CLs instead of Club sites
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We used 2 CL’s & 2 CS’s for a months tour in September. 1 CL @£12 per night, the other @£18 per night hard standing serviced pitch with great views. Both CS’s @£12 per night, one had serviced pitches with metered electric and choice of grass or hard standing. Only the £18 per night one was full.
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One of our favourites too.
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Just trying out a new to us one near Louth (South Elkington). Very nice but some issues with electrics, low amps on our pitch and on arrival no hookup for us to use due to other vanners being a tad inconsiderate.
There are a number of good walks in the area including a short stroll into Louth itself.
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Just had a look Cherokee, looks very nice, could be one for us to try that one. I think I did see it previously, but had forgotten about it. Thanks for sharing👍
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I agree, one to add to the list of recommendations.
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to be honest I am not really bothered cl or full blown site what does bother me is the wife always manages to find me
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Check out ebay for a Romulan cloaking device👍🏻
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dare I say it, we've left Club Sites lately feeling slightly poor and inferior from the gleaming posh big vans and mega Chelsea Tractors around us. Perhaps we'd feel less so at CLs?
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But I wonder how many of these will be on the market next year as the novelty of caravanning quickly wears off or the cost of ownership of the outfits you describe, geoffeales, becomes prohibitive? I bit like all the dogs being taken in at the rescue centres. For some it seemed like a good idea during lockdown and enforced staycations in the UK. Of course, this doesn't apply to everyone.
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As far as cost saving goes, we have not stayed on a main CaMC site since 2019 when touring Scotland the average price per night was £25.48. Since then it has been CLs every time. In 2021 the average price per night at 7 different CLs was £18.14 and for the 42 nights away so far booked for 2022, 5 different CLs, the price has gone up, not unexpectedly, to £19.33. But the main thing for us is the unregimented way owners go about running their CLs, coupled generally with relative peace and quite.
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What did you think to the new glamping pods? I did like the CL as it was and I know owners have to diversify, but I'm not sure yet. They can obviously make more money from pods than from the CL.
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I imagine it could put people off. CL users tend to enjoy peace and tranquility and I am not sure that adding a new type of accommodation where you majority of users have no tradition of camping, let along CL's could be a bit oil and water? Perhaps I am being pessimistic but there are a number of reviews on main Club sites with similar accommodation where members staying in caravans and motorhomes complain. Now obviously it won't apply to all static customers you only have to perceive that they are not working to the same rules that you would expect and people could start voting with their feet. Whether that would be a discouragement to the CL owner remains to be seen because if, as you say, they make more money from the Pods they will just add a couple more and close the CL? If CL's are going down this route then perhaps better to separate out the two different forms of holiday if they have room to do so.
David
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We have stayed twice since the pods were put in, and no problems. Looking at your photo, I think they might have done a bit more work, it looks a bit different in terms of losing some grass. The pods are very nice, most folks were staying two or three nights in them, rather than longer stays. It’s always been a well supervised CL if you get my drift, we were there one time when a family weren’t supervising their rather wild children, but the owners quickly sorted things out. That was pre pods I hasten to add. We would return, it’s one of our favourites.
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We too have been there when the first pods were in use, but not since the new ones were added, but we had no problems with noise, and it was interesting watching the comings and goings. They were used by a wide variety of people, a large Indian family occupying 2 of the pods, through families with young children to a group of ladies on a weekend break.
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Just got back from a month in France & Belgium. 17 nights on sites, including a 5* one, 13 nights on Aires. Overall cost less than £11 per night. Even the commercial sites were substantially cheaper at about 50% of CAMC prices. In the UK, off-grid CL's and C&CC Temporary Holiday sites are the way to go.
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But again it is just pointless bring in and trying to compare abroad prices with UK prices, especially as this is a thread regarding CLs and clubs prices?
...are the way to go
You forgot to add the way to go for you, why not let others decide for themselves?
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But the membership fee is quite high? Ferry and Insurance say between £500/700 which would increase your nightly fee to between £26 and £33 a night. My average so far this year for 29 nights in the UK, including one CL is £28 a night.
David
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Why ‘quote’ prices that you know are wrong CY, why attempt to aggravate a discussion which could lead(as in the past) to arguments. If you have a comparison to prove a point go for it just be fair☹️
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Doesn't affect us any more obviously, but I do think this promoting of off-grid CLs and THS as being a cheap option neglects to factor in the cost of installing the necessary wherewithal to use them.
And, as CS says above, the perpetual comparison of UK sites with European ones (cost wise) is totally pointless unless one also factors in the cost of getting there in the first place.
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In the UK, off-grid CL's and C&CC Temporary Holiday sites are the way to go.
It certainly is if you want to keep costs down.
David not all of us pay £500/700 for ferry and insurance. I can do it for under £300 and I am no spring chicken. £68 aged related top up insurance on our "free" bank account insurance and round about £220 return on the tunnel, the latter can be next to nothing with our Tesco vouchers.
I haven't been away in the motorhome as much as usual so far this year (give it time) but my average nightly cost has been £20.75, adjust that to include Club subs and it becomes £26.70p.n. I don't expect it to reach the dizzy heights of £28p.n although mid season costs are going to be higher.
peedee
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I am guessing they have added a couple more to the original three? Looks as though the hardstandings have been re done as well though, so that’s a plus👍
The pods here are separate from the pitches, not intermingled, and it seems to work well. We didn’t notice the pod people very much until the evenings, they tended to be out and about in the day. One or two were very chatty, interested in vans and MHs as an option, but everyone got on. It’s no different to having any other kind of outfit next to you or nearby to be honest.We stayed on a very nice CL last year that was in the process of installing a couple of Shepherd’s Huts. They were separate, each in their own private large meadow like space, and given what the price for staying was going to be, had I chosen to stay in one, I would have wanted it so.
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It’s perfectly possible to tour for well under £20 a night in this country if you go well prepared, and are actually touring around. We did 10 nights in Scotland, D&G last month. Had six of those nights with HS, hook up, all waste, water services and a loo. The other four we went off grid, utilising MH over night stays. The one CL we used, for four nights was £20 per night, (expensive option for us, but location was all) yet we still averaged £12.30 per night, and did it in comfort, safety, and above all, legally in some gorgeous locations. I would add that we couldn’t have done some of those options with a caravan, and it was getting significantly busier with more outfits around and looking for overnighting pitches as we came home, so it might not be as easy to find overnight stops in the busier months.
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Peedee
In the real world I think we have to factor in that not all will use Tesco Club Card points on the Tunnel or have "free" insurance with their bank account. Also how free is Bank insurance if you have to pay a monthly fee plus extras on top for medical conditions and age? My experience with Nationwide was that their "free insurance" which didn't include breakdown was as expensive as Red Pennant by the time medical conditions were added in. I don't know but given where CY lives I imagine he may well have used Brittany Ferries? So I don't think my calculations as a generality were far of the mark? I don't think people really go to Europe for the cheapness of the campsites surely there is more to it? We have done some wonderful tours of Europe but are now concentrating on the UK so all those extra costs are behind us.
David
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Certainly won’t be the cheapness of the campsites that will attract us overseas. Location and places of interest every time. We expect to pay a lot more to go overseas by the time insurance and getting there is included. Hopefully some of it offset by Aires and cheaper fuel costs.
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how free is Bank insurance if you have to pay a monthly fee plus extras on top for medical conditions and age?
We are fotrunate that neither of us have any medical conditions but we do have the disadvantage of age. I put free in inverted commas because over a certain balance it does come free. That is the case with Nationwide and was with the Lloyds account account I once had. I dread to think what RP would cost me. It was always expensive compared to what is now available on the market.
The big advantage of crossing the channel is the increased freedom to tour at will and being able to park up at attractions.
peedee
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