Seasonal pitches

Prices depend on area and site facilities , length stays in your LV  are the same as a touring member,  

We had one and thoroughly used it and enjoyed it as it was the area we wanted to be at Troutbeck Head in the Lakes and the kids were mad keen on going up hills so make sure there is plenty to do for you in your chosen area.

Other advantages, no towing and all the associated getting ready to tow like hitching up, and the same when leaving the site.

You can arrive and leave when you like, we were working at the time so there was no Friday night scramble to get there before 8pm and leave late as we wanted on Sunday afternoon or evening. The caravan is set up when you arrive. Lower fuel costs due to not towing too. We loved it.

The prices can be cheaper if you use it a lot, like in main holidays as well as weekends or like us you take into account the convenience of it all.

My only advice I've heard and feels right is not too far away, we were about 2 hours which was about right for us. Also there is a 21 day max limit for you (not your outfit) and you have to have 24 hour break before the next 21 days.

The break has to be a minimum of 48 hours.

If working and wanting to use a site regularity there can be other savings than additional fuel towing. Time being one of them. No hitch up and set up to go. On arrival connect up EHU, fill water and position waste. 

The time saving may be more significant for those that use storage rather than storing at home. Some storage sites have latest arrival times to take into consideration if returning from sites as well.

I have never had a seasonal pitch but had the next best thing. I stored on a private site where the owner would site the van for my arrival and put it into store after I left and I did this from early April until end September. At the time I was on my own and the site was 75 miles from work 1 hour and 15 minutes from work to caravan. I could leave work at 11.45 on A Thursday and be at the site office collecting my pint of milk by 1pm. Because I had no faff I would leave site at 6.30am and arrive in the works car park at 7.45am I would do this about twice a month On occasion I would stay two nights and then go off on a tour.

I would say to look at the options and also at private sites as well as club sites. I was fortunate because the owner offered me free storage after I had used the site a few times.

The other side is whether a site has enough interest for you as a base for regular use through a season. Location, your interests etc is an important consideration. If you store on site it may be that you pay month by month and can opt out if bored rather than pay for a season .... I have no idea. For me, at the time it suited me as I used to fish. There were three day ticket pools on site that I would often fish on my arrival day. I would ask for a ticket and the owner would say no as it was too late to sell to a regular and to fish ahead. Sometimes I would fish the pools or go to the coast and shore fish, maybe fly fish on the river that ran on the edge of the site or fish the local canal. The small and pleasant town of Garstang was 2 miles from the site. There was an area with statics and many lived full time there for 50 weeks of the year, vacating for two weeks on a winter holiday abroad. I got to know several couples and I woul go off to fish one particular pond at 6am and around 7.30 a bacon butty and a mug of tea would turn up .... what's not to like. There was a nice pub used by locals on the site and a dining area if you wanted a meal. For me, as somebody who fished it was brilliant and the town was nice. 

What suits people at a point in time may not at another and so the important thing is to consider 'is it for me at present'.

this is new:

As a trial for 2020, when you book a seasonal pitch at Modbury, you'll be able to stay for up to 28 consecutive days, compared to 21 days on the rest of the network. You’ll also be able to leave your awning up between stays

and some more new stuff since we did one:

You can choose the pitch you'd like before you bring your outfit on site

Friends and family only pay for pitch and per person fees if you're not staying with them

I saw that.  Not sure I would like to leave an awning up all the time though, would depend how exposed the site was.

The other 2 you highlight have been in operation for quite a while now I think.

We had a part seasonal at Cirencester Park from the 1st Sept to 17th December 2018. The cost was £495. Which I think worked out about £6 a night if you stayed all possible nights. It's a site and area we really like having stayed there often in the past.

We arrived on the 1st, a Saturday, and selected our pitch from those available. Ours was grass, which was the norm for seasonal pitches. However, that year for the first time, due to a wet spring and folk not being able to get onto their seasonal pitches, they did offer a hardstanding alternative, for £100 extra in our case. We stuck with grass, suspecting we would not like the HS pitches they would pick for seasonal use. We were correct in that assumption. The grass pitch was very large and well presented, as you can see in the photo. Nobody came onto that peg you can see alongside.

We initially stopped for almost 3 weeks. Then had a week in France using the train, returning to Cirencester for another 10 days. We had another week to 10 days at the end of October and in November plus December. For all but the December stay the pitch was fine. In December things started to get a bit muddy. Overall the cost was in the order of £12 per night stayed. We had intended to use it a bit more in November but events got in the way.

We really enjoyed our time on the seasonal and would almost certainly have repeated it, if we hadn't switched to a MH.

I saw that.  Not sure I would like to leave an awning up all the time though, would depend how exposed the site was.

A lot of people do leave awnings up. I suppose that you can take precautions when pegging down with choice of pegs and double pegging at angles and obviously good storm tie downs.

For me it would depend how far away I lived and how much time I spent on site and how important to have an awning. If its only say an hour to an hour and a half drive and I used a site enough I might and keep an eye on the weather forecast. One couple that I was talking to a few years back said that they spent Sunday evening until Friday evening on site. They went home to look after grandkids on the weekend or sometimes if one of the two children were sick. They left their awning up which seemed to make sense 

We are looking at possibly leaving our caravan on a seasonal pitch for rest of year and then possibly on a seasonal basis, is there a list of site that do this anywhere.

Don't know about other suppliers but the club list available sites HERE.

Normally it would be possible to pick one up, if still available, part way through the year. However, because of Covid it says they are not going to let any more this year. 2021 pitches will be released towards the end of this year. These aren't done on a first come first served basis, but by drawing names, if more apply for a site than it has seasonal pitches. The club normally publishes a cut off date for applications but may still have pitches left after this at less popular sites.