OAP's needing advice

[MikeAnita]

Hi. we are young at heart and have had a motorhome for 2 years but we have only done a handfull of trips, we are hoping to use wild camping to make our funds go further we are also members of camping and caravaning and the retired caravaners association.our plans are to do some touring abroad also England and Scotland,any advice we can get will be very welcome,
We are not very brave and confident so would like places where there is a good chance of other wild campers close by.
MikeAnita

 

[Deleted member 3270]

Hi. we are young at heart and have had a motorhome for 2 years but we have only done a handfull of trips, we are hoping to use wild camping to make our funds go further we are also members of camping and caravaning and the retired caravaners association.our plans are to do some touring abroad also England and Scotland,any advice we can get will be very welcome,
We are not very brave and confident so would like places where there is a good chance of other wild campers close by.
MikeAnita

Hi Mike Anita
Please give us some idea where you would like to go (ie wild camp) as there is lots of places and lots of friends around on wild camping that are willing to help

 

[yorkslass]

hi,:wave::welcome:

 

[Deleted member 33454]

Hi, :welcome:

Welcome to the forum, we are newcomers as you can see but the advise is good here, so you will do well.

We have yet to cut our teeth on the wild side but as you are members of C & CC why don't you try using some of the simpler and more remote CS to improve your skills, kind of wilding with comfort. We have used a lot of Caravan Club CL's with no electricity and fees of £3 to £6 and it helped us to build our confidence to look at a 4 week tour in the Highlands later in the year with no sites booked and a lot of wild camping planned, hence joining the community here and getting all of these wonderful POI's.

Good luck and always pay attention to the budget, hard earned but easily lost.

Clive and Linda

 

[Neckender]

:welcome: MikeAnita, from a neckender (Longton) there are plenty of places that you could try just scroll down to the bottom of forum and there are places that members have recommended all over the British isles, one of our favourites is just up the motorway to Southport we've had some cracking week ends there.
The best though is to go across to France what a country that is all set up for motorhomes.

John.

 

[Channa]

with respect, the biggest problem you have at the moment is fear.

flip side of the coin, loads of places to see ,stop and be safe.

Conquer the demons, early days stop where the trucks do then venture further.

Above all have fun

Channa

 

[dave and mary]

Hi. we are young at heart and have had a motorhome for 2 years but we have only done a handfull of trips, we are hoping to use wild camping to make our funds go further we are also members of camping and caravaning and the retired caravaners association.our plans are to do some touring abroad also England and Scotland,any advice we can get will be very welcome,
We are not very brave and confident so would like places where there is a good chance of other wild campers close by.
MikeAnita

Hi and welcome to the site, M/hing is a great way to get about and see things when you are on a fixed income, and the price of camping sites now are just ridicules when you only wont somewhere to park. We have found over the years that it is cheaper, or rather better value to cross the channel to France where you are made welcome, unlike this country where in so many places you are not wonted for one reason or another. We have found some towns where you are welcome like Canterbury but they are few and far between. Last year we spent 7 weeks in France and never spent a euro on site rents or tolls, the facilities over there are great, in most towns and villages there is a stopover place, with water and w/c emptying point. To have 7 weeks without having to pay to park makes the pensions go a lot further. The 2 best things we have ever got for our van is the garmin sat nav that saves us paying on toll roads and helps us see so much more of the country, and the book camperstop with its sites downloaded into the sat nav, makes life so much easier just press the button and all the stopovers are on the screen, so press the button and it takes you there. You will find many people on here to help you and get advice from, just get out there and enjoy yourself we are unable to get abroad at the moment so tomorrow we are of to see what Lincolnshire has to offer, :drive: :drive:

 

[tommytransit]

hello and welcome
my wife had the same fears when we started wild camping last year so we joined "britstops" when we got our booklet the choice was really good and because the stops are members of britstops it helped my wife to overcome her fear of not been on a camping site. we set off from durham in the north east and went south just going where the sun was on that particular day. we bumbled our way down to lands end stopping at lots of places on the way. on the return as we came through the new forest we turned right and went along the coast to brighton then up to norfolk broads then lincolnshire, yorkshire then home, two weeks away and not a penny spent on site fees. we tended to stop at pubs for the night so we could buy a meal then retire to bed in the carpark but there are farms and vinyards as well. every stop was friendly and most of the pubs let us use the toilets on a morning and some let us use showers in the rooms they had, brilliant!!!!
to join costs £25 plus £2 postage but if you find a pub or farm or whatever that will let campers stay for the night and will join britstops then your next years fee,s are free :have fun:

tommy n sally

 

[Deleted member 21686]

Welcome to the forum.
Pub stops are a good start if you're nervous, you won't feel so isolated.

 

[Deleted member 967]

At 70 and 71 Joan and I may be pensioners but we don't consider ourselves old.

We bought a Motorhome 6 years age just before I retired and used it for weekends and longer trips. We went touring Scotland for 6 weeks and all the time we were away we were thinking about the house and Joan's allotment. We came home after that trip and decided to get rid of the house etc. and travel full time in the Motorhome. It took us 9 months to get on the road full time from making that decision. We left bricks and mortar behind in February 2008.

We at first used CLs and campsites but gradually have wild parked more and more. We overwintered in Spain the first year on a campsite. We found we began to get stir crazy being in one place. We towed a car on a trailer so used that to tour about. On return to the UK we also dragged the car about with us.

The next winter we had to hang about for Joan's medical and Licence renewal to keep the C1+E entitlement. We then developed a problem with the on board generator that couldn't be fixed in the UK. The factory was in liquidation in Italy but the owner agreed for us to bring the unit to him and they would sort it out. We had planned to visit the south of France anyway, so we thought Italy is just along the coast. We left the car and trailer behind and set off for Italy via France in January.
It turned out to be bitterly cold even on the Med coast and we drove through blizzards to Italy where we were in 2ft of snow and temperatures rising to minus 11c during the day. The generator was repaired and we headed back to France. We thought the leisure batteries were failing, as they were not holding their charge. The waste tank froze at Narbonne Plage on the Med and thinking the batteries had died we headed back to the UK arriving in March. We had originally thought of heading further south into Spain, but with the problems we changed our mind. The waste tank remained solidly frozen right back to Birmingham where we had arranged to have the batteries tested. The batteries turned out to be OK and it was just the severe cold that was the problem.

Last summer we were in the south lakes in all the rain and headed back to Spain in September. This time we wild parked, except of 3 weeks on a site and we found that was too long. Wild Parking away from the crowds, we had no problems and the Police didn't bother us either. We toured the mountains and then followed the coast from Alacanti south around the peninsular and back up through Portugal and France. I had to get back for my medical and licence renewal, so just got back to the UK just after all the snow. We hung back in France as the channel ports were all cut off with deep snow.

Now we wild park as much as we can. We avoid parking with others and are not pub people, so do not find a need to park in pub car parks. We are happy with our own company. We had developed strategies, that enable us to go for between a week and 10 days, without the need of services.

The POIs from this site are a good guide in unfamiliar areas, but nothing beats your own feeling for the security of a parking place. We have had our share of problems while on the road, but nothing that we couldn't cope with. Good breakdown cover helped us out a few times.

I say go for it and don't feel afraid. It may seem strange at first but you soon develop a sense for the life. We have now had 4 years on the road full time now and still enjoying it.

John

 

[Deleted member 3011]

When you get old and doddery is a good time to explore your own country, but now while your health is good and you can walk 100 yards without gasping for breath is just the right time to explore the rest of the world.

France is the place to learn the ropes. All the Aires France is your bible and it is EASY.

Then Morocco should beckon -

take an easy trip through Spain using the wild camping skills you have learnt in France and spend the winter in Morocco. Forget the Atlantic coast with all the sunseekers lying around doing nothing and instead head inland for some new experiences.

Next year there is winter in Sicily and any time of the year in Turkey - all regarded as safe destinations where you are made to feel welcome.

Got a spare 3000 euro? Then catch the Ferry to Iceland and spend aninteresting couple of months wildcamping most of the time. Buy a camping card for 100 euro and you can stay free at any one of 50 camp sites for up to 4 nights at a time. Yes, an expensive three months but I guarantee you won't find a single car park with height barriers. How good is that???

Here, I've saved a couple of seats for you overlooking Vatnajolull, a glacier that is 100km x 80 km that you can drive right up close and walk on it.

 

[MikeAnita]

Hi Mike Anita
Please give us some idea where you would like to go (ie wild camp) as there is lots of places and lots of friends around on wild camping that are willing to help

Hi. Thank you for the reply and thank you for pointing us in the right directions, We are not sure where and when but we do intend going upto Ardrossan Ayrshire then onto Buckie near Aberdeen. MikeAnita

 

[MikeAnita]

Thank you to everyone for making us welcome

Thanks:cheers:

 

[lotty]

Hi and welcome from another one in Stoke on Trent :welcome:

 

[scampa]

Hi & Welcome :wave:

As Channa says in an earlier post, it sounds as though your biggest obstacle to overcome at the moment is your fear, or more accurately, "apprehension" of staying overnight in a spot that isn't a "proper" camp-site. Most of us had the same problem to start with, and we can imagine all sorts of things to worry about that never actually occur in reality!

I had a break of several years from wildcamping because of other things happening in my life, and I felt a little wary and even nervous (but don't tell anyone!) when I went back to it. After the first night out again it all seemed natural, and I had no further worries. So my advice would be to just do it, and after just a few nights it will become second nature to you both without seeming half as daunting as it does now!

I was in Stoke on Trent yesterday (Monday), and travelled through your local area of Staffordshire and the Peak District (including Longton!) on my tour of a few midlands counties. There are some great places to stay overnight around there. My own preferences are for the wilder spots near The Roaches or the more remote Peaks, but whatever you are attracted to, you really are spoiled for choice within just an hour from home!

I see that you are Full members. Have you downloaded the useful POI's (Wildcamp & Pub stops) yet? If so, you could visit some of the ones in your area to get a feel for them. Scotland would also be a great place to start your adventures. There are so many wildcamping sites up there that you almost trip over them as you drive along. Even the natives up there are starting to get more civilised nowadays )) so it could be the easiest way to break yourselves in to this way of life.

As others have suggested, you could try a pub-stop or two, or a Brit-stops site to ease you in gently before trying a truly wild-camp. Before you know it you'll be as laid back as the rest of us are about "proper" wilding, and you'll be the first to offer reassurance and advice to other people in your situation in the future.

Get yourselves through this first stage, then as Delboy would say, the world truly will become your lobster!!

Good luck, and remember to share photos of your upcoming adventures with us all.

 

[Channa]

Hoy scampi, fear and apprehension are the same thing ,a perception.....(accuracy aside).

I agree with you though, Scotland aint a bad place to " get to grips" before wrestling with the metropolisi (is that plural for metropolises) That Englands green and pleasant lands have to offer.

Easiest of the lot is France IMHO, second largest camping market outside the US I was told.

Go with the flow if it doesnt feel right move on, Its a big world out there , brim the tanks and motor !

Channa

 

[scampa]

Hoy scampi, fear and apprehension are the same thing ,a perception.....(accuracy aside). Channa

My apologies China, you are right of course!

What I tried to say was that "Fear" often relates to real dangers that you may encounter, however unlikely or uncommon they may be.

"Apprehension" on the other hand is more like a nervousness (such as stage-fright) of doing something new and unfamiliar for the first time. We agree that the best way to overcome this is by spending a night or three camped in wild spots. After waking up the next morning and realising that you "survived" and actually enjoyed the experience, your confidence will greatly increase!