Hi Bertie .... your right the club sites stores your van in a compound, when you wish to visit you or they will bring it out and pitch it (maybe in your favoured pitch if it's available)
If I read it right, I believe you have to apply every year for your storage with the club sites
On other sites once there you can stay as long as you like
Some sites have areas for seasonals and another for in and out campers - so you want be taking a pitch someone else might want
On the first site we used, there was two levels of storage/pitching
1) you paid around £300/£400 per year in advance, your van was kept in a compound and when you wanted to use it the site owner would pitch it for you - and charge you the normal nightly rate - and you were not expected to take your van off site for more than 2 weeks a year
2) you paid £700 plus to have your van on a pitch, and that pitch was yours for as long as you wanted it from 1st March till 31st Oct, and we had the awning up ready for easter and it stayed there till Sept/Oct depending on the weather - ours was never moved even in the winter .... and we paid £2 per night for leccy on the nights we stayed in the van --- we were able to take our van away as when we wanted because are pitch was paid for all year - in saying that none of the 26 permanently pitched van ever move except for servicing
We actually had what was considered the second best pitch on the site ....
This was 7 years ago now so I guess the price is way over £1000 now -
On the second site there was no storage facility - we paid £1000.00 a year for our pitch and if the van was taken off site there was a notice saying 'season pitch, owner away please do not use' not that it happened much out of 50+ seasonals ..... the season was from Easter weekend till last weekend in Sept
Leccy was included in the price - but you could only have your awning up if you stayed the night in the van
Those with space at home removed their van during the winter, and maybe lose there pitch the following season
Others stayed all year in the same spot and cost another £200 for the privilege ..... that was up to 3 years ago
Never heard of anyone complaining about us being permanently pitch ..... more a case of wish we could afford it, would be great just to come down and everything sorted .... better still just empty the loo, water, waste and fridge - grab your clothes and drive home on Sunday
Bertie, I am sorry but I find your disapproval for seasonal pitch holders to be somewhat selfish. My husband is disabled and I am not in best of health. We cannot afford a static van but managed to get together money for a 1994 van so that we can get away each weekend and through the school holidays. On our site our awning can stay up all season, so we have the extra space cos there is no-way we could stretch to but one up each time.
When we can't afford the site fees for a seasonal pitch I am afraid our lovely van will have to go as neither of us could manage to tow it. On motability, if we put a towbar on the car, we would have to get it taken off when the contract expired - money we do not have!
The small site we are on has a mixture of people on it, some pensioners, some with youngsters and also quite a few with jet ski's for the river right next to the site. There is also a lot of free spaces for touring tourers.
Please don't write us all off as being selfish and tying up pitches for tourers - we have our needs as well!!!! (lol)
Barbara made a lot of sense, but going to the extremes, i guess if you had enough cash, and just one caravan, you could, in theory, tie up a fair number of sites!
Seasonal pitche are ok if you are going to get the use out of them. On average down our way the going rate is £950 - £1250 depending on the site. At those prices you need to be sleeping in the van for at least 50 nights to break even!
Quote: Originally posted by EdandAnne on 05/9/2007
2 sides to every story.
Barbara made a lot of sense, but going to the extremes, i guess if you had enough cash, and just one caravan, you could, in theory, tie up a fair number of sites!
Exactly my point. You only have to look at how the take up of holiday homes in desirable parts of the country has blighted small villages. How many of us who tour would wish to occupy a pitch among several deserted vans? A touring van is just that; a touring van, which should not be allowed to assume the status of a static on a touring site.
If some one pays £1000 plus for a site why should they tie it up for the duration. Think about it! In a number of cases if it was not for the seasonal caravanners giving the site a steady income the site may have to close and then where would you be? There would be even less sites available.
Quote: Originally posted by The 2 Tops on 05/9/2007
Quote: Originally posted by EdandAnne on 05/9/2007
2 sides to every story.
Barbara made a lot of sense, but going to the extremes, i guess if you had enough cash, and just one caravan, you could, in theory, tie up a fair number of sites!
Exactly my point. You only have to look at how the take up of holiday homes in desirable parts of the country has blighted small villages. How many of us who tour would wish to occupy a pitch among several deserted vans? A touring van is just that; a touring van, which should not be allowed to assume the status of a static on a touring site.
Bertie.
I live in a tiny village, population 204. We have at least 5 holiday homes, quite a high percentage. Apply that figure to a site with say, 40 pitches, and yes, there is a problem.
I think that if I was a site owner and had just gone through a season like we've just had, I would be thanking my lucky stars for any seasonal pitches I'd let.
We don't have a seasonal pitch and probably won't in the future because of the cost - but who knows, with the cost of storage, fuel, road fund licences and pitch fees, it might work out cheaper to take a seasonal pitch. If it meant that I could still get away in the van, I would do it.
If some one pays £1000 plus for a site why should they tie it up for the duration. Think about it! In a number of cases if it was not for the seasonal caravanners giving the site a steady income the site may have to close and then where would you be? There would be even less sites available.
From our experience in recent years, the only reason for a site to regularly have empty pitches is because there is a problem with the site. And I doubt whether anyone would want a seasonal pitch on a problem site.
Quote: Originally posted by The 2 Tops on 05/9/2007
Quote: Originally posted by Surfer01 on 05/9/2007
If some one pays £1000 plus for a site why should they tie it up for the duration. Think about it! In a number of cases if it was not for the seasonal caravanners giving the site a steady income the site may have to close and then where would you be? There would be even less sites available.
From our experience in recent years, the only reason for a site to regularly have empty pitches is because there is a problem with the site. And I doubt whether anyone would want a seasonal pitch on a problem site.
Bertie.
One normally finds seasonal sites on the more popular sites obviously for a very good reason. We are taking up a seasonal pitch as it is less stressful and we know we always have a pitch to go to for a weekend and we do not have to use the 4 x 4 to tow it unless we decide to go off somewhere else for a week or two.
Quote: Originally posted by TekkieAnne on 05/9/2007
I think that if I was a site owner and had just gone through a season like we've just had, I would be thanking my lucky stars for any seasonal pitches I'd let.
You perhaps have no idea how true that is, our site owner is struggling and very thankful of his 'seasonals' Unless a site has plenty of hard standing, I'm sure most have had a very bad year
This year even when the rain stopped he was still having to turn people away the site being so water logged.
Quote: Originally posted by Surfer01 on 05/9/2007
If some one pays £1000 plus for a site why should they tie it up for the duration. Think about it! In a number of cases if it was not for the seasonal caravanners giving the site a steady income the site may have to close and then where would you be? There would be even less sites available.
Checking figures. 30 years ago, seasonal pitches were unheard of, you had a static or a tourer.
There were double the number of sites back then, so the above cannot be correct.
Quote: Originally posted by arc systems on 06/9/2007
Quote: Originally posted by TekkieAnne on 05/9/2007
I think that if I was a site owner and had just gone through a season like we've just had, I would be thanking my lucky stars for any seasonal pitches I'd let.
You perhaps have no idea how true that is, our site owner is struggling and very thankful of his 'seasonals' Unless a site has plenty of hard standing, I'm sure most have had a very bad year
This year even when the rain stopped he was still having to turn people away the site being so water logged.
In for a bumper late season though. Most sites near to us are fully booked up for this weekend.
Quote: Originally posted by EdandAnne on 06/9/2007
Checking figures. 30 years ago, seasonal pitches were unheard of, you had a static or a tourer.
No not unheard of, I got slightly involved with a planning dispute where an aerial photo clearly showed very old tourers with grass growing long around them, (nothings new today then?!), together with bare patches of ground where vans had been for a considerable time but now gone. This photo was taken in 1966!!
The council lawyers were insisting this picture must have been taken during a rally? bloody long rally!!. Anyway the owner of the site told me this and I replied, if that's so? wheres the flag?all rallies have a flag. well they did in them days and it blew that bit of the councils argument out the water.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Mow the lawn!
