Useful Site Guides for the UK

[johnlc]

I'm new to this and looking to buy my first motorhome soon, so apologies for my ignorance!

I'm assuming that if I join the Caravan Club and/or Caravanning and Camping Club I would get guides to their sites plus ones that they certify.

I have come across the AA Caravan and Camping Guide 2013 which was reviewed well in Practical Motorhome magazine. I'm not clear whether this would overlap to some extent with guides from the two clubs or not. I've also seen Sea View Camping Britain which really appeals because of its specific focus.

Given I will be a motorhomer, not a camper, any comments you have about the above guides or others you would recommend, for UK sites, would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

[snowie]

 

Hello and welcome john, www.ukcampsites.co.uk is a good resource, and it's free. Withhindsight I'd just join one of the big clubs, not sure which tho' !

There are other websites that you can use, and it will depend on your search criteria, what sort of sites and the areas that you may be interested in. I'd take it slowly, and ask around for advice and suggestions,

regards

alan b

[Tony Jones]

johnlc - 2013-12-04 12:42 PM

 

Given I will be a motorhomer, not a camper, any comments you have about the above guides or others you would recommend, for UK sites, would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

For many of us, this is a BIG difference.

While some motorhomers use their vans like caravans (pitching up on a site for several days at a time, spending some days relaxing on site and others exploring the local area), a motorhome CAN be used in a completely different way.

Personally, we don't think of a site as a place to "spend my holiday," all we look for is a safe (and preferably legal!) place to sleep, and if necessary to fill/empty tanks.

The "holiday" is about all the places we go to, and things we do, during the daytime! Then, as the day draws to an end, we look for a place to sleep (if we've not already arranged one).

And we spend our available budget on things we do during the day, not on renting expensive bits of turf to sleep, or paying for facilities we already have with us.

So when we were in a club, we only ever used the CS/CL networks. Now, we don't even do that - we joined "Britstops," which offers free overnight stops and the chance to meet friendly, interesting people.

http://www.britstops.com/

We also use the Highways Agency's "Truckstops sometimes, and PMH Magazine has a register of "Nightstops" too.

France, and many other continental countries, have far more opportunities than the UK for this kind of motorhoming, but it CAN be done here.

[johnlc]

Thank you both of you for your responses. They are very helpful.

Tony - my approach to motorhoming (not that I've done it yet!) seems very similar to yours.

I certainly don't envisage lazing around on sites. The key thing is where we can stay to sleep and deal with water issues, and get some hook-up as necessary. "Wild camping" is the big appeal to someone who is a keen photographer and wants to be out at dawn a lot of the time.

[colin]

The present C&CC big sites book includes some 'listed' sites, but if you can get hold of an earlier edition (2006?) this lists just about every site, I still consider the changes made in charging by the club which lead to many sites dropping out is one of the biggest diservices they have made to members

[RussS Travel Editor]

You don't have to look far for a free directory of campsites. Near the top of this page, just to the left of the search box, is a link to Campsite Finder (click on CAMPSITES). This lists over 6000 campsites in the UK, Ireland, and elsewhere in Europe and is the largest free online directory of its kind. You can select according to your type of unit (ie, motorhome) as well as by other criteria.

 

There are also a number of annual guidebooks which are distributed free with subscriptions to MMM and Caravan, some also available to purchase. The Feb issue of MMM includes a free copy of Escape (rrp £7.95) and the March issue of Caravan includes Caravan and Holiday Parks (rrp £7.99).

 

I suggest that this is a bargain.