Dornoch camping site Sutherland.

[Isnbill]

A wee bit of background if of interest.
As far as I'm aware the woman is local and the daughter of the couple that ran the site successfully for many years.
A son took over after the parents day and I believe the site went downhill quickly under his management according to people I know that used it for caravans long term.
Then the daughter and son in law started running it and apparently did a load of upgrading and some regular users I know are very happy with the site.
However by taking a very narrow view and judging all "free/low cost aire type" campers by the bad standards of a very small minority they then risk alienating themselves from a considerable proportion of touring camper business.
Let them know that you will be voting with your feet (or should that be your wheels) folks.

 

[alcam]

A wee bit of background if of interest.
As far as I'm aware the woman is local and the daughter of the couple that ran the site successfully for many years.
A son took over after the parents day and I believe the site went downhill quickly under his management according to people I know that used it for caravans long term.
Then the daughter and son in law started running it and apparently did a load of upgrading and some regular users I know are very happy with the site.
However by taking a very narrow view and judging all "free/low cost aire type" campers by the bad standards of a very small minority they then risk alienating themselves from a considerable proportion of touring camper business.
Let them know that you will be voting with your feet (or should that be your wheels) folks.

No problem with people promoting their business and trying to make more money. This pair don't appear to understand their own market and have really shot themselves in the foot .
It is actually really difficult to understand how stupid they've been

 

[Scotia]

A wee bit of background if of interest.
As far as I'm aware the woman is local and the daughter of the couple that ran the site successfully for many years.
A son took over after the parents day and I believe the site went downhill quickly under his management according to people I know that used it for caravans long term.
Then the daughter and son in law started running it and apparently did a load of upgrading and some regular users I know are very happy with the site.
However by taking a very narrow view and judging all "free/low cost aire type" campers by the bad standards of a very small minority they then risk alienating themselves from a considerable proportion of touring camper business.
Let them know that you will be voting with your feet (or should that be your wheels) folks.

I have limited internet access at the moment but when I was trying to find out about these Twa Cloons last week Im almost sure I read they had received a grant to upgrade their elsan which I see they only have limited opening for the year and word on this?

 

[Biggarmac]

I have limited internet access at the moment but when I was trying to find out about these Twa Cloons last week Im almost sure I read they had received a grant to upgrade their elsan which I see they only have limited opening for the year and word on this?

Highland council asked all sites if they were willing to allow service stops for non resident vans. The sites who agreed to do so were given grants from £500 to allow for any "modifications" necessary. On most sites no mods were necessary but they still got a grant.
Dornoch Campsite is open from 1/3 till 30/10 every year. They have been asked if they would keep a small part of the site open over winter, but refused to consider it.

 

[Nabsim]

Another site that closes at the end of October all over Winter. I commented on the link article but don’t know if reply will appear

 

[Nabsim]

I’ve read it and everybody has their own opinion ,
Personally I don’t think we should stoop to their level by name calling on an open forum
Admin has taken years to develop a forum with moderation we can be proud of ! Calling people Twats on a public forum is not acceptable ,
Just stating my opinion

Very true BUT, this is Wildcamping and a lot on this form don’t want sites. Name calling is never good though unless it’s against Wully or Lee

 

[Nabsim]

My personal thought and this is not meant as any offence to my southern friend.
This sounds like the voice of a " white settler" coming into a community and shouting his opinion for him to benefit.

Incomers all over the U.K. do similar types of things. It’s nothing to do with where they are from. They just see somewhere they would love to live, move in, then proceed to try to change the area to something else. Usually second home owners but not limited to them. Small Derbyshire villages have been decimated in this way

 

[Stonesthrow]

One camping site to boycott.

Sutherland caravan park operators in move to ban motorhomes from 'wild' overnight parking

Darren and Lynn Redfern, of Dornoch Caravan and Camping Site have lodged a petition with the Scottish Parliament.

www.northern-times.co.uk

Seems strange to me, that someone advocating banning wild camping for motorhomes, offers the following service in their current tariff for customers that have clearly not used their site.
Seems they want the best of both worlds

Use of motorhome service point only

£11.00

 

[barryd]

Seems strange to me, that someone advocating banning wild camping for motorhomes, offers the following service in their current tariff for customers that have clearly not used their site.
Seems they want the best of both worlds

Use of motorhome service point only

£11.00

Hardly encouraging the use of it though at £11. Most of the CLs we have stayed on over this summer are less than that and that includes actually staying there. Mid August in west Dorset right now, £7 a night.

 

[Fisherman]

Seems strange to me, that someone advocating banning wild camping for motorhomes, offers the following service in their current tariff for customers that have clearly not used their site.
Seems they want the best of both worlds

Use of motorhome service point only

£11.00

This sums up Mr and Mrs Baldrick to a T.
They would love wild camping to be banned that way their cunning plan would work. But thankfully it will never happen to many others up here are actually dealing with the issue, not seeking to gain from it. £11 to empty a toilet is utterly disgraceful, but then why am I not surprised.

 

[Richard Wasteney]

What strikes me about campaigns like this is that they are trying to stir up public opinion against campers/motorhomes which may be parked in places other than campsites.

If they succeed - and this has happened elsewhere, then even their own customers may be subjected to abuse or even assault or vandalism when away from the site just visiting local landmarks or just admiring the scenery for a couple of hours in the evening.

Local hoteliers in Scarborough applied their pressure to the council resulting at one point I believe in a ban on MH even driving into Scarborough. It lasted a year or two until it was reversed. It only takes a couple of greedy self serving righteous types to whip up a storm like this. We just all need to keep things tidy, be considerate and preach the gospel that we aren't all bad (though I've never seen a motorhomer squatting in the road!)

 

[number14]

Seems strange to me, that someone advocating banning wild camping for motorhomes, offers the following service in their current tariff for customers that have clearly not used their site.
Seems they want the best of both worlds

Use of motorhome service point only

£11.00

However, if they took the Highland council grant for sites offering a service point, as mentioned by Biggarmac in post #84, they will be obliged to advertise it. They have done this but over priced it so that no one will be interested. For them a financially clever move but, for everyone else, a cynical and morally reprehensible attitude.

 

[caledonia]

This thread has made me want to pop in and say hello next time I’m passing.
As I said in an earlier post it’s a miserable place. Our friend owned a house in Elizabeth Terrace Dornoch. He is golf mad and the house looked over the Royal Dornoch course. We went up once for Hogmanay and tried to join in with the festivities but the locals were far from welcoming

 

[Fisherman]

This thread has made me want to pop in and say hello next time I’m passing.
As I said in an earlier post it’s a miserable place. Our friend owned a house in Elizabeth Terrace Dornoch. He is golf mad and the house looked over the Royal Dornoch course. We went up once for Hogmanay and tried to join in with the festivities but the locals were far from welcoming

Please do give them my regards cal.

 

[colinm]

Well I've now got unrefutable evidence that motorhomes are the cause of crap being left on side of the road. T'other day I returned to van to find someone using our van as a 'privacy shield' so he have a dump on the verge. This was in Cornwall where the council have disowned public toilets.

 

[Scotia]

Well I've now got unrefutable evidence that motorhomes are the cause of crap being left on side of the road. T'other day I returned to van to find someone using our van as a 'privacy shield' so he have a dump on the verge. This was in Cornwall where the council have disowned public toilets.

Was going to say I hope you kicked his arse but maybe not a good idea. I would have pushed him over so he took his crap with him.

 

[mariesnowgoose]

Well I've now got unrefutable evidence that motorhomes are the cause of crap being left on side of the road. T'other day I returned to van to find someone using our van as a 'privacy shield' so he have a dump on the verge. This was in Cornwall where the council have disowned public toilets.

Did you get a photo?!

That would make a marvellous Faceache story...

 

[mariesnowgoose]

... but I didn't miss your point about public loos, and therein lies another story...

 

[marchie]

Did you get a photo?!

That would make a marvellous Faceache story...

Headline: 'The Barefaced Cheek'' {I should write the headlines for The Sun ...

Steve

 

[Canalsman]

Well I've now got unrefutable evidence that motorhomes are the cause of crap being left on side of the road. T'other day I returned to van to find someone using our van as a 'privacy shield' so he have a dump on the verge. This was in Cornwall where the council have disowned public toilets.

Apparently 60% of public toilets nationally have been closed since 2010.

Can't quite recall why 2010 is significant...