When Touring do people plan and book ahead or take pot luck??? (1 Viewer)

[Paul an Jane MK]

Hi All,

We are waiting impatiently (four weeks on Monday) to pick up our 2008 Swift Sundance with the Fiat 100 cab (OMG we could not get over all the different layouts and were really struggling to find a layout we liked until we found our swift with a rear lounge which gave us the spacious feel we were looking for and our dog to move around.)

So we have booked an EHC pitch for three nights the bank holiday weekend in the New Forest at Setthorns for our first trip which we are really looking forward to.

That is fine for a short trip but for a longer trip say fourteen days around the Highlands it is 500 miles for us just to Inverness so would be good to split that up with at least one overnight stop and then who knows. I am not sure I would want to have to stick to a rigid itinery arriving at specific sites by a certain day and could even end up peeling off M6 into the lake district and staying there.

Is it viable to stop the odd night in a decent lay by or Motorway services if you run out of time and options or do people find a camp site on route using good old google.

How much do you plan ahead or just see where you end up????

Final question, some site insist you have to be a member of camping and caravan club, is joining neccesary to gain acces to the best sites or not?

Thank you, for taking the time to read and your thoughts would be appreciated.

Regards Paul

 

[Puddleduck]

A lot depends on the type of trip and if we have to be somewhere for a specific time / day when we are planning. Generally we book sites / stops (or plan where we will be if wilding or Britstop) en-route to where we need to be. If we are going to be helping out family we will book a site, if touring we look at the map and decide where we are going next and maybe book the morning for that evening. If there is plenty to do in the area or even if it's a nice place we'll then book another night or three. Travelling home we don't book as if the traffic is bad we'll just find somewhere.

CC and C&CC sites you don't need to be a member to stay on their owned sites (cheaper if you are though) but you do need to be a member to use the CL / CS network of small sites. We are members of both because we like the CL / CS network - much quieter than the big sites and often in places we'd not visit otherwise.

 

[Bryden]

Don't motorway services have a 2 hour parking limit? Or can you pay to park longer

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[denisejoe]

We don't tend to tour in the UK and if we did we'd use a combination of Temporary Holiday Sites (THS) and CSs (5 van sites); both of which you need to be a member of CCC.

We much prefer France with its' network of village aires with the odd night on a campsite to do some washing.

Denise

 

[Stealaway]

We wing it.
We always wild camp and always find some where to park up for the night.
We never know how far we will travel on any given day and love to find secret places. You will eventually have a library of known good spots
Our attitude is that it is only a van and you will find some where to park up.
We start looking from about 4 pm and stop when we find a good spot.

Don't motorway services have a 2 hour parking limit? Or can you pay to park longer

Motorway services will let you pay to stay overnight just like the truckers but its not cheap and them trucks make lots a noise when they leave at the crack of dawn.

 

[Sabino]

When we first went over to Spain we booked the 1st night, just to be sure. But now we just hope for the best.
We normally go during non-school holiday dates, so never much of an issue.

Welcome and have a great time on your trip.

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[31791]

If you are going up to the highlands then I wouldn't bother booking if you are happy to wild camp. There are loads of places and most of them have much better views than the campsites. We used campsites 1 in 3 or 4 nights to sort out services and never had any problem and this was during the summer months. I don't know if there is a legal reason for it but harbours and lighthouse carparks seemed to be the place for motorhomers. You can also go into a pub and ask them if they mind you staying overnight if you have dinner. The benefit of all of this is that you feel much more free. We did the Highlands and Islands as our first longish trip of about 5 weeks and would have easily went round again if I had the time.

 

[Cyclewalkbob]

Always book sites in UK, but when we go to France out of season we have never booked.
However do book our sites in France in August, especially our night going down south.

 

[MattR]

We only book if we're going to popular locations at peak times. We sometimes call ahead if we have a site in mind to check if they are likely to be full due to things such as beer festivals. We haven't been turned away from a full site in the UK and only failed to find a site once when travelling on the continent - it was a busy time and very few campsites in the area.

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[TUCANO]

I never plan ahead because I never know where I will be. If I am travelling long distances in the UK I always turn off whatever main road I am on well before it gets dark and look out for likely overnight spots wherever the road takes me, last year a garden centre suggested I stay overnight in their car park, would I mind if they locked the gates they asked
Have fun whatever you do.
Norman.

P.S.

 

[Paul an Jane MK]

Thank you, everyone for your ideas. I do like the idea of smaller sites so it looks like ccc membership is on the to do list although maybe next month after buying and kitting out our new chariot.

I am also inspired to try a few impromptu stops as well so your encouragement is appreciated.

Good News it is nearly ready to collect, apparently just waiting for some external locker door frames as they were not sealing properly. Cannot say I noticed anything wrong when I peered inside them. Hopefully a good sign that there workshop is thorough. We live in hope.

So we can collect on Tuesday I will be like a child in a sweet shop Load up and Friday morning head of to the New Forest.

 

[Langtoftlad]

I maybe being foolhardy but I'm planning a trip in the UK in June, by not planning nor booking more than a day or so ahead.
I have a rough idea of where I want to go - but until I get "there", I won't know what's to see/do or how long.

I'm hoping a mix of Britstops, CL's & last minute sites will work - but I guess I might end up going somewhere I never intended - or simply coming home and thinking again.

I'm lucky inasmuch as I don't have to fit my travels into work, weekends or holidays.

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[Stagman]

Thank you, everyone for your ideas. I do like the idea of smaller sites so it looks like ccc membership is on the to do list although maybe next month after buying and kitting out our new chariot.

I am also inspired to try a few impromptu stops as well so your encouragement is appreciated.

Good News it is nearly ready to collect, apparently just waiting for some external locker door frames as they were not sealing properly. Cannot say I noticed anything wrong when I peered inside them. Hopefully a good sign that there workshop is thorough. We live in hope.

So we can collect on Tuesday I will be like a child in a sweet shop Load up and Friday morning head of to the New Forest.

Yep would definitely recommend CCC membership as they offer the facility of a short stopover to offload grey and black waste and refill with water plus use their showers. They only charge about £6 or £7 for that, but you dont get electric. That frees you up to wildcamp for longer as well. We used them a lot when we toured Scotland for a month.
We plan to tour cornwall for a month and wont be pre-booking, but will avoid peak school holidays. As said above we also ring ahead on the morning we wish to stay somewhere if we suspect a site may be busy or in a popular location.

 

[jockaneezer]

Hello and welcome, as a fellow dog owner, I just wanted to make you aware if you didn't know about the fatal dog illness thought to be Alabama Rot that can be picked up in the New Forest ? On a lighter note, there's lots of nice places around here and in the Scottish Borders to break up the long journey north

 

[Kool Kroozer]

The only thing we plan when going over the channel is the tunnel or ferry.. Everything else after is unplanned and spontaneous

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[Revolvor]

......Is it viable to stop the odd night in a decent lay by or Motorway services if you run out of time and options or do people find a camp site on route using good old google.

Paul, @Paul an Jane MK - see link below. When we drove to Orkney last year, we left home in Wiltshire about 9:00 pm and drove until we were tired, and then stopped at a Motorway Service area, and got a few hours sleep before continuing our journey. We also stopped twice more going through Scotland, but only booked a day ahead.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/usuuzyacfla0kk6/Motorway%20Service%20Areas%20with.....%20Night%20Halt%20Permission.docx?dl=0

John

 

[peterc10]

The only thing we plan when going over the channel is the tunnel or ferry.. Everything else after is unplanned and spontaneous

Us too. Not long back from a 5 week tour mainly of Italy without booking once. Occasionally phoned ahead in the morning, but mainly just turned up.

The last UK tour we did not plan and just played it by ear. Use a combination of Britstops, campsites and wild camping. Much more fun.

Would never recommend Motorway services - noisy and expensive for bugger all.

 

[Khizzie]

I tour the uk most years for about four months ,and still visiting new places,always book my sites and plan ahead to the majority of things and places I want to see,that's my way of whiling the winter nights away ..i am member of both clubs and use their sites extensively,as a single camper over a certain age it works out quite price wise quite reasonable..also ensure that there is good public transport nearby .which I always use ,saves buggering about with van and parking ....not been abroad yet but will be doing so in September and in this case have only booked the one site,the other days it will be Aires....Roy

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[buttons]

Hi P&J and Welcome. My idea of touring is more not knowing where we will be staying until we arrive but if you are heading somewhere then booking ahead on route is worthwhile.

 

[StitchesnFluff]

Plan to stop at certain Aires, with a few alternatives but always end up changing!

 

[DBK]

Thank you, everyone for your ideas. I do like the idea of smaller sites so it looks like ccc membership is on the to do list although maybe next month after buying and kitting out our new chariot.

I am also inspired to try a few impromptu stops as well so your encouragement is appreciated.

Good News it is nearly ready to collect, apparently just waiting for some external locker door frames as they were not sealing properly. Cannot say I noticed anything wrong when I peered inside them. Hopefully a good sign that there workshop is thorough. We live in hope.

So we can collect on Tuesday I will be like a child in a sweet shop Load up and Friday morning head of to the New Forest.

If you like going to Scotland then I would recommend the Caravan Club instead of the C&CC as they have more sites in Scotland. Or join both as we have. A few have had bad experiences with both clubs but the majority have no problems. You will find it is quite easy to plan a tour around the UK using CC sites and most if not all have hard standing pitches which are excellent when it is wet. A typical CL or CS is just a field and not ideal for a heavy motorhome in bad weather.

But as already mentioned going across the Channel is very rewarding.

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[Allanm]

We never really plan ahead other than deciding on a general direction, but we rarely tour the UK. We will be soon though, we have a few visits to Wales and Scotland in the pipeline, but we will either wild camp or use Britstops. Campsites are not really on our visit list
Mostly, we tour Europe and use, as much as possible, free Aires. We plan the Aires in the morning making sure we have one or two in mind in case they are full or we don't like the look of them.
We are currently near Bordeaux. No idea where we are going today though, yet!

 

[scotjimland]

We plan.. but don't book.. as soon as you book it becomes a schedule.. A schedule means stress I don't need..

I love 'planning' .. dark winter night, map on the floor, dreaming of the next adventure.. highlighter drawing a proposed route

I do research, read reviews of sites. aires etc.. It's a lot easier sitting at home and asking questions on here, than when on the road..

We have a basic plan but it always remains flexible.. very flexible and quite often the plan is changed or totally abandoned ..

That is what montrohoming is all about, and why we love France.. no need to book sites, aires are everywhere.. the unexpected pleasant surprise may just around the corner..

The only booking I do is the channel crossing..

 

[MillieMoocher]

We are also new to this, although have tented and trailer tented in the past.

Previously we have always booked sites, but think that the MH should give us more flexibility to enable a more relaxed approach.

So we are planning a 4 week tour of Wales, then down to South West in mid June and plan only to book the first nights site. From there we will look at the map, decide where we want to go, and should be able to find a suitable spot within 10 miles of the target.

If we like a place, we will stay 3 or 4 days, and if it's only OK then we'll move on.

Apart from a target to get to Lands End and be back before the schools break up for summer, that's the extent of the planning!

I don't think there's a right or wrong answer, but do think that a MH enables you to be more relaxed when it comes to planning a trip and where you might stop.

Good luck and enjoy!

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[Stealaway]

We never really plan ahead other than deciding on a general direction, but we rarely tour the UK. We will be soon though, we have a few visits to Wales and Scotland in the pipeline, but we will either wild camp or use Britstops. Campsites are not really on our visit list
Mostly, we tour Europe and use, as much as possible, free Aires. We plan the Aires in the morning making sure we have one or two in mind in case they are full or we don't like the look of them.
We are currently near Bordeaux. No idea where we are going today though, yet!

Have you been to St Jean-de Luz yet? Just south of you.
Not a great Aire but close to a nice town and harbour.

 

[Paul an Jane MK]

Could somebody clarify so I can be certain, what exactly you mean by "Brit stop" and "wild camp" ?

I presume wild camp could be some random piece of grass or lay by without any facilities but I have not got a clue what a Brit stop might be.

Sorry, just need to get up to speed with the lingo

 

[denisejoe]

Britstop is a scheme whereby you pay about £30 for a book with a list of pubs, garden centres etc where you can stay overnight without charge. There shouldn't be any expectation that you'll have a meal but there was on the couple we tried a few years ago. We didn't renew for this reason and also because we prefer to tour in France and use the aire network.

Denise

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[Langtoftlad]

I've used Britstops extensively last year and can honestly say I was never greeted with any "expectations", just genuine hospitality.
Britstops is just one of many options we Funsters can enjoy in our Motorhomes from 'expensive' full service sites where one can plug everything in, to parking in some remote wilderness location completely free of cost (...and facilities).
The beauty of having a MH, freedom to do what makes you most comfortable & content.

 

[Stealaway]

I presume wild camp could be some random piece of grass or lay by

And any car park in the country unless it specifically says 'No overnight parking' Simply buy a ticket for the chargeable times.
The only down side is, if you are like us, you might have to set the alarm and get up early in the morning to buy a ticket !

 

[TheCaller]

Could somebody clarify so I can be certain, what exactly you mean by "Brit stop" and "wild camp" ?

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