Aires UK - help needed (1 Viewer)

[Stretto Boy]

We like the idea of staying on an Aire, although we have never done so. We have done a bit of wild camping but mainly stay on "proper" sites. We are only interested in the UK as my wife gets seasick. I have found the Aires UK website but, despite clicking on a lot of counties, have so far only found three in Cornwall and one in Northern
Ireland. I wasn't expecting to find hundreds but I did hope there might be one or two in each of the more popular counties. Have any Funsters used this website and if so what was your experience? Is it my incompetence (always the most likely cause), a technical problem with the website or my computer or is the case that it is a database which doesn't actually contain much data? I did wonder if it was a new venture, designed to encourage the establishment of Aires in the UK, but that progress to date has been slow. All feedback welcome.

 

[Deleted member 29692]

I've never heard of that website so can't comment on that. It won't be in any way official though, just someone's hobby project.

There are only a handful of official "aires" in the UK but there are plenty of other places to camp off site.

It depends what you're looking for, if you want guaranteed water and waste everywhere with occasional electric then you're going to be disappointed. Best to stick with CLs in that case.

If you just want somewhere to park then consider Britstops or other pub stops and also check out the various wild camping groups.

If you want to find aires like they have in France then you really need to go to France. The best solution for seasickness is to use the tunnel

 

[Clive]

I always use search for sites or CamperContact to find anything. Also why not try the tunnel, it's the most painless way to cross the ditch.

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[tonka]

We are only interested in the UK as my wife gets seasick.

Did you know there is now a TUNNEL ...

On a serious note.. As you have found, UK aires dont really exist like they do in France and other countries.
There are a few but mainly they sort of allow overnight parking but no facilities .. Example Lytham st annes, you can park and there is a toilet dump a short drive away. Canterbury park and ride is maybe the sort of thing you are looking for. Parking, water and toilet dump..

Never heard of that website.. several groups on Facebook seem are dedicated to overnight stops, also many pubs now offer free parking if you eat/drink in the bar..

 

[Stretto Boy]

I forgot to mention that my wife is also claustrophobic, so doesn't like the tunnel. Nor does she like flying, so my plan B of hiring an RAF Hercules to transport my MH is out as well! In fairness, she will sometimes grit her teeth and go for it but I don't like subjecting her to it unecessarily. With regards to NickNic's first point, it does look a very professional site with adverts from dealers etc. on it. Maybe, as I thought, it is a combination of it being new and there not being many anyway. I bought my brother-in-law the Britstops guide as a present and I am waiting for some feedback from him.

 

[Stretto Boy]

It's interesting that no-one else seems to have come across this website, which perhaps supports my view that it's a new venture. If they are hoping to encourage the establishment of new Aires in the UK then it deserves our support. It can be found at www.ukaires.co.uk With a bit of luck, perhaps someone associated with the site might pick up this thread and let us have some feedback.

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[obanvanman]

We had a German Shepherd like that, hated travelling long distances.
I can give you the number of our vet. Slip a couple of the pills he gave us for Ben and hide them in her breakfast, I am sure when she wakes up in France with a lovely fresh coffee and pastry in front of her she will forgive you.

 

[klaatu]

There are a number of good aires in NI which are like the French ones, with bornes (sourced from France - Flot Bleu etc). I realise that this doesn't help the OP, I'm just pointing out that NI is ahead of the rest of the UK in this.

 

[Clive]

I would say it's very new as a lot of the links are coming up with a 404 error, page not found.

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[Zigisla]

I've never heard of that website so can't comment on that. It won't be in any way official though, just someone's hobby project.

There are only a handful of official "aires" in the UK but there are plenty of other places to camp off site.

It depends what you're looking for, if you want guaranteed water and waste everywhere with occasional electric then you're going to be disappointed. Best to stick with CLs in that case.

If you just want somewhere to park then consider Britstops or other pub stops and also check out the various wild camping groups.

If you want to find aires like they have in France then you really need to go to France. The best solution for seasickness is to use the tunnel

Dont ya just hate it when someone gets all the answers in before you on the first post.

Any how, to pick up on the OP replies. Send Wife to sleep for the 35 min train crossing. as well as that, have a look at the "BritStop" group in "Groups" on this site. This will give you all the info and feed back you need.

 

[Stretto Boy]

There are a number of good aires in NI which are like the French ones, with bornes (sourced from France - Flot Bleu etc). I realise that this doesn't help the OP, I'm just pointing out that NI is ahead of the rest of the UK in this.

It does help Mrs Stretto Boy is prepared to have a go on the Holyhead - Dunlaoghire ferry to enable us to drive up to Northern Ireland. I suspect she thinks the Irish Sea is a shorter and calmer crossing than the Channel. Do I come clean now . . . . . ? Perhaps some of the doggy pills suggested by @obanvanman may be the answer

 

[Stretto Boy]

Thanks all. Looks as if Britstops may be the way to go. I feel daft for having bought my brother-in-law a copy and not having got one for myself. Perhaps I'm just too kind Or an idiot!

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[klaatu]

This may be useful, in that case - https://discovernorthernireland.com/explore/aires-de-service/

We used Cairnryan - Larne in February and it was very flat both ways. I guess that won't always be the case...

 

[Pilote87]

Have a look at http://www.campingcar-infos.com/Francais/cci.php?pays=GRANDE-BRETAGNE
There are nearly 100 in the selection for Aires and (the majority) "Parking Tolerated" selection. There are / may be more still in the other selections. Many of the sites are in Scotland

Probably worth a look .

J

 

[El-Nido]

Have you thought about using the Temporary Holiday Sites (THS) with the Camping & Caravanning Club? In most cases you don't need to book, they normally have fresh water, rubbish and toilet disposal and their located in some lovely places around the UK. We're planning to use one in June - only £5.75 per night - bargain.

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[sdc77]

@Stretto Boy it might be worth having a look at how the tunnel works .. on youtube.
You drive into a large enclosed air conditioned carriage from a platform and stay in your van for the crossing. We just turn our seats around and have a drink and a bite to eat while listening to some music ..
It's only 35 minutes and not an unpleasant experience in any way.

Edit.. in fact here's Keith excellent video

 

[magicsurfbus]

90 minutes' seasickness versus 30 minutes' claustrophobia - worth considering if you want to see a goodly range of proper aires spread across an entire continent. [edit] In the tunnel you can stay inside your MH, so it's not a lot different to the usual road travelling routine.

Canterbury P&R, Dover seafront, Chester Little Roodee parking, and Machynlleth car park are the only English overnight spots that spring readily to mind. No shortage of wide laybys set back from improved main roads in N Wales, plus plenty of places all over the UK where truckers stop overnight but they're usually close to passing traffic. You've got CLs which are quite cheap but have to be booked in advance and you have to pay the CCC membership fee.

If you filter out the campsites and service point only items on the CCI website mentioned in post #14 above, you're left with only about 30 spots dotted around England & Wales, most of which don't have service points.

 

[Clarky]

I can understand why Mrs Stretto Boy is worried about sea sickness on the Channel as I used to be a bit wary too.
However, the present ships are extremely stable and we have been across in some pretty rough weather with no hint of rolling or pitching.
P&O Dover/Calais is quick and frequent and not too expensive but the tunnel is much quicker still, around 30 minutes in the tunnel.
The money spent on the crossing would be saved by the cost of aires compared with UK site costs.
A bit of gentle persuasion might be called for plus some form of mild tranquilliser.

Best of luck.

Richard.

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[tonka]

@Stretto Boy We just turn our seats around and have a drink and a bite to eat while listening to some music ..
It's only 35 minutes and not an unpleasant experience in any way.

I once attempted ( or though about) another way to pass the time on a crossing, after all we have a bed..

Wife not impressed as didn't know what she would do for the other 25 mins..

 

[FIDGET]

@Stretto Boy , As said before the way to go is the tunnel , my wife had issuse's with claustrophobia and was worried about illegal immigrants etc , we had previously used the Dover/Calais or Dunkirk ferry but didn't like the idea of leaving the dog down in the van on the car deck(where we couldn't check on her)
So I convinced her that 35mins on the tunnel was the way to go for her & the dog, When she realised that we could sit in our own comfort of our motor home ,eat our meal or have cold drink ( but not use your cooking facilities as no gas on) or use our own loo etc . But you can also get out of your vehicle & walk alongside the vehicles ,the carriages are very large as they can accommodate large coaches to give you an idea of size. She now won't go any other way.
As to aires in France or abroad , they are really great & so easy ,yes there are a few things to get used too. But a bit of research on which ones you want to go to , i,e, in towns / out of town /near restaurants or by a river/canal /beach , or with services ,or down to cost FREE . Don't worry if you need any help on where to go or which aire to use or how to buy jetons for services etc ,just ask / start a thread on this forum & you will get all the help you need.
Terry

 

[Bailey58]

Not many about, Lytham has been mentioned and there's one at Hawick.

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[chesterfield hooligan]

Hi try https://www.searchforsites.co.uk/ all sort's on there

 

[berni109]

Get u'self britstops

 

[Rob and Val]

Canterbury P&R, Dover seafront, Chester Little Roodee parking, and Machynlleth car park are the only English overnight spots that spring readily to mind.

Is the overnight parking at Machynlleth at the Centre for Alternative Technology? We are planning to visit there this year.

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[chaser]

Lots of different things here, tunnel, no different than traveling in your van at night, website, looks as if someone started it with good intentions and gave up, britstops, no need for two books , you can both go to britstops with the same one, uk Aires , nosuch thing and never will be , Irish Sea ferry

 

[WillH]

Head north to Scotland, loads of places to stop though not necessarily 'Aires'.

The Irish sea conditions can be 'variable', I spent five years on the ferries there, in bad weather they simply don't sail.

 

[Boringfrog]

In have seen the UK Aires website before, but I never told anyone about it because it's rubbish.

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[magicsurfbus]

Is the overnight parking at Machynlleth at the Centre for Alternative Technology? We are planning to visit there this year.

As far as I know, overnight parking is allowed in the town centre car park here.

Funny thing about visiting CAT now as opposed to 25 years ago - most of their recommendations for energy saving and recycling have been widely adopted. There was a time when their ideas seemed wacky and radical. Still worth a look though. Not sure if they allow overnighting in their car park - maybe pop them an e-mail?

 

[Cal54]

Blackpool did allocate one of their carparks as an aires and were making some alterations. Just look at the Blackpool Borough Council webpage and see what they have to offer.

 

[Deleted member 29692]

Blackpool did allocate one of their carparks as an aires and were making some alterations. Just look at the Blackpool Borough Council webpage and see what they have to offer.

That one is the Lytham/St Annes one. They haven't made any changes though other than to provide a toilet dump 500 yards down the road from the aire on the other side of the pier.

There's more info on this thread: http://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/st-annes-aire-sluice-facility-being-abused.151259/page-2

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