Britstop

They are normally at all the shows.Not for me im afraid. I just read their code of conduct....they may be open...they may not.some might acccept kids...some might not.Turn up at a time thats convenient to them. Do not use taps toilets or drain without permission. Ohhhh and then they would like you to buy from them. And this is all for the bargain price of £25.00.I will stick here and renew my membership when it falls due
 
a very good back up, cost £25 for book. This is the price of 1 night on a camp site or 2-3 nights on a cl.

We've used several farm shops and visitor centres, not tried pubs yet, We do not feel as if we have to buy, but there is usually something from a farm shop we need such as eggs or veg. A lot of work has gone into getting this information. It is especially good in areas where wild camping is a problem. I 'd recommend to try for one year, if you don't like it, don't buy again.
 
We've found Britstops really great for stop-offs on route to somewhere else. There isn't always a suitable POI everywhere after all... and we can't always be bothered to stress about finding one, so this is a good additional string to our bow. We've tried vineyards, farm shops and pubs, always felt welcomed and safe but never felt under pressure to buy anything from the place. I must admit, we usually can't resist at least having a drink with our host or picking up something in the shop but we don't begrudge it... we've saved far more in site fees/fuel/effort than we've spent.
 
We bought one last year but have never used it, the POIs on this site have always found us somewhere to stay, so we never got round to looking through the book.
Although I would prefer to pay say £25 in a pub for meals with an overnight stay than just paying a campsite the same amount just for somewhere to park for the night.
 
Britstops

We've recently done a two month uk tour and found that britstops was a useful addition to poi's and the odd CS when necessary.
We certainly got our £25 worth probably five times over. One stop was the Benlever hotel in Drumnadrochit, home of Loch Ness brewery :beer:
 
They are normally at all the shows.Not for me im afraid. I just read their code of conduct....they may be open...they may not.some might acccept kids...some might not.Turn up at a time thats convenient to them. Do not use taps toilets or drain without permission. Ohhhh and then they would like you to buy from them. And this is all for the bargain price of £25.00.I will stick here and renew my membership when it falls due

Pretty disingenuous if you don't mind me saying Tezza. We joined BritStops and we've had some great stop overs. Individual 'hosts' have differing ideas for sure but they generally state their rules. We've been in a couple of mediocre stops but actually the pubs concerned had changed hands and seemed unaware that they were in the book. One wouldn't give us EHU as advertised because they hadn't sorted out insurance (they had just taken over) but the stay was free and the meal in their pub was perfectly OK. On the other hand we've had some great stops including The Cider Farm at Burley in the New Forest where they had great pitches, FREE! EHU was £2.00 for the night and they had a great Cider Shop, Cafe etc. Also we've generally phoned them en-route and arrived to suit us.

We've stayed at quite a few now and most have been free while some of them make a notional charge which they credit against a meal so we consider the £25.00 well and truly recouped.
 
Just joined Britstops on the recommendation of a friend. Stayed at two pubs and both have been really welcoming and locals have been friendly and also full of questions about motorhoming. Off to the Highlands in 3 weeks combining POI, Britstops and the odd site or 3.
 
It's good to see the majority in favour of Britstops. We are a host (in the Highlands, btw!) and have been since the scheme started, and have met some great people. We are really just fellow motorhomers although we still do have a small shop and sell some plants, vegetables, bread (our own of course), but put no pressure on the campers. In fact, if we are away Britstoppers have little chance to buy anything. Our last visitors were on a 3 year trip to Europe from Australia, in fact from Adelaide, where our son-in-law, who lives here, too, is from. It is a great scheme, particularly fro people unsure of wildcamping in an unknown area, and Steve and Mandy do an excellent job. Long may it continue.
 
We got our Britstops book a few months ago, and have visited several already, mostly pubs so far, and we would go back to all of them. We went round wales a few weeks back, and it felt more like a good food tour than anything else!

All the owners ask is that you might take a look at what they are offering, have a drink with them, and just be polite. There are pubs, garden centres, visitor centres, farm shops, wineries, fisheries, hotels, etc etc, that have signed up to the scheme. The book is brilliant, easy to follow the maps and number's of stops too. Each page tells you if they accept dogs, if they have any facilities or not, what size motorhome they can accept up to, and other information about the area etc.

All in all we've found them excellent so far.

:)
 
I also have bought the brit stops book and can't wait to use some of the member sites when we do our next big trip , it goes hand in hand with the POI's we have here and can offer great alternatives especially if you want to do a bit of tourism in the area , such as picking your own fruit , I fancy seeing some of the cider farms listed , ( note to self ... must add G/F to insurance when said trip is planned :)
 
Been a member of britstops almost from day one in five years we must have stopped at 30+ hosts in that time we have had, no one home just a sign saying welcome & 3 times just taken over but come in anyway, the free stopover has cost absolutely nothing several times but once £60 for two superb fillet steaks and a drop of good tribute willingly paid ,
It's not the sole solution but it is a good lifeline whether touring or travelling, Steve the owner is actively targeting non pub hosts and areas where coverage is scarce rewarding people who give him a good lead to a new host with a free membership which I have this year for a pub in the peak district , in just 5 years he has built up this resource not yet to the standard of France passion but that is the model and that's been going over 20 years,
Like the POIs on here the feedback and finding are the parts that keep it strong one landlord we stopped with was pe'ed of that he had a large RV and a fifth wheeler stop under the scheme taking up most of his car park and one guy came in bought a pint & took it back to the van, but he said most users are like yourselves come in be sociable have a pint or two or even a meal ( we didn't) but we would never have gone to the lovely little village otherwise .
 
Anther vote FOR Britstop

I've been using Britstops for 2 years and our experiences have been great. A garden nursery, a hotel and pubs. We usually by something but there is no obligation. Armed with the Britstop book plus POIs on the TomTom, we are able to enjoy holidays making stopover decisions as we go, instead of having to book weeks in advance. We do use CLs every now and again for their facilities (usually spurred by my other half's need of a hairdryer), we just live with the risk that there'll be one with a free pitch. The mix of the three – Wildcamp, Britstop and CL – works for us. Freedom :) More power to Steve & Mandy (and don't forget, if you can introduce a new site to them, you get a year's subscription free).
 
We've stayed at quite a few now and most have been free while some of them make a notional charge which they credit against a meal so we consider the £25.00 well and truly recouped.

I think any notional charge is completely against the conditions of the scheme (even if it is credited against a purchase) - and I know Steve has removed one host (at least) for making purchases compulsory.

From memory, a charge is only allowed for hookup if provided?
 
I was under the impression that the first night is Free and then any subsequent nights are by separate negotiation.

There should be No Obligation to purchase anything.
 
britstops rule!

superb, we have a eura mobil tag, we have never been to a britstop that has'nt accomodated us, some without mentioning names, are better than any sites we have stayed on and for free.... even with electric and every other facility, we have and you can tour devon cornwall for two weeks using britstops every night for no cost! we have also done hampshire and new forrest for 1 week tour, just come back today and used a brilliant strawberry farm again with elec and facilitys F.O.C and enjoyed P.Y.O superb!

and for anydoubters our favoutite stop in Norfolk for the cost of a pint, throws in swimming , spa and leisure facilitys enough said!
 
We joined Brit Stops about 3 years ago and never used it once. There just never seemed to be anything in the area we were in. We try not to stay in pubs, (unless they have something on, like the excellent Drum and Monkey at Upton last weekend) but if we do we either use the POI's on here or we find something that looks like they might be able to accommodate us and just walk in the door and ask - in 20 + years of owning a MH we have never been refused yet. We try, never ever EVER (!), to stay on campsites as we do not need anything they have to offer, and anyway I would resent paying £30 a night just to park up.
However, having read the comments on this thread, maybe it is time to give Brit Stops another chance, certainly as the UK is losing it's appeal to us these days. And as we are becoming more and more disenchanted with the UK, and it is seemingly becoming more and more difficult to find a quiet over night where you don't feel like outcasts from society in this country, a Brit Stops over night may well be the answer.:confused:
 
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Britstops

Use it regularly, and should point out the number of stops has massively increased since 3 years ago. we have a few favourite pubs not far from the coast where we are happy to pay for great food, a very peaceful nights sleep and short drive to the beach the next day.
 

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