lennyhb Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 kelly58 - 2013-04-17 9:33 AM Over the past 6 years of motorhome travel we have mostly been in Europe ( France ) and to parts of the UK during mid July / August using C&CC temporary holiday sites .We have been to Scotland many times using B&B's or cottages , but never in a motorhome. There has been a lot of discussion regarding " Wild Camping " in Scotland , but unless I have missed it my main question is how and where do you service your tanks ( grey / black waste ) and fill up with fresh water ? this has never been a problem in France / Germany because of the Aires / Stellplatz. I do not think walking through a motorway service area into the toilets carrying your toilet cassette would be acceptable. Most garages will let you fill up and empty if you are buying fuel, just ask before putting any fuel if they refuse go to the next garage only ever been refused once. Never fill the fuel tank right up you feel much better asking for water if you are buying fuel in return. Also providing you don't use chemicals in the loo you can empty in remote public toilets that drain into a cesspit or septic tank. Only time we have ever been caught out was actually in Germany didn't read the book properly. The Stellplatz had a dump point but no water, had to buy a few 2Lt bottles in the local Lidl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek pringle Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Hi 1foot and snowie, Please do not think I am NOT in favour of overnight parking, I am, and being disabled I know all about location,location,location. I am on the side of a concerted campaign to achieve this parking to be allowed. I am and I suspect others on this forum are members of the Fair Fuel campaign which has had some success of late, and a similar approach seems to be needed here. Maybe all like minded could converge at a particular location and cause disruption to the traffic system without spending a penny in the local area, this may highlight the point. We could also see if we could raise an articulate volunteer to lead the campaign, do not know if the MMM would be interested.?or some contributors to this forum. I just think until the law or councils change their mind we are stuck with it. I drove quite a bit yesterday, in the car not the motorhome, along the North Wales coast and could not find a car park I would have been able to get in due to height barriers, even if I just wanted to go shopping and spend money there. Needless to say I will NOT be visiting that area with the van. cheers and good luck derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 derek pringle - 2013-04-17 1:22 PM do not know if the MMM would be interested.?or some contributors to this forum. Many moons ago the MMM used to have a height barrier campaign ;-).................It made little difference judging by the number of barriers I see *-)...... We go where were not treated as a nuisance................ across the channel and spend our money there >:-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Derek part of the problem is as you'll gathered is many contributors to this forum do seem to have a similar viewpoint, I'm speaking now specifically in respect of height barriers as they affect in particular disabled people having equal access to services such as shopping areas, and parking in general. You have just experienced first hand this growing menace, but I fear until the great majority of motor home users also recognize it as an issue that needs action it's difficult to see how it could be taken forward. Another problem we also face is that despite my van being a standard LWB at 5.6 metre the normal standard for a parking bay is 4.8 x 2.4 metres. I once incurred a fixed penalty for being quite literally being just a few centimeters over the line, consequently I'm paranoid about anywhere we park now, especially on "managed" car parks like many supermarkets and out of town shopping centres. I'm sure there could be a case in relation to height barriers in particular under the disability discrimination legislation, but for the life of me cannot understand why some official body representing the disabled has not taken this forward, I'm sure they would have more clout than a private individual. Although this sounds defeatist, having been involved in a massively supported action against some of our local schools being closed, (my granddaughter attends one) our council Gwynedd has completely ignored all the protests, and legal challenges and they are to close this September, democracy in action eh. But I do agree the press could have a major impact on this issue, but I don't think MMM would see it from the same perspective, unless it was purely focused on the lack of dedicated longer bays, and the removal of height barriers. :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 You've never been abroad in your motorhome and yet you think aires are all in village car parks two feet away from one another, you should try it first, then make a judgement, . I am just going off the many posts I have read on here in the past, I am sure there not all like that as your pics seem to confirm but how many pics have you got of overcrowded ones that your just not going to show me :-D I have read stories on here of folk being within touching distance of the foreign neighbour with kids crying and dogs barking all night. You can say what you like about CC and C&CC but at least you get allocated a decent size pitch were no one else can get too close. Yeah a CL/CS might cost you £5-7 per night and a club site will cost arouind £18 but who cares its only money. We generally use club sites and or CL/CS but havent used a shower / toilet anywere for years, prefering to use our own facilities so you could argue that its expensive but I prefer the security of a site, I dont want to be worried all day that someone is messing about near my van. Everyone is different (thank goodness) and I am looking forward to trying these aire things in a year or so, I hope there as good as you say, I shall post a full report. :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Barryd999 - 2013-04-17 11:02 AM I love Aires, Sostas and Stellplatz. Can never see them working here and Im not fussed to be honest. Plenty of good CL sites and the more remote the better IMO. I could show you photos of lovely spacious Aires all day but they are not all like that. Space can be at a premium especially by the coast. Go inland however or into the less explored regions and you will find free aires with free services and often EHU thrown in! This is one of my favourite. Biron in the Dordogne. Followed by the Aire at Erquy in Brittany mid summer. Madness. We didnt stay. Found a perfect wild spot a mile up the road all to ourselves. Barry That second pic is my nightmare, looks like a gypsy site ............. I rest my case. :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 ips - 2013-04-17 2:43 PM You've never been abroad in your motorhome and yet you think aires are all in village car parks two feet away from one another, you should try it first, then make a judgement, . I am just going off the many posts I have read on here in the past, I am sure there not all like that as your pics seem to confirm but how many pics have you got of overcrowded ones that your just not going to show me :-D I have read stories on here of folk being within touching distance of the foreign neighbour with kids crying and dogs barking all night. You can say what you like about CC and C&CC but at least you get allocated a decent size pitch were no one else can get too close. Yeah a CL/CS might cost you £5-7 per night and a club site will cost arouind £18 but who cares its only money. We generally use club sites and or CL/CS but havent used a shower / toilet anywere for years, prefering to use our own facilities so you could argue that its expensive but I prefer the security of a site, I dont want to be worried all day that someone is messing about near my van. Everyone is different (thank goodness) and I am looking forward to trying these aire things in a year or so, I hope there as good as you say, I shall post a full report. :-D If you've never been disturbed by dogs barking, or kids playing I'd be astonished, as they say s**t happens on occasions As for security there has never been an issue in our experience, quite the opposite, and don't believe the urban myth about gassing. Yes some Aires are quite literally a "car park" with about as much space between, so why would anyone choose to stay overnight in one you may ask, it's quite simple, to have the freedom to walk from your van on many occasions situated on the river bank, Le Mans, Metz, Bayeaux off the top of my head, into a city with all that offers of an evening, to take a stroll and some refreshment out in the warm evening air, soak up the atmosphere, then retire for the night. We have NEVER felt threatened or had a disturbed night even in the heart of a city, and there seems to be an unwritten code of looking out for each other in any event. It is completely different to the UK, as odd as it seems right in the centre of a city emptying your cassette at a service point with nobody taking a blind bit of notice takes a bit of getting your head round at first but it is quite normal, and your not going to get drunken yobs banging on the side of your van as would quite rightly fear perhaps in the UK. Quite simply for anyone who has not experienced it first hand, and yes been a bit selective in their choice of spots as they are not all the hanging gardens of Babylon, but it is a revelation of no comparison, other than perhaps that first time you took a foreign holiday and discovered sun and warmth. ;-) or that first night in the back seats at the Roxy :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 pelmetman - 2013-04-17 2:32 PM Many moons ago the MMM used to have a height barrier campaign ;-).................It made little difference judging by the number of barriers I see *-)...... We go where were not treated as a nuisance................ across the channel and spend our money there >:-) It was very half hearted as I recall and was just, in my view, a low cost ploy by Warners to get 'off site' campers to buy the magazine and convert to being site users - which of course was never going to happen! MMM was - and may well still be for all I know - very heavily biased towards the all singing full facility full price sites whose owners pay for expensive magazine advertising? You have to remember that Warners are magazine publishers firstly and not campaigners on behalf of their readers so you can't blame them I guess? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Strachan Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Something to cheer, you all up, it really shows the different view that other countries have of motorhomes! If it works should be a picture of a car getting a ticket for parking in a camping car space. Taken on the aire at Metz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Tracker - 2013-04-17 3:28 PM pelmetman - 2013-04-17 2:32 PM Many moons ago the MMM used to have a height barrier campaign ;-).................It made little difference judging by the number of barriers I see *-)...... We go where were not treated as a nuisance................ across the channel and spend our money there >:-) It was very half hearted as I recall and was just, in my view, a low cost ploy by Warners to get 'off site' campers to buy the magazine and convert to being site users - which of course was never going to happen! MMM was - and may well still be for all I know - very heavily biased towards the all singing full facility full price sites whose owners pay for expensive magazine advertising? You have to remember that Warners are magazine publishers firstly and not campaigners on behalf of their readers so you can't blame them I guess? Bang on Tracker, the last thing they are going to do is bite the hands that feed them. It really needs a disability body to take it on IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Iain Strachan - 2013-04-17 4:00 PM Something to cheer, you all up, it really shows the different view that other countries have of motorhomes! If it works should be a picture of a car getting a ticket for parking in a camping car space. Taken on the aire at Metz Nice one (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryd999 Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 ips - 2013-04-17 2:45 PM Barryd999 - 2013-04-17 11:02 AM I love Aires, Sostas and Stellplatz. Can never see them working here and Im not fussed to be honest. Plenty of good CL sites and the more remote the better IMO. I could show you photos of lovely spacious Aires all day but they are not all like that. Space can be at a premium especially by the coast. Go inland however or into the less explored regions and you will find free aires with free services and often EHU thrown in! This is one of my favourite. Biron in the Dordogne. Followed by the Aire at Erquy in Brittany mid summer. Madness. We didnt stay. Found a perfect wild spot a mile up the road all to ourselves. Barry That second pic is my nightmare, looks like a gypsy site ............. I rest my case. :-D Agreed! It never ceases to amaze me what people will put up with just to be near the sea! There are some fantastic spots within a few miles of that Aire but people are like sheep or cant be arsed to put in some effort to find a nice place to park. Thats all part of the fun for me, finding perfect locations. Not being able to open my door or having to listen to my neighbours telly or worse them on the loo is not my idea of a holiday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Barryd999 - 2013-04-17 4:49 PM ips - 2013-04-17 2:45 PM Barryd999 - 2013-04-17 11:02 AM I love Aires, Sostas and Stellplatz. Can never see them working here and Im not fussed to be honest. Plenty of good CL sites and the more remote the better IMO. I could show you photos of lovely spacious Aires all day but they are not all like that. Space can be at a premium especially by the coast. Go inland however or into the less explored regions and you will find free aires with free services and often EHU thrown in! This is one of my favourite. Biron in the Dordogne. Followed by the Aire at Erquy in Brittany mid summer. Madness. We didnt stay. Found a perfect wild spot a mile up the road all to ourselves. Barry That second pic is my nightmare, looks like a gypsy site ............. I rest my case. :-D Agreed! It never ceases to amaze me what people will put up with just to be near the sea! There are some fantastic spots within a few miles of that Aire but people are like sheep or cant be arsed to put in some effort to find a nice place to park. Thats all part of the fun for me, finding perfect locations. Not being able to open my door or having to listen to my neighbours telly or worse them on the loo is not my idea of a holiday. We have a static holiday home here, all with fabulous views of other static vans in every direction, a railway line at the back, and all for just circa 25k and 3k a year site fee's, but it is by the sea. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 ips - 2013-04-17 2:43 PM I am just going off the many posts I have read on here in the past, I am sure there not all like that as your pics seem to confirm but how many pics have you got of overcrowded ones that your just not going to show me :-D Just for you ;-).......................Biarritz, at new year................been there for the last 3 years prior to heading South........and its always packed................all adds to the fun :D........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryd999 Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 pelmetman - 2013-04-17 5:52 PM ips - 2013-04-17 2:43 PM I am just going off the many posts I have read on here in the past, I am sure there not all like that as your pics seem to confirm but how many pics have you got of overcrowded ones that your just not going to show me :-D Just for you ;-).......................Biarritz, at new year................been there for the last 3 years prior to heading South........and its always packed................all adds to the fun :D........ I love Biarritz but that Aires not great. Noisy road as well and its €10. Prefer the one at Anglet a couple of miles north. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Barryd999 - 2013-04-17 4:49 PM ips - 2013-04-17 2:45 PM Barryd999 - 2013-04-17 11:02 AM I love Aires, Sostas and Stellplatz. Can never see them working here and Im not fussed to be honest. Plenty of good CL sites and the more remote the better IMO. I could show you photos of lovely spacious Aires all day but they are not all like that. Space can be at a premium especially by the coast. Go inland however or into the less explored regions and you will find free aires with free services and often EHU thrown in! This is one of my favourite. Biron in the Dordogne. Followed by the Aire at Erquy in Brittany mid summer. Madness. We didnt stay. Found a perfect wild spot a mile up the road all to ourselves. Barry That second pic is my nightmare, looks like a gypsy site ............. I rest my case. :-D Agreed! It never ceases to amaze me what people will put up with just to be near the sea! There are some fantastic spots within a few miles of that Aire but people are like sheep or cant be arsed to put in some effort to find a nice place to park. Thats all part of the fun for me, finding perfect locations. Not being able to open my door or having to listen to my neighbours telly or worse them on the loo is not my idea of a holiday. My mate loves the one at Le Crotoy the one on the south side of town by the harbour it's an easy walk into town to stuff your face, it's always crowded with about 50 vans. Now we always stop at the one on the north side of town in the sand dunes only has room for 13 vans (& you can get stuck in sand if not careful) never seen it full, nice stroll along the prom about a mile to centre of town. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 lennyhb - 2013-04-17 6:18 PM Barryd999 - 2013-04-17 4:49 PM ips - 2013-04-17 2:45 PM Barryd999 - 2013-04-17 11:02 AM I love Aires, Sostas and Stellplatz. Can never see them working here and Im not fussed to be honest. Plenty of good CL sites and the more remote the better IMO. I could show you photos of lovely spacious Aires all day but they are not all like that. Space can be at a premium especially by the coast. Go inland however or into the less explored regions and you will find free aires with free services and often EHU thrown in! This is one of my favourite. Biron in the Dordogne. Followed by the Aire at Erquy in Brittany mid summer. Madness. We didnt stay. Found a perfect wild spot a mile up the road all to ourselves. Barry That second pic is my nightmare, looks like a gypsy site ............. I rest my case. :-D Agreed! It never ceases to amaze me what people will put up with just to be near the sea! There are some fantastic spots within a few miles of that Aire but people are like sheep or cant be arsed to put in some effort to find a nice place to park. Thats all part of the fun for me, finding perfect locations. Not being able to open my door or having to listen to my neighbours telly or worse them on the loo is not my idea of a holiday. My mate loves the one at Le Crotoy the one on the south side of town by the harbour it's an easy walk into town to stuff your face, it's always crowded with about 50 vans. Now we always stop at the one on the north side of town in the sand dunes only has room for 13 vans (& you can get stuck in sand if not careful) never seen it full, nice stroll along the prom about a mile to centre of town. Just goes to show, if Le Crotoy had been my first experience of an Aire, it would have probably been my last. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 1footinthegrave - 2013-04-17 6:22 PM lennyhb - 2013-04-17 6:18 PM Barryd999 - 2013-04-17 4:49 PM ips - 2013-04-17 2:45 PM Barryd999 - 2013-04-17 11:02 AM I love Aires, Sostas and Stellplatz. Can never see them working here and Im not fussed to be honest. Plenty of good CL sites and the more remote the better IMO. I could show you photos of lovely spacious Aires all day but they are not all like that. Space can be at a premium especially by the coast. Go inland however or into the less explored regions and you will find free aires with free services and often EHU thrown in! This is one of my favourite. Biron in the Dordogne. Followed by the Aire at Erquy in Brittany mid summer. Madness. We didnt stay. Found a perfect wild spot a mile up the road all to ourselves. Barry That second pic is my nightmare, looks like a gypsy site ............. I rest my case. :-D Agreed! It never ceases to amaze me what people will put up with just to be near the sea! There are some fantastic spots within a few miles of that Aire but people are like sheep or cant be arsed to put in some effort to find a nice place to park. Thats all part of the fun for me, finding perfect locations. Not being able to open my door or having to listen to my neighbours telly or worse them on the loo is not my idea of a holiday. My mate loves the one at Le Crotoy the one on the south side of town by the harbour it's an easy walk into town to stuff your face, it's always crowded with about 50 vans. Now we always stop at the one on the north side of town in the sand dunes only has room for 13 vans (& you can get stuck in sand if not careful) never seen it full, nice stroll along the prom about a mile to centre of town. Just goes to show, if Le Crotoy had been my first experience of an Aire, it would have probably been my last. :D There was only 3 vans at Le Crotoy when we stayed ;-).................mind you it was February and freezing 8-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
747 Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 So let me try to get my head around this. The motorhome owners who stay by the UK beaches are scum. The ones who do it in Europe are the 'in crowd'. Why waste your time with a Poll on the other thread, you get sidetracked too easily and finish up showing each other your foreign holiday snaps. Strewth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 747 - 2013-04-17 7:43 PM So let me try to get my head around this. The motorhome owners who stay by the UK beaches are scum. The ones who do it in Europe are the 'in crowd'. Why waste your time with a Poll on the other thread, you get sidetracked too easily and finish up showing each other your foreign holiday snaps. Strewth! The poll on another thread is about height barriers in the UK pure and simple, nothing at all to do with "wild camping" as I tried to make clear, or being by the beach, which living virtually right on one doesn't hold any appeal for me in any event. Strewth.! ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Strachan Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 There was only 3 vans at Le Crotoy when we stayed ;-).................mind you it was February and freezing 8-) Yes that is the whole point, you can still stay, where can you do that in UK? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek pringle Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 pelmetman - 2013-04-17 2:32 PM derek pringle - 2013-04-17 1:22 PM do not know if the MMM would be interested.?or some contributors to this forum. Many moons ago the MMM used to have a height barrier campaign ;-).................It made little difference judging by the number of barriers I see *-)...... We go where were not treated as a nuisance................ across the channel and spend our money there >:-) Hi Pelmetman, Could not agree more, across the channel is always our number 1 choice. To us, the whole place feels more motorhome friendly than UK and by this I mean everything from Car Parks to Sites. cheers derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 derek pringle - 2013-04-18 9:29 AM Could not agree more, across the channel is always our number 1 choice. To us, the whole place feels more motorhome friendly than UK and by this I mean everything from Car Parks to Sites. cheers derek And the locals are much friendlier, park up on the Aire stroll into the village for supplies, the locals standing around nattering break off to say hello to the strangers, never had that happen in England. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek pringle Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 1footinthegrave - 2013-04-17 2:35 PM Derek part of the problem is as you'll gathered is many contributors to this forum do seem to have a similar viewpoint, I'm speaking now specifically in respect of height barriers as they affect in particular disabled people having equal access to services such as shopping areas, and parking in general. You have just experienced first hand this growing menace, but I fear until the great majority of motor home users also recognize it as an issue that needs action it's difficult to see how it could be taken forward. Another problem we also face is that despite my van being a standard LWB at 5.6 metre the normal standard for a parking bay is 4.8 x 2.4 metres. I once incurred a fixed penalty for being quite literally being just a few centimeters over the line, consequently I'm paranoid about anywhere we park now, especially on "managed" car parks like many supermarkets and out of town shopping centres. I'm sure there could be a case in relation to height barriers in particular under the disability discrimination legislation, but for the life of me cannot understand why some official body representing the disabled has not taken this forward, I'm sure they would have more clout than a private individual. Although this sounds defeatist, having been involved in a massively supported action against some of our local schools being closed, (my granddaughter attends one) our council Gwynedd has completely ignored all the protests, and legal challenges and they are to close this September, democracy in action eh. But I do agree the press could have a major impact on this issue, but I don't think MMM would see it from the same perspective, unless it was purely focused on the lack of dedicated longer bays, and the removal of height barriers. Hi 1foot It is a matter of 2 issues which should NOT be connected. Firstly,height barriers do not need to be present during daylight/shopping hours for the reasons you make, I can see no excuse to disallow people access to a town and its services. The second is whilst these councils do not want overnight parking they will use barriers to stop entry. If we combine the 2 actions it seems quite clear that these authorities do not want motorhomes or care whether or not they bring commerce to their area. If you cannot park in the town for your pleasure or necessities then I would tend not to stay in any local sites---I know--sometimes easier said than done as this would not leave many places to go. I am sure that if we all gort together and boycotted 1 particular place for a season then the local site owners would have reason to speak to their local councillors. We are a bigger force than we probably think. cheers derek :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 Quite agree Derek, the issue could easily be proven to any local council, simply send them to Dover, and wonder why despite the many attractions the UK can offer there are lines of UK registered vans going across the water, and yet given the huge ownership of M/home just 26 miles away we are not swamped with foreign reg vehicles coming the other way. ;-) There could be a solution, but vested interests would prevent it, but that would be to scrap the 5 van cl/ cs rules and allow the owners to make their own judgements as to capacity,( mind you some do that already ) and designate them all as "aires" for all that would opt in to the scheme, I'm sure this would bring huge benefits to both users and providers. ;-) It seems ridiculous to me that we have two competing clubs that I have to pay getting on for £100 to access these all of these cls. We only have around 40 sites in the whole of the UK that are listed in the Acsi guide as well, madness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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