What is a rally?

Although we caravanned for many years, and are now on our second year with a motorhome, we have never been on a rally.  To be honest, we dont know what to expect.  We have read descriptions of rallies in the C&MC magazine & they seem to be about families & games, dressing up - either fancy dress or posh dress, and gathering around a flagpole. These things we have never fancied.  We have now read reports of rallies in the ASOC magazine - & they seem different.  I am sure someone will say come along & see - & we might go to the Annual Meeting at Newark.  But questions still remain.  Do we have electricity?  If not, how long can we realistically manage on just our battery?  (We have never, to date, camped off grid  We thought we might try it this next year)  How easy is it to fill up with water & get rid of grey water, including during the event?  Will we be on grass?  What happens if it is raining?  We have a Broadway, so Max 3.5t but we have had a couple of issues on grass before.  What else do we need to know?  We are just completely ignorant about what happens, what to expect etc.  Help please!

If you google camping and caravanning club district associations that will give you a bit more info.  I only ever use DA meets as they are typically only £10 per unit per night.  Normally you will only have access to fresh water and an Elsan point.  Electric hook up is not usually available but most people have either solar panels on their roofs or portable suitcase type panels which will enable you to be off grid for a week or so at a time. Most DA meets are for Friday - Sunday and then in the summer months they have Temporary Holiday Sites through the UK which are open about 2 months or so.  As a member you can camp with any DA region you like.  Have a look at your local DA region website and drop them an email.  They will be very happy to give you all the info you need.

Largly depends on the rally Some like the ASOC AGM rally may have electric others won't.  Most C&MC, C&CC and MCC dont.

There is normally fresh water and toilet emptying facilities available.
Depends on the location if there is a hall, club house and entertainment provided and "posh dress" needed.

Most vans will manage a week to 10 days without mains hookups particularly if you have a solar panel and the weather is ok.

The ASOC Newark Rally would be fine for you to get the feel of a full facility rally with entertainment. You may also meet a few forum members there.

Prior to that if corvid conditions allow try a rally run by the the C&CC or MCC as these normally need bookings. Both these clubs allow you to rally with any group

ASOC and the C&MC require bookings which means more forward planning

Hi hja I think you will find autosleeper rallies okay.  They are a friendly bunch we go on several but we're a bit concerned before taking the plunge.  We never did c & m club rallies looked a bit clique,  you do your own thing on our rallies but can join in things if you want.

Rally is the traditional name given to a caravan or camping gathering held by a social club, the name infers to many that these are gatherings during which activities are organised that attendees are expected to participate in.

These gatherings can be held on a commercial campsite or (where the organisation holds the appropriate authority) on virtually any land with the consent of the landowner. The later are legally temporary campsites, the current 'in phrase' being pop-up campsites.

I'm in a few clubs but the majority of rallies I attend are with the Auto-Sleeper Owners Club (ASOC). Roughly 50% are on commercial sites and 50% are pop-up. The location of the rally is chosen by a volunteer club member (ASOC only organises one rally each year, the rest are organised by individual members with club support to arrange insurance and advertising). The member chooses a location that will appeal to other club members usually at or near a location of special interest at that time but with no or very limited commercial campsites. The fee for using the popup site will be much less than a commercial camping rate but often the only facilities are a supply of drinking water and disposal point for chemical toilet and usually a discount is agreed for fees on commercial sites.

Some volunteer members (referred to as Marshal or Steward) arrange activities that may be of interest to attendees but participation is voluntary. There is usually a welcome meeting with the purpose of advising attendees of facilities available, local attractions, bus times etc and it would be sensible to attend this.

Most vans these days have a solar installation and in the UK between late spring and early autumn can expect to survive 5 nights without any other battery charging although the unseasonal sea fret at Whitby in August this year did cause many to have to leave early but as Whitby Regatta had been cancelled, that did not cause too much distress.

Some members do attend an ASOC rally and find its not for them but most find it pleasant and an opportunity to exchange ideas about how you use your van and where you camp, the only frustration being that many rallies are very popular and (due to constraints of the site) can only accept limited numbers.

Many thanks for your useful replies.