Planning our first grand tour ...

It depends a lot on when you’re planning to tour and where you’re going. Sites will naturally be a lot busier in peak season than at other times and especially do in popular areas. It also depends if you’re talking about club sites, CLs, commercial sites or pub stops etc. 

In previous years I would have said to always book sites through the summer months but who knows how things will be this year with folk feeling the financial pinch?

Depends when you are going. I always assumed it would be impossible to tour in the UK in high season without booking and quite difficult in the “shoulder” months. That’s what drove us to tour Europe but would love to be proved wrong.

You could always ask in the office of any particular site if they could move bookings around for you (if using the same organisation eg one of the clubs) So there might be some flexibility and you could also look at late availibilty when travelling around to see what might be possible.

Our summer jaunt has been booked for months now and is a combination of CAMC sites and private sites.  In the caravan will be.....  Scotland, then home for a few nights, then Somerset/ Devon/ Dorset, then home for a few nights, then a cottage in the Outer Hebrides.  Our son is house sitting while we are away....

David

Bonnie Penny, I don’t think that provided you are flexible you  will ever be stranded with nowhere to park a motorhome. 

For instance if I were going back to Cirencester  to see friends there, and if the Club site was telling me that it’s full , then a good app or a search site would tell me of a dozen or more others within 15 or 20 miles and I would start phoning - on the day before.

But in the end it’s a personality thing. You have been very honest in saying how you are - but I’m the ultimate freewheeler.  So do your planning in a way that suits you.

Good wishes

Thanks for all the advice.

When looking for sites, I'm obviously using the search on here and Google, the other caravan club (I'm not sure if it's like Voldemort and they're not allowed to be named!). I've looked at Trip Advisor and joined some Facebook groups for motorhomes etc. Are there any other places I should be looking for sites?

UK campsites is very useful. Yes, you are allowed your mention the Camping & Caravanning club😀. 

https://www.ukcampsite.co.uk

This is good web site when searching for alternatives, especially for M/H'ers

https://www.searchforsites.co.uk/webapp.php

There are a few other possibilities for you especially as you are in a motorhome.

Try www.britstops.com

Or a new app thats come out. www.park4night.com

Or as you've joined this club try looking for a CL (Certificated Location). They'll be in your site directory book in county and country order. There are over 2,200 of them so usually a few within any area. Click on Find a UK campsite in the heading at the top of this forum and click down to Certificated Locations.

Hope this helps.

Another suggestion, try pitchup.com for a variety of sites.