layby fee dodgers

[Lee]

hi, we have to smile and be nice when taking their money .also if you are nice they may spend abit more . but dont worry we dont really like tourists or holiday makers of any sort. ha ha just the money .
think most tourist places are like it. but its not really meant to be nasty . many have been coming for years . you know what they drink before they order . they love that. i worked a summer on a campsite plus my brother had a couple of pubs . think its all part of the life. most landlords dont like folk going to spain and bringing back cheap booze or fags . or going up country to get cheaper cars than down here.
smile its candid camera .
i also lived at weymouth similar there as well.

If this is all true I can understand why motorhomes are not liked in Cornwall, as a lot of them are not spending as much money as the locals want, maybe they havn't the funds to do so.
What a cinical way to run your life and if you are running a business what a short sighted out look they have on life as surely they need repeat business to be successful.:mad1:

 

[Funky Farmer]

I just feel I need to visit at least once to see for myself

Take no notice Ems. Different eyes see different things. You will probably have a great time. According to some on here the world is full of nasty bar stewards, which of course it isn't

 

[Northerner]

n brown was relating a personal experience. Surely you can't berate him for that.

I didn't berate him regarding his personal experience. I simply asked him a couple of questions because I found it most odd that he was having what must have been a most appalling and miserable time, but he stayed a fortnight?

However, I did berate him for what I thought were disgraceful and uninformed comments about the lady with the camp site. I find it quite amusing that one member talks about sites in Cornwall being £50-70 a night (really?) and within minutes this lady is charging these prices! It actually turns out that she charges about £25 a night, in Cornwall, in high season! Have any of you ever noticed what camp sites in Spain, and France and Italy charge in high season?

 

[John H]

Have any of you ever noticed what camp sites in Spain, and France and Italy charge in high season?

But these countries also provide aires (or at the very least areas where overnighting is tolerated) so not only do we have a choice but the local area is maximising the potential number of customers. England seems to have a far higher percentage of businessmen who think they have to do nothing to get our custom.

 

[Northerner]

If this is all true I can understand why motorhomes are not liked in Cornwall, as a lot of them are not spending as much money as the locals want, maybe they havn't the funds to do so.
What a cinical way to run your life and if you are running a business what a short sighted out look they have on life as surely they need repeat business to be successful.:mad1:

You ask the question 'If this is all true' and then go on to make comments based on the fact that it must be! Cornwall is no different from France, or Spain or any other place with holiday resorts. They have short seasons and must make most of their money in a few weeks. They may be open in the quieter months but it's just ticking over, and rates and staff still have to be paid. For some though every business is a licence to print money, no one ever goes broke, we all make a fortune and spend six moths of the year on our yachts. I just wonder why they don't go into business themselves if it's so easy! Go on folks, anyone can do it!

And these people are not idiots. Businessmen know that it is much easier to retain clients by looking after them, then it is to attract new ones. The standard of service in hotels and restaurants and camp sites is far higher than it was twenty years ago. With revue sites such as Trip Advisor, a business can be killed by negative reviews.

 

[n brown]

oh please go to landsend !looking back now it's almost funny.at the time of course it was a special treat for my family on a very tight budget. what a ripoff!great brochure mind,fooled us for sure.i was physically moved away from the stupid signpost when i inadvertently stood near it for a photo,for,of course,once you've paid to go in,everything inside has to be paid for as well ! iwas glad and surprised there wasn't an exit fee

 

[vwalan]

i did and never looked back . much better than working for others . stopped working in winter since 98 . had a few off before that. but in summer its long hours in winter its summer in spain or maroc.

 

[Northerner]

Just check on the net as Haven and many others are in that price range ,
I expect there are cheaper too

First of all Havens are not the average sites. They are holiday villages with swimming pools, children's playgrounds, entertainment complexes etc. I have just priced a week in Cornwall at Perran Sands. The cost was £260 for a pitch with electricity and space for an awning. As you said, go on-line and try it! That works out at £37 per night but that is for two adults and two children! The thing about this kind of site is that they are not for people staying one night. They are for families on holiday for a week or a fortnight and like hotels, they may have a 'rack rate' of £50-60 a night but no one ever pays it as they do offers for seven days or longer etc.

But all this is pretty irrelevant. Some families obviously consider £38 a night very good value. They get a pool, free entertainment, clubs for the children and if they had to book the four of them in a hotel offering those facilities it would be a great deal more. When I tried to book, Haven had one pitch left, so people must be happy to pay!

But do you really think that similar sites in France for instance are any cheaper? I can assure you that they're not. And whilst you and I wouldn't like sites like this they are ideal for families with young children and we should stop insulting people because their holiday choices are different from ours.

 

[Northerner]

I am sorry but that is soooo not tue it is about a captive market a lot of the time !
I took my Kids to a well known and popular campsite several years ago after spending 3 years in court battles to be allowed the privellage and the food was not fit for a dog !
We all prdered different things and one meal really did look like sick on a plate , as I did not want to spoil the kids time I kept quiet but even te kids said daddy that was a waste of money it was horrible !
I like good food and am prepared to pay for it but maybe the average person eats that muck I do not know ?

You really do have a penchant for the most grotesque exaggeration don't you! So this means of course that every single camp site with a restaurant serves food that's like sick on a plate! You really don't do yourself any good with this kind of hyperbole you know! It's just hilarious.

I remember how, because one or two rich people paid you with a cheque from a foreign bank that every rich person uses foreign banks and every rich person has his house in trust. How do you know these things? Are you privy to the financial affairs of every rich person in Britain! Are you privy to the catering in every camp site restaurant? As I said, it's beyond hilarious! :raofl:

 

[vwalan]

hi .i worked at hayle and perran sands .but before haven leisure took over it was a ladbrooks site back in 76. very busy both of them . i still meet with a few of the groups that played there . was definately an experiance .as a barman . definately not like the david essex and ringo star version of it .ha ha . but you did get an incite into the caravan crowd . i actually worked a few weeks on st ives bay caravan park the year layter . all good fun .

 

[Firefox]

It astounds me how naive these campsite owners are:

(a) The wild campers are not likely to use their facilities anyway. So banning parking will not give their sites any more business, but it will damage the local economy whereby the motorhomes were using local shops for their provisions and no doubt patronising local pubs and restaurants too. Campsite business is 60% down because of the wet weather not a few wild campers in a layby.

and

(b) It's a market. Campsites offer one thing for £25 or £30 with electric hooks ups and other on site facilities. Wild camping offers no facilities for no money. It's simple. Campsite owners demanding a monopoly is like the bakers demanding that the council should ban other places from selling pizza or pasta, in the hope that more people will buy their bread! They should be concentrating on making their bread cheaper and more attractive instead of whining about the alternative choices.

 

[maingate]

This lady charges £4.50 per day for a hookup on her site. If someone stayed there for one year, I make that £1642.50 for a hookup of 13 amps max., possibly as low as 10 amps. it would cost a further £2 per day for a dog (£730).

Did you know that it is illegal to re-sell electricity at a higher price than you pay for it. Virtually every campsite in the counry is guilty of this. Because campers only stay for very short periods, it goes unnoticed. Stay long term and it is very expensive. My total Gas AND Electric bills for the year fall well short of the cost of one miserable hookup on a site.

I also noticed on her website that a dog costs £3 per day if you are in a Static caravan. Why the £1 extra?

 

[vwalan]

i shouldnt worry about it .if i didnt use m,home sites i wouldnt have known its kicked off again .really only a handfull complain ..yes we do get fed up of tourists but most dont give a monkeys where you park. bet 90%of cornish residents dont even care or know its going on. its a cornish joke about bringing back the highway men and taking folks money and turning them round at the border . bit like smuggling its a tradition .
but its not all bad .the boys look for the girls . the girls here look for the boys on holiday . again its tradition .
we also have a saying . only do too things in cornwall . fishing n f---ing , in winter cant fish coz of the storms . in summer cant fish coz we gotta f--- the emmits .
again tradition. best not take life so serious . but you do have to thank the cornish for deep mining . might not have been the industrial revolution if it wasnt for the cornish .

 

[maureenandtom]

Until a short time ago, I'd have seen this as an opportunity. A golden opportunity, almost.

Just this evening there was a similar report about Haverigg in Cumbria. Another opportunity. There's an almost automatic response for us to think of Aires on the continental model and here is the opportunity to talk to the local authorities in both areas of the advantages of providing Aires. A golden opportunity.

Beginning with press reports, Scarborough and Whitby expressed the same problems as in Cumbria and Cornwall; pretty well the same; we needn't argue the details and eventually their council, with encouragement, provided Aires.

Then, overwhelmingly, many here, said that we wouldn't use them and poured contempt on the council. I sometimes feel despair. What exactly do we want?

The Golden Age of parking where we want is coming to an end. It's probably over; I see signs that it's coming to an end in our beloved Promised Land of France too.

Not long ago, I'd have written to these newspapers in Cumbria and Cornwall; I might then have contacted the councils.

An opportunity. Nobody else see it like that?

 

[vwalan]

yes ,its been done .but cornwall works on a few months of the year provides enough to see many through the winter.
they arent daft .cornwall as had possibly the most m,homers in a county always . we also know that they dont actually spend very much .
super markets for food . cooking in thre vans etc . cornwall council just dont care they do have campsites every where there view is use them . newquay as night security going round knocking on campers that they think have folk sleeping .on the hour every hour till you get fed up. other towns also do it . cornwall as been camper city for years .

 

[northernspirit2001]

Devon too...

I've just got back from a week in Devon, started out I planned to go to 3 museums and 2 castles and stop on a site if i could mid week to recharge batteries. It took me 1 1/2 days to realise its almost without exception MH's are hated there, from the way people drive, park around you, glare at you, even look the other way while taking your money in garages (thats before i filled up my water lol!, it did cost me 60p in the machine!). Everything is about extracting max money for least value and MH's are the scum of the earth it seems. The number of people who carved me up in traffic jams on the road, well they've obviously never been up north 'cos people who do that up here get a thump! Got horn blown (plus mucky look) at me twice whilst parked up IN THE DAY!

I did have the last laugh tho, had a great time, went in one museum, had one take-away, walked round the outside of the castles and even got mis-changed in a shop when the cashier gave me change for a £20 when i'd only given her a £10.....HA!

 

[iceman1956]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and as with the new Points system you should not abuse another member, or should you berate someone who is not able to defend their point of view.
As for campsite prices yes they are overpriced for what you get, and can anyone really defend £4.50 night for electric!! and standby that is not a rip off. No you don't have to take the hookup if you don't want, but by the same token is it right to charge excessively because you can. :mad2:

There will always be the few who spoil it for the majority, and that is an unfortunate fact. But banning motorhomes from towns will not cure the problem. Councils should regulate by making approved parking area's that do allow overnight sleeping and which is also limited to 2-3 days as a maximum. Lets face it you usually have seen all you want to in a couple of days, so let someone else also have the pleasure. :mad1:

 

[maingate]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and as with the new Points system you should not abuse another member, or should you berate someone who is not able to defend their point of view.
As for campsite prices yes they are overpriced for what you get, and can anyone really defend £4.50 night for electric!! and standby that is not a rip off. No you don't have to take the hookup if you don't want, but by the same token is it right to charge excessively because you can. :mad2:

There will always be the few who spoil it for the majority, and that is an unfortunate fact. But banning motorhomes from towns will not cure the problem. Councils should regulate by making approved parking area's that do allow overnight sleeping and which is also limited to 2-3 days as a maximum. Lets face it you usually have seen all you want to in a couple of days, so let someone else also have the pleasure. :mad1:

I am afraid that a hookup is compulsory at virtually every campsite in the country nowadays. It is getting harder to get a pitch that is not called 'fully serviced' and therefore more expensive. I could be wrong of course as this is just information I have seen posted on forums. The nearest I get to a site is a THS with the C & CC.

 

[iceman1956]

I've just got back from a week in Devon, started out I planned to go to 3 museums and 2 castles and stop on a site if i could mid week to recharge batteries. It took me 1 1/2 days to realise its almost without exception MH's are hated there, from the way people drive, park around you, glare at you, even look the other way while taking your money in garages (thats before i filled up my water lol!, it did cost me 60p in the machine!). Everything is about extracting max money for least value and MH's are the scum of the earth it seems. The number of people who carved me up in traffic jams on the road, well they've obviously never been up north 'cos people who do that up here get a thump! Got horn blown (plus mucky look) at me twice whilst parked up IN THE DAY!

I did have the last laugh tho, had a great time, went in one museum, had one take-away, walked round the outside of the castles and even got mis-changed in a shop when the cashier gave me change for a £20 when i'd only given her a £10.....HA!

Shame on you No wonder we motorhomers are frowned upon with an attitude like that!!!:lol-053:

 

[scampa]

If anyone is wondering why Motorhomers (both Grockles and Emmets) prefer to stay in the towns of Devon and Cornwall instead of venturing into the countryside, there is an excellent DVD that explains it all.

I believe that it's all based on a true story and should be sold as an introductory guide in Tourist Information Centres!

Here's the trailer (warning, a little gory in places).... Small Town Folk Official Trailer - YouTube