Good CL’s EHU’s & charges
We’ve all found some lovely CL’s during our touring, but what do we look for in a good CL? The Club give guidance to the owners but many shine above others. EHU charges should be metered & what’s an acceptable price for your nightly pitch?
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We have used very few CL's over our touring career, especially since we had the motorhome. For us it was all about location and that is generally the rub as far as CL's are concerned because many, probably the majority are not really near things. Now I appreciate that is why a lot of people like them. As far as fees are concerned if you have a CL with hardstandings and serviced pitches I don't think you can expect to pay less than £25 a night. You might pay a little less if the electric was metered.
David
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Yes, Oneputt has nailed our first criteria for searching out a CL. We have always loved the sheer variety of little 5 van sites out there, and because we don’t mind being happily and easily self sufficient, we can make use of the whole wide spread of provision. Probably happiest on quiet, off the beaten track type places, where there’s fantastic scenery, the wildlife comes to you, and there might be good local walking and safe cycling direct from the pitch.
We have stayed on lots of farm based CL’s, and like the interest of what’s going on around us, we love coastal CL’s, those near NT, EH, Cadw, HS, HHA properties. We have even stayed on one owned by the late Queen, nothing but a field, a tap, a CPD and a bin, but a location to swoon over on the banks of a canal weaving its way through Wiltshire.We don’t mind CL’s that have good facilities, but given the choice would prefer a lower nightly price, say £15 to £20, and then pay as you need facilities such as EHU, showers. That gives all potential visitors a choice. With a MH, a choice of grass or HS pitching is good, particularly as we tour all year round. Doesn’t have to be precisely laid out, but plenty of room (and I mean plenty, way beyond guidelines) is much preferred.
I’d add that the last few years, post COVID, we have found more of the CCC Small CS sites have suited our needs. Because they take tents as well, most give more option in terms of having hook up or not, but it’s easy to pay £15 per night with no hook up but very good facilities, so the choice is there.
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Surely acceptable is totally dependent on what one is willing to pay on the facilities offered and will vary enormously from person to person?
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It is a personal choice and yes will vary enormously, that’s why the CL network is so good, because of this variety.👍🙂 We don’t always look for a low price, it’s what gives us the best value for money over a whole tour. So our D&G tour a couple of years ago, we varied between £5 for a rather lovely Aire, to £25 for a nice Loch side CL safe to leave our pooch in MH while we went cycling. That was a landscaped garden, HS individual pitches, with a clean loo, at £25 per night. By mixing and matching as required, we had 10 nights at about £12 per night.
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CLs and CSs are our preferred sites. What do we seek? Well, it depends! Recent visit to York we paid £25 for hard standing, ehu, and frequent buses to the city. That is unusual for us, but it was location. We would not pay more than £25 a night. Depending on weather spring and autumn we look for hard standing, but don’t care what sort eg grass over gravel or tarmac. Otherwise happy enough on grass. Definitely not looking for loos and showers. Much prefer no hook up or metered. We too are often finding that easier to obtain on a CCC CS site where we rarely pay more than £15.
Location is important, needs to be handy for what we want to do, although we usually take our 6.4 m PvC off site for the day. Accessibility can occasionally be an issue. For example, this year in Scotland, on one part of our trip there were several attractions in close proximity and we wanted to stay for three nights in order to visit them (normally one or two nights and visit between sites). There were some nice CLs in the vicinity, but access was a bit tricky and going back and forth over a few days wasn’t what we wanted. We ended up on a Club site! But a no electric pitch.2 -
I think the size of the outfit you choose, and how you want to tour, is definitely a consideration around how much you might enjoy using CLs. Caravans with tow cars (particularly 4x4s) can use CLs with ease, and go out and about easily. We do exactly the same with our small MH, but I can see how it might be more of an issue with a larger MH.
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There are certainly some CL sites "pushing the envelop" as far as prices are concerned with £30 a night and even £35 being out there. Some of them are also very popular, and one gets rave reviews, but perhaps their customers think of them more as Boutique Campsites rather than CL's in the traditional sense? To create these types of CL's does require a pretty large investment. With the restriction on only five units it can take several years to recover the investment.
David
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I was never a CL fan. We tried a few but they were places where the owner had a bit of spare land and was making a bit of pocket money without trying very hard or putting in much time, effort or investment. Perhaps we chose badly.
Clearly there have been improvements, and those owners deserve success, but we gave up and went overseas and found low key campsites without the restrictions which CLs impose.
We do still wonder why UK has CLs for members only, and a strict five van limit, while other countries have campsites which are democratically open to everyone and where numbers depend on space available. CLs seem an outdated concept to me.
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We have used quite a few CLs in the last 10 years, and more so since Club site prices increased so much.
Location is not too important, we like to visit an area for a few days before moving on, rather than just a specific town or attraction.
We look for a hardstanding, preferably serviced, and EHU. Not too bothered if EHU is metered as long as price takes that into account.
We do not need any other facilities, we prefer to use our own.
At present our top price would be £22-£25, depending on the area, if serviced hardstanding with EHU included, but preferably not over £22. We only go away April-October, so would expect a reduction of £2-£4 for metered EHU at that time of year.
Prices do seem very variable, and some areas are more expensive than others, but this year we have paid only £18-£20 for a serviced hardstanding with EHU included. One site even had a toilet and shower available, though we did not make use of them.
We have seen these very expensive CLs mentioned by David, but as we do not need fancy facilities we would never consider paying those prices.
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I think if you go back 25-30 years ago, it was more likely that you would find the majority of CLs much more basic. Lots were on farms supplementing the major business, others were more “huge garden”, spare bit of nice land additional income for the home type of set ups. Some like this do still survive, although most are now into the next generation, and are likely to have had at least one change, say EHU, or HS made. The last twenty years or so has seen more open with more facilities, or existing CLs have put in a lot more facilities, such as shower blocks and toilets. That’s why some disappear off the CL network, having decided to extend the pitch numbers and after getting planning permission, and go independent. Being under the umbrella of the CAMC/C&CC is rather a good start up, you get advice, help, certification on setting up, then access to thousands of Members who belong to each Club, so it’s easy advertising, word of mouth. Websites such PitchUp, SearchforSites, etc…. Possibly weren’t around 20 years ago, but are there now for extra market penetration. The fact that the CLs/CS’s are part of the Clubs, is possibly another positive for many, as both Club’s on the whole are trusted brands.
Anyone who hasn’t used a CL, or CS in say the last 20, but particularly the last 10 years might be hugely surprised at just how lovely, well provided, well managed so many are, there are some that are much much nicer even than the poshest of Club Sites. But thankfully, the variety also means that you don’t have to have everything, and pay accordingly.
There’s actually never been a better time to take up touring in UK, as the huge variety of options is out there now, and there is something for literally everyone’s taste, requirements and pockets. Albeit, a lot easier with a MH or Campervan, to have access to every choice.
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Perfect explanation Ttda.
As to metering I'm not entirely convinced the "EHU charges should be metered" as stated by OP. There are members out there that just want to get on with their holiday without the bother/worry that metering brings. Getting an app or keeping a record or finding somewhere that provides cash etc. Personally I think some members will be happy having a reduction in fee and doing without EHU. There's still a fair number of CLs that don't have it at all. If metering is introduced by the owner then I hope they reduce the site fee by the appropriate average usage amount, otherwise why bother?
Oneputt hit the nail on the head with his reply. Location counts for so much but I'm not prepared to spend my precious "holiday" time on a wreck of a CL/CS or Site.
The beauty of the network though is the variety that can be found, which admittedly would put some non CL users off as they want conformity. You pays you money and takes your choice.
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I had to chuckle at your “conformity” WN. You can often tell from reading reviews just how new to CL use some folks are….. quite different to Club Sites.
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"We charge just £26/night in 2025 which includes 10kWh of metered EHU. Metering helps keep our pitch fees low!"
Now that makes me laugh, especially the second sentence, as we have just been on a CL where the cost was £10 pn, on Hardstanding with unmetered EHU. You charged must be as high as they are because your site is South of the Watford Gap.
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@nelliethehooker Surely a CL with hardstandings and only charging £10 a night including electricity is the outlier? No way they can make any money? You obviously found a bargain there!
David
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We prefer CLs to club sites, why, because we try to find a CL with a view, it is so nice to be able to sit out if the weather is is not inclement. The feeling of space with a panoramic vista ticks nearly all the boxes.
But if I was choosey I like an easy route to the CL, flat pitch and nice neighbors.
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£10 per night at this time of year certainly is a bargain!
While not adverse to metered EHU, I would want sites to state the cost of their electricity on their website, if they have one, and keep that information updated. For those touring in the colder months this is important information and no doubt would influence choice of site.
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We are at present on a CL with Hardstanding and metered electrics, where the basic price is £15pn, and over a 7 night period the cost of electrics, for us, has been £21, which make the overall cost £18pn. How some CL owners can charge £25pn, and more, and then add metered electrics baffles me! We will certainly not be visiting them.
It also has one of the very best dog walk from any CL, club or commercial site, apart from ones adjacent to a forest, that we have stayed on.
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@nelliethehooker I agree with your sentiments nellie. We used to stay regularly on a CL not far from home but then they increased their pitch price to £27, plus £2 to use the loo / shower - and then - they introduced metered electricity and didn't reduce their pitch price. The nearby Club site was actually cheaper at certain times of the year! Although OK, the site was nothing special. Certainly won't be using that one again.
On the other hand @Skybarn Farm CL, near Lincoln, reduced their pitch price by £5 when they introduced meters and are totally upfront what their unit price is. It's that sort of fairness that gets my business, not the former.
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It seem leisure vehicle owners want everything on a plate these days and are not prepared to put in a bit of effort to enjoy what a site has to offer. What makes a good CL for us is just easy access and hardstanding. We don't really need anything else but I can appreciate some don't have the facilities we have and still need extras but why pay for these if you do not need them. However you look at it, extras cost whether they are provided in your vehicle or on a site and are priced accordingly. What is value to one person is not to another.
peedee
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@peedee You mentioned this put in a bit of effort a number of times before but why should anyone be, or have to be, prepared to do that in the first place which appears to be what you are suggesting? Also what is wrong with some wanting everything on a plate? Yes there are some where the 'effort' is part of the holiday and others the opposite with some overlap I should think but it's not all leisure vehicle owners as you posted is it?
It's their holiday to enjoy as they wish surely. And for me there's a clue in the word holiday. I'm by no means lazy on holiday but once back on site I want things to be as easy as possible.
Fully agree with your last two sentences.
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