Not impressed with leftover pitch
First time outing with the C&MC. Had booked a hard standing pitch for a caravan with awning (a white post pitch). for 4 nights. I had booked this at the beginning of June. On arrival we asked where our pitch was located we were told to go around the site and find a white post pitch. We drove around the main area of the site and no suitable pitch was available. On a second tour of the site we located a pitch down Blue Bell dell which was surrounded and canopied by trees. (which we asked at reception that we didn't want to be pitched under trees). This was the only suitable (white post ) pitch available (since no one else wanted to pitch there). We found that 20+ white post pitches were already occupied by motor homes, camper vans and caravans all without awnings so it seems the pitch allocation was non existent. The hard standing pitch was muddy so when the ground sheet was taken up it all had to be cleaned.when connecting to the electric outlet I had to wade through a patch of stinging nettles. When the sun was shining, the main site area was busy with campers making barbies and sun bathing while in Blue Bell dell it was devoid of sun and not worth sitting out. All in all was not impressed with our first outing.
Comments
-
It’s the luck of the draw, John. First come, first served. There is no pitch allocation on CAMC sites other than in exceptional circumstances. You book a pitch type and then choose from those available of that type.
People are allowed to erect awnings on white peg (with awning) pitches but it isn’t compulsory.
1 -
Yes been there, arrive later than anyone else and you get what is left, but that's the way things are.
0 -
First time outing with the C&MC. Had booked a hard standing pitch for a caravan with awning (a white post pitch).
I don't know what site this is but unless it's all hardstanding you can't book one of those either. All standard awning pitches, either grass or HS, are rated equally and are on a first come first serve basis.
We don't have an awning but always book an awning pitch. This generally gives more choice and allows us to deploy our wind out canopy if we feel like it. Some sites only have awning pitches, so it wouldn't be possible to book anything else.
1 -
I get John's frustration having experienced it several times but I still think the Club have got the pitch allocation system right. As many times as we've been left with the muddy, shaded, damp pitch (especially when turning up at 6pm on a Friday evening after work for the weekend!), we've also struck lucky and got a superb pitch because we were fortunate enough to arrive on the day that the previous occupier had just left. It's the luck of the draw. On a few sites you get allocated a pitch depending on the size of your van or given advice about which one's may not be suitable due to size or difficulty of access but overall the freedom to choose yourself remains, in my opinion, preferable to being allocated a space where you can see a space you'd prefer that is empty.
Having said that, an improvement to the booking website might perhaps work - say something similar to how you book a seat on an aeroplane with a site map and you select your pitch at the point of booking. This would give an advantage to those who book early, but to a certain extent it requires you to have knowledge of the site prior to booking.
Another thing the Club could consider to avoid confusion is an alteration to their wording on the booking platform. Standard pitch with awning and standard pitch without awning does imply that an awning either should or shouldn't be used. What they really mean is that the pitch without awning isn't suitable for an awning, generally because of the size or smaller gap to the next pitch contravening fire regulations. Changing the booking portal to Standard pitch suitable for awning and Standard pitch unsuitable for awning would avoid any confusion.
1 -
Good post, Nick.
Rather than booking particular pitches, I think there is a great demand for the ability to book surface type - HS or grass. The club is, in my opinion, way behind the times in not allowing this.
1 -
I fully agree with your point regarding names of pitches and yes the present ones may and does confuse new members.
I semi agree with your second paragraph, I would like to see booking of a preferred type, that is hardstanding or grass but I'm not sure about booking a specific pitch in how it would work. An airplane has a number of seats and your seat will be available for a specific set time for everyone on that part of the flight, while on a site people will use that pitch for differing times I am worried that if booking a specific pitch is booked out then that might affect flexibility for maximising occupancy or having to move pitches to achieved your length of stay? It would perhaps complicate matters? But yes if it works why not.
1 -
Nick isn't the OP here, or have I missed something?🤔
0 -
But that is is not we are saying at all. Of course that can happen, it happens in the UK on one site I've been on.
It is the practicality as I alluded to with maximising site occupancy.
0 -
Sounds like Lady Margaret's Park. We usually try to avoid the 'shady glades'.
1 -
I take issue with the Op about other vans without awnings being on certain pitches, maybe they were faced with the one remaining pitch too. It's illogical to think others have taken a pitch which would have suited you.
However I do take issue with pitches that are not fit for purpose on any sites.
At present, the system works both ways. We arrived on a site over a Bank Holiday. We were the last to arrive and a late leaver provided us with the only pitch left, the best one (if you like a private sea view over farmland.
)1
