Britstops.. It's Costing Me A Fortune.. (1 Viewer)

[scotjimland]

Book arrived today and already Jan has booked a stop for tomorrow night..
I think this is going to be an expensive book..

joking aside..

Chaz is at Army Cadet camp so we are having w/e trip and have booked a pub for Saturday night .. Entry # 237

I have to say, the book is packed with great places to stop overnight, very well laid out, with excellent instructions and information.. I think it is going to be a great asset on our UK trips..

To my way of thinking, if I have to spend £12 + for a CL or £20+ for a site I may as well spend it at a pub and have a meal and a couple of drinks..

well done to @BritStops highly recommend this book .. worth every penny..

 

[Mousy]

We love it too Jim, it's particularly good for nights away in the winter, when the light goes at 4pm, I don't want to be stuck in the van all evening, so the chance to have a nice meal in front of a log fire is great.

So many britstops I want to try, not enough weekends!

 

[Deleted member 29692]

I think it's great too. We were meant to be off to one tomorrow night but change of plan means we aren't going away now

Have you seen the Britstops Facebook group? There's some useful feedback about individual locations on there.

 

[chaser]

Book arrived today and already Jan has booked a stop for tomorrow night..
I think this is going to be an expensive book..

joking aside..

Chaz is at Army Cadet camp so we are having w/e trip and have booked a pub for Saturday night .. Entry # 237

I have to say, the book is packed with great places to stop overnight, very well laid out, with excellent instructions and information.. I think it is going to be a great asset on our UK trips..

To my way of thinking, if I have to spend £12 + for a CL or £20+ for a site I may as well spend it at a pub and have a meal and a couple of drinks..

well done to @BritStops highly recommend this book .. worth every penny..

You think you are joking
We were init three years ago cost us at least £40 a night for food we wouldn't have bought otherwise, we did three and just had to give up on it, and the vineyard must have been kidding , we came back from France with about 100 bottles of wine on board bought for about a pound a bottle , thought we'd give the vineyard a go before heading home, they hadn't got anything less than a tenner a bottle, I'm afraid we had to miss on that one and afraid we drove off without buying anything, pleasant enough bloke and nice location but the prices
So we are not in it anymore, and can't say we've missed it, but saying that my son has joined this time, so maybe borrow his book sometime

 

[scotjimland]

We were init three years ago cost us at least £40 a night for food we wouldn't have bought otherwise

yes, I do know where you're coming from.. but you don't need to spend as much as £40 on a pub meal and if you take into account the site fee saved.. it can almost be the same cost.. plus you have had a meal.. and the hospitality of the pub.

I resisted joining until just recently until we were looking for one night at a CL or commercial site and the cheapest around us in Suffolk is £12 for a Cl .. or £22 for a site with no EHU.. which I refuse to pay.. I'd rather pay £30 for a pub meal..

but it's each to their own.. I don't see it as a replacement for CLs or sites.. it's not meant to be, it's just another option.. another string to the bow..

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[Mousy]

Dont forget you are not obliged to buy anything, although we tend to choose places we do want to eat or have a drink in.

We have turned up at a lovely spot in Sussex where unfortunately they didn't have a table free, they were quite happy for us just to park up for the night, right on the estuary, lovely quiet spot with good walk the next morning. Cost us nothing, however, because we recommended it, family visited for Sunday lunch the next week.

 

[rosalan]

There are several people who may knock BritStops saying that they stop where and when they want and don't need the book. However I have found pleasure in choosing a place of particular interest and phoned ahead. The host has then been expecting me, or advised they were full, they have also advised me where it is best to park when arriving. We have used many BritStops and never had a bad one (so far). As good as an English Aire for us.
One tip. We have stayed at BritStops out of town and asked if we could leave the van during the day. Caught a bus stopping outside of the pub into a city, enjoyed our day without thinking of parking and returned later in the day. No parking, no hassle and enjoying the fruits of our bus passes; brilliant!

Alan

 

[chaser]

I am not knocking Britstops in principle, like the idea and it probably comes down to me , if I go in a pub, which I feel obliged to do whatever anyone says, I have to have a steak and probably 3 pints, and Julie won't be far behind me, whereas if we just parked up somewhere we would make do with a cite Europe £1 bottle of wine and beans on toast or salad or something similer.

 

[Dorwyn]

I am not knocking Britstops in principle, like the idea and it probably comes down to me , if I go in a pub, which I feel obliged to do whatever anyone says, I have to have a steak and probably 3 pints, and Julie won't be far behind me, whereas if we just parked up somewhere we would make do with a cite Europe £1 bottle of wine and beans on toast or salad or something similer.

Same for me. It sounds a good idea but could work out dearer. Plus with a smaller van we need the facilities. I may give it a go sometime, though.

 

[Judge Mental]

not my kind of thing at all, as would feel obliged to spend money..just the way we are (not that I dont like spending money!)

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[chaser]

Same for me. It sounds a good idea but could work out dearer. Plus with a smaller van we need the facilities. I may give it a go sometime, though.

not my kind of thing at all, as would feel obliged to spend money..just the way we are (not that I dont like spending money!)

I'm glad there's some out there who agree with me, I usually get shot down in flames when I dare to add a light criticism of Britstops.
I really do like the idea and as I said even my son has joined this year, the ale he gets down him some pubs are going to be able to retire

 

[chaser]

Also , if you don't use the pub or shop or whatever I think it's taking the p a bit, I just couldn't park up and not buy anything.

 

[Deleted member 29692]

I guess it depends on what you do normally. For us, even if we're paying a scandalous daily rate on a site we still usually look for a pub to eat and have a few drinks. Being able to sleep in the pub car park and avoid being ripped off by the site owners is a no brainer for us.

 

[chaser]

I guess it depends on what you do normally. For us, even if we're paying a scandalous daily rate on a site we still usually look for a pub to eat and have a few drinks. Being able to sleep in the pub car park and avoid being ripped off by the site owners is a no brainer for us.

Agreed, but we never use sites, only cls or meets out of the back of the ccc book, but that's another story , don't think we shall do ccc after this year , was going to drop it this year but my dd got taken before I thought of stopping it.

 

[Deleted member 29692]

Agreed, but we never use sites

Nor do we any more. Going to drop both big "clubs" as the renewals come up. Britstops and some smaller locations will do us in this country. As Jim has said a lot of CL/CSs seem to be charging as much as big sites now so for me that very much lessens the attraction of using them.

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[Judge Mental]

If they come out with a resonsably priced, cheap App I migh go for it. Like the Aires books I just think books unnecessary in this day and age. I use sat nag to navigate not books

Campercontact App costs less then a fiver and has pub overnights....I Can appreciate not as many, but how many times will we went to stop at a pub.....

Dropped CC recently as can never get on sites I want and at £44?

each to there own....

 

[scotjimland]

I just think books unnecessary in this day and age. I use sat nag to navigate not books

I use and enjoy books, sat nav, apps.. and paper maps.. one compliments the other.. each have a purpose..

you can't browse a sat nav in bed, and a book doesn't need batteries..or charging.. and years later you can read them and see where you went.. long after the TT has gone to the sat nav graveyard

 

[spitfire]

Book arrived today and already Jan has booked a stop for tomorrow night..
I think this is going to be an expensive book..

joking aside..

Chaz is at Army Cadet camp so we are having w/e trip and have booked a pub for Saturday night .. Entry # 237

I have to say, the book is packed with great places to stop overnight, very well laid out, with excellent instructions and information.. I think it is going to be a great asset on our UK trips..

To my way of thinking, if I have to spend £12 + for a CL or £20+ for a site I may as well spend it at a pub and have a meal and a couple of drinks..

well done to @BritStops highly recommend this book .. worth every penny..

Can you get a meal and a pint for two in a UK pub for £20 ??

 

[Judge Mental]

Can you get a meal and a pint for two in a UK pub for £20 ??

Not in london you can't! with the exception of whitherspoons ( spellin alert)

 

[daveandsan]

We use it so we can go out for a meal on our travels. No point in booking onto a site and then trying to find somewhere to eat out.

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[scotjimland]

Can you get a meal and a pint for two in a UK pub for £20 ??

depends on what you order ..

we don't drink alcohol.. ever, so no idea about price of pint or glass of wine .. bar meals are generally under a tenner. + a couple of cokes or coffes.. so yes, probably

but that isn't what it's all about.. I could spend £22 on a bit of grass to park on , or park free and buy a bar meal .. what is better value ?

 

[makems]

Only used a Britstop once on the way back to Hartlepool from Portsmouth.
The meal wasn't terribly expensive, but we got chatting to some locals who were fascinated by our travels and by the MH parked in the car park and it ended up costing us a fortune in red wine! Good night though

 

[Dorwyn]

Only used a Britstop once on the way back to Hartlepool from Portsmouth.
The meal wasn't terribly expensive, but we got chatting to some locals who were fascinated by our travels and by the MH parked in the car park and it ended up costing us a fortune in red wine! Good night though

That's an old trick! Keep them talking, they'll buy us a drink or two.

 

[DiggerJon]

Solo traveller, good meal, good company, decent beer and no need to worry about driving. It's worth it in many ways, if only to preserve my licence!

 

[namwaldog]

A couple of months ago we were returning from France and got stuck on the M25 for about 3 hours so took the M40 north and as it was about 6 30pm and getting dark decided to look for a CL So we came off at Beaconsfield services and got the CC directory out. The first two sites we phoned we got no reply. Had a brainwave and got on the ipad and used SearchforSites and found a third nearby but still no reply on the phone so we then spotted a pub stopover on the site called the Black Horse at Great Missenden so we rung there and were told that Yes an overnight was OK it would be free if we ate at the pub or £10 if we didn't. Took about 25 mins to get there, pitched up, got into the pub about 7.30 and paid about £20 for a couple of drinks and a bar meal each.
Moral of the story is you don't need Britstops to find a pub stopover but their advantage is the offline or paper search facility.
Since having used a pub stopover we are now confident enough to physically stop and ask at a pub we like the look of.

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[Vlad The Impaler]

Can you get a meal and a pint for two in a UK pub for £20 ??

You can if you have a starter and a shandy !
I've always wondered where the selling point is in the Britstops business model ,most pubs will allow you to stop in their car park if you have a drink or meal .
As far as I know the pubs in the book are not exclusively for members therefore anyone can use the service.If you are a member and use them pretty often you would have to have good self control or be very frugal to make them a substitute for a cheap site or cl.
So my point is what are they selling you apart from a directory of pubs ?
Ok it gives you something to flick through,but, if your going away and want to explore a new area, All it takes is a click of the mouse and a quick email or phone call to find out if you can camp .
I suppose there must be something missing but I can't see what, can anyone enlighten me ?



Vlad

 

[Al-Di]

we used the early starter menu recently, 2 glass's wine steak pie and chips and jelly/custard £12, had to be at table before 7,

 

[gibbon]

I agree with others in as much as I've never been refused the option to stay on a pub car park overnight either.
Usually at a wedding reception when the price of a taxi home is extortionate or the notion of not drinking whilst all around are is not popular with me. YES I ENJOY DRINKING.
This is my 2nd year with Britstops though because it is simply another arrow for our bow,& for under £30 per year its a no brainer in such a motorhome unfriendly country as ours.
Having recently enjoyed the hospitality of mainland europe I refuse to pay a damn fortune for the opportunity of parking on a patch of damp grass. Lets face it, a fair proportion of us land somewhere and wonder how far it is to the nearest place of grown ups relaxation & refreshment,food or otherwise, just to find out its a route march or only practical by public transport.
Its great to enjoy being in our van with a nice bottle of red having a lovely evening in our favorite place,(the van,wherever its parked).But, its nice to get out sometimes.
We used Britstops last year about 10 times & it easily paid for itself,as I expect it will this year.
Park at the pub, you know it makes sense .

 

[Jim]

You can spend £22 to park in a puddle of diesel and lorry driver pi$$ at any motorway service station.

While the majority of Britstops are pubs there are a lot of other establishments in the guide. And for less than the price of a night on a club site it's definitely worth having in the van. An 18% increase in motorhomes last year, 11% caravans! And all while campsite pitches are stagnant or declining I commend Britstops for promoting such stays

 

[Fragle]

First britstop tonight. Only a few miles from home. 425 in the book, cycled past but never called in before. So far so good great shop with cafe and don't feel any pressure to buy but spent £15 on cake, cheese and beer
On to 426 tomorrow hopefully, a local brewery . Probably do 10 miles total trip

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