Cairds Campsite - uDSC etc.

[Ivor]

Any campsite owner should clearly be compensated for any financial loss, however I think we should propose two processes one for in and out of season. Between October and March the site is closed so he's not losing out as no one else would be booking.

[mickw]

Any campsite owner should clearly be compensated for any financial loss, however I think we should propose two processes one for in and out of season. Between October and March the site is closed so he's not losing out as no one else would be booking.

What throws a spanner in the works "out of season" is when someone is employed to "open up".

Blacklands is always open so not really a problem in that respect, Rother Valley isn't but will accommodate, but they do get miffed if there are bookings on a bank holiday and it rains.

There is a can of worms on the horizon 

[JohnP]

Good work Carole & loving the new van.. Excellent m51  image as well - Nice one,  John

PS - Did you note if there is a pub or takeaway anywhere near.. (just to put icing on the cake so to speak)..

[Fay]

yes can of worms. i would like to book a pod, but if weather turns i either go & sit inside out of the rain, or dont go and lose £110!

[Carole]

Thanks for the comments John.

PS - Did you note if there is a pub or takeaway anywhere near

You have to pass through the village of Ticehurst (I think it was called) on the way to the camp and there were some shops etc there and I would imagine a pub, but I didn't really stop to look around.  If I go again I'll take the time to suss that sort of thing out.  The village is about 7 minutes drive away but we get nice dark skies by not being near anything.

Could try a ride through on google Earth, assuming it's been imaged.

Carole

[Ivor]

Knowing  certain club member's preferences I'd already checked where nearest pubs were, which is Burwash 2 miles by road or across the fields.

[MarkS]

Google Earth with the 2008 & 2009 DMSP overlays indicates that Caird's Farm has similar darkness as Rother Valley:


Being on a hill it probably wouldn't suffer the same mist problems we experience at Rother Valley and Blacklands. 

I'm very tempted for this weekend ...

[Carole]

There are two things I did not like about Rother valley, and that was the bank of trees right behind us which meant we couldn't image anything to the south, plus it always seemed damp there, and if you sat out at night all your clothes etc were really damp as was my seat if I left it and came back to it.

I'd still be happy to go to Rother Valley, just not every time.

Well it looks like so far:

Me
Mark possibly
Ivor if his mount is working
Duncan indicated last week he might be interested if his knee is better. 

I am presuming Cairds campsite.

The owner thought he could fit in about 10 if we wanted to come. 

Carole

[julian]

I am also up for this weekend, in my half done van. If the weather is ok

[Carole]

Great.

So are you guys happy to try out the Cairds camping site or would you prefer to go to Rother valley?

I think some of you have stated you'd like to try out the new camp site.

Carole

[LeeH]

I have been trying to work out whether I can go and need a bit more info.

Is the camp for 2 nights or 3? I am looking at http://www.rother-valley.com/ so I hope that I have the correct site. On here it says that electric pitches are £24 on bank holiday weekends and must be taken for 3 nights (I am assuming that we would be having hookups).

Does the society have any agreements/discounts/deals with the camp site?

Lee.

[julian]

I am not worried where we go as long as I have the postcode

[MarkS]

electric pitches are £24 on bank holiday weekends and must be taken for 3 nights

That's a potential problem with the BH weekend - prices go up and minimum stays are imposed (or must be paid for).

[Carole]

Not sure if those arrangements apply to OAS.  Also RV often can't accommodate us during the busy periods so we might have to go elsewhere.

Mike is the organiser so I am sure he will give a more definitive answer.

We normally go for Friday and Saturday as normally most people go back to work on a Monday, but being a BH weekend members might stay for 3 nights, and if the weather is good some of us who have retired go down early and stay longer.  

Carole

[Carole]

Weather forecast not looking so good, but hopefully it will change again before the weekend - hopefully for the better.

Carole