We have been using Clumber for many years, both as a base to explore the area, and as a stopover due to its convenient location just a few miles off the A1.
One of my personal gripes for many years, the site was always fully booked over protracted weekend periods due to members making block bookings at the start of the season and then cancelling at the last moment if the weather looked bad. It would appear the Club's more recent policy on late cancellations is working as we managed a weekend break on this visit.
We had been away for almost a month and Clumber was a last stop of the six sites we've stayed on this trip. I'm not sure how to word this, but if I say we had five previous warm arrival welcomes with often a good degree of friendly banter, the sixth was somewhat mediocre! Is this as a result of the expected stress to staff on a Friday evening invasion of weekend arrivals?
Clearly we had an unexpected choice of available pitches mid afternoon, with all nearly taken by late evening. Not for the first time I had a namesake also arriving on the day, and yes I had been tagged as the the wrong option on the site's arrival list. My wife went to the office to advise which pitch we had taken to be asked had she brought our card as they had to amend the mistake, to which she replied a rather obvious No! The response was oh we'll have to amend, the tone not exactly apologetic for a mistake not of our making. When I returned with the payment card, I was given a somewhat curt reply of we've got it sorted. Before, when such an incident has happened, I've had the wardens coming to my van offering an apology for the mistake and inviting me to call at the office when next passing, something of a different approach.
I didn't find the toilet block a problem, other than the shower cubicles somewhat small by usual standards, but my wife felt the ladies block was looking decidedly tired.
Communication with the outside world has always been a problem, but there is a spot on the dog walk where I've always been able to get a mobile signal. Unfortunately, the forestry commission were felling/maintaining trees and the walk closed. The alternative was to email, and as it states in the General Site Information -- Wifi internet access is available on site. Please ask Wardens for details, and the answer from them -- it hasn't been available for ? Having just invested in a year's subscription to have Internet access on club sites, I am somewhat disappointed is an understatement. If, as was suggested in conversation there are problems of getting cabling into the site, then the alternative of a satellite connection has to be considered. There are other providers than Sky!
How long is it going to be before members understand what 5 MPH is? In recent years 5 mph in vehicles I've owned is first gear and no more than 1200rpm, in fact 1st gear and the engine on tickover without touching the gas pedal gives 4mph with the present set of wheels. When one observes people a
