about average for a July Saturday I reckon. 

    Btw, that's a good service area for Caravans parking, as you can see.

    PS. Note the inconsiderate parking of the t/a unit on the end. It’s blocking the HGV route.😤

  • Unknown
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    edited July 2020 #80
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  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,142 ✭✭✭
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    edited July 2020 #81

    See my PS above. The herringbone parking is for Caravans while HGVs have the spaces behind - if they can get there - unless things have changed since I was last there.

  • TheDiplocks
    TheDiplocks Forum Participant Posts: 4
    edited July 2020 #82

    Good afternoon, I am booked for Great Yarmouth racecourse tomorrow, I was under the impression we would be contacted to arrange contactless payment, staggered arrival times etc, but heard nothing, no answer from site or booking office. Does anyone no anything or heard anything?

    thank you all

     

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited July 2020 #83

    Makes a change,   its normally the other waysurprised

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited July 2020 #84

    I think it was just for today as with staggered arrival times

  • JillwithaJay
    JillwithaJay Club Member Posts: 2,485 ✭✭
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    edited July 2020 #85

    Have you tried to make contact with anybody (HQ or the site) by phone?  You should be okay for normal arrival tomorrow though.

  • Takethedogalong
    Takethedogalong Forum Participant Posts: 17,049 ✭✭✭
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    edited July 2020 #86

    Apparently HGV drivers have been a bit caught out by numbers of vans overnighting at Services. A few complaints about all space taken up. It’s a very very long time since we overnighted at TD. In fact I think Cruise Missile convoys we’re still on the go😂 

     

  • TheDiplocks
    TheDiplocks Forum Participant Posts: 4
    edited July 2020 #87

    Tomorrow is their first day of opening as there is a race meeting today, so would have expected a call ... I can imagine 100+ arriving at 12 o'clock will be chaos.

  • TheDiplocks
    TheDiplocks Forum Participant Posts: 4
    edited July 2020 #88

    Contact centre is closed weekends ... site not answering.. just answerphone to call the contact centre ... hey ho ... will find out tomorrow no doubt

  • InaD
    InaD Club Member Posts: 1,701 ✭✭
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    edited July 2020 #89

    Just checked availability on that site: tomorrow less than 5 pitches for "Grass without awning" pitches, but that message doesn't appear on "Grass with awning" pitches.  Therefore looks like the site isn't fully booked, hence possibly no staggered arrivals?  Only guesswork on my part.

    I'd also say that if you haven't had a phonecall anyway (assuming the CAMC have your correct number) arrival time is the "normal" time for that site (don't know whether that's 12 or 1).

  • TheDiplocks
    TheDiplocks Forum Participant Posts: 4
    edited July 2020 #90

    Thanks for your response ... we will just have to wait and see..

    Have a great weekend

  • brue
    brue Forum Participant Posts: 21,176 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited July 2020 #91

    Although not a Facebook member I can read comments via the "posts" section on the CAMC FB page and see that most have been happy with their arrival day.