Leave no trace...uhhhm

[mistericeman]

Or fire blanket and one of the folding "fire baskets "

I was skeptical ....BUT they work pretty well and allow the heat to radiate all round .

 

[Nabsim]

Does a fire blanket stop the grass getting singed?

The fire blanket reduces the heat and stops ash burning the ground but fire has to be off the ground as well. Well, mine always is and it doesn't scorch

 

[CWH]

Saw quite a few of this this time round Scotland. Even saw where they were trying to burn green wood

Some "come equipped" with battery-powered chainsaws ... which they then often leave behind as even more litter

 

[morsefields]

I live in the far north of Scotland and all motorhomers are becoming hated due to the actions of people who should know better. Open fires, rubbish, emptying chemical toilets in lochs and rivers, parking inappropriately etc.

 

[Debroos]

Or fire blanket and one of the folding "fire baskets "

I was skeptical ....BUT they work pretty well and allow the heat to radiate all round .

View attachment 131541

That looks like the size of a tin of beans! How big is it?

 

[mistericeman]

That looks like the size of a tin of beans! How big is it?

About 600x600 square ....

 

[Biggarmac]

I live in the far north of Scotland and all motorhomers are becoming hated due to the actions of people who should know better. Open fires, rubbish, emptying chemical toilets in lochs and rivers, parking inappropriately etc.

The two FB pages " The Land Weeps" and " The dirty truth" are always documenting instances of bad behaviour. Two days later articles in the Scottish Sun (and others) appear on the same lines.
One of the big gripes is of M/Hs going slowly and not pulling in to let faster vehicles pass.

 

[caledonia]

I live in the far north of Scotland and all motorhomers are becoming hated due to the actions of people who should know better. Open fires, rubbish, emptying chemical toilets in lochs and rivers, parking inappropriately etc.

Can I make a suggestion? Since you live in the far north maybe you could help solve the problem. What about providing facilities and parking places for these problem motorhomes? The Genie is out the bottle and the motorhomes are here to stay unfortunately. Cash in on all that tourism seems the logical thing.

 

[runnach]

Can I make a suggestion? Since you live in the far north maybe you could help solve the problem. What about providing facilities and parking places for these problem motorhomes? The Genie is out the bottle and the motorhomes are here to stay unfortunately. Cash in on all that tourism seems the logical thing.

I read fairly recently, there is a crofter at Achmelvich Bay allowing overnight stays on his Croft. No idea what is provided, as my Lochinver contact is no longer on this planet, and was always my go to guy for info.

Point being though, there are locals prepared to add to their earnings by providing camper motors with legit area yo park for a night or three.

 

[mistericeman]

I read fairly recently, there is a crofter at Achmelvich Bay allowing overnight stays on his Croft. No idea what is provided, as my Lochinver contact is no longer on this planet, and was always my go to guy for info.

Point being though, there are locals prepared to add to their earnings by providing camper motors with legit area yo park for a night or three.

Almost full circle ...
back to the good old days of talking to local folks and being offered the corner of a field for a small donation IF you pass their knob head rest .
Days of swapping a bottle of wine etc for a peaceful night .

 

[Biggarmac]

There are places on the NC500 where local facilities have been provided but dirty bu****s are refusing to pay to use and dumping waste. £5 - £8 is the normal for a service call and £10 donation for parking overnight. Some campsites are overcharging for service calls, such as Dornoch site who charge £11. It is more expensive to get back waste pickups in the Highlands as the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) have more strict regulations than down South.

 

[Robmac]

I live in the far north of Scotland and all motorhomers are becoming hated due to the actions of people who should know better. Open fires, rubbish, emptying chemical toilets in lochs and rivers, parking inappropriately etc.

Anybody caught dumping waste should have their vehicle impounded in my opinion and those in hire vehicles should be liable for the cost of the recovery. Either that or massive fines (say £10k).

Or is similar already in place? There are so many offences that we pussyfoot around when a suitable deterrent would possibly be the answer.

 

[mariesnowgoose]

Anybody caught dumping waste should have their vehicle impounded in my opinion and those in hire vehicles should be liable for the cost of the recovery. Either that or massive fines (say £10k).

Or is similar already in place? There are so many offences that we pussyfoot around when a suitable deterrent would possibly be the answer.

100% that

Trouble is you need it to be enforced, and that requires not just the will to do it but the extra resources to make it work

A resurrection of the old "Keep Britain Tidy" campaign (which was always bound to fail because nobody was ever assigned to actually enforce it! )

It would only need a couple of hefty fines or vehicle impounded and the message would start to be heard loud and clear

 

[mariesnowgoose]

... forgot to add: it also needs a good basic infrastructure to cope with all these extra visitors - and it's perfectly obvious that since the pandemic and "cost of living" the demand is outstripping supply.

 

[Robmac]

100% that

Trouble is you need it to be enforced, and that requires not just the will to do it but the extra resources to make it work

A resurrection of the old "Keep Britain Tidy" campaign (which was always bound to fail because nobody was ever assigned to actually enforce it! )

It would only need a couple of hefty fine prosecutions and the message would start to be heard loud and clear

That's always the problem Marie, policing it.

But yes, huge fines and cases in the headlines would possibly make people think twice about taking the risk.

 

[mistericeman]

That's always the problem Marie, policing it.

But yes, huge fines and cases in the headlines would possibly make people think twice about taking the risk.

Spot on ....
we can't control scrotes and NEDs on stolen motorbikes around me on the outskirts of a major City with the second largest population in the UK ....

Good luck catching a handful of £$%^ dumping motorhomers in the wilds of Scotland etc ....

Don't get me wrong ...Id love it wasn't thus ....
Be lovely to have a crack team of folks with authority dressed as everyday campers handing tickets out for infringements ...
BUT it'll never happen ...and the chances of ANYONE actually getting prosecuted for acting like a knob must be infinitely minescule sadly .

 

[Robmac]

Spot on ....
we can't control scrotes and NEDs on stolen motorbikes around me on the outskirts of a major City with the second largest population in the UK ....

Good luck catching a handful of £$%^ dumping motorhomers in the wilds of Scotland etc ....

Don't get me wrong ...Id love it wasn't thus ....
Be lovely to have a crack team of folks with authority dressed as everyday campers handing tickets out for infringements ...
BUT it'll never happen ...and the chances of ANYONE actually getting prosecuted for acting like a knob must be infinitely minescule sadly .

Not many will like this but personally I would like to see a compulsory national DNA Database where it is law to be registered - nothing to hide nothing to fear.

DNA testing is relatively inexpensive these days (£700 and 10 day results) the cost could be passed on as part of a prosecution. The solving of many crimes could be assisted using this method, as would compulsory dash cams.

Of course many would see this as an infringement on their human rights and privacy.

 

[barryd]

There are places on the NC500 where local facilities have been provided but dirty bu****s are refusing to pay to use and dumping waste. £5 - £8 is the normal for a service call and £10 donation for parking overnight. Some campsites are overcharging for service calls, such as Dornoch site who charge £11. It is more expensive to get back waste pickups in the Highlands as the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) have more strict regulations than down South.

Are there not towns and villages that are on the main sewerage system that dont require pumping out? If so thats where they should put Elsan points and make them free. A few of those dotted around the route and well advertised would be a great help. Thats what they have done it some areas.

 

[mariesnowgoose]

Not many will like this but personally I would like to see a compulsory national DNA Database where it is law to be registered - nothing to hide nothing to fear.

DNA testing is relatively inexpensive these days (£700 and 10 day results) the cost could be passed on as part of a prosecution. The solving of many crimes could be assisted using this method, as would compulsory dash cams.

Of course many would see this as an infringement on their human rights and privacy.

It's the age old moral dilemma, Rob

All kinds of human discoveries and inventions have a good and a bad side - splitting the atom: nuclear power but also nuclear bomb, the arrival of the internet with all it's magnificent wonders, but also the explosion of uncontrolled social media. Etc. etc....

It's a balancing act and governments will always be like the donkey's tail in keeping up with trying to control the worst excesses of any kind of "progress"

A DNA database very much falls into that category. There's gangsters worldwide - and I include governments of countries in that statement as well as criminal gangsters - who will exploit it for their own nefarious ends.

Catch 22...

 

[Fisherman]

I live in the far north of Scotland and all motorhomers are becoming hated due to the actions of people who should know better. Open fires, rubbish, emptying chemical toilets in lochs and rivers, parking inappropriately etc.

Or in some cases you could argue it’s due to the inaction of some councils who are quite openly anti Motorhome. I am just back from where you live and I saw little evidence of any hatred towards me, exactly the opposite in fact. But what I did notice was the total lack of facilities being offered. Perhaps it’s time for some in local councils to do something positive for a change like actually manage the situation instead of simply complaining about it. But to be fair to Highland council, in comparison to some others they are well ahead of the game. A large proportion of those motorhomes come from Europe, and they are used to far superior facilities than what we currently offer.
Also some of the prices up north are scandalous. I was offered somewhere to park with no facilities whatsoever in Durness for £20, more expensive than the CCC site in Oban with showers, chemical waste etc, at £18.20 a night.