Why are we always disappointed by CLs?

We use more & more CLs these days to move away from the pack 'em in CC sites.

We've only been disappointed by two. One was in the North East where the owner had intended us to pitch in a grotty, muddy corner of his yard but we'd already pitched elsewhere in his absence. He was taking the proverbial with his interpretation of just 5 pitches too .... apparently the other caravans were on his daughter's caravan site .... 😞 And the other was a working farm that milked his cows at O'crack sparrow f@rt on the other side of the barn wall we were pitched against.

You win some .... you lose some.

By and large, I’ve been very happy with the selected CL’s I’ve used. Yes, one or two of them haven’t been perfect, but there have always been redeeming features that pleased me. Overall, I think CL’s are great 👍 

I can’t imagine where you’ve been Sid but I have had exactly the opposite experience. When I was on grid I came across some lovely sites which were well equipped and kept. I went off grid some six years ago and have had stunning sites to stay on- often by ourselves! Yes, indeed you must have had bad luck but look at the reviews - that’s what they are there for. 

I can identify with Eurortraveller's description of a "corner of a farmers field" having stayed on such a CL, albeit for one night in transit about seven years ago. In its defence it was only a fiver. I suspect RS has set his expectations too high coupled with a lack of research.

If over the course of time you have tried 10 different bottles of red wine but found none to your taste, perhaps you don't like red wine? Could it be the same with CL's? Over the years we have used relatively few CL's but so far this year we have used 2 and are currently on a small site which was previously a CL. No complaints so far. I suppose you have to ask why you want to use CL's. Is it the seclusion, is it the cost, is it that you don't like large sites? There are a couple of Facebook pages where the more progressive CL owners tend to post details of often quite well equipped CL's. I don't always find the reviews on this site very useful as they are often not very comprehensive. Often the ones on UKCampsites are better and as its a requirement there to list what type of outfit (caravan/motorhome/tent) you can drill done a bit more in to how fellow motorhomers feel about a site. For us any CL or site is a means to an end and the first priority is location being near to where we want to visit. Once that is established we can then drill down into the facilities and relative qualities of the site before making a decision. I am not sure I would pay more than £20 a night but that could depend on what other choices I had.

David

A few years ago, we decided we wanted to find some CLs (or CS's), about an hour or so from home that we could use as a 'bolt-hole' from time to time.

I did some research from reviews, Google Maps etc and came up with a short-list of about 10 and we set out for the day (without the van) to have a look. We found some horrors - like the one near Filey that described the 'wonderful views of Filey Brigg' - which looked like a travellers camp and Filey Brigg was only visible if you stood on the caravan roof!

On the other hand, we found two lovely sites - High Breame at Flamborough and Thornthorpe CS, near Malton and we now use both at least a couple of times a year.

I suppose it was taking that research one stage further - but it was worth it and if we're out and about in the car - and pass a CL that looks promising, we usually pop in - have a chat with the owner - and get a feel for the place - and if we like it, mark it down for future use.

The only reason we use CLs is that they fill in gaps in the site network and enable us to stay where we need to be.  We don't expect much; we choose CLs with hookups, and we've never had a problem with those.  We don't look for ones with facilities, but we are disappointed when we pay for facilities but they are dirty.  We look at reviews (our two recent disappointments have average scores of 8/10) and at the satellite view on Google Maps (in both cases there is the odd extra van around, but not the large encampment we found on the ground).  I will take the tip about UKCampsites, though.

we use plenty of C&CC THS sites so this brings you 'down to earth' regrading facilities, there aren't any...

so, when we use a CL/CS it's likely that we are moving a little 'upmarket' but the MO is the same...these sites are in places (coastal or close to town centre) where full blown sites aren't generally around.

we're rarely disappointed as location is the prime driver...we have good facilities on board and are happy to use them.

the 'payback' is being in a great area at half the price (or much less) of a club site, often with loads of space...(we're using only few club sites each year nowadays).

i can understand being annoyed if there's a huge 2nd site next door, or fields of stored vans, but Googlemaps is your friend as others have said.

...but as DK pointed out, the CL style may not really be for you...as it is we love CL, CS, THS and red wine

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By and large I didn’t like any of the 2 commercial sites I’ve been on but that doesn’t mean to say I would think all commercial sites were rubbish