wild camping (1 Viewer)

[beltsandbraces]

totally new to motor homing and looking forward to some exciting adventures. we plan on using her at least twice a month just for 1 night weekends and don't really want to be tied to going to campsites and have seen people mention "wild camping" now I know our new home is fully self sufficient and this way of doing it really interests me but the wife is a little hesitant. so apart from the obvious, large signs saying NO overnight camping what are the rules and regulations say around the new forest area. And suppose you have found somewhere for the night popped a bottle of Tesco finest red and someone tells you to move on, i am sure drinking and moving a 27ft motor home don't go together.

 

[suavecarve]

For the drink driving/in control of the vehicle. (you can be in control of your vehicle whilst in the pub with the keys in your pocket and the van outside but it will never happen) keep your keys hidden and turn your front seat round. It will show you have no intention of driving and only the biggest idiot of a police officer who intends to get a bollocking off a custody sergeant will take action. Even if the custody sergeant is more of a blithering idiot then CPS would not charge (IMHO) and even if they did I couldnt see a magistrate upholding it. I am blissfully unaware of any occasion (even urban myth) where these circumstances have made it past the threshold of the police officer arresting for "In control" even if the "attitude test" was completely failed
I think the New Forest is quite difficult to wildcamp in but i havent tried. Some others will let you know in due course.
In terms of having partaken in a bottle of wine and suspecting you are over the limit then you do not drive if requested to "move on".
The question is then who is asking you to move on and what power do they have to do so. Refusal to move on may involve a fine if they are a designated person (warden/police/ranger) and the local byelaws provide the legislation. Significantly better to take a fine than put your licence at risk, but there should be some signs to warn you. again somebody will be along with knowledge of that area

 

[Khizzie]

Never freeloaded in the UK so will never have this problem . Lol.

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[EX51SSS]

 

[Mickey1]

Mickey.

 

[ambulancekidd]

Never freeloaded in the UK so will never have this problem . Lol.

Our forum seems to be split into two camps (s'cuse the pun). Those who like to wild camp & those who see it as "freeloading". I believe that its only freeloading if your doing it just to avoid paying a site owner a fee.
I personally feel that the freedom to pull over (within reason) at a scenic spot & enjoy the experience is the cornerstone of motorhoming. I'm reasonably lucky in that I live in Scotland & that wild camping isn't frowned upon in a lot of area's. Now that said, there are many area's that I wouldn't wild camp in. There are a lot of area's in England & to a lesser extent Wales where the same applies. If you only ever intend staying on registered camp sites you might as well dare I say it, have a caravan? There's a question of how safe you feel when wild camping for example, how safe would you feel if you set up camp in the aforementioned New Forest, have a few glasses of wine only to be woken up by cars arriving for a so called "dogging session"? Just packing up & moving on isn't acceptable or wise if you've had a drink.
There are plenty of accounts on these very pages of forum members being disturbed by dogging.

I'd be curious to know how other forum members feel about wilding?

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[Deleted member 29692]

Our forum seems to be split into two camps (s'cuse the pun). Those who like to wild camp & those who see it as "freeloading". I believe that its only freeloading if your doing it just to avoid paying a site owner a fee.
I personally feel that the freedom to pull over (within reason) at a scenic spot & enjoy the experience is the cornerstone of motorhoming. I'm reasonably lucky in that I live in Scotland & that wild camping isn't frowned upon in a lot of area's. Now that said, there are many area's that I wouldn't wild camp in. There are a lot of area's in England & to a lesser extent Wales where the same applies. If you only ever intend staying on registered camp sites you might as well dare I say it, have a caravan? There's a question of how safe you feel when wild camping for example, how safe would you feel if you set up camp in the aforementioned New Forest, have a few glasses of wine only to be woken up by cars arriving for a so called "dogging session"? Just packing up & moving on isn't acceptable or wise if you've had a drink.
There are plenty of accounts on these very pages of forum members being disturbed by dogging.

I'd be curious to know how other forum members feel about wilding?

I feel the same. If the only options I had to use my MH were campsites I'd sell the bloody thing and give up. I can live with a CL/CS occasionally but that's all.

We don't wild camp really but when we're in the UK but make use of pub stops and similar places more than anything else.

The secret to wild spots is to keep them to yourself when you find one. Once you start sharing them with people who share them with other people suddenly they aren't so peaceful and quiet any more, you get the idiots who turn up and abuse the place and action is taken to stop anyone overnighting there.

 

[beltsandbraces]

I thought freeloading was a bit strong, I have absolutely no problem with paying for a campsite and using the amenities they have to offer, it would just be nice to be able to find that magic spot away from everything. we are planning a trip to scotland in june and are booking a sight for the first week but if would be nice to freestyle it for the second week.

 

[GeriatricWanderer]

We also need to differentiate between overnight camping and overnight parking.
In the UK I travel solo in a small PVC and rarely have a plan so frequently don't have an overnight spot lined up.
More and more I've found myself happily and comfortably overnighting on quiet streets. Find the right spot, keep a low profile and it's fine - and it's not camping and not freeloading.
I know it wouldn't suit everyone but it suits me just fine and enables me to wander without having to search out sites - I don't need their facilities, I have my own.

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[Deleted member 29692]

I thought freeloading was a bit strong, I have absolutely no problem with paying for a campsite and using the amenities they have to offer, it would just be nice to be able to find that magic spot away from everything. we are planning a trip to scotland in june and are booking a sight for the first week but if would be nice to freestyle it for the second week.

Freeloading is a term usually applied to those who take the piss rather than those who prefer not to use campsites.

For example if a particular place has a 24 or 48 hour limit and you stayed for 3 weeks solely to avoid paying for the site a mile up the road that would be freeloading. Just parking up for the night wouldn't be.

The two golden rules of off site camping are never outstay your welcome and when you leave make sure you leave no sign that you've been there. Overstaying and leaving a mess are two sure fire ways to get overnighting banned at a place thereby ruining it for everyone.

Another example is where a particular place, a beach car park perhaps, permits overnighting but charges you for the privilege. A freeloader will believe they have the right to park anywhere they want, whenever they want and for as long as they want for free and therefore won't pay the charge. You usually find that these people are the first and loudest to complain when the owners or operators of the place decide to ban overnighting due to the abuse.

 

[Minxy]

You run the risk of being 'egged' in the New Forest by the local youths ... we were there late one night in the back of a car park ... just as we were getting ready to go to bed ... made a ruddy mess too!

If you are in a place which you are not sure is okay then do NOT drink, and if you do, certainly NOT enough to take you over the legal limit, just in case you have to move on due to being asked to do so by the Police. If you are in a place which does allow you to stay overnight and you feel it's okay to stay there, then drinking isn't such a problem but do remember that as you'll be driving the following morning you still have to ensure you're under the legal limit.

 

[ivorantony]

i have wildcamp in a few places in the new forest but only out of season, i think you will find that the rangers will be active in the normal holiday time and will move you on, their are a couple of campsites in the area sandyballs being one of them,
but can work out expensive in season,
all i will say on the locations i have used is google earth is your friend, you will find quite a few suitable parking places well off the main routes if you look,

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[Stealaway]

The New Forest is one of the few problem areas we have had in years of wild camping. I consider myself to be a van and as such can park any where a van is allowed.
Staying overnight can be a problem in holiday resorts and on the coast - but just go a bit inland a bit and find a picnic area or country car park.

 

[buttons]

Hi BE and Welcome....

 

[buttons]

We also need to differentiate between overnight camping and overnight parking.
In the UK I travel solo in a small PVC and rarely have a plan so frequently don't have an overnight spot lined up.
More and more I've found myself happily and comfortably overnighting on quiet streets. Find the right spot, keep a low profile and it's fine - and it's not camping and not freeloading.
I know it wouldn't suit everyone but it suits me just fine and enables me to wander without having to search out sites - I don't need their facilities, I have my own.

The only thing that bothers me when street parking is returning after having a couple in the nearby pub.

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[Lenny HB]

If you park in the New Forest car parks the rangers will take great delight at moving you on in the early hours of the morning. Friends of ours parked up for the night in a car park on the edge of the forest near Ringwood only to find it was where all the lorry drivers pulled in to meet the ladies of the night.

 

[Kool Kroozer]

I feel the same regarding campsites, if stopping on campsites was the only option i would not bother having a motorhome - for these reasons: Putting up with other people noise and crap/you dont know what the facilities are like unless your able to go walk around and look/they are not available 12 months of the year/they charge too much in my opinion - all i want is a patch of grass/tarmac, i dont need their water or electricity or their bins, and most sites now the price per pitch per night comes with EHU if you need it or not...
Wild Camping/Free Loading in our opinion keeps us away from the likes of folk who think they know it all, we are self sufficient with water/power/waste and take our rubbish away with us, if where we are is noisey we can move on, we can pick where we park for the night and most of the time the views out of our windows are far better than looking across a paved area at someone else in a caravan/MH.. we can wild camp/free load 365 days of the year, and if we are dissapointed with where we stayed the night its cost us £0
A couple of pics of one of our Freeloading spots "No Overnight parking/camping" signs anywhere we go ! Top pic is the view behind us.

 

[beltsandbraces]

if I find some spots like that then I might change my forum name to freeloader LOL

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[JJ]

Cool motorhomers off-site park to avoid hoards of rowdy folk and all the rules and regulations of sites/aires/camping places.

Stress fuelled, every rule and regulation obeying, tarmac loving, EHU needy, soap watching, hair dryer using motorhomers (who love filling in forms and booking weeks in advance) use campsites...

... only because they haven't "seen the light" yet.

JJ

 

[Khizzie]

I thought freeloading was a bit strong, I have absolutely no problem with paying for a campsite and using the amenities they have to offer, it would just be nice to be able to find that magic spot away from everything. we are planning a trip to scotland in june and are booking a sight for the first week but if would be nice to freestyle it for the second week.

Maybe it was .now put your hand in your pocket and subscribe to this forum .don't want you being labelled a freeloader do we .lol

 

[Kool Kroozer]

I am so glad the know it alls prefer sites, it keeps them all penned in, and most of all away from us !

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[Khizzie]

if I find some spots like that then I might change my forum name to freeloader LOL

Good idea .would suggest you take a subscription so we cab all enjoy your interesting posts ..

 

[suavecarve]

if I find some spots like that then I might change my forum name to freeloader LOL

Welcome aboard to the differing points of view you will find on this site !
Never a dull moment.

 

[955matt]

No problems wild camping in the UK but not near the forest , we always book a site . Have manged to find many Dogging sites ( which i didn't believe were real until we saw the cars start turning up )

Just be cautious , google maps is your friend and keep a low profile don't draw attention to yourselves .

There is a wild camping web site you can go on which is very helpful .

Matt

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[Khizzie]

Cool motorhomers off-site park to avoid hoards of rowdy folk and all the rules and regulations of sites/aires/camping places.

Stress fuelled, every rule and regulation obeying, tarmac loving, EHU needy, soap watching, hair dryer using motorhomers (who love filling in forms and booking weeks in advance) use campsites...

... only because they haven't "seen the light" yet.

JJ

In your opinion of course ..

 

[Lenny HB]

I am so glad the know it alls prefer sites, it keeps them all penned in, and most of all away from us !

Me too can never understand why people want to stay in prison camps.

 

[Khizzie]

N

I am so glad the know it alls prefer sites, it keeps them all penned in, and most of all away from us !

Not correct and very assumptive of you to tar all of us that need the facilities of campsites as know it alls . Shame on you .

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[JJ]

In your opinion of course ..

My mummy always told me my opinion was in fact, fact...

JJ

 

[Khizzie]

My mummy always told me my opinion was in fact, fact...

JJ

And did she pick up all your toys and put them back in your pram for you as well. .?? Lol

 

[JJ]

And did she pick up all your toys and put them back in your pram for you as well. .?? Lol

No, no, no...

The nanny did that.

JJ