CLs and more!

Don't think I can do that Nellie, my memory is not good enough but I do have little green and white plaques for every different Club site I have visited.

peedee

Brilliant record Nellie👏👏 You have certainly given us some decent ideas for stays. We must be around 100 I reckon now, but our problem is, we like some so much we tend to go back. In a good year (unlike this one☹️) we would expect to try out between 6-8 new CLs, but we have discovered the Britstops and Aires this last couple of years, so that means we haven’t been using quite as many. Once we get back out, hoping to build on our CL usage a bit more. 

It’s nice to see some of the more modern CLs, but some of the very old ones remain our favourites. They tend to be nicely landscaped and matured. Let’s hope some of the new ones are around long enough to mature like this, there are still a lot leaving the network. 13 gone this month, to only 3 new ones. 

Long ago we were two families in a farm field with two caravans and seven young children. There no facilities.  It rained continuously. The intention was to stay for a week but after four days we decided to give up. 

I was sent to empty a toilet and found a rectangular steel cover over a pit in the corner of the field. The steel cover was wet, mosey and dirty,  but I prised it up and peered below. The pit was large, of unknown depth, full of sewage and terrifying - falling in would have meant immediate death.

I didn’t fall in but the heavy, wet steel cover slipped out of my hands and fell perfectly neatly and diagonally into the pit and disappeared

We quickly decided that CLs of that sort were not for us and that we could afford better. Our lives moved on.

We couldn't match anything on that scale Nellie as we only bought a van when we retired, years of watching and visiting family and friends with vans hadn't tempted us...ham salads and flying lettuce in fields on blustery days didn't appeal much.  However we've overcome all that and like TDA we're branching out to more individual places with the safety of the more conventional sites to compliment them.

We didn't start out with either club but later joined both to add more strings to our bow. We have returned to some favourite places a lot but the desire to see over the next hill keeps us on the move too.

I've kept a small note book of site names and dates, yours would take several volumes I think?

What fascinates me is seeing so many new places over the years but you must have covered more than most or have you some gaps still to be filled?!

I used to have a little black book, wrote down essential communication details in the days long before the Tinternet. It’s quite valuable, as some Sites that are no longer on network, we can still contact and use. I sort of added a few details for our personal use such as how good it was for dogs, was it quiet, places of interest close by. You forget the names sometimes, and need a bit of a memory jog. A bit sad looking at a few that are no longer there, but we have the nice memories and some photos somewhere.

Boy, it must have rained an awful lot yesterday!🤣

Had a quick add up this morning about 5 o'clock as I couldn't sleep. We've obviously split ours as we've toured quite a bit on the continent. 

We're up to about 180 sites in the UK, with about 100 being CLs and about 100 in Europe. Didn't unfortunately send me back to sleep..

I think those with Motorhomes will have stayed on more than Caravanners, if they've been doing it as long, as they tend to move more often.

You've accumulated quite a few there Nellie. What's your stand out best 3 CLs?

Since returning to caravanning almost 10 years ago ( and starting to keep records)  we have used 104 CL/CS sites. 

Yes WN, we definitely use more different CLs now with MH, even on a 10 night tour we might use 3-4, plus alternatives.

My personal best memories are of our stays at Kestal Farm near Marazion. We used to leave our van there, and it became a home from home as we would go down at least four times a year, all months. Basic, but private, spacious individual pitches and a brilliant location. Then a lovely farm CL overlooking Tintern Abbey, we had the whole place to ourselves, a week of walks direct from Site, and Ostriches, Donkeys and sweet little girl who sold us eggs to make pocket money. She liked to come over and play with the dogs. Last one was as basic as they come, a meadow field on the edge of a canal in Stamford Peverell. Tap, waste, ponies and peace. Brilliant walking and cycling. All sadly no more now.

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I don't think I can quite match Nellie's numbers, but not that far away. Because I write site reviews and publish them on my website I know I currently have 130 UK site reviews and 191 European site reviews so 321 in total. Those figures are understating the actual sites we have stayed on since 1982. I would think that we have stayed on another 30/50 sites in the UK and about the same in Europe. The reason they are not on my website is because many have closed and other which might still be open were visited  prior to my website.  So at least 400 sites and probably a few more.

David