Motor Caravanners Club.

[coach2000]

I have just received my welcome pack for joining the club and was not impressed. Is it me or is this what you get from any of the clubs nowadays.ie A cardboard foldercontaining a welcome letter, the monthly magazine with hardly any info and all available in any magazine. 1 windscreen sticker. 1 booklet with club info and dates of meetings. 2 paper membership cards. 14 sheets of loose photocopied info and to top it all a UK sites booklet that was given free recently in the magazines. In the letter they said the club book was out of print till 2008.

Are the Caravan club and Camping and Caravaning club the same?

I would be glad of someone else's opinion.

 

Clive

[enodreven]

Hi, Coach

 

Personally i would prefer it if all 3 clubs were disbanded and the sites sold off to private enterprise, I think overall it would provide a better service to the public as at present they all seem to have problems

 

 

 

[davenewellhome]

Sorry but I have to ask, what more did you expect?

 

D.

[coach2000]

Dave! I would not have expected cheap photocopies and no proper site b ook.

The reason for my post is to find out what I would have received from the other clubs, are they all the same?

I did not know what to expect till the post arrived. I was a member over 20 years ago and cannot remember being disapointed then. My family had many a good rally with the club.

 

Clive.

[Guest caraprof]

enodreven - 2007-07-22 9:31 PM Hi, Coach Personally i would prefer it if all 3 clubs were disbanded and the sites sold off to private enterprise, I think overall it would provide a better service to the public as at present they all seem to have problems

Have you actually compared the prices of decent private sites? Still, if the CC et al were sold off to private enterprise we'd have lovely clubs with bingo to look forward too.

No one is more in favour of private enterprise than I am but the two main clubs are actually non-profit making organisations with every penny made going back into sites and services. My own experiences with the CC over many years and the CCC over just one, have been excellent. My worst times have been on sloppily run, tatty private sites.

At least with the CC and CCC you can look forward to decent standards every time.

And take the CC's Europe books, which many people on this forum consider the best thing since sliced bread when touring abroad. Do you really think that they would exist without the Caravan Club? All of these reports are compiled by members who actually stay on the sites. They go to a lot of time and trouble to assess a site and then even more time and trouble sending in the reports. Do you really think that this would happen if the sites were privately owned? Of course it wouldn't! It's the very nature of the clubs that generates this kind of commitment from its members.

Just for once I wish that people would look at the tremendous job that the clubs do and have done and stop carping when something doesn't go just right for them!

[Basil]

Hi Clive,

 

You got what I would expect from what is probably the most downmarket and probably least funded of the clubs. They all serve a different needs and it is my opinion that the best of the big clubs is the Caravan Club from whom you will get the best quality documentation, the best sites and the largest site network. Some would say that it is overpriced and is run as a business rather than a club, but then what isn't nowdays? What you will find is consistant high quality sites, with good quality publications despite the niggles that some find. It tends to have more rules and regulation that some find irritating, probably the same ones that don't like to be told what to do.

The Camping and Caravan Club is a bit 'less quality' and has a more haphazard less regimented setup in my experience and also some niggles going by past posts.

I always believe it is like the difference between Marks and Spencers and a jumble sale, but as always that is just my opinion.

My suggestion would be to try them all first year and drop those you like the least

 

Bas

[david lloyd]

I have to agree with all that Basil has said.

 

In addition, we joined the MCC (after a long debate on this forum about it's merits/de-merits and possible involvement in establishing aires in this country - search on the motorcaravanners club) last year but have now resigned.

 

They are probably much better at holding rallies for motorcaravans than the other two clubs but we don't rally much at all. Our first experience was at the York show in 2006 when we decided to rally with them - apart from the initial contact with their marshalls to tell us where to park we never saw anyone for the rest of the show and were given no information on what activities the club were doing during the weekend.

 

The second occasion was a rally to be held at Eden Camp in North Yorkshire over the Remembrance Sunday weekend. I had thought this would be an excellent, memorable way to mark the day with a service being held there on the sunday. Fortunately, (with motorhome packed and ready to go) I checked the website before setting off to see what the arrival time was and found it had been cancelled. I know from comments on their forum site that some were not so fortunate had travelled miles only to find that out when they arrived.

 

Lastly, although there was much made of the push to get involved with local authorities to try and establish more aires not much has happened on the ground with the exception of the production of a DVD presentation aimed at LA's. I have seen nothing in the motorhome press and very little in their own magazine which carries hardly any serious topical articles.

 

They do lack the financial resources to compete effectively with the two major clubs but I feel that without giving a wider membership what they want - apart from weekend rallies - they will never be able to keep a large member base. As an indicator, I resigned some three months ago but am still registered as a member on their website and have access to member only services, still receive the magazine and it has always been the case, I am told, that non-members would be welcomed at the local rallies. So if rallies are your way of motorhoming it could be a good club for you but it doesn't seem like you have to be a member.

 

Regards, David

[kelly58]

We joined CCC at the NEC when we bought our  1st Motorhome, but after reading the excuse for a magazine I felt that in the main it is  mostly directed at the caravanners and campers not motorhome owners.

My main gripe is you pay your annual suscription to belong CCC and then they expect a further payment to belong the Motorhome Group this seems a little bit of a discrimination towards Motorhome owners , on site we only take up one space whereby tuggers always need more space but still pay the same rate.

[enodreven]

Hi, In answer to your question regarding the camping Europe books, there are more and more web sites that are building very large data bases of sites throughout the UK and Europe which will certainly provide the same information. In answer to the rest of your post just take France for an example, as i think most people agree that the country and the aires and the campsites are generally far seperior to here, and generally a lot cheaper, and from the best of my knowledge very few if any are owned by clubs such as the 3 i have mentioned. I also haven't seem any Bingo being played eitherPerhaps we could use France as an example ?

caraprof - 2007-07-22 11:56 PM

enodreven - 2007-07-22 9:31 PM Hi, Coach Personally i would prefer it if all 3 clubs were disbanded and the sites sold off to private enterprise, I think overall it would provide a better service to the public as at present they all seem to have problems

Have you actually compared the prices of decent private sites? Still, if the CC et al were sold off to private enterprise we'd have lovely clubs with bingo to look forward too.

No one is more in favour of private enterprise than I am but the two main clubs are actually non-profit making organisations with every penny made going back into sites and services. My own experiences with the CC over many years and the CCC over just one, have been excellent. My worst times have been on sloppily run, tatty private sites.

At least with the CC and CCC you can look forward to decent standards every time.

And take the CC's Europe books, which many people on this forum consider the best thing since sliced bread when touring abroad. Do you really think that they would exist without the Caravan Club? All of these reports are compiled by members who actually stay on the sites. They go to a lot of time and trouble to assess a site and then even more time and trouble sending in the reports. Do you really think that this would happen if the sites were privately owned? Of course it wouldn't! It's the very nature of the clubs that generates this kind of commitment from its members.

Just for once I wish that people would look at the tremendous job that the clubs do and have done and stop carping when something doesn't go just right for them!

[Basil]

Hi enodreven and All,

 

We love to go to France, but we do leave our 'Rose coloured specs' at home. We have yet to find a site in France that matches the quality of a Caravan Club site at any price. French sites we have used (since the 70's) have a charm in their own right but are no comparison for the quality of the Caravan Club sites, but it is all part of the continental experience.

Regarding fees we have paid 28 Euro per night on sites in France and the toilets had no seats or covers or were a typical French 'hole in the ground' with no soap dispensers to wash your hands after using the toilet and often no toilet paper. We have also stopped on sites that come close to both the Caravan Clubs quality and price as well as Aires that could equally be classed as a site as good as many UK private sites for 5 Euro or less per night, but they are what they are and not up to Caravan Club standard.

Also we have stopped on some outragously over priced private UK sites with poor facilities and it is our experience that most private UK sites are lower quality and/ or higher priced than the Caravan Clubs sites. When in that situation you can of course leave and go elsewhere, but you try and get your fees refunded for unused nights, this is no problem on a Caravan Club site whatever your reason for leaving.

There are always polarised views when it comes to Club membership, any of them, I don't really understand why but it must be something in the nature of some humans that they have to defend their position at all costs sometimes without reason sometimes for the silliest of resons e.g. one poster I read left the club because he didn't like all the signs telling him what to do on the site.

 

Bas

[Ralph]

Basil - 2007-07-23 12:00 PM

 

We have yet to find a site in France that matches the quality of a Caravan Club site at any price.

 

We hear a lot about the quality of CC sites and I agree that they are good, but not that good.

For instance I stayed on a site in Brittany last month where the pitches were well kept, there were flowers everywhere and the pool was warm. But, more importantly, the sanitation blocks were immaculate and they cleaned them between 5 and 8 AM, no closing half way through the morning. And all this cost 8 euros per night.

http://www.camping-les-embruns.com/finistere-en/camping-finistere.html

 

I don't mean this as a criticism of the CC sites, just that they are not as exceptional as some would have us believe.

 

 

[enodreven]

Hi, Basil

 

I accept your views albeit we will have to differ, but can you or anyone else please explain without getting personal what you find so appealing about any of the 3 major club sites.

 

 

[michele]

Hi,

We used one once in Cornwall when we were members.

 

We have never been back since it was imaculate lovely all over flowers clean sanitation that was the trouble you could not do anything .

Rules all over the place keep off the grass no swimming pool shut at 5 pm

no children here or there .When I phoned to book I was asked how many I told the lady that I had two sever special need in wheelchairs then I counted the rest . She replied god you have loads I explained that I was a Foster Carer her reply after she had picked herself up off the floor was Well they wont be running around causing havoc or words to that effect .

How rude can you be I would suspect that any child could do this just because they are Fostered does not mean that you should label them

no wonder kids in the care system turn out wrong .

I was quite insulted and our kids behaved impecably even if I say so myself.

 

This is just my experience of it we have never looked back and stopped doing England hence the cancelation of our memeberships to all the clubs .

 

Still what's sauce for one... ;-)

[Basil]

Ralph - 2007-07-23 12:43 PM

 

We hear a lot about the quality of CC sites and I agree that they are good, but not that good.

I don't mean this as a criticism of the CC sites, just that they are not as exceptional as some would have us believe.

 

Hi Ralph,

 

You see that is the difference, the site you give the link to would be close to my hell on earth, noisy facilities, kids all over the place not what we go away for. It would not matter how pretty the flowers were or how well kept the facilities it is just not our sort of site which is why we tend to use CL's in the UK and Aires in France where possible.

However I fully respect yours and everyone else's view on what makes a site good for them. The point with a Caravan Club site is you know exactly what you are going to get and the standard that it will be at regardless of where you go and that standard in terms of quality of site and the way it is run is IMO consistantly high.

 

Bas

[Basil]

enodreven - 2007-07-23 12:48 PM

 

Hi, Basil

 

I accept your views albeit we will have to differ, but can you or anyone else please explain without getting personal what you find so appealing about any of the 3 major club sites.

 

Hi enodreven,

 

We are all different so what appeals to me may not appeal to you so I agree that we can agree to differ. The origional poster was asking specifically about the differences between the clubs and it was to this that my comments were addressed.

However we like the Caravan Club sites, when we use them as we normally preffer CL's, because we like the fact that they are regulated properly, they have rules (that most people follow), they are kept by the mainly friendly and helpful wardens to a consistant high standard wherever you go, they do not (generally) have the additional facilities that in our view spoil camping i.e. bars,disco's, swimming pools etc. and they are reasonably priced.

We don't like having to pay for electric whether you need it or not and other minor niggles but on balance with the cheap ferry offers and good magazine each month for less than a subscription to most monthly magazines we like the package.

 

Bas

 

[Ralph]

Basil - 2007-07-23 1:32 PM

You see that is the difference, the site you give the link to would be close to my hell on earth, noisy facilities, kids all over the place not what we go away for.

 

I can assure you that if that were the case I wouldn't have stopped there. It was peaceful and well run. I did state that it was in June however. In high season I wouldn't go there but equally I wouldn't go to most CC sites then either.

 

You quoted quality, not child free etc. anf I repeat that the CC are not as high in the quality stakes as some would suggest.

 

 

[Basil]

Ralph - 2007-07-23 1:58 PM

 

You quoted quality, anf I repeat that the CC are not as high in the quality stakes as some would suggest.

 

 

That may be your opinion, on what do you base your statement that they are not high on quality?

On this we will have to agree to differ.

 

Bas

[J9withdogs]

kelly58 - 2007-07-23 10:36 AM

 

My main gripe is you pay your annual suscription to belong CCC and then they expect a further payment to belong the Motorhome Group this seems a little bit of a discrimination towards Motorhome owners , on site we only take up one space whereby tuggers always need more space but still pay the same rate.

 

I believe its all 'horses for courses'.

 

I am a member of the CCC, and the extra Motorhome subscription is for the quarterly Waggonners Talk magazine,which isn't brilliant so I just cancelled that part of the subscription.

 

Their rallies though are pretty good and you can join in with any group without booking (unless stated otherwise in the monthly magazine) so I can usually find somewhere within striking distance to go to if the weather looks promising.

 

I am also a member of The Caravan Club. Their sites are excellent and I can book them, and cancel them if the weather looks dodgy, online in minutes. CCC is not so user-friendly in that way.

 

The biggest advantage for me over privately run sites is the pricing system. Most private sites tend to charge for 2 adults whether there are two or not. CC & CCC charge a pitch fee then a per-adult price on top which suits a single traveller much better.

[Guest caraprof]

I'm firmly of the opinion that one or two members of this forum have a thing about the CC and CCC and no matter what evidence we supply, the clubs will never be good enough.

Why do I like CC sites? Because I can guarantee a clean, well run site, with generously-sized pitches and excellent sanitary provisions. Many of them are in delightful spots and my experience of the wardens has been consistently pleasant. I can also guarantee that, whilst I've no objection to children, on CC sites they are never in unruly gangs making life a misery for others. I think that this may be a feature not just of the CC but of the mainly decent and respectable people who are its members.

As for foreign sites I think that 'rose coloured glasses' hits it on the head! This summer and in previous summers I stayed on nice sites on the Continent but on some awful ones.

Outside Albi in France, the only site that we could find was an absolute disgrace. High weeds growing everywhere, permanently sited, tatty 20 year-old caravans that looked a though they'd not been washed since their owners booked them in, and awful loos.

In Austria just a few weeks ago we found a convenient site just outside Innsbruck. There were no pitch markings whatsoever. The chap next to me had left a moderate space on the other side, large enough to park his car and whilst he was out some Dutchman slotted in a tatty old caravan with its entrance three feet away from my neighbour. This sort of thing was evident all over the site. The management was happy to cram them in with no regard to safety or privacy.

All over this site were tatty old caravans with large numbers on them. These I discovered were for hire and they were disgusting. Dirty and streaked and generally awful!

The best site was in Luxembourg, nice big pitches, clean facilities and friendly management, but everyone had to leave by 10.30 a.m. Why so early!

As for cleaning the sanitary facilities. All of the sites that we visited were cleaned in the late morning and/or afternoon. This makes sense to me. It's all very well cleaning them in the early hours but if the CC did this we'd probably have the same people moaning about the noise so early in the day. And then, what would they look like at 10.30 a.m when everyone has used them in the morning rush?

This cleaning moan is a typical red herring always brought up by the anti CC brigade. What does it matter if the lavatories are cleaned at 11.00 a.m. or at 3.00 p.m.? The important thing is that we know so that we can adjust our timetable, something that I have never had a problem with.

[laikaman]

See also the thread in the chatterbox forum re the CCC 'disullisioned member'

[Basil]

Here here Caraprof,

I couldn't have put it better myself and that totally mirrors my views and findings. We to have experienced all you have said on continental sites in particular the cram as many in as possible.

I too enjoy well behaved children I have two myself who are now grown up, one a motorhomer in his own right. My comment re the listed site reffered to was because of experience on non Caravan Club sites, that type of site we will always avoid.

 

Bas

[RonB]

Setting aside any other issues, the one big advantage the Caravan Club has is that their sites are almost always of a standard high quality. This means you can almost guarantee that this is one aspect of your travels that you are not going to come unstuck on. There are some good sites abroad, we use a lot of them, but they need finding. None however, have the uniform standard of quality over such a range as the CC.

 

With regard to Continental Site Guides, we prefer the Dutch ANWB guides. They are very similar to the CC guides but with the advantage that the sites are accurately graded to a strict formula and thus avoiding highly personalised opinion in a lot of cases. They also come with a quality CD preloaded with all the sites shown on a map of Europe for pre-planning. Again, if these guides say that such and such a site is graded over 8.0 (most CC sites attain this) then you know its going to be OK.

 

Have fun.

 

Ron

 

[Guest caraprof]

RonB - 2007-07-23 7:14 PM Setting aside any other issues, the one big advantage the Caravan Club has is that their sites are almost always of a standard high quality. This means you can almost guarantee that this is one aspect of your travels that you are not going to come unstuck on. There are some good sites abroad, we use a lot of them, but they need finding. None however, have the uniform standard of quality over such a range as the CC. With regard to Continental Site Guides, we prefer the Dutch ANWB guides. They are very similar to the CC guides but with the advantage that the sites are accurately graded to a strict formula and thus avoiding highly personalised opinion in a lot of cases. They also come with a quality CD preloaded with all the sites shown on a map of Europe for pre-planning. Again, if these guides say that such and such a site is graded over 8.0 (most CC sites attain this) then you know its going to be OK. Have fun. Ron

Ron, is this Dutch guide in English and where does one obtain it?

[RonB]

Frank - No, it's in Dutch I'm afraid but it's so interactive that it isn't a problem.

 

Your second question is a little harder to answer. I get mine from an ANWB affiliated site owner near us or from Holland itself. I note from the CD that Ripley Caravan Park, Rudding Holiday Park,Follifoot, and Golden Square Park,Helmsley, are all ANWB affiliated members in your neck of the woods. I would imaging that they could provide them, or at least a contact.

 

If all else fails you could always visit the tulip fields early next season as nearly every Dutch town has an ANWB shop!

 

Ron

 

[Harvey]

coach2000 - 2007-07-22 9:11 PM

 

I have just received my welcome pack for joining the club and was not impressed.

Are the Caravan club and Camping and Caravaning club the same?

I would be glad of someone else's opinion.

 

Clive

 

You don't seem to have had your question answered so I'll give it a go. I am a member of both the CC and the C&CC.

 

I am not exactly sure what is contained in the 'Welcome Pack' of either club because it's four years since I joined both but you will get 'Site Books' from both.

 

The CC provide an A5 book with all their sites and CL's listed and, I think, a few private sites in areas which they do not cover. They also provide a map showing their sites and CL's. You will, on joining probably get a copy of their monthly magazine .... you'll have to judge that for yourself!

 

You will I am sure get information about their other 'services' such as insurance cover etc.

 

From the C&CC you will get two A4 books, one lists and shows details of all their sites.

The other includes the same but also has details of all their CSs ( similar to the CC CLs) and also lists many private sites. Their location map is over several pages in the back of the book.

 

Again you will probably get a copy of the monthly magazine and this has a second section which lists all of the 'Temporary Holiday Sites' (THS) and shorter, mostly weekend, meets.

These deserve a short explanation. The THSs are organised by club members: are mostly but not all held during the 'holiday seasons' and may be on farms, rugby club grounds, on school grounds or anywhere similar. They mostly cost around £5 to £7.50 per night for up to two adults and two children. They mostly do not require advanced booking: just turn up and stay for however many nights you want.

 

There are very many of these THSs and the shorter weekend meets throughout the year and I find them to be a really useful alternative to CSs and full club sites.

Although these are organised by different 'sections' of the club they are invariably open to 'all units' so you can take your motohome to a THs run by the 'Folding Camper and Trailer Tent Section' for example .......

 

I hope that answers your question about the documentation.

 

I have to agree with some others that the CC sites are *almost* without exception of a consistently high standard; certainly with regard to the washroom / showeroom / toilet facilities. The C&CC sites are far more variable but the best are in my experience as good as the CC.

 

I have retained my membership of both but I get *far* more value from the C&CC ......... you probably need to join both to compare for yourself: it depends what you want from your 'site'. I never book anywhere and rarely stay in one place for more than a couple of nights.

 

 

hth

 

Harvey