How do you motorhome in the UK?

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138go

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As in the title. To clarify I'm wondering how people manage in the UK, as we don't really have aires, wilding isn't that easy and most campsites seem to be in the middle of nowhere. I think our sites were pretty much opened in the days of caravans only and if you are in a motorhome what do you do?
 
We don't travel in the UK much at all - we just don't find it pleasurable for the reasons you state and because of the congestion on the roads. We have stayed on sites for the odd night in the UK but don't like being regimented.

I believe that a lot of people use BritStops which allow overnight stops and there are some wilding places if you look on Park4Night or similar.
 
CS, CL, Britstops, Aires (there are a few around) plus quite a few club sites are on the edge of towns and cities. We have bikes and also use buses and taxis.

A lot depends on where we are going and why. When we have to be at my parents we stay on a farm CL and will either take the car in addition to the van (in emergencies I take my "grab bag" and the car and Martin follows down after packing the van) or we use the bus service from the village to the closest town and get the local train from there.

We have also hired cars when necessary.
 
We just prefer wilding & we're lucky that we live in rural Scotland, 10miles from the front door we're into lochs & mountains, not quite as grand as the highlands but tranquil & practically deserted.
 
We just nip in and out for an MOT and park in our friends' village opposite the church, our farmer friends' yard, or Canterbury P+R.

Before I moved out of UK I managed wilding quite easily for 2 years on verges just out of villages or car parks.

Scotland was easy.

I do not agree that wilding is not so easy. One can park on Commons as long as one does not intrude more than 15m from a road. Some Councils, e.g. Hereford and Powys, actually post on their website where MHs can park/overnight. Up on the Moors nobody is going to disturb you. i have often parked on the entrance to fields when I can see the farmer does not need access because the crop is not ready and often they wave as they pass. Once when parked on a verge a farmer stopped and offered us a space in his yard, with water etc. - we said thanks but we are fine here and have enough water.

I think that one has to do more research than on the Continent, but it is still possible.

Now if I lived in UK, I would probably de-camp to France/Spain/Italy/Greece at first opportunity, but that is not to say that UK is so difficult for wilding.

Geoff
 
Vickysponge said:
As in the title. To clarify I'm wondering how people manage in the UK, as we don't really have aires, wilding isn't that easy and most campsites seem to be in the middle of nowhere. I think our sites were pretty much opened in the days of caravans only and if you are in a motorhome what do you do?
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Yours sounds like a gripe for the lack of UK Aires I have been camping for the past 30+ years with a motorhome for best part of that time. Possibly 80% time spent on UK sites. Open your mind up to paying a reasonable price to stay and the rest will fall into place... (y)

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There are campsites that are well positioned the two CCC in Keswick spring to mind. We also use CCC temporary holiday sites, these are cheap and invariably well positioned because they use Schools, sports grounds and Race courses which are invariably in the place after which they are named, unlike many campsites.
My wife has a mobility scooter so we need to be near enough as she can’t catch a bus with it. If we can’t camp near enough we either get a taxi or catch a bus and hire a mobility scooter in the town. UK is a great touring resort, it has everything historic buildings, beaches, hills and lakes. All well worth the effort.
 
We do not use club sites as we find them too regimented and expensive, and we do not normally book ahead, but occasionally use CLs or THS. Normally we tour and stay on one site for a few days only. We stay close to home in the high summer because most places can be too busy (UK) and possibly too hot (abroad). The home garden becomes an attractive proposition then. Selected rallies can be Fun, but we do spend most of our time in Europe (3 or 4 months each year). We are thinking of touring Scotland in May to replace our normal Spring Tour, but if there is too much rain in the UK at that time and we will return to Europe instead. At least you can change your destination in a MH according to the weather. It's got a steering wheel!
 
Use C&MH club Cls, britstops, council car parks that have notice allowing.

Occasionally random roads in built up areas, seems strange at first, but no problems at all.And what actually happens if asked to move on by a local authority employee.
also on roads by beaches in scotland and Eire.
always know there will be campsite that can be approached.

always follow the rule leave nothing but a tyre print, and if in built up area always leave early morning.

Usually a bit of research makes it doable
 
Have been motorhoming in the UK for quite a few years now (after switching from a caravan) and never had any problems. Like wilding in Scotland (although sadly every morothome in the western hemisphere seems to have the same idea these days) and we are increasingly looking at the likes of Britstops and harbours where you can overnight for a small fee. Having said that never found any problems with Club and commercial sites although we prefer the smaller, quieter CLs which are usually pretty reasonable. If we can't walk we cycle or even take the van when we go out for the day, it's never been a hassle in all honesty.
 
Thanks everyone. Perhaps I painted a worse picture than we actually have but I have a couple of drawbacks to getting out and about. My husband can't walk far although he can ride a bike. Our dog took an instant dislike to being towed in a trailer so, we tend to be ruled by how we get about with the dog, without walking, lol. We do use the C & MHC both the CLs and the club sites but many of them are in the middle of nowhere! We have used pub stops but that's okay just for a night, the same really for a wild stop.

We find it so much easier in Spain and France as many aires/sites are next to the beach. I do like the UK though!

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Vickysponge said:
As in the title. To clarify I'm wondering how people manage in the UK, as we don't really have aires, wilding isn't that easy and most campsites seem to be in the middle of nowhere.
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And we don't have anywhere near enough campsites in the holiday period.

Try getting a pitch in Keswick in August, they will quote you for 2031.
 
For me it's the driving or rather the constant traffic jams that one encounters when trying to get anywhere worth visiting, I enjoy driving our van, and though Norfolk is ok to get to, almost anywhere else isn't very pleasant when compared with across the channel.

Nonetheless we do travel a bit in the UK, Chester, South Wales and generally west of where we live, of the 16000 miles done in three years about 1000 of that might be in Britain.

If there were more 'aires' available we might do more... it's the having to book up that I'm not happy with.
 
hilldweller said:
And we don't have anywhere near enough campsites in the holiday period.

Try getting a pitch in Keswick in August, they will quote you for 2031.
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I had one booked last August, but unfortunately couldn't use it as it was underwater.
 
We spend a lot of time in Scotland, yet to find nowhere to park and we never use campsites. Toilet emptying can be tricky sometimes so a spare cassette comes in handy.
 
we use THSs, club rallies at weekends and events, CLs, CSs and sites if they suit what we need. By using the main clubs and particularly the C&CC we keep the cost right down. It also has a very good social element in that we often meet up with friends, some we only see every couple of years

We generally do the local DA meet for Easter, which is within 20 miles and often a different place each year, where we have use of a local hall or marquee for entertainment. We book with FUN for a few selected rallies and motorhome shows and fill the time between touring. The THS meets are generally excellent with access to all sorts of places.

We have camped all over the uk with the C&CC including highclere castle grounds and numerous National trust properties at a very cheap rate

Every summer a southern DA always holds a "childrens meet" where the kids are the focus with plenty of fun activities. That one is a particular favourite

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Vickysponge said:
Thanks everyone. Perhaps I painted a worse picture than we actually have but I have a couple of drawbacks to getting out and about. My husband can't walk far although he can ride a bike. Our dog took an instant dislike to being towed in a trailer so, we tend to be ruled by how we get about with the dog, without walking, lol. We do use the C & MHC both the CLs and the club sites but many of them are in the middle of nowhere! We have used pub stops but that's okay just for a night, the same really for a wild stop.

We find it so much easier in Spain and France as many aires/sites are next to the beach. I do like the UK though!
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We are perhaps in a similar situation. My wife is disabled and uses a mobility scooter. We also have a dog, a Dalmatian who frankly would not accept being towed in a trailer, and he needs the exercise anyway as he has boundless energy.
On occasions we have been in an out of town campsite. Our solution is simply to get in the van and drive to wherever we want to be. For instance we had five nights at Blackmore, site near the village of Harley Swan, with its Post Office and Pub and other than a duck pond not much else. So we travelled to Malvern and parked in the car park, paying for 2 spaces. Upton on Severn, Worcester similar, also we are in the National Trust and have had some great days out. This time at Croome, car park attendant put us near the entrance with an easy exit route. Having the M/h with you means you can have picnics in great places and is also a warm and comfy place if the weather isn’t too good.
I don’t understand why people get to a campsite and never move their unit again until home time, perhaps they are ex Caravanner’s who haven’t realised the m/h has its own engine. Even people with PVC’s sometimes never budge off site in their van.
 
It's really intresting and helpful to hear what everyone gets up to.
 
Our days of travelling abroad are over thoroughly enjoyed our many travels abroad, but now rediscovering the UK we haven't visited a lot of the places on our door step in North Wales and are discovering lots of places to stay we very rarely pay more than £12 a night and do a fair bit of wild camping.
as others have said temporary holiday sites, CL CS. Funs own CL's Brit stops
and rallys.
I think its just a mind set if you want to visit a particular area there is usually a way.
I have to say we are really enjoying exploring more of the UK.
 
We are both disabled, I carry a big scooter in the garage and a smaller one in the toad. days out and shopping we take the car or use the scooters within a couple of miles

we also walk the dogs 4 or more times a day. The car has also been essential to get an injured dog to the vets
 
One thing we have found in the UK is that it’s difficult to be spontaneous.
We visit the UK a few times a year and have a couple of campsites that we use ( but have to book in advance) a couple of Britstops that we like close to family we visit ( one in Wales, one in the UK) and a couple of aires ( Canterbury and Bury St Edmunds)
We have used a few CL’s but generally find them on farms or similar and well away from anywhere, which is great if you want some quiet time.
lots of people tour the UK successfully using a combination of stopovers, but you can’t beat finding out for yourself what suits you the best.

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OK - first as ex caravanners we are well and truly fed up of robbing campsites.

We have to use them sometimes but we use ACSI to enable a lower price (just booked one to go to Shuttleworth Collection for their Biggles evening air display ACSI saved us £88 for 7 nights)
We use Search for Sites for other stops pubs and "wild" places bu this year we are going to more Rallies and airshows so .....

We dropped out of the CMC because comparing their sites to say Haven the costs were similar but what was provided was far superior at Haven and cheaper !!! we still use the C&CC for travel and insurances discount and the occasional CS
 
Vickysponge said:
As in the title. To clarify I'm wondering how people manage in the UK, as we don't really have aires, wilding isn't that easy and most campsites seem to be in the middle of nowhere. I think our sites were pretty much opened in the days of caravans only and if you are in a motorhome what do you do?
Click to expand...
Isn't "wilding" about being in the middle of nowhere. You will find that motorhomes outnumber caravans on touring sites nowadays. Surprisingly many have bus stops close-by which is normally stated in the site details.
 
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urban_biker said:
I had one booked last August, but unfortunately couldn't use it as it was underwater.
Click to expand...

Oh well, you'll have to cross your fingers for 2031.

Our No1 favourite in UK is Braithwaite Fold, it's very hard to get a pitch there. Very understandable, just a short walk to the delights of Bowness. After October there is overnight parking on the road outside the gate, so OK 'till your cassette is full.

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