Camping-Car Park Continues to Expand
Comments
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Don’t know about the rules JVB. On the pictures of Aires here they don’t seem to have any more spacing than CCP ones. Which has ranged from the width of a MH to over 10 metres. A lot of the issue might be that there are no existing sites to convert as in France, where local communities have done a deal with CCP converting their municipal sites, existing Aires or area of waste land. They have constructed some brand spanking new ones but many are existing refurbished units. Clearly land prices are astronomical here, plus there could well be local opposition, as locals have no experience of the benefits they will bring to the area.
One we stopped on in 2019, close to where the Rhone enters the Med, had been an existing free Aire on an area of waste land. CCP put in 100 marked pitches, fencing, a barrier and facilities but no electric at that time. Three years later half the site is now a boat yard and each of the remaining 40 pitches have 6 amp electric, plus there is a WiFi hot spot.0 -
Yes, there appears to be more sites shown on the France map, which is great news. However, as above, the app currently lists no UK CCPark sites.
for those looking to tour France, CCP is a great option if you're looking for a booked place, perhaps more security etc, but this will come at a price, albeit one far lower than a typical UK stop.
however, don't forget there are over 8000 (at my last reading) countryside, village, town and city Aires that have been operated by local authorities for many years, a huge proportion of which are free. Also, not limited to France. Most European countries (other than the UK) have a similar system in place.
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Do these camping car parks have swimming pools, or serve cold drinks on shady terraces, or have a rotisserie van call round in an evening, or deliver fresh croissants into your open window at 7 am.? There are decent campsites all over France which do.
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for those looking to tour France, CCP is a great option if you're looking for a booked place, perhaps more security etc, but this will come at a price, albeit one far lower than a typical UK stop.
I am not convinced the booking option with CCP would be that much use currently and and it costs €29 a year. You can check online to see how full places are, so it would only be worth booking if they were very popular. One such we stopped at, supposedly had 26 spaces, however there were no marked bays and some folk had been a bit greedy. I counted 22 vans on one of the two nights we stopped and there wasn’t room for anyone else. The booking of a late arriving MH wouldn’t have been worth much, as there was just nowhere to go.
Most of the CCP sites we visited had marked bays but not all and even where marked they were often far from obvious. Generally it seemed to be the ones they had taken over from other providers and they are expanding rapidly. So hopefully in time they will get round to marking them and perhaps improving the vague ones.
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No they don’t have swimming pools. Although several are next to the municipal one. Many are only a few hundred metres from shops that sell fresh croissants etc and within easy walking distance of bars / restaurants. You would be hard pressed to find a camp site right in the centre of Uzes for example, but there is a free Aire at the Domaine saint Fermin. They will even sell you a bottle of wine, after you have tasted the options of course.
Oh we do stop at the sort of sites you mention as well, if they are in the right place. It’s all down to location.
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Agreed, however some vanners coming from a 'regimented/secure' type system like a Club environment might find it easier to make the 'leap away from sites' if they have a booking.
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Not necessarily, as SteveL mentions, some Aires DO have access to an adjoined site with full use of facilities just at a lower price than on the campsite itself. We have used this type of arrangement several times.
none of this precludes our similar liking for full fat French 'destination' sites, a couple of which we will be using in September, both are €22 a night ....sites which we mix with other forms of stopover and which would shock most club members with the range, cleanliness and modernity of the features/services on offer..a mile away from a typical €44+ club site.
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Isn't that rather patronising?😕 I'm sure folk will cope flying solo as many do already.
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Forgot about this CCP we stopped on in late June. Village with shops etc a few hundred metres behind the camera and a nice sandy beach for kids to play on and swimming permitted, just behind those benches in the distance. It’s about 30 km south of Le Mans.
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Tin Wheeler. I speak to many people when touring overseas and it's a common theme that at lot of folk want a bit of certainty, handholding and security as they venture for the first time. My point was this CCP system allows folk to get some of that with the knowledge of a booked pitch.
certainly not patronising, merely a reflection of my experiences when meeting folk camping abroad. Perhaps you had a different feel when you conversed with vanners on French sites?
Also, how did you find the CCP system/sites? Easy to use? and of a decent standard?
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Ah, now you say "first time" it throws a slightly different light on things but I do find your phrasing rather unfortunate - only my view of course.
I find most folk like to book the first night for when they roll off the ferry and I’m with them on that but, given that folk frequently bewail the need to book and plan their trips in this country, I think the majority welcome the freedom of flying free without the constraints imposed by too many vanners vying for too few pitches that we see in the UK.
I think the CCP system and sites are great and have no complaints at all. It would be good to see them operate in the UK but I just don’t see it happening on any great scale. It’s good news though that some councils are waking up to the need, especially north of the Border.
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Ah, yes...you definitely seem to have read far too much into my post.
As you seem to be quite knowledgeable regarding continental travellers, it would be good to have such a wealth of, hopefully recent, experience in this section of the forum.
im finding we are limited to just a few folk.which CCP site was your favourite? Do you use them exclusively or do you use a mix of sites? Any particular Channel crossing good for you?
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Wow, I’m enjoying this!
I have to leave the recent experiences to you as I’ve reached the age of not wanting to gad around Euroland any more but you have plenty of company in this section, far more than "a few". It would not be fair for me to muddy the waters with out of date info but that doesn’t stop me following discussions and reading constructive posts and I’m sure you’ll regale us with your tales and photos in due course.
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I'm not so sure, we have met many folk on our travels who much prefer to book ahead.
Remember Camping Cheques, we met one couple we only used sites that accepted them, they bought thousand's of pounds of cheques and then booked ahead. They said they preferred to do it that way as they believed the quality of sites were better and more what they were used to back home.
Our friends also prefer to book ahead rather than wing it, it took us going on holiday with them, to show them the ropes, to get a bit of confidence in not booking (he still phones ahead though) 😁
I agree with SL and YT that booking ahead with CCP is not really required and could sometimes be a bad choice, unless you know that site. We turned up at one that looked to be just what we were after, on getting there and looking around we changed our mind and went to another near by. That's the reason why we love touring over there. So much choice.
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First I've been to many Italian sites that have far more stringent rules and regimentation than club sites. You're also making it sound as if club site users need some help in booking abroad for some reason?
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Suggested tours how?
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In this manner CS. One of many suggestions.
We used the one at Villandry in 2019.
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Looks excellent
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