Quality of submitted POI's

[scampa]

I do not think the database is being undermined. All locations should be valued as long as it is a place that can be used as a stopover.

Whilst a forest bound car park can be ideal, sometimes all I may need is a layby to stop in on my travels. So they all fit in to a bigger picture. It depends on why you are wild camping that day.

But I say the more the merrier as long as it is a safe location (as safe as you can be anyway).

My use of the word "quality" was probably a poor choice, I should have used "suitable" or "usable".

I'm happy enough to park overnight in laybys, near cemeteries, industrial estates, railways etc including places that some others would dismiss. (One night when I was struggling for a place to park up in the area I wanted, I noticed some vehicles similar to mine for sale on a garage forecourt . I parked up alongside them and had no problems, though sadly I received no offers!).

My original post wasn't aimed at anyone in particular and no offence was intended, but the rejections that I've seen recently just reminded me of the value of checking locations at first hand for suitability before they are added to the database.

For example, Google Maps, and Google Earth Street View are great for getting ideas, but bear in mind that some of the images on there are several years old, and can never be as reliable as a recommendation from someone who has visited the location. If you find a likely spot on Street View, or hear of one from a friend (or even from another forum?), why not post it provisionally, so that any member nearby, or who passes the area, can check it out and report back to us?

That way, all of the POI's added to the database will at least have been reliably deemed as "suitable" or "usable" at the time that they were added.

 

[christine]

We don't have Sat Nav and rely entirely on OS maps and Google Map/Earth (which I look at before leaving home as we don't have internet connection whilst away.) As already stated, most of the images on Google Earth Street View are not up to date so we have to set off with the notion that any of our chosen places might not be suitable now. A contingency plan is helpful and often, this is where CL's come in to the picture. Unfortunately, there seems to be a dearth of these in most places we wish to explore, as we tend to like off the beaten track places.

To us, a decent place to wild camp has to be rural, quiet, away from residential areas, no forbidding signs, no louts and off the road, not a layby. Oh, a nice view is important as well! We will not overnight ie; just pull in somewhere for the sake of not paying a site fee, we will wild camp, ie; stop somewhere interesting with lots of possibilities for exploring.

I know, we are all different and one person's preferences are not others!