Arrive late leave early

[novice1968]

All very well to arrive late, leave early, is it really practical??
How late is late how early is early, let say 10pm arrival 8.30am leave
That leaves nearly 14 hours in between, what does one suppose to do , drive and drive all day? Keep moving on and off all day?? What's the fun in doing that??
Personally, I like to get to a place, park up, go to explore by bike/foot all day rest for the night then move on next day. Possible and practical in Europe
How do you do it in this mh unfriendly land of ours without spending a fortune on sites?.?

 

[vwalan]

just do it . been doing it almost all my life . cant see a problem .
cant always be in the ideal dream place but always find somewhere .

 

[yorkieowl]

All depends where you park up. Near houses I would park up late but if you're in the middle of nowhere then it doesn't matter.

 

[Smaug]

You need to consider each location you are at individually. At some, parking, maybe eating & then going for a walk or ride until dusk will not raise an eyebrow. Another place you might possibly sit & read/ watch telly/ use lappy all evening, at yet another even arrival before dark may not be a good idea.

Be relaxed about it, a lot of it is about confidence. In an isolated rural spot out of sight of the road there aren't likely to be any problems, on an urban street (or a busy promenade) you may need to be more circumspect so as not to attract attention.

FWIW, I keep an eye open for possible locations as I travel around then I can always retreat to a know safe spot if I am not comfortable somewhere. Most of the UK is NOT MH unfriendly, just some of the most popular & over used public locations.

 

[bmb1uk]

could get a caravan :wacko:

 

[Deleted member 24143]

One idea would be to go to an out of town shopping complex that also has public transport into the city. You should be able to park up all day without problems and it's free. Who would know your not having day out shopping in the complex?

 

[Deleted member 5816]

Parking

One idea would be to go to an out of town shopping complex that also has public transport into the city. You should be able to park up all day without problems and it's free. Who would know your not having day out shopping in the complex?

This is not a very good idea most out of town shopping complex's restrict parking to shopping in their complex with fines if just parking and going elsewhere with CCTV and ARPN you can get clamped and then it will cost money even most supermarkets have restrictive parking now.

Alf

 

[Deleted member 24143]

This is not a very good idea most out of town shopping complex's restrict parking to shopping in their complex with fines if just parking and going elsewhere with CCTV and ARPN you can get clamped and then it will cost money even most supermarkets have restrictive parking now.

Alf

What your telling me is don't go shopping or for a day out to places like lakeside or trafford centre in a motorhome?

 

[Philcott]

There are a lot of supermarkets that have two hour parking restrictions on them. Can't say about Lakeside etc. as not been there, but check the small print on any parking notices when you park up!

 

[Deleted member 5816]

What your telling me is don't go shopping or for a day out to places like lakeside or trafford centre in a motorhome?

Places like that have the CCTV operators watch where you go at Meadowhall near us people where leaving their cars etc to travel into Sheffield they are expert in noting you leave site also they put your reg number over the loudspeakers if you don't turn up wheel clamp bingo is it worth the risk.

Not all places are like that but now with such good CCTV and ARPN cameras is it worth taking the chance as Philcott says loads of Supermarkets have a time limit on parking by anyone, so its not good advise is all I am saying.

Alf

 

[Deleted member 24143]

Thanks for the info. I'll bear that in mind next time I have a day out at a shopping complex.

 

[kangooroo]

I'm the opposite. If I'm touring I aim to leave my overnight spot by 8am at the latest, find another spot for breakfast, explore a little then drive on, stop for dinner early afternoon then tea late evening, tour and explore further then pull into my overnight spot around 11-11.30pm. In winter when it's dark and the days are shorter, I'm usually in my overnight spot by 7-9pm but still aim to leave by 8am.

 

[scampa]

It depends on the area of course, but if I want to go off hiking or exploring for the day, I'll usually park in a different spot than where I plan to spend the night. Any disapproving locals are then kept happy when they see my van drive away in the evening, not realising that I may be overnighting only a short distance away.

After a peaceful night I then move on again early, before stopping elsewhere for breakfast and getting organised for the day. This way, most potential complainers don't know that I've wildcamped in their area, which leaves the spots more likely to be still available for the next wildcamper to use at a later date.

Unfortunately, the next campers to visit may attract attention to themselves for all the wrong reasons, which risks spoiling things for all of us!

 

[Harmergeddon]

All very well to arrive late, leave early, is it really practical??

For me i arrive at spot where i want to sleep after dark and leave before 8am. Never stay in the same place for two nights running Afterall when your sleeping it doesn't matter what your location looks like. Breakfast and evening meal that way can be enjoyed at a spot with a great view no hassles.

 

[Wooie1958]

In my opinion it`s the ones that " Set Up Camp " for days if not weeks on end that cause the problems.

Whilst up Scotland the other week we came across one that was obviously doing just that.

The Awning was out with 2 Tie Down Straps over it, there was Tables and Chairs out and items strewn all over the place and all this was on one of the
Forestry Car Parks on a Loch going up the west coast.

I spoke to the owner who was " Quite Proud " of the fact that they`d been there over a week and would but staying for at least another week.

 

[jennyp19]

In my opinion it`s the ones that " Set Up Camp " for days if not weeks on end that cause the problems.

Whilst up Scotland the other week we came across one that was obviously doing just that.

The Awning was out with 2 Tie Down Straps over it, there was Tables and Chairs out and items strewn all over the place and all this was on one of the
Forestry Car Parks on a Loch going up the west coast.

I spoke to the owner who was " Quite Proud " of the fact that they`d been there over a week and would but staying for at least another week.

Totally agree with you - that is the sort of thing that gets the notices put up - cannot be classed as just "parking" - same on the Continent. People doing that are really taking the ....!!

 

[Smaug]

In my opinion it`s the ones that " Set Up Camp " for days if not weeks on end that cause the problems.

Whilst up Scotland the other week we came across one that was obviously doing just that.

The Awning was out with 2 Tie Down Straps over it, there was Tables and Chairs out and items strewn all over the place and all this was on one of the
Forestry Car Parks on a Loch going up the west coast.

I spoke to the owner who was " Quite Proud " of the fact that they`d been there over a week and would but staying for at least another week.

The question is, "How can you influence a mindset like that?" The only reason thy are using a motorhome is that a caravan would look too much like a traveller encampment & get moved on!

Did they have supplementart transport? Bikes, car, boat or whatever to tour the area or were they literally just seeing that car park? I suppose they might have been walking or fishing there, but I like the concept of stay a while & then move on. To me that is the esence of a MH rather than a caravan.

From an earlier thread I do know that lots of people like to set up camp on an Aire for weeks at a time & explore the area on foot , bike or public transport or simply lounge around on the sitesoaking up the rays, but that's not really practical in the UK.

 

[Wooie1958]

The question is, "How can you influence a mindset like that?" The only reason thy are using a motorhome is that a caravan would look too much like a traveller encampment & get moved on!

Did they have supplementart transport? Bikes, car, boat or whatever to tour the area or were they literally just seeing that car park? I suppose they might have been walking or fishing there, but I like the concept of stay a while & then move on. To me that is the esence of a MH rather than a caravan.

From an earlier thread I do know that lots of people like to set up camp on an Aire for weeks at a time & explore the area on foot , bike or public transport or simply lounge around on the sitesoaking up the rays, but that's not really practical in the UK.

They had a couple of Mountain Bikes and the spot was only 2-3 miles from a village with a little shop and that obviously kept them going.

They had managed to take up at least 4 parking spaces by parking sideways ( obviously for the view ) in what is quite a small area at the best of times.

Because of the amount of room they had taken up we moved on to another spot and stayed the night there instead.

People and especially locals see a set up like that and assume the worst and then we all get " Tarred With The Same Brush ".

I really don`t think that you can compare the " Aires " abroad with the our places for the simple fact is that they are in the majority purpose built and can
readily accommodate vans for several days at a time where as ours cannot.

From our experience most of the Forestry Wardens are OK and will Turn A Blind Eye if they come in and see that you are going to stay the night and on
a few occasions they have popped in the following morning just to see that we are moving on, however if they come in and see you setting up for a
Fortnights Holiday i suspect their attitude would change quite quickly.

I genuinely think that if we all " Play The Game " then things will get better and with a bit of luck more Councils are watching what is going on in Hawick
and might just start providing places where you can spend a night " Free Of Charge ".

 

[MancK9]

We always try to arrive into late afternoon, 4 - 6pm.
A lot of people are going home around 3-4pm if its a bit of a tourist spot so any time after that is good.
In terms of leaving, the latest we have ever been on a W/C site has been 10am ish - but in the middle of no where so could have stayed the whole day I guess.
Tend to be packed up and gone by 9am in general.

 

[marydot]

Park and Rides, if you can get in them, are pretty good to park up in for the day while you go off and explore. (7am-7pm, no overnight parking uinfortunately.) Well Done to Durham City Council for providing dedicated Motorhome bays at Sniperley Park and Ride on the edge of Durham City. Our van is 23' long and parked iwth room to spare, and there is even room for an overhang at the back if needed. We parked up there and got the bus into town which runs every 10 mins, took about 12 minutes. Not sure of the cost as we have bus passes, but the parking is free. Other town/city councils please take note.

Mary