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What’s your experience? I guess this will depend on how close to home your site is, how much time you have and then specifics of the site.
Any pitfalls to look out for when selecting a site? Or any recommendations in the lakes (where we are thinking of)? How did you find your site?
We had a static that was 90 minutes from home at the coast. Got passed down to us from in laws when they were too ill to go. Seasonal pitches are cheaper than for statics but it's still a good few £k a year. We were walking distance from the beach, good access to family cycling routes and good road riding down country lanes. Big town nearby and a good base for exploring North Wales. At least you can move your caravan on if you get bored and fancy somewhere new.
Travelling time could be a consideration and how often you plan using it as the fees aren't cheap. Way up the amount of time you'd go if in one place vs packing up and going to a new campsite every few weekends.
Ours went 18 months ago as the site chucked us off as the van was 20 years old (but still looked like new). We bought a big tent and I splashed the cash on a people carrier van that we can sleep in if needed (bed in boot) and it meant we weren't at the random of a caravan site (it's different for statics). So we now tent/camper or use hotels. Still cheaper than static ground rent.
Ours is in Wareham Forest, about 90 min from home. Has been there for 3 years in July. This caravan was actually delivered to site and we’ve never towed it!
We pay circa £5k a year for a fully serviced pitch.
I like the convenience of not having to set up/tear down and especially being able to come and go at whatever hour we want to.
If we could afford to live in the area we would, if there were static parks in the area that were to our tastes we’d probably have one of those but a big twin axle van is pretty decent size and the only thing that’s not plumbed in is the toilet.
Ours is in Wareham Forest…. a big twin axle van is pretty decent size.
hmmm…. I suspect we were pitched almost next door to you last summer…. Birchwood, down the far end past the second toilet block on the small section with a muddy path into the forest at the end?
Factor in ground rent is for 8-9 months of the year at most sites, and £500 a month or more, so you need to use it. That's alot of cash when you add in fuel to get there.
Do not go down the static van route. Our old site does seem to have had some backlash, as anything 'new' is advertised as having 20 year lease (then you are off), but a £40k van is really cheaply made (compared to what we had) and very basic. Add in the £2k capital cost a year, and £5k ground rent - £140k over 20 years !
You aren't tied in with a tourer.
We do it a bit differently to most people. We put ours on a site from September to April. The fees are cheap and it means that we get out of the weekend rut at home. We go every other weekend pretty much without fail and spend New Years and Easter there etc. Fully serviced pitch is a nice luxury especially in the winter. It can be hard to plan on towing a van in winter so this takes that stress away. It is lovely just turning up with little setup and going home at any time of day that you please.
It seems to be a common theme having the van about 90 minutes away and that is the same for us. We live in Cumbria but head to a place in D&G next to a forest for cycling and loads of walks.
In summer the caravan lives in the garden and we travel around a lot to Orkney and Norfolk etc. A summer pitch would not be of interest to us.
Can you move it off the seasonal site if you keep paying?
I would like to put mine somewhere close to home on a site, rather than in storage, so I could go and sit in it to get away from home a bit, probably do some WFH there for a change of scene; but I'd still like to take it away on actual holidays.
To answer the OP more location was the key for us. If we want to we don't need to use the car when we get to the site. I can cycle on a 7 Stanes route from the door. We can have forest or seaside walks from the door and walk to a cafe or a couple of pubs etc. Also it is not much more than £100 per month so it is a no brainer for me.
To Molgrips you can usually take the van away by yourself but there may be some pitches where the owners insist on siting the van. Seasonal places can have more interesting layouts due to the static nature but you would be made aware of this when you look at the site.