Why does this CAMpRA brigade think they are doing us all a favour? I like Scotland just the way it is and would hate to have to use an aire type overnight spot. Seeing pictures of Aires they are tarmac concrete places with vans packed in together and in built up areas. Nothing wrong with the situation in Scotland and as we loose one spot we gain another.
How dare they ask the Geekmyster to change the name of the best motorhome related forum there is
Quite a number of us Wildcampers are also part of the CAMpRA Brigade as you choose to call them, and oddly enough perhaps to you the founder of CAMpRA was Scottish as are many of its members. It was started out of a concern at seeing more and more of our wild spots being closed to us as a result of the vast increase in the sort of ‘campers’ and uninitiated newcomers that we all moan about overrunning both wild spots and unprepared small villages, and the unenlightened response of those who tar us all with the same brush and want to see us banned.
There is no desire at all to plaster Scotland with tarmac aires. We want to preserve or wild spots. As anyone who has spent most of their travels in Europe will well know the word Aire is used as a catch all expression that can cover anything from a patch of muddy gravel up to a smart mini-campsite for motorhomes.
The thing most missing in most of our rural areas is a network of motorhome service points sufficient to cope with the demand and dissuade people from dumping their s**t in the bushes and bunging up inadequate septic tanks of public loos which is causing so much ire. (that’s Scotland as it already is). That is CAMpRAs first priority.
Next is somewhere to park that doesn’t involve inconveniencing the locals in their villages, parking in front of their houses, bunging up the residents car parks and blocking their views... and that might even contribute something to their local economy. Would you like to dream up a word for such parking places? It doesn’t matter what you call them the need is still there... ask the poor b.....s in Skye. And until someone, somewhere does something in our favour the tide will continue to turn against us.
Of course we can all sit on our arses and moan about everyone and everything, that’s dead easy and commits us to b....r all personal effort. To do something takes a lot of people, a lot of time, and a lot of effort, for which they need to come together in a common endeavour, just like motorhome groups have been doing in the rest of Europe over the last 20 years while we Brits stuck our heads in the sand.
So you can’t be bothered, you are happy to sneak off to the dwindling stock of remaining quiet corners...that’s your prerogative...but why keep p......g on those who are prepared to put in the hard work?
On a personal note, I stay out of the highlands in the summer...I’ve no desire to add to their problems, but I’ll do what little I can to help resolve them...how about you?
