Is it just us?

[Guest pelmetman]

The CC is I thought, supposed to be just that a club, run by the members for the members.

 

It seems nowdays a bit like the goverment, run by a quango, I wonder how many of the great and good use their vans (?) If they have one :D

[jhorsf]

should have booked in advance? your answer should have been "you mean like all the members that booked every weekend and holiday for the year in January just on the off chance they may turn up if they feel like it"the amount of no shows says it all, its time you had to pay in full before like a lot of other sites.That is why I have not renewed my membership not much use if you cannot get on a site when you want to

[Dave Newell]

When we were on holiday in August we used two CC sites, one at Spittal near Berwick upon Tweed and the other at Bury in Lancs. We phoned both sites on the day we would arrive as we hadn't made hard and fast plans on where we would go, both sites could fit us in with no bother. The only CC site we tried and couldn't get in during that fortnight was the Rowntree park site in York but we didn't even phone ahead and when we got there to see full signs we weren't surprised.

 

At the Berwick site I was asked about my motorhome as it is an obvious home conversion, the wardens were very pleasant and not in the least bit derrogatory about us being in a motorhome or it being a home conversion, they simply asked if I had fitted adequate ventilation for all the gas appliances on board and then complimented me on a good looking conversion.

 

To my mind you should have a rough idea of how far you want to travel before stopping for a night and if you are a CC member it makes sense to look in the book and see if there is a site near to that position and then phone ahead to see if there is space and book a pitch, well it worked for us.

 

D.

[Guest Tracker]

Bearing in mind that when arriving at a site one is often tired and maybe a bit concerned about where one is going to stay that night when unbooked so it is easy to misinterpret a casual remark from the warden as unhelpful. That said some sites became known to us for their attitude and it was often a tussle getting a pitch for just one night after 5.00 pm.

 

I used to think that the clubs existed for the benefit of their members but with both clubs it seems that the unbooked customer is certainly not king on most of either club's sites any more?

 

That said I don't doubt that there are still some very good and helpful site wardens about and whatever your views they do as a breed do a very good job for not a great cash reward.

 

I left the CC when they imposed ehu as it does not meet with my needs and we find that for our type of travel the CCC CS network is fine along with their weekend and holiday meets and with the 440 or so Pubs in Motorhome Stopover as back up for the unexpected or change of plan.

 

When we left the CC we were initially concerned about how we would cope without the club sites that we had used for years but we soon found that we cope very well and all of a sudden booking free touring became a heck of a lot easier because we have never had a harsh word from any CS owner or rally steward or pub landlord.

 

So without knocking either club's employees it does seem that there is certainly room for their managements to contemplate embracing the principal of nomadic motor homers and maybe consider never refusing any one nighter even if we spend the night parked up in the car park at a reduced fee? Income is income after all?

 

The different styles of motorhoming need different approaches ranging from those who prefer to be on an all service site to those who just want to park up for the night - neither is right or wrong - just different. We live in hope that maybe the clubs and commercial sites might come to understand this one day and attempt to cater for all needs - and pigs might fly!

[Hawcara]

No it is not just you.

We have met some superb Wardens, but like many things in life, it is often marred by the poor ones.

The problem stems from the fact that the CC is a club. If it were a commercial organisation one would complain, but being 'club' one feels that to do so is something alien.

We went to Perranporth site this year and they were fantastic, but last year to Tintagel and they were horrendous.

We are still members but moving away from the regimentation. 8-)

[Hazy Baby]

Morning all! Didn't realise I would start such an interesting thread! I feel I must just confirm that the lady warden I mentioned was in no way rude. She was very polite but it was polite in the way that a friendly teacher would tell off a child for not following the "rules" at school when they aren't compulsory! To confirm, I do not object in any way to being asked if we have booked, nor to the rules of the Club being implemented, only the WAY we are asked and then made to feel as if we have done something wrong. If the Club wants to go the way of making booking on sites mandatory then so be it but at the moment it is not so why make us feel bad - especially when other site users are in Reception. We have also met superb wardens (mingled in with the umpteeth others, Rupert!) so the conversation doesn't have to be like that. More like - "Have you Booked?" - "No but have you a pitch for two nights please?" - "Yes, can I have your membership card please" Easy isn't it? All happy - no bad feelings on either side. ;-)

[rolandrat]

I had an unpleasant warden experience at Warwick race course when I was confronted with a locked gate. The warden was on the other side and when I asked if I could come in he replied in a very terse manner "don't you read the handbook, we don't allow campers on the site on race days" at which I replied that the stewards had directed me on as the race day had been cancelled. In his ignorance he just walked away so I reversed off and came away and went to Chapel Lane where we were welcomed in a very pleasant manner. The guy at Warwick needs to go on a civility course or find alternative employment where he doesn't come into contact with normally pleasant people.

[bob b]

There are certainly a minority of wardens who are in the  wrong line of work. I've come across a couple who, under a 'veneer of politeness', were rude. That said, when you see how some users treat the facilities I'm not surprised that the wardens get 'world weary' and short of patience.

The last CC site I used, a motorhome turned up at 09.30 in the morning looking for a pitch. Although he shouldn't have been allowed in until after 13.00, the warden let him in. The guy didn't seem particularly grateful and appeared to accept the 13.00 rule as flexible. He even went back 30 minutes later to request another pitch ! 

[Mardee]

We have had the opposite problem with CCC sites. Since we live almost 600miles from the Channel tunnel we like to be able to book a stopover site especially in winter. We choose to travel at weekends since the traffic is less then. We are unable to book CCC sites for 1 night.

It seems that neither club wants to have Motorhomes on overnight stops.

[zeddykay]

I beg to differ.We successfully booked at Folkestone CCC site for 1 night on our outbound trip to France in Sept. for Monday night and another 1 night stay for a Friday night on our way back. We couldn't book hardstanding for the Friday night unless we stayed 2 nights, but an ordinary pitch was OK for us for 1 night.

On another point we have invariably found CCC staff extremely welcoming and helpful even when arriving without previous booking, the only exception being Canterbury, so we now always use Folkestone for our overnights before and after using Dover-Calais ferries.

[Mardee]

We could have booked a standard pitch but in February with a 4 ton van we wanted hardstanding