No Overnight Parking - Scotland

Richard this is why I have stopped listing out of the way overnight parking spots if there is another van there we dont stop if more the 1 more comes we move on in the Highlands we have been enough times to know where to go the idiot at Durness came whilst we were having a late tea break he assumed we were stopping. The few spoil it for the rest of us we even have a pet?

Alf
 
Thanks Alf, I was worried someone might be offended by my, "Jonny-come-lately" comment, I'm a wild-camper at heart though in only one year of experience I've had very few comfy-opportunities to camp wild and had quite a few experiences to understand why things could get worse for us in the coming year-or-so.

Because of where I live I've met quite a few other motorhome-ers and mostly they have been friendly and considerate though I've bumped into a few who presumably feel the outlay of £30-to-£50.000 gives them some-sort of right of passage and-or other rights.

Our car-parks officer got so upset with the, "Two-fingers-up" he's after having hight barriers next year to stop motorhomes entering the car-parks, I can't see it happening but it gives you an idea. He even came round during the early-hours to move them on but didn't slap tickets on the vans so he's a good sort at heart but the system is being shafted.

So, whilst digressing a little from Scotland I'm painting a novice picture of what's happening that may-well be the reason we have problems north of the border.

___________________________________________
Richard Roggan. Distinguished kitesurfing Gentleman.
I don't do tricks.
 
Island MP slams rise in camper van visits - The Sunday Mail


Google this, I don't know how to post links.:eek:
 
Thanks for the help Derek.

I didn't want to 'big-up' my views on the basis of just a years experience in motorhome travel though I do live in one of the, 'honey-pot' areas.

Sliding slightly sideways, how-come during a recession and poor returns for pension-pots we have so many people with motorhomes ?

Back on topic and the issue, us "Jonny-come-lately" types along with everyone else need to spread ourselves a little more thinly and to respect others views. Goodness knows how neighbors are coping with all those motorhomes in drives, I suppose the next national-news will be the amount of local-authority enforcements being made.

I take both MMM and Practical Motorhome, the effort to move the vast amount of stock being held by dealers at a time the UK is saturated by motorhomes makes me wonder about a crash in the UK market.

___________________________________________
Richard Roggan. Distinguished kitesurfing Gentleman.
I don't do tricks.
 
Back to the signs .....as we undersstand it here on Skye, they are not enforceable
 
No Overnight Parking

I stand corrected the No Overnight Parking signs are Not the responsibility of the Highland Council but of Scotland TranServ ( this is a Balfour Beatty Company )
I have sent a Email regarding the signs and will post when reply come.
The Highland Council replied within 20 mins saying nothing to do with them

I dont object to laybys at the side of the road having these signs but off road laybys and viewpoints with no dwellings in sight

Alf
 
No Overnight Parking

Has anyone ever been fined or asked to move in the middle of the night when parking near these signs. We have parked near them but never had anyone complain. Perhaps we were lucky!
We parked on the car park behind Morrisons at Fort William recently and returned to find what we thought was a parking ticket on our windscreen but it contained a polite note advising us and all the other motorhomes parked that overnight parking was not allowed and could result in a £20 fine. But the truck drivers slept there anyway! Loads of other places we stopped at last year had the new signs erected.
 
No Overnight Parking

Its not really the supermarket and Fort William car parks in question it is the ones on the far North East, North and North West coast policed by local zealots who use abusive language and threaten damage and return during the night to cause trouble, they believe they are right because the sign says no overnight parking.

If the spot you have stopped in cannot be seen from any houses only by people passing on the road should these signs be there.

The ONLY people that tend to observe the are motor caravaners or as the new word spreading is Bin fillers (I am a bin filler I collect our rubbish and bin it not like the car drivers that place the fast food tray and drink container under car and drive off)
The Tinkers (our Gypsy’s (or Italians) don’t take notice they park anywhere.

Alf
 
No Overnight Parking

Alf 1 said:
I stand corrected the No Overnight Parking signs are Not the responsibility of the Highland Council but of Scotland TranServ ( this is a Balfour Beatty Company )
I have sent a Email regarding the signs and will post when reply come.
The Highland Council replied within 20 mins saying nothing to do with them

I dont object to laybys at the side of the road having these signs but off road laybys and viewpoints with no dwellings in sight

Alf
Click to expand...

I have had any aknowledgemet fron SCOTLAND TranServ of my email and they promose a reply before the 12th of August

12th of when that will go with a bang.

if anyone requires the email address to email please PM


Alf
 
Alf 1 said:
Whilst in the Durness area did you not see the No Overnight Parking for Motor caravans, a car,bike,pickup,lorry but no motor caravans?
Click to expand...

The ones I saw were all just "No overnight parking". Don't recall any specifically mentioning campervans and nothing else.

At no point in our trip round the Western Isles and the far north west would we ever have struggled to find a good overnight wild camping spot - despite this being probably the busiest I've ever seen the area for people camping etc.
 
jenspen said:
Has anyone ever been fined or asked to move in the middle of the night when parking near these signs. We have parked near them but never had anyone complain. Perhaps we were lucky!
We parked on the car park behind Morrisons at Fort William recently and returned to find what we thought was a parking ticket on our windscreen but it contained a polite note advising us and all the other motorhomes parked that overnight parking was not allowed and could result in a £20 fine. But the truck drivers slept there anyway! Loads of other places we stopped at last year had the new signs erected.
Click to expand...
I parked in that very same carpark about 3 weeks ago, we went on the train to Malaig, when we got back, a parking ticket on the window, even though I paid £1.50 for the ticket, the fine was for having the off side tyres 1" over the white line.
You have been warned.
Cheers, Pete.
 
Hi Pete, I hate that. Ok, if we were all going to be academic in everything we do we would have to accept this but lot's of car-parks have cars that are poorly parked and over the lines because someone started it by poor parking.

This all smacks of picking on us motorhome-ers.

How many car-parks are so full that the car-park officer has to resort to penalising anyone over the white-line, the real finger up to us is when our car-parks officer (I'm reiterating) asked a motorhome-er to pay for an extra bay because he'd set his table and chairs up. Fine, what happens when a driver enters the car-park to find spaces all taken and a few are taken-up for dining and social purpose.

"It's a car-park" said our parking officer when he got into an argument because their wasn't enough space for motorhomes.

What would happen if 'Jonny-lot-O-money' drove into a beach car-park very early and bought £325 worth of parking spaces and stuck a table in every space so his entourage of pals could have a get-together. I can just see the headlines in the local paper.
 
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Alf 1 said:
Its not really the supermarket and Fort William car parks in question it is the ones on the far North East, North and North West coast policed by local zealots who use abusive language and threaten damage and return during the night to cause trouble, they believe they are right because the sign says no overnight parking.

If the spot you have stopped in cannot be seen from any houses only by people passing on the road should these signs be there.

The ONLY people that tend to observe the are motor caravaners or as the new word spreading is Bin fillers (I am a bin filler I collect our rubbish and bin it not like the car drivers that place the fast food tray and drink container under car and drive off)
The Tinkers (our Gypsy’s (or Italians) don’t take notice they park anywhere.

Alf
Click to expand...

I must have been very lucky....in 20 years in Scotland with a motorhome I have never ever met problems over parking.
However, the A Class driving up the main road in Uist blindly refusing to move over for an ambulance with lights on...or in Fort William carpark last week, occupying one bay for the van, the second for tables and chairs and, when challenged, pointing out that table and chairs are not a vehicle so neither can be ticketed or charged for...that doesn't help.
Remember, people do live and work up here and do deserve some consideration!
 
noody said:
A huge round of applause from me for that contribution.
Click to expand...

The 'Fort' car park does get really busy.

I was parked up overnight several years ago but I was fishing (and imbibing:eek: at the time) and the local plod had a wee look around, saw the rods and the bottle of rouge, gave a wee wink,nod and left me to it.

Maybe it's not so acceptable now though.:(
 
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