Motorhome parking

[Hobbs]

Yes of course we would still go to these other countries, why wouldn't we????? But the point is we would like to be in our own country also!!!!!!!!! The bottom line is, the UK is not geared up for folk such as us, other countries are, so unfortunately they take most of our money which may I add would rather spend some of it in the UK !!!!

[Brock]

You are right, Hobbs. The UK is not set up to meet individual needs.

[Will H]

Its all a matter of size. The continent is a larger space. The UK is not. The 'UK space limit' has been reached ... for People, Vehicles, Houses and Living space.

 

You have a choice.

[pepe63xnotuse]

Hobbs - 2015-11-05 9:20 AM

.. But the point is we would like to be in our own country also!!!!!!!!! The bottom line is, the UK is not geared up for folk such as us, other countries are, so unfortunately they take most of our money which may I add would rather spend some of it in the UK !!!!

 

Hi Hobbs

I don't think anyone is/would suggest that the UK is "geared up" for MHs..but it never has been has it.?. So why is it that some people seem constantly shocked by that..?

 

..and with ever more vehicles on the road, all getting bigger, and all seemingly wanting to shoehorn themselves into the same places (city & town centres,retail parks, tourist attractions/hotspots, etc etc) and all seemingly at the same time!, is it any wonder that routinely parking a MH can be an issue?

 

As for you wanting to spend more of your motor-homing money in the UK, well there have been many many threads on here complaining about how expensive the UK is ("..rip-off UK.. .blah blah,." ), so finding somewhere and some means of spending your motor-homing dosh shouldn't be a problem... (lol)

[keninpalamos]

well done sir! What did the Romans ever do for us anyway?

[Rayjsj]

pepe63 - 2015-11-05 8:37 AM

 

Hobbs - 2015-11-05 8:03 AM

 

To sum it up apart from not being able to go shopping and the once of year trip en route to the accountants, France, Italy and Spain will be getting the money I am willing to spend. What a shame!!!!

Thank you all for your comments.

 

So..are we to believe that, IF you were able to park your MH wherever you wanted, you wouldn't then be travelling to those countries then ?....behave!... of cause you would. (lol)

 

After presumably 30-40+ years of driving experience in the UK, at what point in the whole browsing- choosing-buying- ownership chain, does it actually dawn on some folk that these 7-8+ mtr vehicles are not going to be as easy to park as their cars? :-S

 

For those who want to shout "it's discrimination", maybe drop Amnesty a line... ;-)

. I do not take the trip over the Channel any more, used to have to do it for work, so much prefer my own country these days, I include Scotland and the Isles in that description, 7.6 metres is only the same size as the average delivery van, which are allowed just about everywhere, I don't want to stay for several days, just several hours. The pedantic parking rules have only appeared in the last 3-5 years, and are now almost countrywide. Can't understand you being sympathetic to them ( the councils bringing in these rules and height barriers) ?

 

[pepe63xnotuse]

Rayjsj - 2015-11-05 5:45 PM

 

Can't understand you being sympathetic to them ( the councils bringing in these rules and height barriers) ?

 

..it's not so much that I'm "sympathetic" to them, it's just that I'm not as surprised by them as some appear to be.

(..and was parking a large MH at busy, popular locations really trouble free up until 3-5 years ago?.... or are you just meaning at your local Asda? :-S )

 

We can still get caught out by height barriers ...but, unlike some, I don't assume that they've been erected purely to spite MHers... ;-)

[pyrie]

Corky 8 - 2015-11-03 6:01 PM

 

... due to the cost of cleaning up when they do decide to move on,

 

For how much longer can they realistically use this excuse? Car drivers drop litter, fag ends etc. Teens drop litter, and probably puke outside pubs. Diesel spills from trucks, slurry from tractor tankers.

 

I'm not suggesting grey waste isn't a problem, but there are far worse things for councils and people to think about.

[Mike88]

pyrie - 2015-11-14 1:31 PM

 

Corky 8 - 2015-11-03 6:01 PM

 

... due to the cost of cleaning up when they do decide to move on,

 

For how much longer can they realistically use this excuse? Car drivers drop litter, fag ends etc. Teens drop litter, and probably puke outside pubs. Diesel spills from trucks, slurry from tractor tankers.

 

I'm not suggesting grey waste isn't a problem, but there are far worse things for councils and people to think about.

 

If they draw from the experiences of motorhomers abroad I don't blame Councils for being concerned. As a former wildcamper I have seen our fellow motorhomers complete disrespect car parks and open ground by disposing of toilet waste on beaches, pouring toilet waste down drains, emptying waste over concrete in supermarket car parks, hanging washing out to dry, camping outside with barbecues and placing chairs in full view of holidaymakers as well as dumping rubbish etc etc. The problem is that motorhomers congregate and as soon as one makes a mess others follow. There is absolutely no comparison with car drivers dropping litter and fag ends deplorable though this practice is.

 

As for gypsies I've seen some areas outside a rental flat I owned where the travellers dumped tarmac, building waste and old furniture as well as waste of all unmentionable descriptions costing the local council a fortune to clear up.

 

A couple of years ago the town of Dawlish encouraged motorhomers in the hope that it would boost trade. Instead a group of travellers set up in the car park and soon after hippies set up a peace camp and ruined it for the rest of us who probably would have acted responsibly. Needless to say that experiment has been discontinued.

 

It is hardly surprising that cash strapped councils are concerned about the potential cost of adopting more lenient attitudes towards motorhomers. .

[RogerC]

keninpalamos - 2015-11-05 12:28 PMwell done sir! What did the Romans ever do for us anyway?

......nice long straight roads for one and not a height barrier in sight.  :-)

[lynneroy]

We live in a very popular holiday resort on the Lleyn Peninsular, North Wales, would you believe that we cannot find one site with hard standing, that is still open near us. We don't want to travel very far for just one night, but Barmouth 50 miles away is probably our nearest. We would happily pay car parking fees to be allowed to overnight, but it is banned.

 

Last Christmas we wanted to go for a meal and to the theatre and Christmas shopping in Llandudno, no convenient sites open here either, I rang the Council and asked if we could pay to overnight and it was a definite no. So our closest place we are welcome is Chester, thanks for Little Roodee Car Park, but still 2 hours away.

if they relaxed their attitudes towards Motorhomes we would be visiting these Towns and spending money, wish I lived closer to the ferry to France, my money would definitely be spent there.

 

Lynne

[747]

lynneroy - 2015-11-15 9:50 AM

 

We live in a very popular holiday resort on the Lleyn Peninsular, North Wales, would you believe that we cannot find one site with hard standing, that is still open near us. We don't want to travel very far for just one night, but Barmouth 50 miles away is probably our nearest. We would happily pay car parking fees to be allowed to overnight, but it is banned.

 

Last Christmas we wanted to go for a meal and to the theatre and Christmas shopping in Llandudno, no convenient sites open here either, I rang the Council and asked if we could pay to overnight and it was a definite no. So our closest place we are welcome is Chester, thanks for Little Roodee Car Park, but still 2 hours away.

if they relaxed their attitudes towards Motorhomes we would be visiting these Towns and spending money, wish I lived closer to the ferry to France, my money would definitely be spent there.

 

Lynne

 

I might be able to help regarding Llandudno. I no longer put possible wilding places on open forums, so I will PM some details. This is just written as found on another forum. Excuse the grammar, it is not mine. :D

[ianj8793]

We considered the size and the manner of use of our motorhome before we bought it. We don't have any problems parking it in supermarkets and often we can park in car parks both in the UK and abroad. Parking has never been a problem apart from a few height barriers. We didn't buy a large motorhome ( ours is 6.26 mtrs) and then expect everyone to change to suit us.

[mikebeaches]

Our van for the last five years has been a 5.99metre coachbuilt low profile.

 

But we've just traded it in and now have a Ducato X290 panel van conversion on order. Although the same length, it will slice almost a foot off the width, which we hope will make parking a little easier. But still have to contend with height barriers, which I agree are a complete pain!

 

We reckon a narrower van should also be more comfortable driving up and down some of the more interesting lanes in the UK. Must admit we rarely had a problem with the coachbuilt when on the continent.

 

And has anybody noticed how cars are getting wider and wider - it's a fashion thing. But again often impractical in car parks, where the spaces haven't been getting any bigger.

 

When we needed to replace our car, I drew up a spreadsheet of about a dozen models that were of interest, listing the width of each. In the end we chose the narrowest one. That was a couple of years ago and no regrets so far. Some of the 'pretty' cars on the shortlist were just ridiculously wide, and to my way of thinking totally implausible for easy day-to-day living.

[keninpalamos]

RogerC - 2015-11-14 8:12 PM

keninpalamos - 2015-11-05 12:28 PMwell done sir! What did the Romans ever do for us anyway?

......nice long straight roads for one and not a height barrier in sight.  :-)

Hello Brian :-D

[Bulletguy]

lynneroy - 2015-11-15 9:50 AM

 

We live in a very popular holiday resort on the Lleyn Peninsular, North Wales, would you believe that we cannot find one site with hard standing, that is still open near us. We don't want to travel very far for just one night, but Barmouth 50 miles away is probably our nearest. We would happily pay car parking fees to be allowed to overnight, but it is banned.

 

Last Christmas we wanted to go for a meal and to the theatre and Christmas shopping in Llandudno, no convenient sites open here either, I rang the Council and asked if we could pay to overnight and it was a definite no. So our closest place we are welcome is Chester, thanks for Little Roodee Car Park, but still 2 hours away.

 

If they relaxed their attitudes towards Motorhomes we would be visiting these Towns and spending money, wish I lived closer to the ferry to France, my money would definitely be spent there.

 

Lynne

 

Vote with your feet (or motorhome!) and do exactly that by taking your money elsewhere. Along with punitive parking charges and a stubborn resistance to welcome potential custom is the reason many towns have had their heart and soul ripped out.

 

 

[Bulletguy]

mikebeaches - 2015-11-15 8:42 PM

 

Our van for the last five years has been a 5.99metre coachbuilt low profile.

 

But we've just traded it in and now have a Ducato X290 panel van conversion on order. Although the same length, it will slice almost a foot off the width, which we hope will make parking a little easier. But still have to contend with height barriers, which I agree are a complete pain!

 

We reckon a narrower van should also be more comfortable driving up and down some of the more interesting lanes in the UK. Must admit we rarely had a problem with the coachbuilt when on the continent.

 

And has anybody noticed how cars are getting wider and wider - it's a fashion thing. But again often impractical in car parks, where the spaces haven't been getting any bigger.

 

My pet hate. Some right ugly looking slabs out there. Fat bodies, bulging sides......but no room!!

 

Like this ugly thing; http://oi65.tinypic.com/2uiav01.jpg