How many folks on this forum actually wildcamp most nights out?

[fairytooth]

Just back from France, different location every day. Went down to Cote Sauvage and did a combination of wilding/aires and a couple of cheap but really good sites, (15 euros max ACSI/Camping Cheque). Nice to top the batteries up and have a swim/hot shower/wash clothes.

Never felt the need to justify our choice of location either way, we just go where we feel like going. You sound like you're a bit of a purist but we're all different, thank god, and therefore have different views to share on this site.

Hope you enjoy the site enough to join up!

 

[Mothman]

Hi Fairytooth i do enjoy this site & yes im in for the long haul i think,, im joining up today you guys are right up my street :dance::dance::dance:

Barrington B,

 

[Deleted member 967]

We full time so spend 365 days/nights in the van. In the UK we tend to use CLs or CSs. We did use a commercial camp site (Naturist) for 5 months in Spain over the last winter. We have used wild locations while touring in the UK and France/Spain but also like Aires as it saves time looking for a place to dump your waste and top up with water.

Most of our UK time when not otherwise touring is spent on a site on the coast of the south lakes. This is really wilding without the worries of being moved on, as there is nothing but a place to park on the 40 acre site. We pay £40 per year for membership which allows unlimited stays. Water is at the farm 2k down the track. Toilet waste is either disposed of in a pit dug in the dunes. Before anyone jumps in, this is done with the landowners permission and is also approved by Natural England in the management plan for the site as it is an SSI. or disposed of in the public toilets beyond the farm. The Smart car is used as our carrier. Often we are on our own in this paradise.

We had to use a CC club site near Birmingham for 1 night this year as the place we were going to stay (repairers yard) could not accommodate us, as some vans had been left and not collected as expected, so it was a last minute decision, as the local CLs were all full. Our preference is always for quiet places that we can get our outfit into, as it is 36ft overall length with trailer.

Our visit to Spain was our first, so we used the site stay to get used to the country and learn some of the language. We also stayed for one night each at two other sites on route through Spain to our winter site, having used Aires on our trip through France both ways. Next visit we will move around more and do some wild camping. That said we did overnight on three occasions in Spanish Motorways Services going and coming with no problems at all.

We find it is as cheap to stay on CLs as wilding for more than one night, as we need to run the Jenny to recharge the batteries. Our next investment is solar panels. Our plan was to fit these this summer, but the money had to be spent on two new rear springs and replacing the front disc's & ABS rings instead. If we have to keep moving site each day or so, the diesel used quickly amounts to the same as CL fees.

 

[Justjack]

We are planning to do jsut this, leave the van and wild camp up a mountain, love the van with all it's mod cons, but something about sleeping out wild. Funny we were away last week in lake district (yes on a site-but with no faclities/loos, shop etc, just a water/waste point and plug in-a group of us, super site, lush location, didn't drive for a week) and we all said the same-how much we miss true wild camping.
We've already got the tiny mountain tent, thermarests, sleeping bag, swiss army stove and of course rusksacks out of the loft-can't wait to go!

I like the sound of this basic site in the lakes. Can you give more details about location, cost etc. Thanks.

 

[shawbags]

I do! There again, in my defence, my OTHER mh is the Scania that I live in all week! I am a long-distance Tanker Driver for my sins and I find that the parallel between 'Trampers' and 'Wilders' is remarkably similar inasmuch as there is now a generation of young up-and-coming LGV Drivers who wouldn't dream of parking anywhere other than a Truckstop (with all the comforting facilities - at a price) ... and there are US Old-Timers - who are totally self-sufficient and relish the challenge of the 'NO OVERNIGHT PARKING' signs in every Lay-By that we sleep in.

A Dying Breed? I think not!!!!

Truck stops are ok for a shower and nothing else,over priced noisy places,i always found somewhere to park up.A lot of new drivers these days have no idea,put your exspences in ya pocket not the truckstops,Shawbags.

 

[Pete Westy]

We don't usually use campsites but they do have one advantage that nobody has flagged up so far.
If you want to visit the sites, museums or galleries in a city you have a choice of what to do with the van.
You either leave it in a car park and get public transport into the city. Walking away from the van and telling everyone that you will be gone for hours. The van and all your stuff is just ripe for picking and it costs you money.
Or you do as we do, stay two nights at a campsite in the knowledge that you can go out all day, go to a restaurant in the evening, catch the last bus, tram, tube and find your van is still there.
Well worth it IMHO. Good example is City Camping in Copenhagen. 5 minutes walk to a water taxi and then you are in the city.

 

[just jane]

We don't usually use campsites but they do have one advantage that nobody has flagged up so far.
If you want to visit the sites, museums or galleries in a city you have a choice of what to do with the van.
You either leave it in a car park and get public transport into the city. Walking away from the van and telling everyone that you will be gone for hours. The van and all your stuff is just ripe for picking and it costs you money.
Or you do as we do, stay two nights at a campsite in the knowledge that you can go out all day, go to a restaurant in the evening, catch the last bus, tram, tube and find your van is still there.
Well worth it IMHO. Good example is City Camping in Copenhagen. 5 minutes walk to a water taxi and then you are in the city.

Staying on a campsite does not necessarily mean security, I had a friend who was robbed in the night on a family campsite last year. Somebody entered his tent and took his wifes bag which included all their cash and tickets for a weekend music festival and the car keys.

I often camp at music festivals where the advice from many is dont take anything of value and keep your cash about your person separated into different pockets etc. all good advice for a festival where there are often opportunist thieves on the first night but we were shocked that this happened on a 'normal' campsite.

 

[goggsey]

parking in services

hi just back from 5 weeks tour with 3 g/kids (6/12,12) in tow, spent the 5 weeks touring around Croatia and Slovenia and places along the way, we couldn't find camp site to stay at in Croatia and Slovenia, we found 3 in Croatia and all full, so we stayed on the motorways services, and found it great we did washing and with temps in 100's it was no problem to dry, at all the services we found good parks or the 3 kids to play in water on tap and toilets, with no restrictions at all over parking, we stayed for many night doing it this way the kid's were happy in the parks, and in all we only spent 5 nights in total on camp sites just on our way back up from the Adriatic to Calais, as it was late August the cost was down as it was not high season from the 20th Aug,
One word of warning if you go to Croatia, DONT pay for the fuel in Euros, as the first time we did this we didn't get a receipt and when we worked the rate out we paid,it was a lot more than the cost of the fuel we put in, so we then paid by card much cheaper in the long run,

 

[Barbt]

We have just returned from more than two weeks touring Scotland, mostly the West Coast and Mull and did not stay on any sites. We found plenty of wild places to camp, had no problems at all, in fact we never do.

 

[hkl27]

Well said

Totally agree with you - well said! :banana:


Why even bother with this site if you want to go to a campsite in the first place.
Part of the fun is trying to find somewhere a bit more out of the way and a bit exciting - waking up in the morning to a unique view is amazing, do not want to share this with anyone else.

Keep up the good comments on new spots.:cool1:

I've been on sites in our campervan and hated it, so in the last few years we never go on sites ... the police have moved us on and directed us to sites, but we move on and find a suitable spot ...

my reason for joining this forum was to be with like minded folks, but I'm feeling like I'm in the wrong place of late ... campers wanting hookups, level pitches, water to hand ... I enjoy my wild camping be it in the city or country and I don't require any of the trappings that go with campsites, as a matter of fact campsites make me mad ... I live in the country and have no immediate neighbours, why would I go to park beside another van so they can hear me breath (polite) ...

Come on wild campers, lets hear from you, thats what the forum was about ... sorry about that, but it was bugging me big time ....

wanna be wildcampers are taking over, they are welcome to their world, but don't let them take over in a wildcamping forum!

again sorry ... I don't wish to offend anyone, but please keep it mostly about wild camping ...

Cheers

:wacko:

 

[Brandyman]

brandyman

The longest we were away from Orkney (our home town) was 15 weeks never in a camp site '
When we come over to the Mainland of Scotland we wild camp from day 1 until we return home .
It's my intention to give a rundown on how we lived and enjoyed ourselves and where we stayed .
And how we over came toilet washing and dumping wast water until then happy camping to all Merv

 

[Deleted member 13543]

The longest we were away from Orkney (our home town) was 15 weeks never in a camp site '
When we come over to the Mainland of Scotland we wild camp from day 1 until we return home .
It's my intention to give a rundown on how we lived and enjoyed ourselves and where we stayed .
And how we over came toilet washing and dumping wast water until then happy camping to all Merv

I shall look forward to that, Merv!! At the moment we do about 1 night on a campsite, 2 nights wild. (In Scotland at the moment.) It's dumping the toilet and waste that we find the biggest problem, and Himself refuses to go down the 2 cassettes route for the toilet. I don't think we could manage 3 nights before the loo would be full - the curse of old age!! We don't use chemicals in the cassette, as we have a Sogg system, so in theory we could dump in a public loo, - but there is never one around when you need one!!

 

[shawbags]

Not if you become a full member and download the POI files

There are just under 2,500 spots listed throughout England, Wales and Scotland.

And the next release in June will have at least 300 more!

Regards

Chris

Keep pumping the full membership phill:lol-049:,are you after a bonus ??.

 

[theteapackets]

When we first got our mh 2 years ago after caravanning for 8 years we decided to continue using the 5 unit max CCLs ... well, I did anyway ... little did I realise he had wildcamping ideas! Our first couple of trips out were v stressful to say the least as we were not organised enough to book ahead, forgot the book so we couldn't find it when we had booked ... and so on.

We ended up on a motorway carpark once (cost more than a site!) but it was when we ended up last minute a club camp site, in our scruffy little old Hymer parked among all these gleaminig regimental lines of new mhs, that I was convinced to try wildcamping! We felt so out of place.

At first I admit I didn't sleep much (I still don't in some spots!) but since making the decision we have only wildcamped, although we have used the occasional aire in France as we tend to amble along the coast and we found mhs were banned in most places and the roads are too narrow to have laybys!!

We've had an offer of 'fun', the odd toot and a couple of merry kids banging on the bonnet in France and we have learned the hard way the lesson to never pass up on the opportunity to empty & refill when you get the chance!!!

We usually only go away for weekends in the UK, so haven't faced the problems of emptying toilets, filling with water etc. We too have a sogg and my husband is an expert in the early morning sneaky public toilet visit when in France.

It's amazing how tight you become when you realise you can get it for free :raofl:

 

[freespirits]

We're up to 32 nights spent in the van since we bought it (£1,000 per night!) and never used a campsite. Longest out in one go was five days. What really annoys us is the way campervans are not really welcome anywhere in this country.

wild camping... its the only way to be free.....

 

[Calum]

Have to chuckle about this....

The day I bought my van and brought her home I wild camped 3 miles from home just because I could
The weather was minging to say the least but I slept well. I woke in the morning to the sound of voices outside... 3 cyclists sheltering from the wind and rain beside the van! Wild camping van clearly has it's uses!

Since then I have slept :sleep-027: over in Glasgow during the week whist at University - saving me a 2 hour daily commute! It doubles as a study and bedroom with en-suite

 

[SpinneyWitch]

We mostly wildcamp, and have done for years. Very occasionally use campsites for washing machines, or on one memorable occasion because I had to do the tax return on line and needed a guaranteed electric supply for longer than the solar panels could do!
Because all of my site visits have been out of the main season and I'm obviously in a live-in, complete with cat-flap, dog and cat, I find that people are usually more interested than looking down their nose at us.

I think for us a camp site is more the equivalent of staying in a hotel!

 

[Deleted member 12539]

Totally agree with you - well said! :banana:


Why even bother with this site if you want to go to a campsite in the first place.
Part of the fun is trying to find somewhere a bit more out of the way and a bit exciting - waking up in the morning to a unique view is amazing, do not want to share this with anyone else.

Keep up the good comments on new spots.:cool1:

Our first wildcamp was in our back garden, very convenient for the showers, toilets and waste disposal.
We often wildcamp though and like it, but sometimes we need the showers, or waste disposal or facilities that offer childrens facilities.
Don't agree with the above statement about not bothering with this forum though, I have gleaned so much information from this forum, not to mention new friends.....and.....dare i mention, we use campsites too. We intend to continue using this forum (unless admin deem otherwise) and .....here it comes again.... use campsites.
Our choice thanks! :lol-053:

 

[Pilotewanderers]

Each to their own.

We have used one camp site in the last two years and count that a failure.

Merry Christmas all.

Pilotewanderers

 

[n brown]

i've been on 3 or 4 campsites in the last 35 years but most of the reasons for that are tightness and laziness, i can't be bothered with all that signing in and handing over passports and worst of all money,when it's just easier to park up,i don't really stress too much on where i park,and i never worry i might be upsetting someone by parking up,my attitude is,if i was in the other guys shoes would i care? there seems to be a lot of unecessary worry about this whole "wild camping" business that is just unfounded.in my experience,most people aren't put out by someone sleeping in their van and i've never come across snobbery from more expensive campers[or i'm too thick skinned to notice]and i've travelled in some right ropey motors! syay in a campsite or not who cares,as long as they're out and about thats more important .feliz natal joyeux noel etc