Wildcamping....still dont get it (1 Viewer)

[ips]

TDH
Yes there are indeed lots of views and preferences which is a good job as life would be boring if we were all the same :thumb:
Some of us of course have to prefer sites otherwise there would be no caravan club or camping and caravaning clubs or CL's or indeed the many privately run sites.
Therefore I am helping the economy as a whole

 

[Hopesy]

About 4 caravans and 3 motorhomes moved onto a private field at the top of my mother-in-laws quiet rural lane. the field owner lives about 200 miles away , isn't affected, so doesn't seem inclined to ask them to move off. They'll probably be there all summer. I told m-i-l not to worry as they were only wildcamping and enjoying the view.

 

[ips]

Well I am sorry but if its private land then that is trespass :Angry:

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[manu54]

Next time you are in a "carpark" or beauty spot take note of how much rubbish is on the floor by the front car doors.....we ALWAYS take what we bring if it don't go in the bin.
And mostly so do other m/homers....can that be said for a lot of car drivers ! !:thumb:

 

[Ven]

It's nice to read differing opinions and as someone already said in different words if we were all the same what a boring world we'd live in!

We fall in to many of the categories discussed. Since starting to fulltime a year or so ago we've wildcamped a few times only staying a night at a time, not setting up camp and leaving it as we found it or tidier. We love this type of camping.

On the whole we like small, quiet CL type sites and out of season Aires in France when not wildcamping but will stay on a site when we need to do washing or cannot find alternatives (in Brighton for example).

But I have to confess sometimes we like busier sites (as long as they are not noisy and full of inconsiderate people) and busy cramped Aires on occasion too as I love people watching and blimey there is plenty to see

Although our French and other languages are not brilliant we are learning gradually and love to attempt to converse with people from other countries who almost without exception we have found to be friendly

 

[ips]

But I have to confess sometimes we like busier sites (as long as they are not noisy and full of inconsiderate people) and busy cramped Aires on occasion too as I love people watching and blimey there is plenty to see

My sentiments exactly we like people watching too :thumb:

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[atakd]

....you want to try boating if you want to know what expensive running costs are. :thumb:

I do boat and I know a lot of people who spend fortunes on marina berths and yard lift-outs and storage.
I lay my own mooring, always anchor or dry-out when away, and over-winter in a disused canal, not through necessity but because I enjoy the independant aspect of doing things that way. The same applies to any sort of leisure activity, some people like all-in holidays and sit by the pool, some like taking off to trek through the jungle in Laos, and most like something inbetween.

 

[vwalan]

for a while i drove fridge lorries .cant think of a nicer way to fall asleep listening to the fridge motor . even now if i park on truck stops i dont mind the noise. on and off its like a song ,even wake up if one goes out of tune .made many good friends after waking a new driver and saying your fridge is not working. lucky for me my usual travelling buddy also drove fridges he doesnt mind them either. always find a corner to park next to a fridge .even other truck drivers hate them .so good for us more space.there are some really good tryuck stops in spain ,some have quite a good caberet club as well .very friendly.
c heers alan,.

 

[ips]

Mr vwallen ... Thats just wierd

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[vwalan]

takes alsorts . you should ask most fridge truck drivers .just get used to it. its along way from home other wise.

 

[ips]

I like the sound of rain not sure about fridges . Lol

 

[neilmac]

takes alsorts . you should ask most fridge truck drivers .just get used to it. its along way from home other wise.

Amazing what you get used to.... when I was on HGVs (many years ago) I had a week covering for a fridge driver who was on holiday - hardly slept any night the whole week, bloody thing kicking in and out all night long :Angry:. Back in my own wagon, on nights out I used to avoid parking near fridge trailers like they had the plague oh:

Its a funny old world.

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[vwalan]

like i say dont bother me. outside gib used to be the place .fridges all the time uk to gib always park by them nobody else does .the drivers also look after your van if you go into gib. all changed now but there is other places. i used to drive bacon all over the place .just about every super market gets its bacon packed in cornwall . go all the way up into scotland from here also down to gib. most of morrisons frozen in gib comes from uk.
well most of every thing there comes from uk . even the whiskey and sold cheaper ,have fun see you in a truck stop. cheers alan.

 

[JJ]

So do I JJ.... but unfortunately the general public lump all vanners together .. whether they wild camp or not..

I have a disgraceful confession to make... I simply do not care what the "general public" think on the matter of motorhoming...

JJ

 

[scotjimland]

I have a disgraceful confession to make... I simply do not care what the "general public" think on the matter of motorhoming...

JJ

Quite frankly, neither do I JJ , but it's these same people who sit on councils and decide whether to spend money on motorhome facilities, aires or allow ' overnight parking' or not .. so it has a knock on effect on everyone.

There are quite a few examples where wild parking spots have been lost due to inconsiderate motorhomers..

A bad impression does no one any good

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[dav]

Are there a set of do's and dont's for this aspect of camping. I dont know if the "right to roam" is just Scottish thing or a national ruling. I would be interested in hearing some of your views ref what you can do and where you can stay without breaking the law. I have stayed in a few "wild sites" and enjoy it especially if its on a travelling day as it make little sensce to me pulling into a park very late at night.

 

[wp1234]

Sun morning we drove over snowdonia with a view to finding somewere equally as nice however due to the stress of driving down some very tight / narrow roads (moral - never rely on sat nav) we ended up at CC site at Bestwy coed.

.

Why not wildcamp at The Betws Y Coed car park near station, right in the middle of the village ....... Fantastic and FREE !!!!!!!

 

[barryd]

My idea of wildcamping or freecamping is to find a spot well off the beaten track, away from the road and preferably with a view of some wilderness or lovely place. It has nothing to do with cost although I resent having to pay more than £10 per night max for perhaps a CL as I have motorhome that is self sufficient for perhaps 4 days.

Im not short of money but would never pay £30+ to stay on an all singing and dancing site unless I had kids and were in a tent.

At the end of the day I want peace and quiet and not crowds of vans or people. So a CL, wild spot or a quiet aire usually provides this. At the end of the day though one of the joys of motorhome life is that if its crap you can easily get behind the wheel and move somewhere else.

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[daveshellwildcampers]

wildcamping

when me and shell get in the van for 3 to four weeks driving from one end of england to the other we rarely go on site take a look at our photos and locations we been ! and enjoy not being on a site with others just on our own but its up to the indavidual and everyone has there own taste !!

 

[Elvis]

Helllooo! paid mi road & council tax thanks!!!

So, the truth is out , it's all about cost .. and or the principal of not paying for parking, water and black dumping .. ?

It's refreshing to see so much honesty from the wild campers..

What I don't get is why people expect, or think they have the right to stay on someone else's land, be it private or council, and not contribute to it's upkeep.

Only a week or so ago a member complained about being ASKED to pay £10 a night for a little piece of heaven on a Scottish island..

Vans arrive from the mainland stuffed full of food and drink, don't want to pay for a site and contrary to what many profess, spend little in the local shops.. mmmmm well, maybe one day they won't ask and just refuse to have MHs on THIER Island .. why should they ?

It's not all about cash, certainly not for us, for us it's convenience (e.g. we have an event to go to), feedom (not getting kicked off a CL at noon!), peace (no kids & dogs!) and so on. And! we pay our road tax, the fact we are in the MH & parked on the street, should not be an issue! And! we pay our massive London council tax each year so if we stay on non London council property for free, then we don't complain when non Londoners come and park up their MH in our street for the night; which they do when they arrive too late to get in the campsite at the top of our street....And, we never leave a mess or cause problems no matter where we stop! So those who don't want to do what we do then don't & stop winging about it :Angry:

 

[GJH]

Are there a set of do's and dont's for this aspect of camping. I dont know if the "right to roam" is just Scottish thing or a national ruling. I would be interested in hearing some of your views ref what you can do and where you can stay without breaking the law. I have stayed in a few "wild sites" and enjoy it especially if its on a travelling day as it make little sensce to me pulling into a park very late at night.

Access rights in Scotland, as defined by the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, are different from the rest of the UK. It is important to realise, though, that the rights do not extend to vehicular use unless the vehicle or vessel is adapted for disabled use and in use by a disabled person. People also have the right to camp although roadside or car based camping do not fall under the definition of wild camping. ‘Wild camping’ in the context of the outdoor access rights assumes use of a tent or bivvy site and relates to non-motorised use, or people moving well away from their car to spend the night.

More details linked from Here.

Graham

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[GJH]

(snip)
What I don't get is why people expect, or think they have the right to stay on someone else's land, be it private or council, and not contribute to it's upkeep.(snip)

Probably for the same reason that, in so many ways these days, people expect to have "rights" because that equates to what they want, never mind any other considerations.

Whilst there are many people (including posters on this thread) who exercise responsibility in the way they live there are, unfortunately, too many people who do not (and that is not just in motorhome usage terms).

Even those who act responsibility need to acknowledge that, on occasion, "rights" do not always equate to "wants". In terms of using a motorhome overnight (outside of a camp site) there are:
a) places where it is deliberately allowed by law (a "right" is conferred so long as conditions, possibly including payment of a fee, are complied with).
b) places where it is allowed by default because the law is silent (but any "right" is conferred only if general parking laws are complied with).
c) places where it is banned by law (no "right" is conferred).
People obviously get away with using places in the latter category but often enough that is because there are insufficient resources to control such usage. However, they can have no cause to complain about any "rights" being abused if control measures are taken to enforce legislation.

Graham

 

[GregM]

If I wild camp I know I have no automatic rights, if I am asked to move I would. However it does annoy me when people assume :

1. You wild camp because it's free

and

2. You have a motorhome so MUST have money.

We first wild camped in Wales by accident. A Local gave us directions to a local caravan/camp site, it was the Easter school holidays (here any way) but the site did not open until the following weekend (easter weekend) so we stopped on the beech just a few yards away.

Last week we wildcamped on the east coast, although we have kids and a dog we wanted somewhere quiet, rare to find on sites during half term. The dog was allowed on the beech which we love to do and our money was spent with many local businesses so we all win.

We have stopped at pubs aswell, this normally costs us (family of 5) more than a camp site by the time we've had a meal etc. but we prefer to do this.

As for those that believe if you have a motorhome you are loaded then sorry, you may think you are in an elite group of wealthy people but that ain't the case. We borrowed to buy our 'van, we enjoy it and have no regrets but we have had to cut back in other area's, it was not 'spare cash in the bank' as we don't have 'spare cash'. We're not skint but we are careful.

 

[ips]

If I wild camp I know I have no automatic rights, if I am asked to move I would. However it does annoy me when people assume :

1. You wild camp because it's free

and

2. You have a motorhome so MUST have money.



That will be me then oh:

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[ips]

(not getting kicked off a CL at noon!), :Angry:

we wont kick you off .... :thumb:

 

[ips]

Why not wildcamp at The Betws Y Coed car park near station, right in the middle of the village ....... Fantastic and FREE !!!!!!!

Because its about 20yds away from a CC site and from there I can walk into town with the knowledge that the van is (relatively) safe from any numpties opening doors or scratching van with prams, handbags etc :thumb:

 

[Wildman]

If I wild camp I know I have no automatic rights, if I am asked to move I would. However it does annoy me when people assume :


2. You have a motorhome so MUST have money.



That will be me then oh:

Did have until we bought the motorhome, and such is the case with a lot of people. Time people realised a motorhome is not cash, nor is it spendable.

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[wp1234]

Because its about 20yds away from a CC site and from there I can walk into town with the knowledge that the van is (relatively) safe from any numpties opening doors or scratching van with prams, handbags etc :thumb:

I think you were at the Riverside CC which looked very nice and I'm sure full of happy family campers but I can assure you that at the far end of the B-Y-C station car park the only thing that would have bothered you would have been the odd rabbit or squirrel out for a stroll .Don't worry and give it a try next time ,I guarantee you will love it ! :thumb::thumb:

OK I do admit that I didn't buy a motorhome to be doing the same thing as a caravaner , it all about the freedom for me. Last thing I want to do is to plan in advance which 'same same' caravan park I will have to arrive at in good time on each day im out on the road , its just not for me im afraid .

 

[ips]

WP1234
Yes riverside it was. I am sure you are correct and next time I am in the area I will check it out. ...... hope there are no tree's though (see, I know what I am doing tonight post)

 

[wp1234]

WP1234
Yes riverside it was. I am sure you are correct and next time I am in the area I will check it out. ...... hope there are no tree's though (see, I know what I am doing tonight post)

Ahh see your point . Yes there are a few trees around but kept well away myself to make sure I got th old Sat reception OK

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