Are councils finally getting it?

SWMBO tells me that this is due in no small part to the efforts of Campra, so well done Campra.

Meanwhile Pembrokeshire remain steadfastly opposed. I am given to understand that many Pembrokeshire councillors have interests in campsites.
 
Why if we are a wild camping forum do we want aires. Aires are going to kill off wild camping spots. The authority’s will say you can’t stop here we have provided you with aires , so ,we will end up ,well the same as a campsite ,surrounded. Brian. Ps maybe my idea of wild camping is different to others. Come on admin define for us wild camping then those that aren’t wild camping can go on the motorhome forum
 
brian c said:
Why if we are a wild camping forum do we want aires. Aires are going to kill off wild camping spots. The authority’s will say you can’t stop here we have provided you with aires , so ,we will end up ,well the same as a campsite ,surrounded. Brian. Ps maybe my idea of wild camping is different to others. Come on admin define for us wild camping then those that aren’t wild camping can go on the motorhome forum
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But lots of our WC spots are already carparks and this type of aire offers us the chance to empty the cassette and fill up with water 🤔

Regards,
Del
 
Wild camping spots. Car parks. What is the connection between wild camping and car park. Car parks are well a car park. Wild camping is as the title suggest. Wild. Empty cassettes fill up. Ok why an aire. Lay-by with short term stop say 30 mins with amenities. Even lorry drivers would love that. Brian
 
brian c said:
Why if we are a wild camping forum do we want aires. Aires are going to kill off wild camping spots. The authority’s will say you can’t stop here we have provided you with aires , so ,we will end up ,well the same as a campsite ,surrounded. Brian. Ps maybe my idea of wild camping is different to others. Come on admin define for us wild camping then those that aren’t wild camping can go on the motorhome forum
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Ok Brian, you say that we should not want Aires, stop overs, etc. you say that they will kill off wild camping spots.
Well Brian, can you give us an alternative.
Its fine to state that you don’t want something, but the status quo is getting us nowhere. In the past five years about a third of the places I have visited are now gone, and from what I gather it’s worse in England and Wales.

So you don’t want Aires, that's fine, but what’s your alternative Brian.
You must have an alternative idea to put forward.
And yes your idea of what wild camping is exactly that, your idea.
Others have different ideas.
Wild camping involves the use of a tent to some, not a comfortable Motorhome.
 
Wild camping. Without upsetting annoying or confusing anyone .in my opinion. Is as the title suggests in the open away from amenities. In the woods in the open spaces. Since 1978 i have had numerous motorhomes and have never had difficulty finding places. Admittedly the last 18 months it’s changing. Due in my opinion to motorhomes congregating. And then locals complaining. All I think is if you park aires. Car parks pubs etc you are a motorhomer equals motorhome forum. If you wild camp equals wild camping forum. What is your opinion of wild camping. Brian. If authority’s want to spend thousands allowing motorhomes into car parks. Great. But don’t call it wild. Camping. All my threads are MY opinions Not rules or judgements.
 
brian c said:
Wild camping. Without upsetting annoying or confusing anyone .in my opinion. Is as the title suggests in the open away from amenities. In the woods in the open spaces. Since 1978 i have had numerous motorhomes and have never had difficulty finding places. Admittedly the last 18 months it’s changing. Due in my opinion to motorhomes congregating. And then locals complaining. All I think is if you park aires. Car parks pubs etc you are a motorhomer equals motorhome forum. If you wild camp equals wild camping forum. What is your opinion of wild camping. Brian. If authority’s want to spend thousands allowing motorhomes into car parks. Great. But don’t call it wild. Camping. All my threads are MY opinions Not rules or judgements.
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The title is subjective, it’s describes or suggests nothing. Its open to your own personal interpretation. It’s a vague term used by some, others refer to it as freedom camping, there are other terms used.
And you are not confusing or annoying myself, I have no problems with your interpretation Brian.
The fact is there are far more vans out there than when you started, with an ever decreasing amount of places for them to park, thats the reality of the current situation. 1978 was completely different from 2021.
Doing nothing sadly is not an option.
But I do wish that CAMpRA would do more to fight for our rights than setting up Aires. Because simply removing the many restrictions, would go a long way way to solving the issue, and would cost nothing. But I do applaud them for their efforts.

Sorry Brian my definition is staying somewhere were you don’t pay with no or limited facilities, basically just somewhere to park. That can be up in the Scottish hills, on the banks of a loch, a carpark in a village, or even a city. But that’s just my definition. Many have different ideas, and that’s fine.
 
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Ideally we would all be treated as motorists and have all the parking rights in your motorhome as you have in your car. For whatever reason over the years we have become subject to restrictins n more and more places. The continental example of how to deal with mtorhoomes is the one most of us fasten on. If it works in France etc then it should work for us.

As a community we have our prejudices. This what is wild camping and not wild camping argument is not one I have much patience with. We all know it means overnighting without interference from local authorities. Wherever that might be. Having been a real wild camper in a previous life I think it's laughable that some here think that parking up in an out of the way place (if you can find one), opening a cold beer from the fridge to drink while you're cooking your gourmet meal on your four burner cooker and oven, to eat at your dining table while drinking the nice bottle of white from the fridge already mentioned to be followed by a warm shower in your built in bathroom followed in its turn by Strictly on your colour telelvision.

Sheer effrontery to call that wild campting.

This is wild camping. Descend by parachute to your intended destination, use that parachute to make a tent and sleeping bag and cook a fish you;ve had to catch with whatever plant life you can find. Descending by parachute is optional – if you have a parachute handy you can use that omitting the primary purpose.

Like this. Now this's wild camping.

Hanging para teepee.jpg
 
I believe that the loss of WC spots over the last 2 years is largely due to a reaction against the bad behaviour of Benidorm staycationers with their new/rented mohos or disposable tents from Halfords. This coupled with the usual hysterical reporting by UK press which only served to magnify the situation out of proportion.
Sadly we cannot just flip a switch and return to 2019 or before. We are a crowded island all chasing limited resources and as such the establishment of aires will be need to be the compromise which is part of the new mix.
 
number14 said:
I believe that the loss of WC spots over the last 2 years is largely due to a reaction against the bad behaviour of Benidorm staycationers with their new/rented mohos or disposable tents from Halfords. This coupled with the usual hysterical reporting by UK press which only served to magnify the situation out of proportion.
Sadly we cannot just flip a switch and return to 2019 or before. We are a crowded island all chasing limited resources and as such the establishment of aires will be need to be the compromise which is part of the new mix.
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I agree number 14 that covid has accelerated what was already happening prior to Covid. But you only have to read the posts about Lochore on here to see there are other issues. And yes the media are a disgrace. And yes we will need some Aires, but we also need to try and undo many of the unnecessary narrow minded measures that have limited where we can stay also. And as we have seen in Lochore, even Aires meet with some resistance from some.
 
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Fisherman said:
Doing nothing sadly is not an option.
But I do wish that CAMpRA would do more to fight for our rights than setting up Aires. Because simply removing the many restrictions, would go a long way way to solving the issue, and would cost nothing. But I do applaud them for their efforts.

Sorry Brian my definition is staying somewhere were you don’t pay with no or limited facilities, basically just somewhere to park. That can be up in the Scottish hills, on the banks of a loch, a carpark in a village, or even a city. But that’s just my definition. Many have different ideas, and that’s fine.
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CAMpRA are a only a group of Motorhomers just like everyone on here. Only a small nucleus are active. When we get the chance to speak to the powers that be we are trying to get the many restrictions lifted. The legal framework is 60 years out of date and confusing. Councils could easily allow overnight parking in their carparks and many are starting to do so. Some have done it for years - see Skipton. Town centre carparks are not for everyone, but they are popular especially if you like to have a glass or wine (Other tipples are available) with a meal in a pub.

With the increase in motorhome ownership and increased rental market we need more provision of all types of stopping places. Unless there are easily accessible and officially sanctioned places the wild places we on this forum like will continue to be closed to us due to overuse.
 
brian c said:
Why if we are a wild camping forum do we want aires. Aires are going to kill off wild camping spots. The authority’s will say you can’t stop here we have provided you with aires , so ,we will end up ,well the same as a campsite ,surrounded. Brian. Ps maybe my idea of wild camping is different to others. Come on admin define for us wild camping then those that aren’t wild camping can go on the motorhome forum
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The more aires that we get will mean that people will then go to these rather than everyone heading to wild camping spots that get plastered all over the internet, so should make wild camping more enjoyable,
Also having aires gives us somewhere to go to to empty waste and refill water.
So what’s not to like
 
brian c said:
Why if we are a wild camping forum do we want aires. Aires are going to kill off wild camping spots. The authority’s will say you can’t stop here we have provided you with aires , so ,we will end up ,well the same as a campsite ,surrounded. Brian. Ps maybe my idea of wild camping is different to others. Come on admin define for us wild camping then those that aren’t wild camping can go on the motorhome forum
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You do seem a tad obsessed about the terminology !
In my opinion you can wildcamp in an urban environment just as much as a rural one .
Think , to most people , it is camping out with actual campsites .
Maybe you should have your own classification , Raw camping ?
 
brian c said:
Wild camping. Without upsetting annoying or confusing anyone .in my opinion. Is as the title suggests in the open away from amenities. In the woods in the open spaces. Since 1978 i have had numerous motorhomes and have never had difficulty finding places. Admittedly the last 18 months it’s changing. Due in my opinion to motorhomes congregating. And then locals complaining. All I think is if you park aires. Car parks pubs etc you are a motorhomer equals motorhome forum. If you wild camp equals wild camping forum. What is your opinion of wild camping. Brian. If authority’s want to spend thousands allowing motorhomes into car parks. Great. But don’t call it wild. Camping. All my threads are MY opinions Not rules or judgements.
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And many would say the fact you use a MH means you are not a wild camper. Does all aspects of your life have to fit neatly into a pigeon hole with no cross over.
 
Biggarmac said:
CAMpRA are a only a group of Motorhomers just like everyone on here. Only a small nucleus are active. When we get the chance to speak to the powers that be we are trying to get the many restrictions lifted. The legal framework is 60 years out of date and confusing. Councils could easily allow overnight parking in their carparks and many are starting to do so. Some have done it for years - see Skipton. Town centre carparks are not for everyone, but they are popular especially if you like to have a glass or wine (Other tipples are available) with a meal in a pub.

With the increase in motorhome ownership and increased rental market we need more provision of all types of stopping places. Unless there are easily accessible and officially sanctioned places the wild places we on this forum like will continue to be closed to us due to overuse.
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Yes Mac we need aires and the lifting of some unnecessary restrictions I totally agree.
But as we have both noted at Lochore even Aires will meet with resistance.
But what's absolutely certain is doing nothing is not an option.
Referring to past times, as if nothing has changed is no longer an option.
In 2000 4,000 vans were registered last year it was four times that amount.
And in 2000 there were far less restrictions and more places to park, than there are now.
Trying to determine what wild camping is, and putting a definitive meaning only serves to add confusion.
In my opinion it's whatever you want to do, wherever you want to do it.
Quite frankly I regard it as a non issue.
Whats important is that we face up to the reality of our predicament, and behave pragmatically.
 
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Wildcamping? Surely this is now a motorbike forum! Not that I am objecting otherwise we will be stopped from posting the vast majority of non wilding topics like the jokes thread.

By the same token is it not the case that wild campers would not post locations on this forum and thus encourage their overuse?

Davy
 
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