About the section.

The ALC is a Special Interest Section of The Caravanning & Camping Club.

We are a friendly group of members who welcome anyone with a passion for lightweight camping

We have members of all ages who camp in a wide variety of small tents. For example, some people are cycle campers, others simply enjoy getting away from it all by spending a couple of nights close to nature with the option of socialising with kindred spirits. At our meets you are welcome to get together with others for bike rides, walks, or sharing travelers’ tales in the evening. On the other hand, if you wish to ‘do your own thing’ no-one will accuse you of being anti-social. The main focus is to enjoy the simple pleasures of camping in smaller tents.

For guidance, the ALC constitution defines a lightweight tent as being no more than 2 metres in height and with a maximum weight in the region of 2.5 kilograms (5.5lbs) plus 1.5 kilograms (3.3lbs) per person in respect of the number of persons for which it has been designed.

Have a look at the pictures on this website to see the different types of tents our members come out in.

HISTORY

In August 1901 six mobile cycle campers spent a weekend in tents in an orchard at Wantage. They were some of the newly formed Association of Cycle Campers (ACC) started by Thomas Hiram Holding. The ACC grew, attracting pedestrian campers and those traveling by car.

It amalgamated with other groups and eventually became the Camping Club of Great Britain and Ireland. The interest in lightweight camping still survived and at the end of World War II the name of the Association of Cycle Campers was revived as a specialist section of the club.

History repeated itself when the cycle campers once again ‘took on board’ other lightweight campers, becoming the Association of Cycle and Lightweight Campers (AC&LC) in 1965 and finally the shorter but quite explicit Association of Lightweight Campers (ALC) in 1984.

Within the present Camping and Caravanning Club our Section continues the unbroken tradition started all that time ago of what is the most environmentally friendly type of camping there is.

In May 2001 the ALC celebrated its centenary by camping close to the original site in Wantage, and were able to the visit the original site which is now part of a private garden.

 

Joining

To join you first need to be a member of the Camping and Caravanning Club, join the section when you first join or when renewing your membership.

If you are already a C+CC member you are welcome to come along to any meets to see what we are about before joining the section.

Use our contact page for more info.