Bawdsey Quay and Motorhomes (1 Viewer)

scotjimland

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We live about 3 mls from the picturesque quay at Bawdsey .. it is a lovely spot to just sit and watch the world go by, do a spot of fishing and take the dog for a walk, we normally cycle there.
The quay has room for about 20 cars, no charge or time limit and no restrictions on motorhomes or overnight parking .. however..

During the school holidays a 30 ft RV parked up on the quay.. not illegal, there are no signs or by-laws banning it, but he was probably taking up at least 4 or 5 parking places and spoiling the view for others.

I remarked to Jan, this is the sort of person who makes motorhomes unwelcome, I wouldn't be surprised if there was some sort of complaint.

To see the location, please look at the Google map.

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Alderton,+Woodbridge,+Suffolk,+United+Kingdom&ll=51.990261,1.394751&spn=0.001046,0.00284&t=h&z=19

Today we had a letter from the council asking our views about parking at Bawdsey Quay, should it remain free and in particular about motorhome parking, also a petition from local residents asking for a complete ban on camper vans.

So the selfish actions of just one person has upset the locals who have got the Suffolk Coastal Council involved. I wouldn't be surprised if this led to a ban, such as was recently introduced at Aldeburgh.

When I completed the council survey I suggested that a motorhome parking facility could be provided..

I would be interested to hear your views on this..
 

bigfish

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Can't blame the locals can you.

There should be quid pro quo, ban from unsuitable places but provide reasonably priced alternatives.

On the nail there same sort of thing happened at Sandbanks,

Be interesting if said people belong to a forum and could post a reason
for there inconsiderate actions, but i doubt it.

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hilldweller

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Be interesting if said people belong to a forum and could post a reason for there inconsiderate actions, but i doubt it.

That's the problem, they probably never thought it was inconsiderate. Just like the kids who throw their chip papers and empty beer bottles out of the car window.

"What are you talking about ? I pay a fortune to keep this RV on the road. It doesn't say "No RVs". I'm in my right to do this. Now F&&&&& OFF".
 

Autoquest

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I was waiting for those semi-detached houses on Bawdsey quay to come up for sale in the MOD quarters disposal yellow paper for years, then all of a sudden they appeared on the open market - We thought long and hard about it but (sadly) let them go - We were offered an ex MQ at Alderton just up the road though but it was far to small... Mind you it was only 23k at the time:Eeek:

A lovely place to chillout and watch the world go by - I would be disappointed if I were unable to stop for a few hours next time I'm down that way.:Sad:
 

Rayb182

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We parked up there last weekend, and Maureen and her boys (Black Bee) in front of the trees, in a layby so not interfering with anyones view, Its our favourite place, we often park here and go fishing or a bit of painting:thumb:.
Hi Jim that wasnt you we tooted just past Sutton with a motorhome in your drive:ROFLMAO:

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bubble

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We only live a few miles away and visit frequently for a few hours, we try not to overstay our welcome so that this would not happen. We had our motorhome up for sale in the last few weeks and took our photos at Bawdsey and they looked stunning, we put it on ebay and had just as many questions about the location of the pictures as we did about the Hymer. We just said in Suffolk as we were afraid to tell anybody because of this. Hope its not spoilt.
 
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scotjimland

scotjimland

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Hi Jim that wasnt you we tooted just past Sutton with a motorhome in your drive:ROFLMAO:

Not me, our RV is in storage..

We only live a few miles away and visit frequently for a few hours, we try not to overstay our welcome so that this would not happen.


We just said in Suffolk as we were afraid to tell anybody because of this. Hope its not spoilt.

a small world indeed.. we live in Alderton and it is a lovely part of Suffolk ..

I hope it's not spoiled either.. but we see more and more vans heading down that way , I think it is only a matter of time until parking is restricted at the quay ..

what is really stupid, there is a proper parking area with picnic tables and toilets only 100 mts away .... but it has a height barrier :Doh:
 

Rayb182

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My wife and I was going to buy a house in Alderton, it was either that or a static caravan and a motorhome:Smile: static and motorhome won

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meanders

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Shotley peninsular is a lovely part of Suffolk but I am sure more and more restrictions will creep in like the dreaded height barriers that spring up everywhere,we often rally at Hallowtrees and at the moment the adjacent country park is still accessible but we wonder how much longer this will be available?
 
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scotjimland

scotjimland

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What do those ex MQs look like now Jim? I was going to buy some 15 years ago, are they still standing?

Not sure which ones are MOD .. but there are two blocks of semi-detached concrete built ones round the corner from us .. I'm guessing these are old MOD houses from WW2.

They are replacing these with a mix of council and low cost housing ..

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6pm Cowboy

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By what RIGHT do councils stop motorhomes using parking areas by installing hieght barriers ? I appreciate the 'traveller' problem but surely we have as much right to admire a lovely view as anyone else.

Perhaps they should issue barrier keys to non 'travellers' much like those used for disabled loos
 

White Rose

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How long were they parked there for? Sorry if I've missed it in your original post. Do you mean they were just there for the day and taking up lots of space, or were they parked up for the whole of the school holiday week?
 

madbluemad

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Its just a plain fact of life that the more pleasant areas to visit are very busy and parking is difficult, even for cars.

Its natural that when a mh-rv parks in an area where parking is difficult and takes up more than one space there's gonna be complaints. It aslo spoils the views for pedestrians and so its not going to be popular. There isnt always the space to make a designated mh-rv parking area.

That coupled with the complaints that are recieved concerning the litter thats left lying about make us about as popular as lepers.

Jim
:Smile:

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scotjimland

scotjimland

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How long were they parked there for? Sorry if I've missed it in your original post. Do you mean they were just there for the day and taking up lots of space, or were they parked up for the whole of the school holiday week?

Hi
don't know how long they were there, may only have been a day , but yes, they were taking up a lot of space during a busy period, cars were turning and heading back, this causes antagonism toward all motorhomes .. as I said, the council are now involved and looking into the parking arrangements. They must be serious, they are advertising for part time car park wardens, I put my name in the hat :roflmto:

As an RV owner I would never park up where I was in the way or taking up more than my allotted pitch space .. , even when we went to supermarkets I would only park up when it was quiet ..
As I see it, small to med sized vans are not really a problem provided they don't take up more than one parking space.

Sites are expensive, parking is limited and mostly not suitable for large vans but the demand grows year on year .. this country is in desperate need of proper MH facilities ...
 
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scotjimland

scotjimland

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Watt Close and Watson Way are the ex MQs, Watt Close was for the chaps, Watson Way for the other ranks.

Hi
To the best my knowledge they are still there, .. we only moved here three months ago and haven't walked round there yet, we live on the other side of the playing field at Mill Hoo .. will have a butchers later on ..

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ilovemymotorhome

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hi, we live over at felixstowe & yesterday spent a lovely day at Bawdsey, we did however notice a lady taking photos of the 4 motor homes legaly parked there. In felixstowe it has now have been made very difficult for paying motorhomes to park at the cliff top car park & we have been banned from the spa carpark. we all pay our road taxes &always take our rubbish home & it annoys me we are treated this way... Is it down to jealousy?????
 
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Well that`s our 13th year & still loving it.
Now then perhaps if you were a muslim or similar immigrant with a motorhome you could park anywhere you wanted...:winky:
 
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scotjimland

scotjimland

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hi, we live over at felixstowe & yesterday spent a lovely day at Bawdsey, we did however notice a lady taking photos of the 4 motor homes legaly parked there. In felixstowe it has now have been made very difficult for paying motorhomes to park at the cliff top car park & we have been banned from the spa carpark. we all pay our road taxes &always take our rubbish home & it annoys me we are treated this way... Is it down to jealousy?????

Hi

Bawdsey is indeed a lovely spot and is very popular, I guess the lady photographing was gathering evidence to submit to the council.. she probably lives in one of the MOD properties and doesn't like motorhomes in front of her house.... I don't think it has anything to do with jealousy ..As I mentioned in the opening post, the council have been canvassing the locals opinions on parking at the quay with particular questions about motorhomes.

As far as I am aware, the access road and land at Bawdsey Quay is owned by Bawdsey Manor and the MOD .. so there is no legal right of access or to park, is is permitted at the owners discretion ..

Vehicle excise duty or VED, is just another tax, it 's not a right to park wherever we want.

Unfortunately not everyone is as considerate as you, I'm afraid a small minority of motorhome owners have given our hobby a bad name and we are now reaping the consequences.

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Rayb182

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We always, park in the layby, by the big concrete blocks right in one end right off the road, not overlooked by any of the houses, do a bit of fishing, a bit of painting or watch the the boats going up and down the river, we also clear the bl##dy rubbish up left by the day trippers, cause we're only get the blame, I went round last night and collected a black bag near to where we had parked up for the weekend:Angry:
 

meanders

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... and jolly good it was to see both of you there yesterday. It would have been a different outlook today in the rain!
 

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