Parking up !

[mark e]

what the law on just parking up in a conveniant place along any roads ? Might have been disgussed before somwhere so sorry in advance.

 

[Suzy]

I suppose it depends on what you mean by 'parking up'. As long as you are road legal you can park wherever legally you are able to.

If you mean can you camp anywhere along the road then that is a different story!

 

[Jim]

Wildcamping is OK and practised by thousands all over Europe, just look out for signs that prohibit it, they are normally pretty obvious.

A few security tips to use when wildcamping are..

1. Look at the area, does it feel right? Is the place littered with rubbish, used condoms, skid marks, this might indicate that idiots use the place at night.

2. Dont be a nosey parker!! always park in such a way that you can drive away, nose out, without having to do a 7 point turn!

3. Don't put screens on the outside of windows, these will impede your ability to drive away.

4. Try to be as inconspicuous as possible, difficult in a 25 yard long bright wihte motorhome, I agree. But do not put awnings and deckchairs out and light a camp fire, unless you are certain your actions are not going to attract attention from undesirables.

5. Make sure when you turn in that everything is stowed, doors are locked and you are not too drunk so as you won't wake and be able to drive away if an incident ocurrs.

Wild camping is fun, and is nothing to be scared of, some sites are less secure that some wildcamping places. Just apply a little common sense, be aware of your surroundings and have fun.

 

[mark e]

Yes sorry. I meant 'wild camping'.

Excellent answers there jimjam. All made sense. Foprget about the dangers, what about the law ?

We've being going caravanning to cornwall for years. Like the area, and plenty of places to just stop here 1 night, then another etc. Without having to pay campsites.

 

[wildcamper]

hi as jim said just look out for the signs that say no over night parking, we have done cornwall 3 times now and have wildcamped every time and never been asked to move on once but its sods law when we go back we will

 

[jakeontour]

Parking up

Hi

Last year I asked a traffic police superintendent for his thoughts on parking and sleeping overnight in the 'van. He was fairly clear that there was a fundamental difference between camping and sleeping overnight in a road legal vehicle, as thousands of truck drivers do.

His advice was simple:
Don't park where you aren't allowed to or where it would cause an obstruction;
Keep within the drink driving laws;
Closed curtains and internal screens fine, outside screens not;
Crucially, don't put anything outside the 'van, steadies down, sat dish up etc. The only things touching the ground should be the tyres. Anything else could be construed as camping.

His view was that if you followed these simple guidelines you were simply sleeping overnight in the vehicle which is legal.

 

[voxol51]

....and remember to make sure your waste tank valve is shut.... as I forgot to do on a carpark earlier this year, leaving a rather obvious water trail when we washed up. Oops!

Voxy.