Are UK caravan parks 'down-market'?

Thanks everyone for chipping in with comments and advice.

nina neither does my OH think it is what we need but I tend to carry on regardless! Or, I say - "If you wanted us to have a static caravan, you would just go ahead and buy one, right?"

I have made a start, doing a lot of reading, posted on here, and I've booked a chalet in West Wittering, invited my OH - which usually has the effect that he realises I am serious about something . So I'll have a look around at other parks in the vicinity then.

aja that is true, every now and again I think why not just rent? But if I had my own place, then I could be impulsive and spontaneous about going there. I'm an impulsive, impatient and spontaneous type of person!

Quite a few of the parks have a "No same sex groups" policy and I thought that was discriminatory against gay people, until my daughter informed me (that I was a dummy) and that it means no hen or stag parties.

Grannynet wants a bolt hole out of London so Northumberland is a long way. I live near the south coast and I see lovely small sites around Christchurch, Mudeford, area. But I am sure it is a matter of you get what you pay for.

Why buy? especially out of school holiday time you should be able to rent at a more reasonable price. Then you can go to different places and have none of the problems of owning. Also the summer school holidays mean lots of visitors and the traffic can be very busy.

Maybe stay in lots of different places and then you will find the right place.

They want you to leave the van empty for a spell annually because of their site licence - if you were there 365 days a year they could be in breach of the terms ( they would then become a permanently residential site and come under different regulations) I suppose the simplest thing to do is not to allow anyone on for a set time, and to do any site maintenance during that time (and maybe take their own holidays?)

Totally agree that the quality can vary enormously. Personally I don't think I would buy on a large site such as Haven.
Someone I know has one on a lovely tree lined site near the New Forest. Although peaceful it has all the facilities you could want.
I'm just a little DH doesn't agree that a static van is just what we need

We had our static on the Northumberland coast janeainsworth it was a fabulous site. We sometimes go back for weekends in our tourer (they only have a tiny few touring plots) and I can't bring myself to walk around the beautiful site as I might see my old caravan and it would break my heart. Strangely enough when we had to give our house up at the same time and move to something smaller, it didn't bother me one jot !

Someone I know has just got one on the Northumberland coast and is very pleased with it - it looks fabulous.

But other friends bought one a few years ago (also in Northumberland) and then had trouble with the whole site changing hands, it going downhill, and extortionate fees being charged, and veiled threats being made, when they wanted to move the static somewhere nicer.

So do your homework GK and read the small print.

I agree POGS there is a HUGE amount of snobbery when it comes to caravans. I loved my static and would have it back tomorrow in a heartbeat.

Having a tourer is great fun and means we can pretty much go where we like but it is quite hard work setting up and packing up especially with 3 children in tow. (pun intended)

There is a lot of snobbery when it comes to anything to do with a caravan, I don't understand why.

It is no different having a holiday/ owning a static van to any other holiday. You can have B&B's, Hotels, Apartments all rated and obviously varying in quality, location and usually clientele. The same applies to static caravan sites/parks.

If you only look at the holiday parks such as Haven they will have a total mixture of clients but they too have owners clubs and I know owners who really enjoy theirs. If you want peace and quiet they may not be for you but even they have areas that are quiet for owners. If they are sites that have amusements, kids entertainment, bars then you really have to accept they might not suit but they are not all like that, not that there is anything wrong with them, especially if you have children/grandchildren.

It was good advice to check out a site during the school holidays. A lot of us probably choose to have our holidays out side of the school holidays don't we. We know the busiest periods can be a tad manic and whether it be a hotel resort, or static caravan site you will have a difference in footfall during certain periods. If you want isolation and total peace then a caravan site will possibly never provide that, only a cabin in the wood but they can cost a small fortune.

Good luck GK. You might have good fun hiring a few before you commit after all they are quite expensive and you want to get a decent sized van. Site fees are quite high and you have to work out just how much usage you will actually get out of ownership.

I have to agree with your friends Grannyknot . We had a static caravan for years (I cried when we were forced to give it up) on a lovely 5* site in Northumberland. The site fees were very expensive but there was no sub-letting allowed and it did keep out the riff-raff.

However many sites that call themsleves "upmarket" or 5* are very grotty. I couldn't name names on a public forum but there is one in particular in Northumberland that is very popular. We looked around it recently with a view to taking the children there for a few days in our tourer. All I can say is YUK. There is no way I could stay there never mind buy a static.

If you are seriously condsidering a static then I would suggest you do your homework and do it well. Visit the site several times before you decide and try to talk to some existing owners. Avoid sites that allow subletting like the plaque.

Spot on Elegran

There are some very smart ones around here, in East Angular. Some of them are in lovely countryside. The site fee covers employing someone to direct trademen to where you are, mow the grass and fix any flooding etc., it's no different from owning a flat and having to pay ground rent. The only alternative would be to buy a piece of land of your own and then put a static caravan on it. I suppose it also covers your annual rates, although I'm not sure about that. My inlaws own one as a holiday home, it is beautiful and in a lovely area, but be careful, many do stipulate that you have to leave during the month of February for at least a couple of weeks. Very few allow people to live there all the year round, which I find quite odd. Maybe so that the landowner can choose to sell the land if they wish, and you can't claim squatter's rights.

If you can go to the site that takes your fancy and actually look at it for yourself (preferably when the schools are on holiday and it is busy) you will get the "ambience". Some are more popular with retired people, some with young families. The ones with a lot of "entertainment" , bars and so on, are more likely to be noisy. Ask if you can walk round and look at everything, including the shower block and any indoor games room.

I have no idea what happened to the title! GNHQ please fix it if possible.