Proposed Ban on Overnight Parking Glenmore, Cairngorms (Highland Council)

[veletron]

Hi

The popular roadside parking near Glenmore is now subject to a proposed restriction banning overnight parking and stays beyond 12 hours. Details in the attached image feel free to object as I have.

With the campsite wanting £34.90 a night for me+van (without a hookup!), and with 'No Overnight Parking' signs in all of the car parks, and a chocca pre-bookable Aire in the Ciste there is nowhere left for ad-hoc cheap overnighting in this part of the Cairngorms. They are trying to herd folks into Glenmore. I shall vote with my feet/wheels!

 

[barryd]

£34.90 without electric!! Wow. Sounds to me like Scotland is becoming like parts of England for being anti motorhome. It's certainly spreading it seems.

 

[veletron]

That's BH weekend for 1 person. Its 39.40 for two and 36.40 for two outwith a BH weekend

Rate Card - Glenmore Campsite

glenmore-campsite.com

 

[caledonia]

Just need to know where to go. They’re stopping people parking on the road side. Don’t see an issue with that. Go and park at Loch an Eilein for a fraction of the cost and peace away from the hordes.

 

[veletron]

Yeah, I am going to have to get used to moving before my days activities (hill walking, biking, ski touring, kayaking). Up until now, I have tended to park somewhere that saves me moving in the morning, my activities occur right from the van.

 

[caledonia]

Yeah, I am going to have to get used to moving before my days activities (hill walking, biking, ski touring, kayaking). Up until now, I have tended to park somewhere that saves me moving in the morning, my activities occur right from the van.

I normally find a nice park up for the night away from people as I don’t like them. Then in the morning move to the Loch side carpark next to Glenmore Campsite and pay for parking and head for the hills. Sugar Bowl carpark is also a good one to leave the van if heading higher up. Plenty options you just need to avoid all the honey pots.

 

[kaz]

Saw this the other week,we tend to park overnight at the roadside at Glenmore but may consider not coming so much as campsite a tad pricey and the carpark up at the ciste is fine but they have put price up since it first opened and it will be closing soon to motorhome etc till May for the skiing season.I have just been to lake district the carparks are not motorhome or campervan friendly

 

[Cosmicyoyo]

Could always park at the mountain motorhome aire!

 

[2cv]

Could always park at the mountain motorhome aire!

That would be the now regimented area that until recently was a superb free parking area.

 

[caledonia]

Saw this the other week,we tend to park overnight at the roadside at Glenmore but may consider not coming so much as campsite a tad pricey and the carpark up at the ciste is fine but they have put price up since it first opened and it will be closing soon to motorhome etc till May for the skiing season.I have just been to lake district the carparks are not motorhome or campervan friendly

Why would you park on the roadside? It’s a busy road for a start and would think not a great place to sleep. I totally understand why they want to ban overnight parking on this stretch of road because the sheep once they see one van just file in behind turning the roadside into an unofficial campsite with all the cassette emptying rumours and sh1tting in the bushes stories it brings with it.
I wish people would use more common sense when parking but I fear there’s a lot like Kaz who think it’s cool to overnight at the side of the road in one of Scotlands most beautiful but busy places.

 

[wildebus]

That's BH weekend for 1 person. Its 39.40 for two and 36.40 for two outwith a BH weekend

Rate Card - Glenmore Campsite

glenmore-campsite.com

Mid season for wrinklies ... I.E. from pretty well now on for 3 weeks it is £16.30 for single occupancy and it is Low season, so £11.80 (single) until Christmas, so doesn't seem that horrendous to me?

(Bit of needless scaremongering to choose to quote the highest prices IMO)


What does seem wrong is if in a caravan, a car on the pitch site is included in the pitch fee, but if you have a Motorhome and want a gazebo - which would take up maybe the same space as a car it is an extra £10. Why should that be? Maybe there is a market for gazebos shaped like cars?

 

[Fisherman]

£34.90 without electric!! Wow. Sounds to me like Scotland is becoming like parts of England for being anti motorhome. It's certainly spreading it seems.

Beg to differ Barry, we don’t wild camp in England, but do so in Scotland. The problem is there are to many idiots out there creating issues then complaining about the consequences. Scotland has loads of fantastic places to park up, and most are far away from the popular areas that have suffered from abuse from tent dwellers, city slickers who have no respect for our countryside, and yes sadly by some of us, either through inexperience, or just plain old selfishness. We have councils of all types of persuasions up here. But if you come up here and can’t find somewhere nice to park, you’re simply not looking properly.

 

[caledonia]

Mid season for wrinklies ... I.E. from pretty well now on for 3 weeks it is £16.30 for single occupancy and it is Low season, so £11.80 (single) until Christmas, so doesn't seem that horrendous to me?

(Bit of needless scaremongering to choose to quote the highest prices IMO)


What does seem wrong is if in a caravan, a car on the pitch site is included in the pitch fee, but if you have a Motorhome and want a gazebo - which would take up maybe the same space as a car it is an extra £10. Why should that be? Maybe there is a market for gazebos shaped like cars?

Most wrinkles are couples and if using hook up the price goes up. I know it’s in a prime location but since it came under the name of Forest Holidays not Forestry Commission the prices have gone up considerably.

 

[Fisherman]

I see campsite prices are being discussed again.
We are just back from a three week trip to 8 English CCC campsites and finished of with two up here.
The first thing I can say is they are struggling to fill their sites, so much so they are offering 30% reductions on midweek bookings in England but not so up here. The best value was easily the two Scottish sites for ACR members Jedburgh was £21.50 a night for hard standing with EHU, and Dunbar £18.50 a night grass only. Some of the prices in England were scandalous. Ravenglass £38.50 a night, Salisbury about the same, and these prices are for ACR members. Add 30% for non members, or 10% for members under 60.
We spent two nights at Ebury hill with no toilet/shower facilities grass only £20 a night.
I am contacting them to complain about these 30% reductions now on offer, due to the fact we booked in January we missed out.
I reckon thats both unfair, and completely immoral.
I don't expect too get anywhere, but I think it's important that I register my displeasure.

 

[barryd]

Beg to differ Barry, we don’t wild camp in England, but do so in Scotland. The problem is there are to many idiots out there creating issues then complaining about the consequences. Scotland has loads of fantastic places to park up, and most are far away from the popular areas that have suffered from abuse from tent dwellers, city slickers who have no respect for our countryside, and yes sadly by some of us, either through inexperience, or just plain old selfishness. We have councils of all types of persuasions up here. But if you come up here and can’t find somewhere nice to park, you’re simply not looking properly.

It just seems there are more and more posts both here and elsewhere about either complaints (generally the NC500) or more threads about bans up in Scotland like this one. I generally only go up to Scotland to visit the Islands (well Arran really) but even they in recent years (and Im thinking of Mull here) have clamped down. According the the NC500 whingers club motorhomers have less rights to park in Scotland than England. I dunno if that is true. I agree though there will always be somewhere remote or less desirable to the herds if you get off the beaten track and avoid the honey pots but you could say that about England really. I could tell you half a dozen places to wild camp in the Dales within 20 miles of my house as they are a bit off the radar.

Trouble is people are like sheep. They flock to the same places and as we have seen it gets out of hand. Just a swish of the pollys or councillors pen is all it takes and up go the signs.

Ive not even thought about wilding on this UK trip but mainly because we like to stay so long in one place these days. CLs all the way. We could do with more of them really or more simple field and a tap places just for motorhomes.

 

[alcam]

It just seems there are more and more posts both here and elsewhere about either complaints (generally the NC500) or more threads about bans up in Scotland like this one. I generally only go up to Scotland to visit the Islands (well Arran really) but even they in recent years (and Im thinking of Mull here) have clamped down. According the the NC500 whingers club motorhomers have less rights to park in Scotland than England. I dunno if that is true. I agree though there will always be somewhere remote or less desirable to the herds if you get off the beaten track and avoid the honey pots but you could say that about England really. I could tell you half a dozen places to wild camp in the Dales within 20 miles of my house as they are a bit off the radar.

Trouble is people are like sheep. They flock to the same places and as we have seen it gets out of hand. Just a swish of the pollys or councillors pen is all it takes and up go the signs.

Ive not even thought about wilding on this UK trip but mainly because we like to stay so long in one place these days. CLs all the way. We could do with more of them really or more simple field and a tap places just for motorhomes.

Think you are probably right Barry .
Though what are you going to do when the CLs get too busy ?

 

[barryd]

Think you are probably right Barry .
Though what are you going to do when the CLs get too busy ?

So far so good since June but maybe that's why we need more relaxed basic sites. Not necessarily car park Aires that councils have provided having gone through years of meetings and all that palaver. Just a farmers field with a tap and somewhere to empty the waste. I've seen a few pop up sites like this on our travels but they are catering for tents as well so they have built temporary showers, provided toilets etc and they are £25 a night.

What im talking about is similar but just for motorhomes. No facilities required. Like a basic CL but not affiliated with a club and not restricted to just five vans. They exist all over Europe so why not here?

There must be shed loads of farms and crofts in Scotland that could do this as well as England and Wales. Maybe there wasn't the demand a few years ago but there would be now.

 

[wildebus]

I see campsite prices are being discussed again.
We are just back from a three week trip to 8 English CCC campsites and finished of with two up here.
The first thing I can say is they are struggling to fill their sites, so much so they are offering 30% reductions on midweek bookings in England but not so up here. The best value was easily the two Scottish sites for ACR members Jedburgh was £21.50 a night for hard standing with EHU, and Dunbar £18.50 a night grass only. Some of the prices in England were scandalous. Ravenglass £38.50 a night, Salisbury about the same, and these prices are for ACR members. Add 30% for non members, or 10% for members under 60.
We spent two nights at Ebury hill with no toilet/shower facilities grass only £20 a night.

I am contacting them to complain about these 30% reductions now on offer, due to the fact we booked in January we missed out.
I reckon thats both unfair, and completely immoral.
I don't expect too get anywhere, but I think it's important that I register my displeasure.

I don't know, but if the prices went UP by 30% you wouldn't expect to be asked to pay the extra, so should you expect to benefit from a reduction?

 

[Fisherman]

I don't know, but if the prices went UP by 30% you wouldn't expect to be asked to pay the extra, so should you expect to benefit from a reduction?

Why would prices go up by 30% David when they are struggling to fill their sites.
In effect those of us who planned our trips months in advance are paying 30% more on certain sites than others. Some people are not great with computers, and will miss out. But last year I was charged an additional £2 a night by the other lot after booking, because they applied a surcharge for EHU.

The prices set were to high thus they were struggling to fill their sites, the 30% discount should have been retrospective for all of their MEMBERS. And that’s my point we’re not simply customers but paying members of the CCC. It’s wrong in my honest opinion to have members paying different rates on a site due to when they booked. Also if you booked these sites over the phone these discounts did not apply. They should set the same price for all of their members regardless of how and when they booked.

 

[wildebus]

Why would prices go up by 30% David when they are struggling to fill their sites.

I am talking theroretical.
take your new Motorhome ... If you placed the order for that today, you would be paying significantly more for it then you are. And that is because you agreed the price at the time of the order. If the prices went DOWN, I don't think they would be reducing the price and your option there would probably be to pay the price agree or cancel the order and lose the deposit. But in this case, you benefitted from securing an agreed price.
While it may be annoying I don't see a booking for a campsite is any different. But it went the other way.

In effect those of us who planned our trips months in advance are paying 30% more on certain sites than others. Some people are not great with computers, and will miss out. But last year I was charged an additional £2 a night by the other lot after booking, because they applied a surcharge for EHU.

The prices set were to high thus they were struggling to fill their sites, the 30% discount should have been retrospective for all of their MEMBERS. And that’s my point we’re not simply customers but paying members of the CCC. It’s wrong in my honest opinion to have members paying different rates on a site due to when they booked. Also if you booked these sites over the phone these discounts did not apply. They should set the same price for all of their members regardless of how and when they booked.