BRAWBY GRANGE C/L – MALTON [79]

TUESDAY 24th JUNE – SATURDAY 28th JUNE 2008.
As you approach this site the roads get narrower and narrower although they did not present a problem to my outfit that must be around 35 ft long. Oncoming traffic can be seen and there are plenty of places to pass.

The property appears to be a farmhouse that the owners are modernising and the c/l is in a large well mown orchard behind the house. There is an additional area off the main field that could be used for rallies if required. The ground is basically level although it is slightly undulating; however it is large enough to find a level area. It was popular during my stay and I would advise pre-booking to avoid disappointment. Apart from the usual facilities of fresh water and chemical disposal there is a WC and a dedicated disposal point for grey water. It is obvious the owners take great pride in their c/l and even provide a washing line and pegs for anyone that requires them. The lawn mower must have cost a fortune and even cleans up after itself. Helps prevent walking those grass cuttings into your van. I did not notice a bus service in the immediate area, but there is a pub in Great Barugh about a mile away.

Further information can be found at http://www.brawbygrange.com/ or by telephoning 01653 668245

Malton is the main town in the area and is typical of the market towns found in North Yorkshire with all types of shops and a few supermarkets. There is also a bus and rail station in the town centre.

During my stay I chose to visit Nunnington Hall and Eden Camp but there is plenty to do in the immediate area with Flamingo Land and The North Yorkshire Moors Railway not far away.

£7.50 - 1 Adult

Anologue TV good

Digital TV available

BEECHWOOD GRANGE – YORK [78]

FRIDAY 20th JUNE – TUESDAY 24th JUNE 2008.
I’ve always thought of this site as “The Other Caravan Club Site in York” and now I realize how wrong I have been. During my many years caravanning I have tried on several occasions, without success, to get a pitch at Rowntree Park. If you look on the club website you will find that it is fully booked at weekends for the rest of the year. I sometimes wonder if this is because of the ease of booking online, and being able to cancel at the last minute without penalty. Perhaps the club should devise a system that members are penalised for regular last minute cancellations. This should give more genuine members a fighting chance of booking.

Anyway because I was unable to get into Rowntree Park I’d booked Beechwood Grange and was pleased I had. I’d only travelled from a C/L listed in Market Weighton and arrived around Midday. Reception was the usual ease associated with Caravan Club Sites even though I’d booked for one adult, and on this occasion my wife and son would be joining me for part of my stay. I’ve always thought that not being able to declare extra persons for part of your stay when booking online would cause a problem, but in reality have found that wardens don’t have trouble with this.

According to the website the site was fully booked for the weekend, but there were plenty of pitches available when I arrived. I pitched on a level hardstanding and set up, which usually takes a little longer because I am on my own. I’m not bad at reversing, [my son who is a HGV driver thinks I’m rubbish] so don’t usually hold up any traffic and was soon on my way to reception to get my barrier key. Having been told that only one car was permitted on each pitch I left my car in the small car park so my visitors would be able to park on our pitch. The site was starting to fill up and seemed to be popular with families with younger children. This site has plenty of facilities for children of all ages with play equipment and a field dedicated to ball games etc.

To take full advantage of the attractions on offer in and around York you need to spend at least a fortnight in the area. Monks Cross Park and Ride is just down the road for attractions in town, with shopping close by. Other places out of town are easily reached by car. We chose to visit Castle Howard on Saturday which is well worth the travel, and was good value using the clubs two for one offer. I am a member of the National Trust so on Monday I visited Beningbrough Hall. Which has an audio guide available if you require?

So if you want to visit York don’t be put off by not being able to get in Rowntree Park. This site is not good for visitors that want to travel out of town, the traffic can be horrendous. Use Beechwood Grange you won’t be disappointed.

Charges on club sites vary and can easily be calculated from information currently available. However I intend to show the nightly charge so it gives me a comparison. The information after the charge indicates the number of people staying for the whole visit with guests staying for part of the time shown in brackets.

£15.60 1 adult [2 extra adults for 2 nights]

Analogue TV good
Digital signal available

Getting up to date

As I mentioned earlier I started the "Mooch" in summer 2006 and have up until now visited over 70 C/L's and Club Sites.



I have attached a list of places visited so if anyone wants any information about places etc. just add your request plus your e-mail address to the comments section of the blog. If you prefer to withhold your address I will try to give a brief description of sites on this blog.



I havn't worked out how to move the list of places from my computer to this blog so it looks as if I will have to type them, so here goes.



Club Sites

Black Knowl - Blackshaw Moor - Burrs Country Park - Clumber Park - Coed Helen - Craigie Gardens - Daleacres - Grin Low - Hawthorne Farm - Low Moor - Lower Clough Foot - Market Rasen Racecourse - Milestone - West Ayton - White Water Park.



Certified Locations

Alfreton - Beverley - Blackburn - Boston - Bridlington - Brigg - Buxton - Caister - Chapel-en-le-frith - Cleethorpes - Darlington - Dewsbury - Doncaster - Donnington - Easington - East Retford - Filey - Gainsborough - Great Driffield - Hartlepool - Hebden Bridge - Hedon - Hemsworth - Horncastle - Hornsea - Howden - Huddersfield - Leeds - Leek - Lincoln - Long Sutton - Louth - Mablethorpe - Maltby - Mansfield - Market Rasen - Market Weighton - Matlock - Newark - Saxilby - Scarborough - Selby - Skegness - Skipsea - Skipton - Sleaford - Spalding - Spilsby - Stockton-on-Tees - Stokesley - Sutton-on-Sea - Thorne - Wetherby - Whaley Bridge - Whalley - Whitby - Withernsea - Woodhall Spa - Wragby



Others

Before I started this mission I had already visited many other Club Sites, C/L's and many more sites owned by other clubs or individual organisations. So ask, I may be able to remember some information that may be helpful.

Background to the whole thing.

Hi my name is Pete and I was born in 1947 (you can work out my age yourselves). In June 2006 I decided I'd worked for long enough so started to make plans for my retirement. The only problem I had was that I didn't really have any hobbies, work was my main interest and that was no longer around.



I didn't fancy staying at home on my own during the day, so I had to come up with an idea that would use up my spare time. All my family are keen caravaners and we would go away at weekends and holidays. I came up with the idea of putting every Caravan Club site and every town with a CL that had electric hook up into Microsoft Autoroute with my home town as the start and finish then got the computer to sort them out into a route.



That gave me somewhere in the region of around 850 destinations. Staying 4 nights at each destination meant that it would take over 9 years to complete if I did it none stop. As I only tour From Easter to late October with several stops between for family events it was going to be considerably longer.



Anyway I started in summer 2006 and so far with family bereavement's, births and the occasional trip on a friends narrowboat I've so far manage to cover 77 of the destinations.



For a recent birthday I was bought one of those devices that allow me to go online whilst travelling so it was suggested that I keep a record of my travels. So here we are.



I havn't yet got the equipment for posting photographs but that should follow shortly.



So if you enjoy touring please follow my travels and if I can I will pass on any information regarding sites that I have visited.

This is a blog to record the adventures of 'One Man and His Caravan' in his attempt to mooch his way through the whole of the Caravan Club book of sites.