jan Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 Hi all, I have just converted to motorhoming from many years of caravanning and I am really excited about hitting the road (but hopefully not anything else). At this early stage I am planning to use sites close to interesting locations and either walk from the site or use public transport I would really love some tips on great locations within striking distance of South Wales for weekends away. As my confidence grows I have every intention of making use of parking facilities and have already checked out a very useful website which details motorhome parking across the UK. After years of towing, the length of my vehicle doesn't bother me but I would be interested in getting feedback from motorhomers with this size vehicle who regularly make use of car parks. Jan :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miami Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 Hi JanOurs is 24 ft and it is a problem to park in this country. Most car parks won't take the length and even some of the park and rides can be a problem. We now tow a Smart car in the UK but never take it abroad. If you want places to park and open clear roads then go abroad. Just come back from 3 weeks in Ireland and did not have any of the problems you find here. Fantastic sites with much better facilities than any of the clubs offer here and also cheaper. Used public transport a lot there.Off to France in a fortnight and there are few problems there.Nobody likes us here in the UK and particularly in England and Wales.The Motorhome friendly and unfriendy parking site is great but you have to know where you are going first to print out the pages. You could download the site onto a laptop and take that with you. Works for us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemoss Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 Hello Jan Ours is just under 24 feet and we've only had one problem parking in the 18 months we've had it - that was in Boscastle where the one and only car park was full, and there was no other place to park even a bicycle. Other than that we've always been able to find somewhere either in a conventional car park (sometimes you'll need to occupy and pay for two bays), in a coach/lorry park (most of which are happy to accept motorhomes) in a supermarket/sports centre car park (most of which have plenty of space for larger vehicles) or on the road. OK, on occasions we've had to walk a little bit farther than we would have done with a car but it has never, ever been a serious problem. I suggest you see how you go and bear in mind that it's much, much easier to park a motorhome on its own than one towing a car, however small that car might be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 hello jan my mh is also 24ft but then again so is my merc sprinter van which is used daily for work fitting carpets. sorry if this seems slightly sarcastic but parking should not be to much of a problem as long as you are aware of your size approach car parks slowly with both of you looking for large spaces or designated areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twooks Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 At a little over 5m I can' t really help, but would heartily endorse the suggestion to try anywhere other than England .. .. B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisBritt Posted May 12, 2007 Share Posted May 12, 2007 Hi Jan We changed from a caravan to a motorhome last year, which is not as long as yours, at just over 20' - but I know exactly what you mean about gaining the confidence of going out and about with it re: parking. I (the female of our partnership!) always towed the caravan without any problem and now always drive the motorhome (I just love it and my husband hates driving!) but I too am faced with this dilemma every time we plan to go somewhere. What I do now is call the Local Authority of the town that I know I am going to be visiting ahead of time. Every single one so far has been tremendously helpful and given me the names of car parks that dont have barriers etc and also give me ideas of where we can park. For example we recently planned a whole day out (Sunday) and visited Waltham Abbey and then went on to Epping Forest. The Local Authority told me that if we got to Waltham Abbey early enough (10 am) we could literally park on the road outside the Church and then just wander through the acres of gardens and along the river. We took their advice and hey presto - everything was just as they said! For the next leg of the trip, lunch!!, I had previously located a campsite on the web which was not far away, and booked ourselves in for a couple of hours. We parked in their lovely orchard area and set up to have our lunch. They were great and only charged us £5 because we weren't staying the night. I didnt do too much homework beforehand re: Epping Forest because I thought we could just find somewhere to pull over. There were plenty of parking spots and a few motorhomes were parked. But the "lack of confidence" thing kicked in again and some of the roads that I really wanted to go down in order to go deeper into the forest area, I avoided in case I found myself in a very narrow lane with nowhere to go! So we ended up parking in the most commercialised part which I am sure was nowhere near the prettiest part and went home feeling that I had missed seeing the best bits. I am now building a whole ring binder split by County and am filing all the wonderful articles in the MMM magazine that often give parking spots and places to stop. I am still looking for that wonderful place where, in the adverts, you see the motorhome parked on top of a cliff, overlooking the most wonderful sea views and watching the sun go down with not another person in site!!! If you know where that is please do let me know!!! I wish you all the best with this wonderful past time - it beats going abroad every time. Kind regards, Christine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berti Posted May 12, 2007 Share Posted May 12, 2007 it looks as if most of these pictures have been created with modern technology..the computer..!! i don't think you will have much success trying to emulate these situations here in england ...the manufacturers are selling a 'dream' of freedom /open roads/ go where you please etc... sadly none of this is true anymore here i agree with the posts re difficulties encountered by m/homers in england....very rarely use ours over here anymore..it's all too much hassle and getting very expensive i read somewhere of an elderly couple parked in a layby in dorset or thereabouts who were subjected to a terrifying ordeal by a gang of youths rocking the van and throwing eggs and other stuff over the van !!! so much for the dream on another note did anyone listen to jeremy vine on the radio friday lunch time? his guests were two stalwart m/homers they made some interesting comments which i would like to clarify berti Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twooks Posted May 12, 2007 Share Posted May 12, 2007 don't listen to Jeremy Vine - but - being dead nosey - what were the comments??????????????????????? (?) B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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