Camping & Caravan Club - Cheap Campsites with showers & WC?

[Bmblbzzz]

At no point did I mention or mean to imply any animosity between caravanners, motorhomers and tenters. Nor, indeed, have I experienced any. My point was entirely about the redefining of "camping" to mean firstly "metal box camping" with "tent camping" as a subset of that activity.

[Nearholmer]

My one experience of this suggests that a bloke on a bike is regarded as an interesting curiosity, and with a degree of amazement by people who clearly regard cycling forty very hilly miles to get there as something almost other-worldly.

Not all the campers use big vans and trucks, BTW. The guy next to me had erected what amounted to a canvas village on his pitch. He’d booked for iirc 3-weeks, paying £168, and was using his village as HQ from which to drive out to visit various members of his family, some of whom came to stay for the odd night.

The weird part of it, to me anyway, was the obsessive neatness of everything, and the way people spend a lot of their time polishing and cleaning their vans, and everything else they’ve carted with them ……. This is definitely not about camping as a way to get in touch with nature!

[Paulatic]

I’m both a metal box and cycle camper.
When I’m in a metal box I usually try to befriend any cycle campers and offer them services I know they might need like charging devices.
When I’m the cycle camper I usually look for a friendly metal boxer and ask to get devices charged.
The one thing you’ll never see me do is out there cleaning the van. You see it so often and I think if I’d wanted to do that I could have stoppped at home

[Carlton green]

I agree with you, metal box campers are positive towards canvas ones and I think it's really helpful to have conversations with metal box campers and site staff while we are there. Often they are especially fascinated that we can arrive on our cycles, with all the stuff we need to exist there. It's also true that there are metal box campers who were once canvas campers but for a variety of good reasons can no longer canvas camp.

As usual actually talking to each other is a great way to dispel stereotypes and make friends!

My early camping was under canvas. Later I used a metal box which worked well for me but is now gone. I still have tents and but for life getting in the way they’d be used more. Once you’re on site and start to talk to other folk they all have their own path (experiences) to share, many started off in tents - lightweight or otherwise and might use them still - but resort/resorted to vans and trailer tents for their health and other needs.

Talking to other people is - almost always - good and so in so many ways.

[Slowroad]

I'm a member of the Camping and Caravan Club and the Association of Lightweight Campers, having joined both this year.
I joined the C&CC to give me access to the 'certificated sites' which are the independent small sites which you have to be a member to use (though off the record some will accept non-member tent campers). I like the C&CC for its reliability and being able to just turn up. However I have been told that this is now an 'unwritten rule' so it's something to keep an eye on. The prices have gone up over the last few years, but it's difficult to compare as the club has 'dynamic pricing' so different prices at different times. I've not paid less than £10 for years, but I do tend to need to go touring in school holidays which I guess are pricier. It was actually cheaper to do a few days as a car camper in term-time (I'd just had covid...) The sites do seem to be getting more caravan and motorhome oriented, with grass areas converted to hard standings, but I do appreciate that this is where the money comes in... So it's all a bit complicated but they are efficient, well-run sites with helpful, friendly staff.
I joined the ALC because they sounded like nice people! They are, and I'm hoping to join more meets next year.
As this thread begain talking about finding reasonably-priced campsites, it may be of interest for those of you on Facebook, that there's a new-ish group with the aim to map campsites in the UK suitable for cycle-tourers - under £16, no minimum stay, toilet at least, etc,. www.facebook.com/groups/cyclecampinguk
www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?ll=50.7941 ... 9dMYAW-aqE

[jgurney]

Often they are especially fascinated that we can arrive on our cycles, with all the stuff we need to exist there.

I am reminded of a car-camper who sat outside her canvas cottage and watched as my wife and I struck camp and everything went into the panniers. She then asked my wife "But where do you put your shoes?"

[Bmblbzzz]

Often they are especially fascinated that we can arrive on our cycles, with all the stuff we need to exist there.

I am reminded of a car-camper who sat outside her canvas cottage and watched as my wife and I struck camp and everything went into the panniers. She then asked my wife "But where do you put your shoes?"

On the Yellow Brick Road!

[NigelonForum]

Just read this on "One man and his bike" by Mike Carter (a great book!):

"The site was a member of the Camping and Caravanning Club. 'It's seven pounds forty-nine for the night,' the man said. 'As you've got a one-man tent and are on a bicycle, the C&C classes you as a backpacker, see. We're always obliged to try and accommodate a backpacker, even when we're full, which we are.'"

The book was published in 2011.

Nice to see it in writing somewhere!!

[Furkuk]

I’ve been a member of C&CC since 2013 and never saw this group. Looks interesting. Do you have different groups for different areas? I live in the north west and cycle/camp to Hayfield or Delamere

[Paulatic]

I’ve been a member of C&CC since 2013 and never saw this group. Looks interesting. Do you have different groups for different areas? I live in the north west and cycle/camp to Hayfield or Delamere

https://walkingandcycling.org.uk/
https://walkingandcycling.org.uk/Events/Map

[Carlton green]

Without wishing to divert the thread it’s worth pointing out that overlapping - and arguably complementary - groups exist for the camper. One small one, which welcomes cyclists and costs very little, is the Fell Club: https://www.fellclub.org.uk/

The competition deserves a shout, this is an impartial forum, so be aware that tent camping is possible on many Caravan Club sites: https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/uk-holida ... t-camping/
If you’re already a Caravan Club member then this discount for CUK membership might interest you: https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/membershi ... ycling-uk/

[TrevA]

Without wishing to divert the thread it’s worth pointing out that overlapping - and arguably complementary - groups exist for the camper. One small one, which welcomes cyclists and costs very little, is the Fell Club: https://www.fellclub.org.uk/

The competition deserves a shout, this is an impartial forum, so be aware that tent camping is possible on many Caravan Club sites: https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/uk-holida ... t-camping/
If you’re already a Caravan Club member then this discount for CUK membership might interest you: https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/membershi ... ycling-uk/

Interesting that the Caravan Club allows tents at over 70 sites. I’m aware that they allow it at Abbey Wood in London. We’ve stayed there several times in our Campervan and we are there again next week. It not cheap though, around £20 per night for a tent, probably more aimed at family sized tents than back/bikepackers.

Edited for typos.

[Nearholmer]

Is the Caravan Club different from the Camping and Caravanning Club?

If not, then as discussed up-thread, the C&CC rebates/discounts for cyclists and hikers at some/all sites, so that I paid £12/night, for instance.

PS: The Caravan & Motorhome Club?? If so, good tip, because having just checked, they have a site that would be really useful to me, at £17.30/night, which isn’t cheap, but isn’t too bad! Thank you.

[Paulatic]

Is the Caravan Club different from the Camping and Caravanning Club?

Yes. CC is the old name of CMHC

[Nearholmer]

Ta.