WING camping weekend - Apollo's new bike.

[Canardly]

I can organise rides from St Neots CC as is home turf and know area well. Must say the camp site is rather excellent being well kept and on a river side site 10 mins walk from the town centre and five from good quality take away food/pub and has fish and chips visit site on certain nights. It is very popular.  Need to keep an eye on local bike thieving scrotes tho but. (Julian had an experience a year or two back). Rich F et al have often stayed there. Early September is out for me however.

Train station is only a few mins away by bike.

Within striking ....YACF pootling distance and with coffee and cake intervals....

Wendy's (as in Peter Pan) grave. (Her dad wrote Invictus as in Invictus games and was the model for Long John Silver).

One of the three remaining Danish (of the horned berserker variety) moats in the UK.

16th Century dovecote with guided access if pre arranged.

A rather elegant village high street tea room.

Grafham water

St Ives and its pie men. Home of some of Sinclairs inventions.

Bedfordshire stately pile actively involved in the abolition of slavery

Several major water mills including that of a well known breakfast cereal company with visitors centre.

Major new British airships

Stately pile near Cambridge

Cambridge itself

Depends what you want really.

[JBB]

I must admit Silverdale was looking a bit far for me so  was wondering about organising a long weekend camping at Sixpenny Handley for soft southerners and friends here -  http://www.churchfarmcandcpark.co.uk/index.html. Loads of rides and good walking in the vicinity.
I had a look round last Saturday - immaculately clean. Lots of tall hedges for shelter and we could have a separate area depending on numbers. £10 per person per night. Village shop and pub within stumbling distance. Nearest railway station Salisbury and 2 climbs to get there. (I could be persuaded to meet people and transport luggage!)

Not wanting to detract from PB's efforts; maybe one to think about for next spring as frost is less likely in Dorset?

HTH
Julia

[Pedaldog.]

I could probably cope with a Cambridge one, Salisbury is way too far, travel cost and time, to be practical for me.

[JBB]

I could probably cope with a Cambridge one, Salisbury is way too far, travel cost and time, to be practical for me.

I know it wouldn't work for everyone but for me Cambridge or anywhere in that direction is really difficult to get to. That London is in the way!
It's just a thought though - and could work in Spring with the likelihood of being warmer than Long Itch.

[Wobbly John]

Cambridge or St Neots is good for me. 

[loadsabikes]

St Neots in early October would be good for me, I may even be able to convince Mrs Miggins to make a guest appearance.

[cycleman]

St neots or Cambridge are o.k.for me and Apollo 

[Vince]

Mrs Wunja and I would be interested in camping somewhere, sometime, so long as its not the 17th September.

[JenM]

Stayed at Cambridge last week* - has excellent camping field which is separate from most caravans etc.

I could do any weekend from 15 Sept onwards.

* Stayed at Cambridge last Thursday to be more specific....noticed a few Audax types passing the end of the road in the evening, so stopped and cheered you on for an hour or so

[Polar Bear]

For those with far greater knowledge than me of the St. Neots / Cambridge options, can I have a consensus on which would be best please, and, perhaps a volunteer helper to coordinate?

Cambridge sounds like it has a tent field which is splendid and St. Neots sounds good save for the thieving scrotes.   We'd need to bring more locks than usual I guess.   Also, I know Cambridge is accessible by rail but not sure about St. Neots?   Nearest big station is possibly Huntingdon or perhaps Bedford?

For those driving from the north west or even Mordor areas it would be a relatively simple M6/A14 for either venue.   

I'm likely to want to keep it for the original weekend of 22nd to 24th.   Canardly's sell on St. neots was excellent save for the scrotes.   Do they have a camping field?

[Tigerbiten]

Cambridge is bigger site and with a separate camping field. The Cambridge site is ~2.5 miles south from the center of town so near the edge, plus the camping field is well away from the road right through the road. I think standard locks will be ok unless you aim to park your bike in the center.

St Neots is smaller site, so may have to book an area, but better access to breakfast cafe and a supermarket (tesco vs waitrose). St Neots has a train station.

Of the two I think St Neots is a better site but Cambridge may be easier for a group to stick together if busy-ish.

[cycleman]

I have used both. I only spent a night at st neots but it is a nice site by the river and the locks on the nene are interesting. I used the Cambridge site coming back from milldenhall a few years ago . Definitely bigger than st neots .both have good facilities 

[Butterfly]

Cambridge has a garden centre just down the road with a good cafe, where clarion, the duck and I waited out the worst of hurricane katie last year.

St Neots is next to the river so you are taking a chance on it not getting boggy, but otherwise is very nice.

[Wowbagger]

St. Neots is Canardly's neck of the woods. My sister lives in St. Ives.

Cambridge is good for punts. I believe people swim in the river as well.

[Polar Bear]

Anybody aware how either site deals with non-members?

[Kim]

Anybody aware how either site deals with non-members?

Charges them the non-members rate, I expect.  That's usually how it works for Club sites.

[Polar Bear]

Hmmm.  I was thinking more of how they'd treat a group with a large proportion of non-members.

I'm erring back to Wing as a preference - we all know and almost love it and we can get large spaces together.   Facilities are OK too imo.   

[Torslanda]

Have found out from 'er indoors that the dates in the thread are pretty much all I can do in September. We have joint commitments and/or scouting stuff going on into mid October. After which there's more chance of flying to the moon than me freezing in a tent for a weekend.

Come camping, they said. It'll be fun, they said . . .

[Kim]

Hmmm.  I was thinking more of how they'd treat a group with a large proportion of non-members.

I doubt they'd be treated any differently than a group of members, apart from the fees.  A Section meet might get preferential treatment if there was a question of who gets dibs on a rally field, I suppose.

[Polar Bear]

For a couple of very good reasons I have been compelled to retain the original weekend and to choose Wing as our venue. 

Usual routine:   Book with the group name of YACF.   I will talk to them and see what area we might get to use.   Please reply on this thread letting me know if you are intending to attend so I have an idea of numbers.

Thanks for your understanding. 

[Wowbagger]

I think I can make it. Just me. Jan will be Oop Noorth.

[Pedaldog.]

Pretty sure I can make it on the dates planned.

[JenM]

Anybody aware how either site deals with non-members?

For information only now the decision has been made re the campsite.

Rang the C&CC central booking to enquire about 2 nights at Cambridge for 1 person on 22/23 Sept, no electric. The total member/non-member price* would have been as follows:
Backpacker: £14.70/£14.70
Car+tent: £17.80/£30.30

*Technically the price is subject to variable pricing but I don't expect much change.

Didn't enquire about St Neots but would imagine it would be much the same.

[Polar Bear]

That's very helpful JenM.   Thanks.

[Melbourne12]

Mrs Melbourne and I will be there with caravan, plus gazebo, spare stove, table etc as required.  We'll book a caravan pitch with electricity so that we can provide additional cooking capacity if needed, but that probably means we'll not be in the same field.

Are we OK to book this now?  I don't want to commit until it's certain