Now on our 3rd site of our first time out this year, all sites had to be pre paid to reduce contact, 1st site at Newquay in Wales, met by site warden and instructed to follow Road round and she would take short cut to point out our pitch, she did that and left, had no further contact, very few pitches in use, no facilities open. Our 2nd site at Tenby, no contact at all, had to drive round site to find sign with our name on, only a few tourers but a lot of large sited but unoccupied vans so very little chance of interaction, again no facilities, did not see and warden for the 5days we were there. Now at Ludlow caravan park, usual arrival, park ,go into office to be greeted and advised about site rules etc given lots of useful information and a site plan showing our pitch, site is lovely, open spacious and well equipped, toilets laundry and dishwashing open, showers open on Monday, site is full and everyone is chatting and happy. Staff are all busy and again happy to take time with you.

Benone tourist complex, N. Ireland from Tuesday the 11th. 6 caravans until midday today. Now around 50 white wobblies, with 30 or so camper van's thrown in. Toilet and wash facilities closed due to covid, so bring your own bog. Bedlam basically, but people are desperate for a break I guess. It's a great campsite though, with Binevenagh mountain at the back and Benone strand beach at the front. Cuckoos calling in between. Home tomorrow.

Visited Lundholme CL site this week , nice quiet site with WiFi .close to Ingleton and the waterfall walks. Toilets not open until next week.site owners very friendly, £20/ night

Well the big day is tomorrow. We set off around the UK calling at 21 sites over 15 weeks (well that's the plan!). First stop is Bellingham CCC (Which Mrs C tells me is pronounced BellingJAM). Then on to Durham (pronounced Durham)

I will try to keep a proper log noting pearls and possibly a few duds. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

Capn C

“A man who has been through bitter experiences and travelled far enjoys even his sufferings after a time”
Homer, The Odyssey

+1 for tomorrow and good luck Captain.

Off to C&MC Tredegar House outside Newport to see my 93 year old Mum in Cardiff. Then down to Hunters Lodge in Starcross on the Exe to see our youngest son who we haven't seen since Christmas 2019. A new girlfriend to inspect too. Just looking forward to sitting down and having a pint with him to be honest.

Unfortunately the forecast is somewhat damp.

Charlie

I saw that but they have a limited website with little information. No prices, no online booking .

Bellingham, Northumberland
Site 1 of 21

Compact CCC site with a few tents, WWBs, some of those other vehicles on both handstandings and grass.

This one qualifies as a "pearl". Exceptionally friendly team of four wardens who made a point of saying "We don't tell you what you can't do, we tell you what you can - nice touch. Traffic light system on the toilets / showers but everything open and no queues. To call them clean doesn't really do them justice. Cleanest I've seen with lots of hand-wash and sprays everywhere. On-site shop with essentials and some local produce. The shop also has a large selection of DVDs which you can borrow for a £1 contribution to charity.

Fri Wi-fi! (pay attention CMC).

This is in the dark sky area of Northumberland although last night the dark was cumulo-nimbus incus (Thunderclouds) so not a star in sight.

The town is a pleasant 20 minute walk away with pubs, local butcher, baker, greengrocer a Co-op and one of those nick-nack shops that sell almost everything probably including kitchen sinks. Everyone super friendly.

Slightly challenging but picturesque walk to a local waterfall rounded off with chip butties and cider at the Workhouse on the high street. I could get used to this.

Definitely on our list to return to.

Tip: Some traffic noise on pitches near the road at the bottom of the site - best avoided - although they are very quiet at night.

Capn C

Just back from Normanhurst Caravan Club site near Battle, Sussex. We have always been members of the CCC and this is our first visit to a CMC site.

Friendly welcome from Wardens with brief explanation of COVID regulations and a map of vacant pitches marked with highlighter. The site is in the grounds of a demolished mansion and is a series of cul-de-sacs with pitches on the approach to each dead end and then a circular group of pitches at each dead end. Ive not towed for some years so didn't particularly want to manoeuvre the van to get out of tight space. We went off to one vacant pitch in a dead end...only to find it occupied! Luckily the reversing went smoothly but was a little stressful.

We then headed off to another 'vacant' pitch on the map, only to find that occupied too but another nearby empty so we pitched there. Others were having similar experiences and whilst this was a nice opportunity to chat., overall they system was frustrating and ineffective. People have also commented on Trip Advisor.

Anyway once pitched the site was lovely and well located. A walk through the woods to Catsfield from the site was delightful. We used our onboard facilities but I did go to the toilet block for a quick look and there was a wrist band system so no more than four people were in at one time. Showers and loos were open.

Durham Grange

Site 2 of 21

The reception was friendly rather than enthusiastic and the toilets and showers are very clean.

However, I am reminded of the following joke.

An old lady advertises for a handyman. When he arrives, she asks him to paint the kitchen door. I’m sorry he says, the smell of paint makes me sick. She then asks him to clean the windows. I’m sorry he says. I get dizzy up a ladder. Oh well she says, how about weeding the front path. Ah he says, I have a bad back and can’t bend. She then reminds him of her advertisement and asks what makes him think he’s so handy. I just live round the corner he replies.

That’s Durham Grange CMC site. It is handy for the A1 but unless a visit to Durham Cathedral is on your bucket list (which maybe it should be) there isn’t much else.

Top tip: Bring earplugs. The A1 is literally a stone’s throw away!

Capn C