claire g Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 Does anyone have any views/experience/reviews on cheap/free overnight stopping places like Brit Stops and Motorhome Stopover where you pay an annual subscription for a list of places to stay? We're looking to spend more time travelling rather than stopping on campsites and there seems to be a fair few alternatives around Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowie Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 Hi Claire, and welcome. We joined "BritStops", and have unfortunately not made use this year for a few reasons; but we checked out a couple of locations en route to places we were visiting. One was a farm shop, the other a pick your own farm. Both looked as though they would be perfectly fine for an overnight stay; if you are self-sufficient. At both locations we bought produce: because we wanted some meat, and fruit. We spent more than a CL would have charged. We could have spent less, but we were shopping for treats as much as anything. I hope the scheme grows; and I hope that people don't abuse it. Spend reasonably and support the owners and both parties will be happy regards alan b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easyliving Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 Hi We have joined the Britstops scheme (www.britstops.com) and have stayed at a couple of places which have been fine for our purposes. If you just want somewhere safe to park up for the night Britstops are ideal. As you are not paying you can't expect anything in the way of facilities although we have been surprised at the number of locations that offer fresh water, toilets, free wifi etc. All you are asked to do is to go and say 'hello' when you arrive, seems reasonable. All the stops have something to sell of course but you are not obliged to buy anything. First hint of 'surely you are going to buy something' and we would be off. The Britstops guide is a quality printed book plus we have received a couple of emails listing dozens of new overnight locations. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will86 Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 Thanks for the info ...I've just ordered a booklet ... £27 inlc postage ... we used to use both cc clubs then left ... they now want about £90 for joining both.We are self contained with a sola panel and only need the odd night during the warm days, as we mostly only go to vehicle rallies and similar events. I will make sure I post a comment on here on what I find with the sites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solwaybuggier Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 Easyliving - 2013-10-24 10:21 AM First hint of 'surely you are going to buy something' and we would be off. Paul I know Steve at BritStops removed from the book one host who put too much pressure on to buy something, so worth letting him know if this does happen. We've used BritStops a fair bit (although not so much this year) and they've been great. A lot of the newer ones are pubs, which suits us, but worth bearing in mind. Some people reckon that if you're eating there, the majority of suitable pubs (with fair sized car parks) respond positively if you ask about overnighting, whether or not they're in BritStops, but for the cost we quite like having something more reliable to go by. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Had Enough Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 I don't like any of these schemes, including France Passion, as I hate feeling obligated. Maybe I'm a bit soppy but if I stayed at a vineyard and didn't buy a bit of wine I'd feel guilty. If I stayed at a pub and didn't have a meal there I'd feel a bit guilty! You can end up spending more than if you were on a CL or a site and I'd rather mix these with wild camping, using occasional sites to empty and top up. But as I said, maybe I'm a bit soppy and I just know that I'd end up buying some vino or a sack of spuds, things that I really don't need or want! But, each to his own! If you would be dining out in a pub anyway and you buy lots of wine, perhaps they are for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigal Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 We joined Britstops this year after deciding not to go abroad, we are also CC and CCC members so we can pick and choose a bit. We used three Britstops in Sept./October and found them to be ideal. We choose the ones that suit us most if possible - ie. take dogs, WI Fi, and anything else that is available. We have also tried France Passion and believe in saying " Hello and Goodbye" to the owners as a matter of courtesy! The Britstops we used were all licensed premises and we were pleased to make use of their catering facilities, after all, we were on Holiday! :-D We shall continue to subscribe to Britstops and will recommend the scheme to any Business that has the facilities to offer in an attempt to assist its further development. It is the nearest thing in this country to the aires/Stellplatze system used abroad! ;-) B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Jones Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 We were a bit slow off the mark, only discovering Britstops this year, but we've used about 6 and we love them. Well worth the price of the book! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 So let me get this right, someone allows a scheme like Britstops or France passion for you to spend the night on their land / premises, and with a bit of luck provide water etc, maybe a wifi connection thrown in, and you feel no obligation to buy anything, but maybe a cheery hello / goodbye from you, well if that's not a scheme doomed to eventual failure I don't know what is. :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Jones Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 1footinthegrave - 2013-10-25 5:24 AM So let me get this right, someone allows a scheme like Britstops or France passion for you to spend the night on their land / premises, and with a bit of luck provide water etc, maybe a wifi connection thrown in, and you feel no obligation to buy anything, but maybe a cheery hello / goodbye from you, well if that's not a scheme doomed to eventual failure I don't know what is. :-S If so, the French one is taking an awful long time to fail! Point is, enough people DO buy stuff to make it worthwhile. Personally, we always bring wine back from France anyway, so since we have more spending money through not paying for sites, why WOULDN'T we buy stuff we've tasted, from a producer we've made friends with, rather than cheap supermarket plonk? But no-one makes us feel we've GOT to. And at an English pub, most people would go inside for a friendly pre-dinner drink, and probably enough will choose to have a meal (rather than cook in the van) to make it worth the landlords trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 Although not members we looked at the map an though that, at the moment, there weren't enough locations to make it worth while as it seemed that, if you wanted to make use of them, you would need to (to a degree) plan you're route around the stops rather than being able to use a Britsop wherever you are like you can with aires. Good system tho, for us we might try when the number of stops increase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 Tony Jones - 2013-10-25 7:59 AM 1footinthegrave - 2013-10-25 5:24 AM So let me get this right, someone allows a scheme like Britstops or France passion for you to spend the night on their land / premises, and with a bit of luck provide water etc, maybe a wifi connection thrown in, and you feel no obligation to buy anything, but maybe a cheery hello / goodbye from you, well if that's not a scheme doomed to eventual failure I don't know what is. :-S If so, the French one is taking an awful long time to fail! Point is, enough people DO buy stuff to make it worthwhile. Personally, we always bring wine back from France anyway, so since we have more spending money through not paying for sites, why WOULDN'T we buy stuff we've tasted, from a producer we've made friends with, rather than cheap supermarket plonk? But no-one makes us feel we've GOT to. And at an English pub, most people would go inside for a friendly pre-dinner drink, and probably enough will choose to have a meal (rather than cook in the van) to make it worth the landlords trouble. Do they I wonder, that's about a £25/£30 job then, and yet the OP was asking for free or cheap stopovers, I think theres a clue in there. As for France passion wine drinking in France is an institution, unlike here, and I'm not too sure how many vinyards are in the Britstops book, but I was responding to one other comment on here " First hint of 'surely you are going to buy something' and we would be off." :-S :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easyliving Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 Many of the Britstops locations are pubs plus a good number of farm shops, vineyards etc. These places already have large car parks and other facilities - water, wifi etc are not provided specially for motorhomers. So having a motorhome parked up overnight costs the host nothing. I was chatting with the landlady of one pub we stayed at recently, we both agreed that if any money was spent in the bar or restaurant that was extra cash they would not otherwise have got. If a camper did not spend any money then it had cost her nothing, on average she was going to make a few quid. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 I fully appreciate that, my perspective is I would sooner know what costs I'm going to incur, I'd sooner be charged say a tenner, maybe redeemable on a spend, and I'm not thick skinned enough to spend nothing, and I've had some decidedly below par pub meals on occasions, but whatever people choose to do is their business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will86 Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 1foot, You remind me of John Lawrie in Dads Army, always doom and gloom. You'll see in time these stop-overs will increase similar to the continent where variety is the norm, and where local shops are visited, if needed. Ps And where were your below pub meals, you are implying they were at the Brit Stop sites, if not why raise it here? I'm sure that any stopover that had a poor quality aspect about it would be very quickly advertised on here as the other clubs sites are. If you've not been to any why do you have to be so grumpy? Here is a group of enterprising people assiting the camping community (that are getting ever more squeezed), do not knock them until you have tried! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryd999 Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 I think its a great scheme and Steve has done a great job setting it up. Its been talked about a lot on MHF and the members that have used it spoke quite highly of it. Some people like to spend a few quid on produce and / or a meal in a pub so its ideal. Its not for me as Im a tight arse! Dont drink in pubs anymore (too expensive and food nearly always a dissapointment) but I can see why it would work for many. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 Will85 - 2013-10-25 8:44 AM 1foot, You remind me of John Lawrie in Dads Army, always doom and gloom. You'll see in time these stop-overs will increase similar to the continent where variety is the norm, and where local shops are visited, if needed. Ps And where were your below pub meals, you are implying they were at the Brit Stop sites, if not why raise it here? I'm sure that any stopover that had a poor quality aspect about it would be very quickly advertised on here as the other clubs sites are. If you've not been to any why do you have to be so grumpy? Here is a group of enterprising people assiting the camping community (that are getting ever more squeezed), do not knock them until you have tried! Well to be honest I should not be commenting on this or any other scheme, much preferring the simplicity of a POI set from CampingCar infos, and just wandering around France, Germany and occasionally Spain, we never do the UK simply too much hassle for us . ;-) Having just returned from our last six weeks France tour I'm still suffering withdrawal symptoms at being back in motorhome unfriendly UK, if it wasn't for the missus and the grandkids I wouldn't come back at all. As for John Lawrie.................................he's my brother. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will86 Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 Wonderful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will86 Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 Our booklet arrived today. Most sites are at pubs. The descriptions are good with the usual symbols. The UK is divided into 10 regions. We will certainly try them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slainte Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 http://www.ukmotorhomes.net/uk-motorhome-stopovers.shtml I am pretty new to this lark myself but we stopped at Rimmer House near Preston on our way up to Scotland last week. £10 for the night, hard standing, electric, water, tolilet and shower facilities. (1 toilet and shower but only space for about 6 vans so no drama) your £10 also gets you a voucher for the local pub for £5 so if your eating their anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 claire g - 2013-10-24 7:13 AMDoes anyone have any views/experience/reviews on cheap/free overnight stopping places like Brit Stops and Motorhome Stopover where you pay an annual subscription for a list of places to stay? We're looking to spend more time travelling rather than stopping on campsites and there seems to be a fair few alternatives around You may want to look at this site, they have downloads for Sat Navs of exactly what you are looking for, great forum too for real Motorhomers.IMO http://www.wildcamping.co.uk/forums/forum.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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