rupert123 Posted May 22, 2010 Share Posted May 22, 2010 JudgeMental - 2010-05-22 3:54 PM vandalism is not an attack? what did you say about second hand opinion? you pored scorn on me for this. our habits are similar to yours... half term next week, will find us staying on Aires for 2-3 nights and 4-5 on a campsite in the Vendee, I dont expect anything untowards to happen. Eddie not trying to pour scorn on you or anyone, just trying in my 'heavy handed way' to make a point. I am talking about attacks though. One was a shower of bricks and pallets, the other was a large thread on here which you must have followed, neither was second hand opinion but written by the people involved. Anyway I to will spend some time on aires and do not expect anything to happen, have a good holiday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted May 22, 2010 Share Posted May 22, 2010 Only been robbed once at a supermarket car park in a village just outside Lyon, only ever had a car broken into once you guessed in Lyon incidences were 25 years apart. Only come across one person that has been robbed on a site in Spain silly buggers left a handbag on a worktop in front of an open window in their Motorhome at night lost over a thousand quid, talking to them they said they save up for their holiday and take it all with them cash that is !!!!!!!!!! Since we have had a Motorhome not used Aires much but have made extensive use of Stellplatz in Germany always felt safe often the only van there. Not all Aires & Stellplatz are jam pack see examples below. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted May 22, 2010 Share Posted May 22, 2010 Funny that, the only place we have had a car actually broken into was Lyon. Scores: thief 1 window 0. Deadlocks 1, thief 0!Spent the next week picking left over bits of glass off the driver's seat though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyH Posted May 22, 2010 Share Posted May 22, 2010 What amazes me is that no one has asked the original poster why he/she waited a year before telling us about this incident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted May 22, 2010 Share Posted May 22, 2010 After you! :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted May 22, 2010 Share Posted May 22, 2010 Err.......maybe a timely reminder. No one in their right mind stops around Lyon it is notorious. police normally move you on if you try and park up on motorway services.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted May 22, 2010 Share Posted May 22, 2010 Avoid Lyon like the plague now. The car break in was 1981 on a business trip the company I was visiting were so embarrassed they put me up in a really nice hotel and arranged for an auto glazer to replace the car side window. The car par incident was about 2004/5 pulled into the car park in supermarket in a small town about 10 miles from Lyon a scooter pulled up beside us kid on the back jumped off opened car door went for the wife's handbag then saw the laptop grabbed it short tussle with wife then on the scooter and gone all over in a few seconds, I had the last laugh laptop was on its last legs HD controller faulty would only format a 2 gig partition on disc only had Operating System & Autoroute loaded and had a weird power supply connector & battery was flat. Everywhere else in France I feel safe but I gladly do an extra 100 miles to avoid Lyon, feel safer in Glasgow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted May 22, 2010 Share Posted May 22, 2010 The report of the attack on the aire in Holland was mine - we had bricks thrown at our 'van at 3.00 am on a Sunday morning - something to do with it being notorious for being the witching hour for local youths - we were just unlucky, and in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was an official aire, we were there with lots of other vans but was the only British one, but we think it was just pure chance as we were the one at the end of the aire. It does make you wary but we put our demons to bed last year when we stayed 2 nights in Holland (one being a Saturday!) and were fine. It didn't stop us using aires anywhere else either. At the end of the day, you must stay where YOU feel comfortable, it doesn't matter one iota where we all say to stay, if you are not happy there, then move on and go somewhere you are. Last night we stayed on the seafront at Withernsea, and, whilst we did have some noise as locals walked back to their houses along the front, it was nothing menacing. Tonight we are parked up in a nice large car park near the boat store at Hornsea with a Mooveo and a camper van for company. Dogs have just been out for a nice lollop around on the field and are as happy as they could be. :-> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted May 22, 2010 Share Posted May 22, 2010 Forgot to say, just to tease everyone, we've cracked open the pack of 'proper' pork scratchings and are noisily crunching through them ... oh, and a Starburst motorhome has just joined our little throng. And to cap it all, there's the most beautiful sunset! :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted May 22, 2010 Share Posted May 22, 2010 Mel B - 2010-05-22 8:44 PM Forgot to say, just to tease everyone, we've cracked open the pack of 'proper' pork scratchings and are noisily crunching through them ... I tell you girl! you really know how to live......what time does the dogging start in your car park? :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyg3nwl Posted May 23, 2010 Author Share Posted May 23, 2010 RoyH - 2010-05-22 7:47 PM What amazes me is that no one has asked the original poster why he/she waited a year before telling us about this incident. No particular reason for delay, but we are just about to set off again, this time to Germany. Better half queries safety on Stelplatz and referred back to the incident. I wonder with benefit of hindsight whether it was wise to show camera and leave relative safety of van, or maybe I should have simply moved off to the other site anyway. The aire referred to originally is the official one at bottom of hill arriving from south, and is on right as you pass the roundabout to go round the bypass. It was a friendly reminder to all to be aware at all times, and if in doubt, decide a suitable course of action. This trip, we have ACSI list, Camping Cheques, and Bord Atlas stellplatz locations book so hopefully will be able to chose accordingly. 3 more days to go. Tonyg3nwl it has about 8 places for vans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted May 23, 2010 Share Posted May 23, 2010 rupert123 - 2010-05-21 11:37 PM Tomo3090 - 2010-05-21 7:10 PM What bol888ks Tom! So people don't get robbed on sites? Get real. Aires are perfectly safe and are just as secure as anywhere else. Sorry they are just not. Their have been several instances on here in last year of problems on aires, even more on MHF forum, never heard of a serious incident on a site. We stay on aires sometimes but there are not many we would go off for the day and leave van on. Well here's your first then Rupert, we met a couple in Spain this year who had had their trailer stolen from the Campsite they were staying on, the wife was left with the task of following the Motorhome everywhere in their car which would have travelled on the trailer had it not been stolen off their pitch, it was chained to the van apparently but not hitched on ,so not covered by their insurance apparently. You are not 100% safe anywhere so precaution is the rule methinks. :-) :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted May 23, 2010 Share Posted May 23, 2010 We have been lucky as we have not had any problems so far in all the time we have been campers, around forty years. However, yes I know it is second hand but it is at least close second hand, we know of three incidents one of which the van was never recovered. One van, a friends who we were with, was stolen from a Motorway Services and never recovered. The second, my brother returned to his van only to see it being manhandled down the road by a group of people who ran off and jumped into a parket Transit down the road (definately what passes for Gypsies). The final one was stolen from a site and recovered the following day by the local police. Where did these occur? Notorious Aires? No, the motorway services was Membury, my brothers was at his own home in Essex and the site was in Devon. So yes thefts do occur on sites, they also occur on Motorway services they even occur off your own property. Do I worry parking on French Aires? Of course I do, the same as I would parking in the road, at home or a site anywhere I am be it Europe or UK. The fact is thieves are everywhere all you can do is minimise the risk. Please don't use Aires, especially the great free one at Millau with the five minute stroll to the centre of town, there will be all the more room for me to use them then!! :-D :-D :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smifee Posted May 23, 2010 Share Posted May 23, 2010 Have been stoned twice :-> Once on a club site. Can't remember if it's CC or C&CC but it's the site at Denham norf a London. Once in a caravan at a caravan factory at Sleaford, Lincs. Left the club site immediately and got a refund. Went looking for the sods at Sleaford & luckily for them I didn't find 'em. >:-) Now I mostly use aires or wild camp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted May 23, 2010 Share Posted May 23, 2010 JudgeMental - 2010-05-22 10:43 PM Mel B - 2010-05-22 8:44 PM Forgot to say, just to tease everyone, we've cracked open the pack of 'proper' pork scratchings and are noisily crunching through them ... I tell you girl! you really know how to live......what time does the dogging start in your car park? :D The difference is though Judge that it is more like an 'aire' - have a look at the map below, the car park is the large chalky trangle surrounded by fields with the boat store to the right between the car park and the sea ... brilliant and a lovely peaceful night. Hornsea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo3090 Posted May 23, 2010 Share Posted May 23, 2010 I've been stoned more than twice! 8-) But it was a long time before I drove a motorhome! I only found out about 2 years ago that I've "seen" Donovan at a festival back in the early 70's. Happy days!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcob Posted May 23, 2010 Share Posted May 23, 2010 Visited Millau once. We needed water, so went to the Aire, but it was full of travelers. with difficulty managed to reverse to the tap and take on water. On the wall was a electric box with two wirers coming out of it, so I had a look in, but the door fell off taking the wires with it, they had been wedged in with match sticks. An old man nearby was watching TV outside his van which was cut off, he came across to plug his wires back in, he was not very pleased, and we departed. Marcob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted May 23, 2010 Share Posted May 23, 2010 marcob - 2010-05-23 9:03 PM Visited Millau once. We needed water, so went to the Aire, but it was full of travelers. with difficulty managed to reverse to the tap and take on water. On the wall was a electric box with two wirers coming out of it, so I had a look in, but the door fell off taking the wires with it, they had been wedged in with match sticks. An old man nearby was watching TV outside his van which was cut off, he came across to plug his wires back in, he was not very pleased, and we departed. Marcob Interesting as you quote'the Aire', there is more than one Aire at Millau and the larger one that we have used has no water or electric facilities at the Aire. The facilities for water and power are some distance from the Aire round the corner and consist of two drive through bays with a single dual pedestal. There are also toilet facilities here as well. The Aire itself is nicely sectioned into parking bays seperated by log fences and is quite a pleasent area. Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickt Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 Correct the aire without the facilities is the best place imo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 It seems there are two officially recognised aires in Millau.A municipal in Rue Cantarene, on a large car park, with water and dump facilities, stated to be free. GPS N44.09501 E3.08223.The other is inside a campsite, Camping Cote Sud, Avenue de l'Aigoual, with water, dump and electricity, so presumably charges. GPS N44.10228 E3.09094.Both allow overnight parking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 I have used the Millau Aire several times, no problems and a super town to explore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyg3nwl Posted May 24, 2010 Author Share Posted May 24, 2010 Hi again. Just to add to confusion, the Aire I originally referred to is located at gps N44degrees ,5.659mins E 3 deg ,5.085mins There is a public toilet block adjacent to the Aire parking, but as has previously been posted , the water and official disposal points are nearer to the other Aire pictured in the previous posting. tonyg3nwl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 Designated an "aire de repos": Rue du Four a Chaux, Millau. Looks a better bet to stop on than the car park, though probably noisy, and with no access control. It is a bit like a mini-autoroute aire de repos.It seems there is a (possibly) more recent "aire camping car" in Rue de la Saunerie with about 30 gravelled hardstandings and bays defined by timber barriers, which I think may be the one Malc has photographed. GPS (approx) N44.09593 E3.08598. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david lloyd Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 We always use a mixture of sites and aires but the only time we have had any problem was on a site at Guines near Calais. Two years ago we flirted with a caravan/camper combination and stayed at the site on our first night after the tunnel. We stayed in the caravan and the camper was completely empty, parked at the side. Getting ready to depart the next morning found the driver's door lock had been forced, all the cupboards rifled but, of course, nothing taken. The door could only be locked from the inside and cost £60 back in UK to fix. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 The Rue de la Saunerie is the one we've stayed at in Millau, it was very new when we were there in May 2007, lots of individual bays marked with log fencing, can't remember if there were any facilities though as we only stayed one night en-route back home but I do remember some sort of building being 'developed'. This is the aire that Malc's photographed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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