PRACTICAL PITCHES
PITCH PICKER The Club has a pitch to suit every need and budget. Sammy Faircloth talks you through the options...
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ffering more than 30,000 pitches, the Caravan and Motorhome Club endeavours to cater for everyone’s needs with a variety of pitch types. Some of us like a little luxury – such as water on tap directly from the pitch – while others prefer to go back to basics. Let’s take a look at your choices...
STANDARD PITCH
Most members are probably familiar with the Club’s ‘standard’ pitches. These can be grass or hardstanding, with or without awning (there’s no extra charge in the case of the former), and users share access to an electricity bollard with another pitch. Standard pitches are popular, particularly those offering room for an awning (if you do not intend to use one, you can help out by opting for a non-awning pitch).
SERVICED PITCH
For an additional charge, a serviced pitch offers a little extra luxury. Generally, it will feature a hardstanding surface, an electricity point, a fresh water tap and drainage for grey waste (water from washing up, bathing or showering, brushing teeth and laundering). The fresh water is supplied via a conventional brass tap with a threaded end. You can buy a brass/plastic connector from most DIY stores and some plumber’s www.camc.com
tape will create a better seal. You have various options for connecting from the tap to the caravan. The Whale Watermaster Mains hook-up kit is a 7.5m hose with a tap connector at one end and a Whale plug at the other end. It will fit either a Whale or Truma socket on UK caravans. Alternatively, you can use a universal mains water adaptor kit. A ball valve fits into the side of the fresh water container which, in turn, is connected to a food-grade reinforced hose that joins to the tap. This set-up will repeatedly fill the fresh water container to approximately half way – the ball valve will stop the water from overflowing (it’s similar to the workings in a toilet cistern). The water pump is then connected to the fresh water container in the usual way. For the waste water, flexible pipes do a great job and don’t take up much space. Alternatively, you can use varying lengths of rigid pipes and connectors – our son enjoys the challenge of putting it all together! Make sure you have a reasonable slope to drain the grey waste – straps, such as those from Caravan Bright Ideas (caravanbrightideas.co.uk) can help to not only secure rigid pipe in place, but also electric cable.
Above and below: a serviced pitch with its own electrical hook-up, fresh water tap and drainage for grey waste
SUPER PITCH
Super pitches offer the same facilities as serviced pitches, the difference being that they feature a privacy hedge (please note that some hedges on the network are August 2023 95