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All of the campsites reopening to the public in England this July

A comprehensive list of social distancing measures has also been released ahead of reopening.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 17th June 2020
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The Camping and Caravanning Club has announced that it is planning a phased reopening of its campsites across the UK at the start of July.

The organisation is hoping to open to reopen sites in England on 4th July, in line with the government’s phase three plans of the lockdown exit roadmap, and will be releasing further information regarding sites in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in due course.

The Camping and Caravanning Club manages over 2,000 campsites in the UK.

In a statement via its website, the organisation believes that: “we are well-placed to offer you a safe, enjoyable UK holiday, providing a much-needed break away from home” due to “being in the fresh air, the physical space between pitches and with additional social distancing measures [in place]”.

A comprehensive list of social distancing measures has also been released ahead of reopening.

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Measures the organisation intends to introduce include reducing the number of campers on site, a contactless check-in, a ban on group bookings, six-metre spaced pitches and markers placed on the floor to remind visitors.

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The statement continues: “It’s important that we give our members a choice as to how they would like to camp, so we’ve introduced some new measures to help keep you and our teams safe.”

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“To allow us to operate our campsites in a responsible manner we have increased our cleaning regimes – this places extra demand on our teams and we have had to open some of our campsites without toilets and showers this season, these campsites are better suited to campers who can bring their own facilities.”

“We’ll only open facility blocks if we’re allowed to do so by the government, we will keep our website updated and let you know if anything changes.”

If you’re looking to plan your Great British ‘staycation’ this year, here’s the full list of The Camping and Caravanning Club campsites hoping to reopen next month:

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Open Campsites (with Facility Blocks)

Here are the Club Sites set to be open for the 2020 season with facility blocks available to use, however the reception, play areas, laundry facilities and other communal areas on the site will remain closed.

  • Alton The Star, Staffordshire
  • Ashbourne, Derbyshire
  • Blackmore, Malvern Hills
  • Cambridge, Cambridgeshire 
  • Canterbury, Kent
  • Charmouth, Dorset
  • Chertsey, Surrey
  • Culzean Castle, Ayrshire
  • Dartmouth, Devon
  • Delamere Forest, Cheshire
  • Derwentwater, Lake District
  • Devizes, Wiltshire
  • Dingwall, Highlands
  • Drayton Manor, Staffordshire
  • Dunbar, East Lothian
  • Dunstan Hill, Northumberland
  • Hertford, Herfordshire
  • Horsley, Surrey
  • Keswick, Lake District
  • Kingsbury Water Park, Midlands
  • Loch Ness Shores, Inverness
  • Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire
  • Milarrochy Bay, Loch Lomond
  • Moffat, Dumfries and Galloway
  • Moreton, Dorset
  • Normans Bay, Sussex
  • Scarborough, Yorkshire
  • Scone, Tayside
  • Sennen Cove, Cornwall
  • Slapton Sands, Devon
  • Slingsby, Yorkshire
  • St Neots, Cambridgeshire
  • Theobalds Park, Hertfordshire
  • Tregurrian, Cornwall
  • Verwood, New Forest
  • West Runton, Norfolk
  • Winchcombe, Gloucestershire
  • Windermere, Lake District
  • Wolverley, Worcestershire
  • Wyeside, Powys

You can click here more information about each campsite listed.

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Open Campsites (without Facility Blocks)

Here are the Club Sites set to be open for the 2020 season without facility blocks available to use.

If you do choose to stay on one of these sites, you will need to bring your own sanitation. Separate toilet tents can be used on your allocated pitch to accommodate your own chemical toilet. The reception, play areas, laundry facilities and other communal areas on the site will remain closed to help facilitate social distancing.

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All sites will provide access to fresh drinking water, a place to dispose of toilet waste such as a Chemical Disposal Point (CDP), motorhome service points and washing-up facilities.

Pitches will be available with electric hook-ups.

  • Bakewell, Derbyshire
  • Bala, Snowdonia
  • Barnard Castle, County Durham
  • Beadnell Bay, Northumberland
  • Bellingham, Northumberland (Open with facilities from 1st August)
  • Cannock Chase, Staffordshire
  • Cardigan Bay, Ceredidion
  • Cheddar, Somerset (Open with facilities from 1st August)
  • Chichester, Sussex
  • Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire
  • Clent Hills, Midlands
  • Clitheroe, Lancashire
  • Conkers, Derbyshire
  • Corfe Castle, Dorset
  • Crowborough, Sussex
  • Delamont Country Park, Northern Ireland
  • Ebury Hill, Shropshire
  • Graffham, Sussex
  • Hayfield, Derbyshire
  • Hereford, Herefordshire
  • Kendal, Lake District
  • Kessingland, Suffolk 
  • Oxford, Oxfordshire
  • Polstead, Suffolk (Open with facilities from 1st August)
  • Ravenglass, Lake District
  • Rhandirmwyn, Carmarthenshire
  • Rosemarkie, Highlands
  • Salisbury, Wiltshire
  • Sandringham, Norfolk
  • Skye, Isle of Skye
  • Tarland, Aberdeenshire
  • Tavistock, Devon
  • Teversal, Nottinghamshire
  • Walton-on-Thames, Surrey
  • Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire

You can click here more information about each campsite listed.

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To read a full list of social distancing and health & safety measures being put in place ahead of reopening, please visit The Camping and Caravanning Club website here.

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The Camping and Caravanning Club is seeing public demand increasing and asks that you book in advance to guarantee your pitch.

Bookings made whilst sites are closed are fully flexible.

For all bookings and enquiries, click here.

News

Breakaway competition R360 issues statement after rubgy unions warn players of sanctions

Danny Jones Danny Jones R360 league respond to joint statement from rugby unions opposing breakaway competition

Prospective breakaway competition R360 have issued a response to the joint statement from multiple countries’ rugby unions, which has warned players of sanctions should they choose to join the new league.

While the vast majority seemingly remain opposed to the new concept, backing from certain key figures has resulted in the likes of the UK and Irish rugby unions, along with other key nations, sharing their unified stance against the potential rival.

Put in the simplest terms, the R360 model is rugby’s equivalent of what the proposed European ‘Super League’ was for football just a few years ago, with similar questions being raised around how it could jeopardise existing contests, player wellbeing and more.

Now, though, the new format – which has been largely backed and developed by former World Cup winner with England, Mike Tindall – delivered its own reply on Wednesday, 8 October.

Shared publicly to the press, the alternative tournament wrote: “It’s not always easy to embrace new opportunities, but as we’ve seen throughout history, it’s essential for any sport to grow. So many players love what R360 can do for them and the game, and we can’t wait to kick off next year.

“Player welfare is one of the key reasons for creating our global series, which will greatly reduce player load and capture the attention of a new generation of fans globally. We want to work collaboratively as part of the global rugby calendar.

“The series is designed with bespoke schedules for men’s and women’s teams and R360 will release all players for international matches, as written into their contracts. Our philosophy is clear – if players want to play for their country, they should have that opportunity. Why would the unions stand in their way?

“We look forward to submitting to the World Rugby Council for sanctioning next summer as planned.”

At present, R360 is due to hold its inagural season this time next year, with eight new male teams and four women’s sides expected to get underway from October 2026 onwards.

In addition to more lucrative contracts like those promised in the IPL (Indian Premier League) cricket, LIV Golf and the aforementioned albeit failed Super League, R360 is also set to offer a reduced playing schedule but one that would still tempt athletes away from their current teams to new franchises.

Although they have assured player care is an utmost priority, their health and fitness is one of my concerns put forward by the total eight rubgy unions who have urged current pros to stay away from the breakaway competition.

In case you haven’t seen the statement release by England, Ireland and Scotland, as well as France, Italy, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, it begins by “urging extreme caution for players and support staff considering joining the proposed R360 competition.”

Assuring that they welcome “investment and innovation in rugby”, they feel this particular idea won’t improve the sport but could instead “fragment or weaken it.”

Having assessed the proposals supposed value/addition to the “rugby’s global ecosystem”, it seems the fear is that the outcome will be a “net negative to the game”, with little to no detail as to how it can run alongside existing fixtures, assure proper management of player welfare and more.

As for Wales, despite opting not to put their name to the open letter itself, they have stated publicly: “The Welsh Rugby Union supports this statement, and we’re considering changes we may need to make to qualification rules in Wales as part of ongoing analysis following our recent consultation process.”

Read more:

The statement continues: “The R360 model, as outlined publicly, rather appears designed to generate profits and return them to a very small elite, potentially hollowing out the investment that national unions and existing leagues make in community rugby, player development, and participation pathways.”

It seems there is deep concern for how it could affect grassroots and the international rugby too, not just league and union, and have failed to full explain or help key organisations “better understand their business and operating model.”

Most notably, they sign off by adding: “Each of the national unions will therefore be advising men’s and women’s players that participation in R360 would make them ineligible for international selection.”

What do you make of the whole debate – do you like the current schedule/format as it is, or do you think there’s room for a new chapter in the rugby world?

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Featured Images — Rawpixel.com/Public domain

News

Passengers warned of ‘disruption’ ahead of more Bee Network bus strikes this weekend

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Bus services across Greater Manchester will be disrupted later this weekend as drivers from two companies stage strike action.

In what is the latest chapter in a long-running dispute, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) says it has had confirmation that staff from two operators, Stagecoach and Metroline, will go ahead with further planned strikes this weekend.

If this is the first you’re hearing of the upcoming industrial action, 2,000 workers who were employed by Stagecoach, Metroline Manchester, and First Bus Rochdale – each of which are firms among those that make up the bus part of the Bee Network – walked out in a number of co-ordinated strikes earlier this month amid an ongoing pay dispute.

Unite the Union said each of the firms are ‘highly profitable’ and it’s therefore ‘disappointing’ that workers are being denied a fair wage.

In this case, Unite has confirmed that drivers at First have called off further action after voting to accept a revised pay offer. 

Passengers are being warned of ‘disruption’ ahead of more Bee Network bus strikes this weekend / Credit: TfGM

However, both Stagecoach and Metroline staff have opted to proceed with strike action on Friday 10 October, Saturday 11 October, and Monday 13 October.

This means that around 190 services, including some dedicated school buses, will not run on strike days, and TfGM is therefore advising everyone to ‘check before they travel’ and allow extra time to make their journey.

Bus services in Tameside, Trafford, and Stockport are not expected to run, and some services in South Manchester, parts of the city centre, and Rochdale will also be impacted.

Many bus services will continue to run ‘as usual’, however, and this includes services such as the Free Bus in Manchester city centre, as well as the majority of buses in Bolton, Bury, Salford, and Wigan.

The strikes are the latest in an ongoing dispute over pay / Credit: TfGM

“While we are pleased that planned industrial action by First staff has been called off, we encourage Stagecoach, Metroline, and Unite to continue discussions to avert further strike action,” commented Danny Vaughan, who is the Chief Network Officer at TfGM.

“We’ll continue to keep passengers informed and support them to make journeys wherever possible. We encourage everyone to check the latest status of their service before they travel, leave plenty of time for their journey and to get in touch if they have any questions.”

Unite has indicated that further industrial action will also happen on Saturday 18, Thursday 23 and Friday 24 October.

Read more:

This action could still take place, if pay negotiations are not concluded.

Featured Image – TfGM

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