What is a rally really like?

We've looked at them for a couple of years debating whether or not they are for us. Took the plunge last weekend & had a brilliant time. Just sent off bookings for 2 more.

Everybody has their own requirements so you'll not really be able to decide if rallying is for you or not until you try it.

Best advice, sign up with your local centre & try one. If you find it's not for you then there's no pressure to book a second. 

Ignore negative views as although rallying doesn't appeal to everyone but you have to try for yourself to know.....Years ago I rallied quite a lot with the Scottish Caravan Club , West Centre......My advice is apply to join your Centre either nearest to where you live or a Centre of your choice ....your 6 year old will have a marvellous time as will you and your wife...No one on the rally makes you do anything but participation and involvement is the secret to making it so much fun.

I saw a clip from the TV film I think you refered to and I cringed. I have been to hundreds and never been to one like that. They all vary depending on the members. Most areas have there own websites which will give you an idea of what they do. Phone up a contact and ask about the numbers of children they expect to be there. You don't have to join in, but just use the Meet as a place to stay and do your own thing.

What's a rally really like?   Is one of those how long a piece of string type of question.   Rally's are run individual centre's and effectively these are independent groups so the Rally's can be organised and even charged for in different ways.  If you look at the websites for North and South Essex they appear quite different so really there is a no one what is a Rally like. I would look at the various websites and give the rally sec's a call and explain what you are looking for, they should be able to point you in the right direction.  You don't have to be a member of a centre to attend a rally just members of the caravanclub   

Just a thought, When we bought a caravan, my wife imposed the following conditions.  We would never go on a rally, last year we did our 200th rally, OK we would never organise a rally last year we ran helped run 6 of which 2 were week long holiday Rally's.   Funny how life turns out   

It's true that no 2 rallies are the same, even withn the same centre. This means they will cater for most peoples requirements. You can generally get a good idea of which are for you by reading the events programme entries and/or talking to the rally secretary.

It is also true that they are absolutely nothing like those shown on the Carry On Caravanning show screened recently. Rallies offer an excellent way of meeting fellow caravanners and making friends (both for you and your 6 year old.

We started rallying with the intention of just using them as a cheap way of using the caravan a bit more but, like Boff, now run or help to run half a dozen each year. It is not for everyone but for those who do enjoy it, it can be a fantastic way of getting the most from your caravan. The only way to know is to try it and be prepared to try more than one simply because they differ so much. If you enjoy the first one, excellent but if you don't it may just be that you chose the wrong one. We have attended over 500 to date and most have been brilliant, but there have been one or two over the years that we wouldn't go back to. You never know until you get there so it is important if the first experience is not quite right to try a different rally.

Some people take to rallying, others feel it is not for them. My advice is don't rush to join any centre until you have tried a couple of rallies with different centres. You do not have to be a centre member to rally with the CC, many people choose to be independant and choose their rallies because of it's particular location . 

Go on try a couple of rallies, what have you got to lose. 

Must confess that we've only tried one, location not good, next to a fairground, music until 1 a.m. put us off. We have thought about trying another, but we do like EHU and toilets, this seems to rule out most rallies??

We were on a rally last year where the village hall sports showers etc were available for use. I've enjoyed the rallies we've tried, prefer the relaxed atmosphere and interesting places chosen. Have booked some this year too. The Balloon Fiesta run by the Avon Centre in Bristol was excellent, that was our first rally.

 We can't join in a lot just now due to family circumstances.

Give some a try, they're all different.

Hi R55, we have friends in both the N & S Essex centres, S E is the bigger centre and usually puts on more rallies. Both centres run rallies for the Burnham Carnival and have even built shared floats as I remember, and an excellent rally for children and adults alike. Every centre has ups and downs in numbers of children coming along and viability of a youth section, but it is a great experience for children to get involved with. it is definitely not like a holiday camp creche-type group with set activities. as others have said every rally is different and you need to read the programme description in the rally book (which you can access online here) then if you have further questions call or e-mail the centre and ask. Try a few with both centres or even one further afield if they run rallies where you would like to visit, you are likely to meet different groups even in the one centre at first, but once you (& your son) make friends you will know whether you want to join the centre or not. You don't have to join to rally as many have pointed out but your child cannot join the youth section unless you are members and he will soon let you know if he wants to I'm sure.

Good luck

Alison

It was important for us to find a rally where there would be other teenagers for our daughter to meet.  She loves camping but ebjoys it far more if she has company of her own age  We tried our local centre who has an active youth  group but made the mistake of choosing a big rally(hundreds of people there) on a full facility site so although we had a lovely welcome from the chairman and went along to the "socials" we didn't get to talk to other members and our daughter wasn't invited to join in with the youth. We let our membership lapse for a year and then decided to try again. I contacted another local centre and had a chat about whether they had many teens camping and although they said they didn't we found a rally on a commercial site which we knew we would enjoy and took along a friend for our daughter.  This rally was much smaller and not only the chairman but the rally officer and other members made us feel very welcome. There were organised activities arranged but you can choose to join in or not, its entirely up to you.

I would encourage you to try a couple of rallies local to you or maybe somewhere that you'd like to spend the weekend.  Its not too late to book an Easter Rally where there should be other children and maybe an Easter Egg hunt for your son to join in.