IMP Posted August 18, 2019 Share Posted August 18, 2019 Hi, there In the process of purchasing our first UK Motorhome. We previously had Motorhomes when living in Spain and have no experience of using one in the UK. I am looking for advice as to which Club to join. We will be using the Van for long week ends in the UK and also going to Europe with it twice a year. Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeamRienza Posted August 18, 2019 Share Posted August 18, 2019 Many people will have experience of both clubs and views on their site network, but for me it is the less obvious aspects that count in my choice. I am in the camping and caravan club and where I live (N. Ireland) they only have one site whilst the Caravan club have none. The C&CC in my area has 4 sections who arrange meets most week ends through the season. Many are basic in a field, rugby club etc with tap and cassette emptying facility and are correspondingly cheap. Have a look at their out and about section on their website for examples. Both clubs have a network of small 5 van sites operated by landowners with a bit of space (farms etc) again cheap but some with facilities can be dear. The other big feature for me is that the C&CC have an arrangement with the RAC for breakdown and recovery at a reduced price but with increased service levels. This is particularly useful for our European trips where the option of repatriating the van regardless of size, weight or age is nice to have at your back. Because 2 of our 3 children still reside at home we have a family cover which is exceptional value. Both clubs offer discounts on ferry tickets and other items but I find these are not really worth it as shopping around can often beat their discounts. Hope this helps. Davy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted August 18, 2019 Share Posted August 18, 2019 There will be several reasons for your choice, for club sites the main one for us is EHU, most of the time we don't need it, only C&CC will offer you a choice of non electric grass pitch, but if you need hard standing AFAIK C&CC can only offer this with EHU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aandy Posted August 18, 2019 Share Posted August 18, 2019 Two differences that might be relevant are that C&CC have quite restrictive minimum stay requirements on many of their sites, some stipulating a three night minimum even mid week out of season, and they have fewer five van sites than C&MHC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted August 18, 2019 Share Posted August 18, 2019 aandy - 2019-08-18 2:18 PM Two differences that might be relevant are that C&CC have quite restrictive minimum stay requirements on many of their sites, some stipulating a three night minimum even mid week out of season, and they have fewer five van sites than C&MHC. I have never been on a club site which enforces a minimum number of nights stay, there was one franchised site which tried to a couple of times, this was the one in Devon near the A30, both times I said no I'm only here for one night in transit, I believe it's no longer a C&CC site. If booking at weekends then I believe there is sometimes a minimum two nights, but if I only want to stay one night I've phoned up site and if they have plenty of room they have let me turn up and pay for one night only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aandy Posted August 18, 2019 Share Posted August 18, 2019 colin - 2019-08-18 3:45 PM aandy - 2019-08-18 2:18 PM Two differences that might be relevant are that C&CC have quite restrictive minimum stay requirements on many of their sites, some stipulating a three night minimum even mid week out of season, and they have fewer five van sites than C&MHC. I have never been on a club site which enforces a minimum number of nights stay, there was one franchised site which tried to a couple of times, this was the one in Devon near the A30, both times I said no I'm only here for one night in transit, I believe it's no longer a C&CC site. If booking at weekends then I believe there is sometimes a minimum two nights, but if I only want to stay one night I've phoned up site and if they have plenty of room they have let me turn up and pay for one night only. All sites have a two night minimum at weekends and during peak season. Others have additional minima as set out in the link below, some as much as five nights. You can often get round it by phoning the site on the day you want to stay, but I have always found the rule to be enforced for advance and online bookings. https://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/minimumbookingperiods/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted August 18, 2019 Share Posted August 18, 2019 aandy - 2019-08-18 4:30 PM All sites have a two night minimum at weekends and during peak season. Others have additional minima as set out in the link below, some as much as five nights. You can often get round it by phoning the site on the day you want to stay, but I have always found the rule to be enforced for advance and online bookings. https://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/minimumbookingperiods/ I was able to book a one night stay on line recently at the C&CC Site at Canterbury for a one night halt prior to crossing the Channel. I could only book a grass pitch with no electric (not a problem) but I did the same in Spring and when I rang the Site the day before arrival they were happy to switch me to a hardstanding pitch. As I understand it the two night minimum for on line bookings is only applied to the more popular (and expensive) hardstanding pitches with EHU and even that is flexible if there are vacant pitches when you get there. As a Member with Age Concession the grass pitch for one night is only costing £12 odd! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted August 18, 2019 Share Posted August 18, 2019 aandy - 2019-08-18 4:30 PM colin - 2019-08-18 3:45 PM aandy - 2019-08-18 2:18 PM Two differences that might be relevant are that C&CC have quite restrictive minimum stay requirements on many of their sites, some stipulating a three night minimum even mid week out of season, and they have fewer five van sites than C&MHC. I have never been on a club site which enforces a minimum number of nights stay, there was one franchised site which tried to a couple of times, this was the one in Devon near the A30, both times I said no I'm only here for one night in transit, I believe it's no longer a C&CC site. If booking at weekends then I believe there is sometimes a minimum two nights, but if I only want to stay one night I've phoned up site and if they have plenty of room they have let me turn up and pay for one night only. All sites have a two night minimum at weekends and during peak season. Others have additional minima as set out in the link below, some as much as five nights. You can often get round it by phoning the site on the day you want to stay, but I have always found the rule to be enforced for advance and online bookings. https://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/minimumbookingperiods/ The clue is in 'minimum booking period', i.e. the minimum stay you can book, not the minimum stay. p.s like Stuart we've booked in to Canterbury for one night prior to channel crossing, but we've always stayed in outside carpark due to early start, for later start prefer Folkstone, but no idea if they accept one night bookings as we've only gone midweek there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aandy Posted August 18, 2019 Share Posted August 18, 2019 Minimum booking or minimum stay, unless you are happy to leave it to the day of travel before knowing whether or not you have a pitch, they amount to much the same thing. According to the C&CC website, Folkestone will not take one night bookings for Fridays or Saturdays, or during peak periods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IMP Posted August 19, 2019 Author Share Posted August 19, 2019 Thanks to all that have responded to my question on which club to join. On balance, I think that I will go with the C&MH Club - as being the one most suitable for our needs. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted August 19, 2019 Share Posted August 19, 2019 aandy - 2019-08-18 9:41 PM ...... Minimum booking or minimum stay, unless you are happy to leave it to the day of travel before knowing whether or not you have a pitch, they amount to much the same thing... We booked one night, on a Saturday, on line, several weeks in advance. I think you need to check your facts and stop generalising so much. C&CC clearly has restrictions on some sites but not others. The restrictions probably vary with low/high season too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aandy Posted August 19, 2019 Share Posted August 19, 2019 StuartO - 2019-08-19 3:45 PM aandy - 2019-08-18 9:41 PM ...... Minimum booking or minimum stay, unless you are happy to leave it to the day of travel before knowing whether or not you have a pitch, they amount to much the same thing... We booked one night, on a Saturday, on line, several weeks in advance. I think you need to check your facts and stop generalising so much. C&CC clearly has restrictions on some sites but not others. The restrictions probably vary with low/high season too. I checked my facts against the C&CC website before I posted. I even provided a link to the relevant page on the site that sets out the minimum booking periods. If you care to check your facts (easily done by following the link I provided) you'll see that all sites have a minimum two night booking for service pitches on Fridays and Saturdays and for all pitches during peak periods. A number of other sites have additional minima, some out of season and some up to five days. Whatever the precise details, the simple fact is that many C&CC sites do impose minimum booking periods, some much more restrictive than anything I have encountered at commercial sites. My intention was merely to alert the OP to that fact as it may be something he would want to consider in making his choice, particularly as the other club impose no such restriction. I certainly didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 aandy - 2019-08-19 6:10 PM StuartO - 2019-08-19 3:45 PM aandy - 2019-08-18 9:41 PM ...... Minimum booking or minimum stay, unless you are happy to leave it to the day of travel before knowing whether or not you have a pitch, they amount to much the same thing... We booked one night, on a Saturday, on line, several weeks in advance. I think you need to check your facts and stop generalising so much. C&CC clearly has restrictions on some sites but not others. The restrictions probably vary with low/high season too. I checked my facts against the C&CC website before I posted. I even provided a link to the relevant page on the site that sets out the minimum booking periods. If you care to check your facts (easily done by following the link I provided) you'll see that all sites have a minimum two night booking for service pitches on Fridays and Saturdays and for all pitches during peak periods. A number of other sites have additional minima, some out of season and some up to five days. Whatever the precise details, the simple fact is that many C&CC sites do impose minimum booking periods, some much more restrictive than anything I have encountered at commercial sites. My intention was merely to alert the OP to that fact as it may be something he would want to consider in making his choice, particularly as the other club impose no such restriction. I certainly didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition. We seem to be agreed that C&CC do impose some minimum period booking restrictions some of the time to some of their pitches. I have provided an example of how it is still possible to book a one night stay during a weekend, so it's always worth asking. I'm sorry if you think I was somehow subjecting you to torture, my intention was simply to point out that you were in danger of exaggerating! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 aandy - 2019-08-19 6:10 PM ...I certainly didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition. Having first registered on these forums 4 years ago, you should know by now that the universal rule that "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition” has never applied here. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 Returning to the OP's question, I'm still a member of both CAMC and C&CC and this has its uses because the two clubs are different and some policies or facilities or discounts are better than the other club's. CAMC perhaps offers more and better deals (but not so good at making them known) and their sites are more manicured and middle class (but sometimes that comes with middle class moaning minnies finding things to complain about) while C&CC sites seem more cosmopolitan, relaxed, friendly and often cheaper - although I have perhaps experienced a bit more officiousness from wardens on C&CC sites in years gone by. (Wardens on both club's sites have been trained to be more customer-friendly these days.) But we rarely stay at the UK sites of either club these days (except for an overnight stay to make a Channel crossing easier) so perhaps we should cut one of them out to save £50 or so. I would find it difficult to choose and the £50 isn't critical, so I'll probably stick with both. If you are new to motorhoming, I suggest it's worth joining both so you can work out which suits you best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IMP Posted August 20, 2019 Author Share Posted August 20, 2019 Many Thanks for your response I think that I will stick with the CAMC, but will also be using non club sites - for instance adult only ones - more. Having used ASCI a lot, when living in Spain, I will also be signing up for that, at the October NEC SHOW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aandy Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 StuartO - 2019-08-20 8:21 AM We seem to be agreed that C&CC do impose some minimum period booking restrictions some of the time to some of their pitches. I have provided an example of how it is still possible to book a one night stay during a weekend, so it's always worth asking. I'm sorry if you think I was somehow subjecting you to torture, my intention was simply to point out that you were in danger of exaggerating! At the risk of labouring the point, it's hardly an exaggeration when I provided a link with precise details of the booking minima. I tend to prefer moving on frequently to spending several nights in one place, so may well have been frustrated by this particular restriction more than most. Don't worry about the torture. Given that the favoured method is the comfy chair, it's really not a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 aandy - 2019-08-20 10:47 AM At the risk of labouring the point ..... I don't always find the websites of either club easy to use to look something like policies or rules up so I will bow to the superior knowledge which it's obviously important for you to assert. I have merely related my own experience, which is that single night bookings can be made, even at weekends, at least on some C&CC Sites, including on line, as I did. I therefore merely suggest that it can be worth settling for a non-electric grass pitch or ringing up and asking if the website appears to be frustrating your aims. Now will you let it drop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seaside-bill Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 IMP I’ve been a member of both for several years. I think the value derived from members rates, particular age concession out of high season for regular campers, more than covers the joint subscription. You obviously also get a much bigger spread of site options, club and affiliated. ACSI is really great value if your tour abroad out of season, less so for UK sites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aandy Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 "I don't always find the websites of either club easy to use to look something like policies or rules up" They're not. That is why I provided the link to make it easy. "which it's obviously important for you to assert" Not remotely, but on the rare occasions I do get something right I'm not going to apologise for it. Moreover, looking back over this exchange I think that accusation is better levelled in the opposite direction. "I have merely related my own experience, which is that single night bookings can be made, even at weekends, at least on some C&CC Sites, including on line" Have I ever said they couldn't? Perhaps you overlooked the word "many" in my original post. "Now will you let it drop?" I will if you will. I cannot believe that a simple, factual, and non-controversial (or so I thought) post, intended to do no more than point out that single night bookings are easier with one club than the other, has attracted such opprobrium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevec176 Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 Unfortunately there are some members of this forum who like nothing better than to bitch about and to try and find fault with whatever is written here and the only answer is to not bite and just try to ignore them. Most of the users appreciate the help and advice given so that you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 aandy - 2019-08-20 10:30 PM ..."Now will you let it drop?" I will if you will. *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 I think this debate has now run its course so I am going to freeze this thread. Keith (Assistant Moderator). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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