Hi Gang, for those that are in the Caravan club the 2015 booking dates are available from today 03 December at 09:00hrs
They have a new process, you have to wait your turn to get on the site, then you have 10 minute window to make your one booking. when its done you go to the back to the queue for any other bookings. We have booked 4 holidays today that we wanted for next year, two of them that we booked are York Rowntree and Chatsworth house which are usually very elusive.
In previous years a lot of folks would block book in one go, this made the more popular sites impossible to book for, if any days were available it would be just the mid week as the weekends were all gone, and that was within hours of the booking window been open

For me the new process has worked...

I like the old tried and trusted process best.
What's the weather going to be like for the next few days, assuming it is not a school holiday
Where do you fancy?
What's available?
Book it Danno and get the garage doors open let's go!

Yeah ! But with the CC, you'd get to the "What's available" bit, and all the good sites were fully booked en bloc ! Ian.

Quote: Old Rocker wrote in post #2

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I like the old Book it Danno and get the garage doors open let's go!

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What happens if you are ill less than 72 hours before you go when you have booked, if you just do not go you get a black mark and if you ring up an cancil you get a black mark!!

Are you suppose to go and sit there feeling rotten!!

I feel this method of running a booking system discrimitary for people who cannot guarantee their health. I know people can just say they are sick!

We were at Beriwck on Tweed a few weeks ago when we became unwell and had to return home, I paid for one night at Berwick but had to cancel a two night stop over at Durham on the way home. For this I got a letter saying because we cancilled only 49 hours before we were due to arrive I would have a black mark against my name. By the way we checked the Durham site and there were a number of empty pitches on the nights we could not go.

Gone are the day when you could just hitch up and go, that is why we go to France!!!

I'm all for paying a meaningful deposit (£25) which would show good intent However this discriminates against the not so well off, if your able to plan your holidays then fine, but we like the impromptu / weathers nice / i feel like a break attitude, we can do it as we are both early retired I don't have an answer but if I was EVER given a black mark by the CC I would do what I did during my school days, and that is not bother going! I've been a member this time for 20 odd years (it was longer but I had a foreign adress and they would'nt allow me to carry over the membership then). It's a good club with some cracking sites BUT there are plenty of others now that match the facilities OR better them. And I know this will upset some but, to many kids / dogs / ill mannered stuck up people who think they have the right because they drive a Range Rover (so do gipsies) and tow a caravan the size of an oil tanker (dweebs) sorry did I wander off into semi rant modeto all.

What happens if you are ill less than 72 hours before you go when you have booked, if you just do not go you get a black mark and if you ring up an cancil you get a black mark!!

Are you suppose to go and sit there feeling rotten!!

I feel this method of running a booking system discrimitary for people who cannot guarantee their health. I know people can just say they are sick!

We were at Beriwck on Tweed a few weeks ago when we became unwell and had to return home, I paid for one night at Berwick but had to cancil a two night stop over a Durham on the way home. For this I got a letter saying because we cancilled only 49 hours before we were due to arrive I would have a black mark against my name. By the way we checked the Durham site and there were a number of empty pitches on the nights we could not go.

Gone are the day when you could just hitch up and go, that is why we go to France!!!

What a good idea make a small charge for every booking and you get it back when you turn up, this would stop people booking every weekend and the sites being empty all mid week.
We go away and don't book a long way in front because we don't know where we will be next month or more , so this means at most sites you can only book Sunday to Thursday because of all the members who book up all weekends for a year in front.

To be honest since I left work (6 years ago at 55.5) I can honestly say we have not booked anywhere for just a weekend, we go away for at least a week whenever we go, even if it's late autumn / winter or late winter / early spring. I think you should only be allowed a set number of pre booked nights (say 14 in one go) or 3 seperate weekends, but then I don't have an 11+, CSE, GCSE or a Degree or twelve so they would'nt listen to me anyway

I know the feeling!!!