The "Golden Age of Motorhoming" is....

Bill C

Guest
...dead.
It's not want you want to hear is it. It's certainly not what I wanted to hear just as I am about to purchase my first motorhome. Tell me more I said but he wouldn't elaborate other than say "Motorhomes are not welcome in this country anymore. You'll find out. Do you want to buy this or what?"
Well I didn't buy it. It had a funky lived in smell that put me off a bit and was more worn out on the inside than on the outside. But what he said got me thinking. The POIs on here show plenty of places to wild camp and there are also 100s of small campsites both good and bad. Not to mention France and Spain.....
But what do you guys who have been doing this for years think? Was it better in the past than it is now? I suppose it's easy to view the past in rose tinted glasses. Is there still a good time to be had or will it just all be hassle?
 
Nah. It's not dead :)

There's just a lot more PEOPLE on the planet, so whatever activity you choose to undertake there will be a lot more people trying to do the same thing than there was a few years back.

I expect it just makes it increasingly harder to find those quiet, out of the way spots, as no doubt a lot of those are getting busier & busier year on year - this is from someone who currently hardly ever gets away in the camper, so ignore my waffle if you want!

If somewhere becomes not nice to be any more I guess you just have to keep moving until you find somewhere else that is.

And I'm dead certain there are still lots of lovely, peaceful places out there to discover. All depends where you're looking :)
 
I'd say that we're still in the golden age in that it's possible to drive a van almost everywhere. Within a couple of years my van will be banned from my nearest city for environmental reasons and a few years later my nearest town will ban it for similar reasons. 40 such areas planned in Scotland alone and similar restrictions in the pipeline all over Europe.
There are certainly plenty of quiet scenic places to stay, just avoid those where hoards of vans gather annoying the local populace.
Get out and enjoy things while it's still allowed.
 
The biggest problem is by the sea. Still plenty scenic spots even in England. I think Scotland sounds to be overrun with overseas visitors, but i'm guessing there will be remote scenic stops there too.
 
We are still ok here in the north of ireland and around donegal,but when i were a lad on motorbike there was very few cars over the border as folks could not afford them ans any that were there were at least 15 years old or more and far and few between.
Now things have changed in the last 20 years with ireland joining the c/market which got them new roads, jobs,money,so more folk driving but the upturn is new places open and things to do as its no longer a backwater.
So if wilding is your thing then do try a trip over here and if the weather holds it will be the best trip and money well spent.:camper:
 
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From where we stand,after 19 years on the road, It's a lot easier now. More places to stay, better support services, refillable gas cylinders, better quality vans.
The only downside is that if we're all using the same, easily available information for wildcamping, we'll all end up in the same places.
The fun is finding those hidden gems... Usually by getting fellow travellers drunk .
 
Wild camping is free , councils get nowt, taxman gets nowt,, theirs nowt for nowt in this country ,
 
Bill C said:
...dead.
It's not want you want to hear is it. It's certainly not what I wanted to hear just as I am about to purchase my first motorhome. Tell me more I said but he wouldn't elaborate other than say "Motorhomes are not welcome in this country anymore. You'll find out. Do you want to buy this or what?"
Well I didn't buy it. It had a funky lived in smell that put me off a bit and was more worn out on the inside than on the outside. But what he said got me thinking. The POIs on here show plenty of places to wild camp and there are also 100s of small campsites both good and bad. Not to mention France and Spain.....
But what do you guys who have been doing this for years think? Was it better in the past than it is now? I suppose it's easy to view the past in rose tinted glasses. Is there still a good time to be had or will it just all be hassle?
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I think as long as you don't go where other vans are, and keep your head down and just park you will be ok.

But once you get the table and chairs out, taking up more than one parking space, leaving any rubbish then you will get trouble.
 
One of the main causes is the wonderful EU harmonisation of driving licences if you passed after July 1997 you have to take a separate test to tow.hence the popularity of motorhomes-especially with the itinerant population and thieves!
The population of the UK is now over 66 million!!
 
trevskoda said:
We are still ok here in the north of ireland and around donegal,but when i were a lad on motorbike there was very few cars over the border as fol could not aford them ans any that were there were at least 15 years old or more and far and few between.
Now things have changed in the last 20 years with ireland joining the c/market which got them new roads, jobs,money,so more folk driving but the upturn is new places open and things to do as its no longer a backwater.
So if wilding is your thing then do try a trip over here and if the weather holds it will be the best trip and money well spent.:camper:
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Reckon Trev must have started a career with the Irish Tourist Board, unless he's just doing a bit of advertising for that new bordello of his :) :wave:
 
It’s not dead it’s just moved further south across the Channel. Campsites and especially CL’s charge more per night than a French site. Wild Camping in France is possible but they also have some very nice free Aires. The weather is warm 38 degrees today.

Ok you have to spend money to get here but it’s certainly more enjoyable than being stuck on a Caravan Club site with all their little red buckets miles from anywhere. At least the French campsites and Aires are near somewhere. We are on a campsite at the moment €15 a night. Showerblock etc and a short walk from a fabulous sandy dog friendly beach.

We used to enjoy the CL’s but they seem to be making up their own rules. 50% deposit on booking minimum number of nights and no discount for not using electric. Some are realistic and except that travelers may only want one night and are happy with that.

As with every hobby you pays your money and takes your pick but MH-ing is certainly not dead yet.
 
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harrow said:
I think as long as you don't go where other vans are, and keep your head down and just park you will be ok.

But once you get the table and chairs out, taking up more than one parking space, leaving any rubbish then you will get trouble.
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I totally agree with that - Contraversially I do not object to the Loch Lomond style Camping permit - scheme £3 a night no problem - rubbish bins are emptied and the location is to die for. Earlier this year Late April Early May we did the North Coast 500 (anti clockwise - up the east coast across the top and down - the best way imho) and only used one campsite in that time Applecross for showers and on site launderette.

We later spent 3 nights on Loch Lomond before starting the trek back home (Cornwall).

Jon
 
Nowt

Nice to know when you get some thing for free, Nice thing in France Evan free electric on some aires.
 
I agree with Qfour. Mainland Europe is where you want to be. This is our tenth year with our motorhome although Ive been around camper vans since I Was 18. We have never looked back since we got the van and started touring Europe. Its just fantastic over there, especially France and Germany and a fair bit of Italy. France is Europe's and the motorhomers playground I reckon. Just fabulous. It has everything.

I tour less and less in the UK but there are still places to go. Thankfully I like the out of the way scenic places rather than the tourist hot spots. Also touring out of season in the UK can be good. I would rather do a Winter Tour of say Cornwall and Devon when the roads are quiet and then spend the summer in Mainland Europe in hopefully endless sunshine with thousands of free or cheap spots to park up on. Discover that way of life and you will wonder why you didnt do it years ago.
 
I think that there has been a recent increase in all business rates, this, coupled with more families choosing low cost holidays in the U.K, has increased demand on campsites.
Hence the price increases. Law of supply and demand.
 
Still plenty of loverly spots to find IF you are prepared to do your research and use a map and Google earth...
Avoiding the honey pots is the best advice I can give as you are more likely to find a quiet little known corner...
Obviously that might be a problem IF you like to line your motorhome up with dozens of others to recreate a motor home dealers sales lot ;-).

Keep your head down (ie don't park in front of someone's house etc...
And tread lightly...
I've never had a problem in many years of 'wildcamping' but then I do my best to avoid anyone else at all.

There are plenty of small sites out there too that offer the next best thing to wild camping for a small charge.
 
The NC500 was just a few years back still a relatively unknown route , now there's a guidebook. I reckon every stopping point along it will soone be over used.

From what I can gather from a couble of other groups I follow many new motorhome owners , first timers , use sites all the time some even say the thought of wild camping scares the sh#t out of them , so long may that last. I can still find peace and quiet but I have a small van , and don't seek any facilities or amenities . Here in Edinburgh another example of over use would be Portobello , the car park there is full of not just motorhomes but caravans as well , it's almost impossible to park and walk the dog. Again a few years back it was empty most of the year.

So I reckon in some ways it is over , sites ar booked months even years in advance and some wild spots are definately crowded , my advice for what it's worth would be choose a small van .
 
mistericeman said:
Still plenty of loverly spots to find IF you are prepared to do your research and use a map and Google earth...
Avoiding the honey pots is the best advice I can give as you are more likely to find a quiet little known corner...
Obviously that might be a problem IF you like to line your motorhome up with dozens of others to recreate a motor home dealers sales lot ;-).

Keep your head down (ie don't park in front of someone's house etc...
And tread lightly...
I've never had a problem in many years of 'wildcamping' but then I do my best to avoid anyone else at all.

There are plenty of small sites out there too that offer the next best thing to wild camping for a small charge.
Click to expand...

I think you are spot on and it is well documented I have always been suspicious of the POI system and potential overuse

Whether I am right or wrong doesn't matter the new breed of wildcampers ( not necessarily this group ) are of the mindset that they pay to join a group and can be spoonfed spots without any effort on their part ...FB is full of them some sites have even stolen Phils and Chrises work

Recently one poster here was moaning that there wasn't sites around Manchester there are loads like this part of West Yorks you need to keep an eye out which it seems a lot don't want to do.

I believe this arrogance I have paid £x also translates that people don't behave responsibly Wildcamping cant be bought with money and those that think it can should be checked immediately

In my mind retards

Channa
 
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