campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk

Disappointing Experience @ Llanystumdwy - unless you are over 80 and have a caravan

Despite wonderful customer service by the C&C office in helping us to re-arrange an existing booking to allow us to visit this site instead, our time there was actually quite disappointing. Not for the first time our experience with C&C club made us feel like their ideal choice of visitors are those over 80 and with a caravan, rather than people with children and a dog, and with a tent or campervan. We were assigned the most terrible pitch on the site, right by the entry and exit barriers and on a considerable slope. The pitch was militarily paced out by the female SM (Site Manager), which included being told to allow an extra metre so that caravans etc could still swing into the site and not send our stuff flying everywhere. We asked if there were any other more suitable pitches free considering we have 9 and 11 year old boys and did not feel all that safe camping beside the main traffic entry and exit areas but were informed nothing else was free. There were empty pitches at the far end of the site which remained empty for several days during our visit. There was a couple in a motor home on the pitch next to us at the time and their vehicle was about 10 metres away, so we thought there would be no issue in erecting our inflatable windbreaker on the second day. Then the rules began. Firstly we were yelled out by the male SM for having our dog tied on a lead which exceeded the six feet rule (signs around the site mention dogs having to be on leads with maximum length of 2 metres and then in brackets 6ft - which is it please?); my wife was informed in the morning that all toilet and shower areas were out of bounds between 10.30am and 12noon for cleaning, leaving just the one easy access toilet available for the entire site during what many might consider to be peak toilet/shower times. On the 3rd day our motorhome neighbours left and were replaced by a family with a tent, who I believe were also told to move the pitch by a metre or so. Their tent was in exactly the same place as the previous motorhome, but they did park their car in between their tent and the boundary of our pitch which was now marked by the windbreaker. On the evening of the 3rd day the male assistant SM came over and said "We've got a problem" and went on about the legal requirement to leave a 6 metre fire gap between pitches meaning we would have to move our windbreaker in "by about a metre or so". I have no issue with this but the breach of the fire gap was caused by the parked car, not by either of the two pitches. There was approx 10-20 metres of unused space for the car on the other side of the tent but apparently the family had been told not to park on that side. Madness. I looked around the site and as usual the favouritism for old people in caravans was evident, including two pitches with awnings having their ropes less than a few feet apart, but apparently not in breach of the 6 metre fire gap. So, in the end I refused to move my windbreaker. On our final evening the male SM came over to discuss the issue once more -- I pointed out the thing about the car and the other awnings around the site but to no avail. My wife also told him how she had chatted to other campers (those in tents) who had not enjoyed their visits due to having to sleep on significantly sloping ground. The male SM disagreed and said everyone loves the site and they always received great reviews, finishing his conversation with "You're wrong love" - this offended me greatly to be honest. I don't think I will be renewing my C&C membership again - well, not until I hit 80 and get my first caravan.....We've been camping for over 20 years and consider ouselves to be quiet, respectful and responsible campers. We can count on the fingers of one hand our unenjoyable stays, and they are predominantly C&C sites sadly

Date of experience: Aug 12, 2025