Camping and Caravan Club Members

[MarkW]

Dear Camping and Caravan Club Members,

Some advice please...

When you book a pitch do you go for a grass or hard standing pitch? (Just looking for the pro's and cons of each based on members experience).

Assuming cost is not a constraint are hard standing pitches always flat and do not require levels / chocks? (do you get more room?)

Finally if you were to use your awning (with say a Comfort cabin) do you need to declare you are using an awning and if so what dimensions do you give e.g. 5m x 5m?

Thank you in advance,

Mark

 

[Meoncoast]

Weather dependant for us , re hard or grass pitch.

 

[Dottie]

Definitely weather dependant. I prefer grass, but if it's wet and grass is newly cut...and one has a dog...expect grass everywhere!

 

[Larkrise]

We always go for grass & no electric- sometimes it seems to give more flexibility as to where you can go.

 

[Californiaman]

We typically book hardatanding with electric as you often get a nicer pitch.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

 

[2into1]

It is a bit of a mixed bag...depending on the site. If you know which site you are looking at you may get less conflicting advice. Hardstanding certainly puts you in with the caravans and bigger motorhomes. They are also nearer the 'inner' roads. I prefer grass, tucked away near the boundary. If the ground is really soft, they often take the most sodden pitches out of use.

 

[GrannyJen]

This time of year, grass.

Middle of winter hardstanding.

I've never had a problem being level on either, my major risk to being level coming from intake of wine.

 

[TwentyOneThirtyFive]

Prefer grass if on a campsite it's more relaxing and hardstanding doesn't feel right. But I accept it's often the better position over the winter/wet periods.

I have had to be towed off a wet grassy campsite...

 

[marshian70]

You have to include the awning in the size you declare. Standard pitches are 7m x 5m and it can be a challenge to fit Cali and awning on a hardstanding, depending on which way around you park. If on grass it is not so noticeable if you are a little oversized!
Generally we prefer hardstandings though for their easier access, particularly if booking in advance when you don't know what the weather may be like.

 

[Dottie]

Electric if there a few days ie more than two nights...for hairdryer and fridge.

 

[AlanC]

We have found the hard standing doesn't work with a drive-away awning as the groundsheet is on the gravel and it is hard to hammer the pegs in to the compacted ground.

Alan

 

[SimplyDubs]

Prefer grass if on a campsite it's more relaxing and hardstanding doesn't feel right.

Yup, tend to agree... Much prefer grass, feels more like campering , hard standing always feels a little like sleeping in a car park or on my drive. (Both of which I've done )

 

[Skylark2.0]

Usually take pot luck but hate mud so in winter usually go for hard standing if possible. Always want E HU as we like our gadgets

 

[Calicliff]

Go for grass with electric, every time. Block for level and be aware of soft ground by checking the other campers and seeing if there are any ruts or churned up ground.

 

[Laurence102]

The choice for us is the location of the site and the time of year. Because of some difficult experiences, we tend to give the site a call directly, explain our circumstances (we have a drive-away awning for the longer stay) and ask the Warden/Manager their advise. That has never failed. We always take levellers with us and invariably use them.

 

[ejmoore]

Winter: hardstanding & hookup as our heater doesn't work without electric. I would expect a hardstanding to be flat but who knows?

Summer: definitely grass please, no hookup needed.

Don't know about awnings as we seldom use one - it probably depends on the individual site.

 

[ChrisandPenney52]

In my experience the standard 'sun awning' is not treated as an extra. If you have a drive away type I would guess it would be