As previous T4 owners we were members of the Camping and Caravanning Club. Mainly as it made it easier to browse and select sites listed on their website. So it would seem appropriate to rejoin when we pick up our Troll in a few weeks...

However, I'm aware that other clubs exist, and I can't help thinking that we might miss out on some cracking independent sites through lazy site selection on a club website.

A quick search turned up some useful comments, it would be good to get some feedback. How do people find the clubs? Does one offer more than the other? Do the sites differ particularly in any way?

For context, we're a young family, two toddlers, mainly looking to do weekend UK trips, with a couple of longer, multi stop UK trips each year. Happy to use our own loo but site facilities are always useful, especially decent showers

Colin,
I am a member of the C&CC and for many years used their combined breakdown recovery service with RAC exclusively for C&CC members called Arrival. I believe it offers pretty much the same service as C&MC Mayday.
I no longer use it as ii got too expensive, now use Greenflag.

I am glad to hear that C&MC are to introduce a booking deposit as sadly less scrupulous members would block book and then nor bother to turn up, meaning their sites always appeared fully booked for non members even though there was actually room.

We have always belonged to the C&C, started with a tent. Last year due to not travelling abroad we joined the C&MC too, to give us a greater choice of sites. They are both quite expensive but the sites are very good. Like Colin we now use the range of small 5 van sites, CS or CL depending on which club. There are plenty with facilities, we had one farm site this year to ourselves, two double showers, we considered using one each but thought of the poor cleaner! The cost of these is much cheaper and they’re all over the country making it easier to decide where to go. If you are sticking to the club sites there is not a lot between them, C&CC have more of a mix of tents, vans and motor homes. You don’t tend to see tents on C&MC sites, not sure if they’re even allowed. All this of course is just my opinion. 😁

Thanks for the quick replies, the Certified Locations sound right up our street so I feel we might sway towards the C&MC.

Randa, it's funny you should mention the wardens, that is our lasting memory of some of the more established C&CC sites...

We've booked a couple of tickets for the CC&M show at the NEC in Feb, fingers crossed for any attractive joining offers knocking around!

We used to belong to both CCC and C&MH, but only now belong to C&MH. We have used a few of the CL sites but find UK Campsites just as good in finding those small sites.
With refs to Red Pennant etc when travelling abroad. We now have the Barclays Travel Pack Plus which costs us £18pm. This gives us worldwide Travel Insurance, including Cruising for up to 31 days each trip, RAC full cover for UK and Europe and 6 airport lounge visits per year. Total £216 for the 2 of us.
We are going to France this year with the van for 65 days. I have just done a one off upgrade with Barclays for the additional days and full cover for the van etc...this cost an extra £131. So for a total of £347 this year, it will also cover me for other holidays booked abroad.

~Chris

Colin -
“We are much the same as Roger, but younger. “ LOL!

#theFridayAssassin

You sneaked that one in!

😂😂😂😂

When you get old like us a 45-day Red Pennant single trip policy costs £613 or £1238 for an annual multi trip policy. If only I were 20yrs younger😊😊

We are with the C&MC, have been for 20+ years. I like the fact that you get a marked out pitch and the facilities are lovely and clean.
Well run sites and friendly staff (on the whole)
We have visited friends on C&C sites and don't like the scatter gun approach to the way vans and tent's are sited.

We are members of both and also us the UK Campsites that Colin mentions. We were originallyl tenters like Julie G and so started with C & C but now end to use C & M sites more but find both of them expensive.

Some people have mentioned that the C & CC sites can be a bit more haphazard in their pitches especially the large grass area, such as at Dunstanhill in the NE.

It you have a young family the C & C sites with lots of tents might have more other children and bigger playgrounds for them to use. Sometimes the C & M get more older campers (like Randa & I Colin!) and can be a bit quieter and sometimes with caravanners who seem to forget that children are children. M o Bs Kath calls them..

a few of the C & M sites do accept tents but they mostly seem to be smaller ones without children - typically hikers.

Don't forget though that there are some great sites that are privately owned and can be good value for a family.Booking well in advance is the key if you can.

Enjoy your time camping with you family. I'm sure you will get many great experiences to look back on when the kids have long gone........

MikeT

I'm sure we will love it Mike, our 530 is slightly delayed, now expected early Feb, and we can't wait. I just need to resist filling it to the gunnels with the contents of the garage... less is more is our new approach.

I've peaked early and joined the C&MC, the website is excellent and we've bagged a small discount on a Pro-tec cover. Now enjoying planning our first trip, just the two of us for a tester couple of nights.

As an aside, does anyone have strong feelings for or against a towing cover? I can imagine it's nice to whip the cover off on arrival and have nice clean windows, but the Pro-tec ones are knocking on £300...

Isn't it wonderful that we are all so different! We have been members of both the big clubs (on and off) for 25 years or so, but have rarely stayed on main sites instead preferring cl's/ cs's or better still THS,s (temporary holiday sites) Basically a field, but within easy reach of one of our favorite beaches and they have always had space for us. Not keen on being told exactly how to pitch uniformly as we always like enjoying the evening sun and want to pitch accordingly. The club sites need to be booked well in advance generally and you are therefore not sure of the weather. Being retired, we can be ready to hit the road at a minutes notice and as we don't necessarily need an EHU can normally find a suitable place to pitch. Happy to use our own loo and have rigged up a perfectly useable external shower set up. Funny, people pay upwards of £50k for their rig but wouldn't dream of using the fantastic washroom on board!!! We have always been able to get away when the sun shines and are currently only members of the C&CC. Can't wait for our first trip of the year..