michaelmorris Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Next year my wife and I hoping to start going away in our motorhome quite a bit, including at least one touring holiday all in the UK. We’re thinking of joining either the Camping and Caravanning Club or Caravan Club, but which one? (we can’t afford both). I’m finding it hard fully understand the advantages of joining either and certainly their websites don’t seem to clearly show the differences between the two organisations. What do I get for my money and what are the advantages/disadvantages each organisations? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 No longer a member of CC, never been with CC&C. But I understood that the CC have more clubs, and are better overseas PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 I 've never seen a lot of difference between them, although the C&CC do come across as a little less ' formal ' than the CC. All the sites I've used - in both clubs - have been of a good standard. Had excellent help from C&CC when I had mechanical trouble with van in Spain some years ago - (had no experience of CC in similar conditions so can't comment on them ). If / when you are over 60 yrs the C&CC have concessionary rates in low season, which can be a saving worth looking at. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshague Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 CC sites are more expensive than CCC in most cases .when you arrive at a cc site book in pay then go and find a site that is not occupied ,white or blue peg .must park as club says .On a ccc site arrive pay then you are escorted to you pitch if do not like then its no trouble for the warden to show you another .on most ccc sites rules about pitching are relaxed on larger grass areas .found ccc to be more relaxed and members to be very friendly. wardens to be very helpful not like cc Hitler's .ccc have lots of holiday and weekend rally's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Depends what you want from a club? I have not been a member of either for quite a few years now as we holiday mainly abroad but as it was then the CC had more club sites than the CCC and it also has (used to have) considerably more CLs than the CCC had CSs. The CCC had far more weekend meets and temporary holiday sites all over the UK than the CC and they are (were) far less formal and less expensive with generally no need to pre book whereas with the CC if you did not prebook well in advance you were unlikely to get in on arrival. They both do insurance, breakdown, travel, ferries etc but as to which is the better of the two I have no idea! Most people have their own experiences good and bad and these vary widely so should be considered but not taken as definitive of the clubs as you need to determine exactly what it is that you want your club to provide for your needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 The CC is more snobby and do not allow tents, and on some sites commercial vehicles *-) ......... As our friends discovered, who are CC members yet tow with a Renault Traffic van with windows, that has purpose built cages for their dogs :-| ........... I wonder if they've noticed that motorhomes are built on commercial vehicles? :D .......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelmorris Posted July 13, 2015 Author Share Posted July 13, 2015 Tracker - 2015-07-13 12:24 PM Depends what you want from a club? I have not been a member of either for quite a few years now as we holiday mainly abroad but as it was then the CC had more club sites than the CCC and it also has (used to have) considerably more CLs than the CCC had CSs. The CCC had far more weekend meets and temporary holiday sites all over the UK than the CC and they are (were) far less formal and less expensive with generally no need to pre book whereas with the CC if you did not prebook well in advance you were unlikely to get in on arrival. They both do insurance, breakdown, travel, ferries etc but as to which is the better of the two I have no idea! Most people have their own experiences good and bad and these vary widely so should be considered but not taken as definitive of the clubs as you need to determine exactly what it is that you want your club to provide for your needs. Thanks Tracker Excuse my ignorance, but I'm still very much finding my feet with motorhoming. The websites for both organisations seem to assume that you know exactly what the benefits of joining are and how they operate. To me, both websites seem pretty poor at spelling out exactly what you are paying for. They talk about sites and savings, but don't spell out where these sites are or what savings you can actually expect to get. Without this info, it seems hard to assess the benefits of membership. Am I correct in assuming that all C&CC and CC sites are all exclusively for the use of their respective membership? My current perception (based purely on what I have read and been told) is that C&CC is more family-oriented and has a more relaxed style than the CC club. Is this fair or have I misunderstood? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordThornber Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 CC members for 16 years, extremely well run sites, very ordered and officious. Bit of a maverick? CC definitely not for you. Only had 3 experiences of CCC and all were poor. This is what we witnessed at the times, children turning taps on and spraying water everywhere, leaving them running too. Mini motos being ridden all round one site. Noise continuing late, i.e. 11pm + Any of the above on a CC site would find you:- Shot Disembowelled Membership withdrawn Shot again just to make sure. Get the picture? Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordThornber Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Now then Dave, tents ARE allowed on some CC sites. Snobby? Definitely and the better for it. Commercial vehicles are welcome but not with 'Let us tarmac your drive for £25' all over it. Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candapack Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 I'm in both and have been for 25 years (with a break of 2 when we had neither caravan nor motorhome). I used to think the CC sites were of a higher quality, but not now. It happens that C&CC sites are in better locations for us, and their quality has I think improved over the years. Have only used CC CL's, which have always been good, so can't say how they compare with C&CC CS's. C&CC is definitely less formal than CC, but I have to say that I don't recognise some posters descriptions of CC wardens. I have always found them to be just as friendly and helpful as their C&CC counterparts. And given the behaviour of some of their customers, both clubs, it's amazing how they remain like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 michaelmorris - 2015-07-13 12:40 PM Tracker - 2015-07-13 12:24 PM Depends what you want from a club? I have not been a member of either for quite a few years now as we holiday mainly abroad but as it was then the CC had more club sites than the CCC and it also has (used to have) considerably more CLs than the CCC had CSs. The CCC had far more weekend meets and temporary holiday sites all over the UK than the CC and they are (were) far less formal and less expensive with generally no need to pre book whereas with the CC if you did not prebook well in advance you were unlikely to get in on arrival. They both do insurance, breakdown, travel, ferries etc but as to which is the better of the two I have no idea! Most people have their own experiences good and bad and these vary widely so should be considered but not taken as definitive of the clubs as you need to determine exactly what it is that you want your club to provide for your needs. Thanks Tracker Excuse my ignorance, but I'm still very much finding my feet with motorhoming. The websites for both organisations seem to assume that you know exactly what the benefits of joining are and how they operate. To me, both websites seem pretty poor at spelling out exactly what you are paying for. They talk about sites and savings, but don't spell out where these sites are or what savings you can actually expect to get. Without this info, it seems hard to assess the benefits of membership. Am I correct in assuming that all C&CC and CC sites are all exclusively for the use of their respective membership? My current perception (based purely on what I have read and been told) is that C&CC is more family-oriented and has a more relaxed style than the CC club. Is this fair or have I misunderstood? Thanks The lack of clarity exposes the weaknesses of both organisations. They may call themselves clubs but they do like to make money as well whilst allegedly looking after their paying customers aka members. You can stay on some club sites as a non member but they will charge you a lot more and this is where they get their club site 'savings' theory from. Whether you could save money by using commercial sites I have no idea as we don't use them enough either but the standards of facilities and camper activity on commercial sites is generally not as good or as well regulated as on club sites. As Martyn says the CC sites do tend to be better regulated but also in so doing a lot more formal. Depends what you want from a site. If we rejoin it will probably be the CCC as we prefer informal camping with no pre booking such as weekend meets and temporary holiday sites which we can decide to go to wherever and whenever the mood or the weather beckons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 malc d - 2015-07-13 11:41 AM I 've never seen a lot of difference between them, although the C&CC do come across as a little less ' formal ' than the CC. All the sites I've used - in both clubs - have been of a good standard. ;-) That has been our experience .....the C&CC does(*did?) appear to attract a more mixed(younger?)clientele, presumably because it has a major "tent-camping" element? (*we let our membership lapse because we just weren't using it). And any oap/midweek type deals aside(which were of no use to us), I can't recall there being much, if any, difference between the two club's pitch fees.. MichaelM Checking out each club's site network coverage, may help give an indication as to whether or not membership would be of any practical benefit to you.. (..there's little point in being in either, if they don't have any sites(and CLs/CSs) in areas that interest you). We haven't used a "main" CC site for a while now but we did used to like having the ability to check(and book)late availability online, without having go through all the unanswered phone calls/messages and unresponded to emails malarkey. (Turning up on spec may be fine if you have the luxury of having the time to head off elsewhere..but not so good if restricted due to work). ..and personally, I can't say I've ever come across any "Hilter" types running any 'sites(be they "club" or Commercial), although I have come across some "campers" who I could imagine would be a PITA to have to deal with..... ;-) .. (..also I dare say that there are plenty of commercial sites that will allow "white vans"(towing mini diggers, if needs be) , along with "mobile kennels", if that's what floats anyone's' boat.. ;-) ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Joe90 Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 I would say to the OP, what you are paying around £40 in either instance is for a paperback book for listings of some UK camp sites, a bit like paying £40 for a listing of Tescos, Waitrose etc, stores, and then usually paying handsomely for the privilege of going there. There are literally thousands of sites that do not insist you belong to anything to use them, the majority of which are privately owned and run, and often far cheaper, and in far better locations very often. There are of course numerous paper publications as well as websites that for me at least make the idea of belonging to any "club" ( which is what exactly ? ) more and more redundant in this day and age Although I will qualify my statements by saying having been in both at various times, was not the most uplifting experience. http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 I'd agree with Joe90, if the only reason you're looking at either "club", is to be able to find 'sites, then as posted, websites like ukcampsites (which has supplied the majority of locations we use),when used along with Google/map search etc, brings up loads of options.. Seeing as you're only looking to "join" next year, well by which time, you would've probably had a good poke around online to see what's available anyway..... . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyg3nwl Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Hi, we are members of both, and cl/cs fans in uk as generally they are available, lessformal than main sites. main sites are always well tended, if somewhat expensive, on a par with commercially run sites, but without the ClubhouseBar complex. There are Rules on both, basically to minimise any risks from unforseen circumstances, and the Regimentation complained of by lots, generally stems from the planning conditions imposed by local authorities? "Clubs" or Special interest groups, Centres, etc exist in both, and organise events, rallies etc for members,..Rallies in CC, have to be prebooked,and prepaid, whereas the"Meets" in ccc frequently are "just turn up , "no booking needed".. Basically, they are very similar in some respects, and membership costs etc are about equal. tonyg3nwl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tugga Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Michael We are members of both clubs and how we use them is: If we want to stay on a club site - we always choose Caravan Club as they are nicer. C&CC seem to be more open and don't have the number of hard standings as they cover tents as well as caravans and motorhomes. During the school holidays if we want to go away, we tend to use the Camping and Caravan Club as they have Temporary Holiday Sites (THS.s) in some lovely locations at very reasonable prices. (£9 - £11 per night). We also go away with a local C&CC BCC to some nice local locations - also very cheap. Before you decide, you need to think about what you want from a club, if you want to use sites or CL's then I would recommend the Caravan Club. If you want to join in with local people and go away during school holidays then join The Camping & Caravan Club. One professes to be "The friendly club" but we have never found either of them to be friendly particularly. I hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashpark Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 michaelmorris - 2015-07-13 11:17 AM Next year my wife and I hoping to start going away in our motorhome quite a bit, including at least one touring holiday all in the UK. We’re thinking of joining either the Camping and Caravanning Club or Caravan Club, but which one? (we can’t afford both). I’m finding it hard fully understand the advantages of joining either and certainly their websites don’t seem to clearly show the differences between the two organisations. What do I get for my money and what are the advantages/disadvantages each organisations? We've joined both, being new to motorhoming it seemed worth it for this year at least. Main attraction for us is the access to CLs and CSs, the age related discount with the C&CC is allegedly 25% outside high season, assuming you can figure out the price structure works. The CC will cost you a straight £10 a night extra if you are a non-member so five nights on a main site will pay the joining fee. So far we've had nothing but good experiences of sites run by both clubs. They both have online booking systems for main sites which work well, for others it's usually a phone call to book. Both organisations offered insurance and, for us, neither was even close to being competitive. There also discounts offered on purchases at food and retail outlets, I would be surprised if anyone ever uses them. I would suggest looking at where you're liable to tour and decide if both, either or neither fit with where you want to go. I'm a friendly kind of guy (honest ;-) ) but the idea of "a club meet" is my idea of hell 8-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek500 Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 We are CCC members, but if there's a CC CL more convenient to where we're going (usually golf tournaments or family), we ring, tell them we're in the 'other' club and have never been refused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeddykay Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 I've saved a considerable sum of money, far more than the club subscription, with the 10% discount from the membership of the C&CC at Cotswold Outdoor and Mountain Warehouse, purchasing walking gear, rucksack and various waterproofs. Being retired the discount offered from this club out of peak season is a bonus. The site network of C&CC suits our particular interests better than CC, it's horses for courses really, though at times we have been members of both clubs. Both clubs offer useful discounts on ferries for anyone travelling abroad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly58 Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 They are both money grabbing organisations who prey on the unwary thinking they have the monopoly as to where you can park / camp as a motorhome / caravan owner. What you have to realise is you cannot get 0n site before 12 noon and have to be off by 10.00am with a minimum stay of 2 nights which in effect you are paying for 2 nights roughly £22 - £28 x 2 , but for only one full day . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 kelly58 - 2015-07-13 4:41 PM . What you have to realise is you cannot get 0n site before 12 noon and have to be off by 10.00am with a minimum stay of 2 nights which in effect you are paying for 2 nights roughly £22 - £28 x 2 , but for only one full day . Which club is that ? I've stayed on both CC and C&CC sites for one night only - no-one ever told me I had to stay for a minimum of two nights. :-| Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashpark Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 malc d - 2015-07-13 4:49 PM kelly58 - 2015-07-13 4:41 PM . What you have to realise is you cannot get 0n site before 12 noon and have to be off by 10.00am with a minimum stay of 2 nights which in effect you are paying for 2 nights roughly £22 - £28 x 2 , but for only one full day . Which club is that ? I've stayed on both CC and C&CC sites for one night only - no-one ever told me I had to stay for a minimum of two nights. :-| Strange one that, I'm heading off in a couple of days to Yorkshire, £16.50 a night with EHU, no minimum stay and must be off before 11.00am (as it is on most campsites, regardless of who owns them) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 malc d - 2015-07-13 4:49 PM kelly58 - 2015-07-13 4:41 PM . What you have to realise is you cannot get 0n site before 12 noon and have to be off by 10.00am with a minimum stay of 2 nights which in effect you are paying for 2 nights roughly £22 - £28 x 2 , but for only one full day . Which club is that ? I've stayed on both CC and C&CC sites for one night only - no-one ever told me I had to stay for a minimum of two nights. :-| We've had numerous Saturday-night-only stays with the CC but I seem to recall that the C&CC wouldn't let you book a one-night-weekend (not online, anyway..) ..and I'm not sure that the arrival/departure times that Kelly58 quotes are "universally" correct?(...I thought it used to be leave before 12 noon(ish)?) (..and if it hasn't been busy, we have been able to stay slightly longer anyway...we just needed to ask..) The more restrictive departure and arrival times are usually down to a site having a poor, narrow access/approach roads... (...and in that respect, I doubt it'd be any different with a commercial site..) Sorry ashpark, crossed your post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 michaelmorris - 2015-07-13 11:17 AM We’re thinking of joining either the Camping and Caravanning Club or Caravan Club, but which one? (we can’t afford both). Are you really saying that you can afford to buy a motorhome and plan to tour extensively in it, presumably therefore using lots of fuel, yet you can't afford the cost of one tank of fuel, which would allow you to try both of them for a year? They are similar but different, so it really is worth trying both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashpark Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 The more restrictive departure and arrival times are usually down to a site having a poor, narrow access/approach roads... (...and in that respect, I doubt it'd be any different with a commercial site..) Sorry ashpark, crossed your post No problem, my 11.00 am departure time is exactly for that reason. If we don't get out, the next lot don't get in :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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