Travelling to Scotland from the West Midlands

AL1969

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Hi very new to the motorhome travel I was wondering if anyone knows if there are any services on the M6 that have hook up opportunities for motorhomes.
Oh and just on another subject does anyone know of any nice sites that allow dogs but don’t limit it to 2 dogs as I have 2 Frenchies and 2 Yorkies.
Many thanks in advance Alex.
 
Overnight parking is allowed on most services ,I've never seen electric points.
Services aren't ideal Overnight spots.
There's a caravan park near Tebay services. We have stopped here years ago when travelling through later than originally planned. There was very little road noise. Check their website for details and prices.

If we want to stop in this area we would normally stop at Kendal cricket club.There are no facilities, but it's convenient for town and rejoining the motorway next day. It's £10 night.
 
There are two things that spring to mind from your post.
Firstly, if your intention is to get to Scotland, then I would expect you to easily clear the M6 on first day.
Secondly, is there a good reason for wanting EHU, as above I've never seen a service station with EHU, and even in the depths of winter would not be needing EHU for a night in transit.
p.s. some years back when we had less time to spare for holidays we would sometimes leave late on a friday night after work and pull into a service station around midnight, so they where convenient then.
 
AL1969 said:
Hi very new to the motorhome travel I was wondering if anyone knows if there are any services on the M6 that have hook up opportunities for motorhomes.
Oh and just on another subject does anyone know of any nice sites that allow dogs but don’t limit it to 2 dogs as I have 2 Frenchies and 2 Yorkies.
Many thanks in advance Alex.
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We regularly do the Hagley Bypass A491 to Fife in Scotland in one session [refill fuel at Asda Oldbury J2 M5 North, about 15 miles from start point], apart from a quick leg stretch at Tebay Services North; this is usually the 2nd leg of the journey up from Portsmouth Ferry Port, so 500 miles=/- overall. If you are a Caravan & Motorhome Club Members, there is a Certified Location [but no EHU] at 'The Smallholding', Brereton Heath - was £7 per night in 2023. 100m from woodland park for exercising dogs, and very friendly/informal. J16 M6 travelling north, or J17 when travelling south - both about 5 miles from the motorway and well signposted.

Steve [Stourbridge born :ROFLMAO:]
 
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Where in Scotland do you wish to get to?

Whenever we did that (and still do but this time starting from Scotland) we just drive until we have had enough and pull into a roadside layby, one that has a separation from the main carriageway, for an overnight stop. Often parked up with HGV's doing the same. Never had any issues.
 
colinm said:
There are two things that spring to mind from your post.
Firstly, if your intention is to get to Scotland, then I would expect you to easily clear the M6 on first day.
Secondly, is there a good reason for wanting EHU, as above I've never seen a service station with EHU, and even in the depths of winter would not be needing EHU for a night in transit.
p.s. some years back when we had less time to spare for holidays we would sometimes leave late on a friday night after work and pull into a service station around midnight, so they where convenient then.
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They were also free at one time . Not sure when they started charging ?
 
Yes tebay has lovely little site next to North bound services as many dogs as you like but book online I don’t like doing that drive in 1 hit either from worcester
 
alcam said:
They were also free at one time . Not sure when they started charging ?
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I guess around 25 years ago, our main experience is for M5, at first we never had to pay, then they introduced charge which included one breakfast, last time we used them you paid just for parking and was getting quite expensive.
 
Crossfells campsite 3 miles from M6 near Penrith. C&CC cs site, not an issue if you aren’t a member. EHU if required but as others have mentioned why you should need it for one night is beyond me unless it’s for medical needs.
 
colinm said:
I guess around 25 years ago, our main experience is for M5, at first we never had to pay, then they introduced charge which included one breakfast, last time we used them you paid just for parking and was getting quite expensive.
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Yes price seems to vary from £15 to £35+
 
colinm said:
There are two things that spring to mind from your post.
Firstly, if your intention is to get to Scotland, then I would expect you to easily clear the M6 on first day.
Secondly, is there a good reason for wanting EHU, as above I've never seen a service station with EHU, and even in the depths of winter would not be needing EHU for a night in transit.
p.s. some years back when we had less time to spare for holidays we would sometimes leave late on a friday night after work and pull into a service station around midnight, so they where convenient then.
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Hi,
Thanks for your reply I should have mentioned that my motorhome is quite old it’s a 52 reg and without EHU none of the interior electrics work ( lights or sockets ).
Thanks Alex.
 
AL1969 said:
Hi,
Thanks for your reply I should have mentioned that my motorhome is quite old it’s a 52 reg and without EHU none of the interior electrics work ( lights or sockets ).
Thanks Alex.
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Having sockets not working on a MH unless on EHU is the norm, in decades of having MH's I've never had one with sockets that work without EHU, never been an issue as most MH's are designed to be used without EHU, so all cooking and heating can be done on gas. The lights not working without EHU is not the norm, I think I've only once before heard of a MH that needs EHU for lights. It's unlikely to be due to age of MH, the oldest MH's we had never even had provision for EHU.
What model MH do you have?
 
Another possibility why the lights don't work.

Most caravans and mh's use 12V lights running from a battery and when EHU is connected that charges the battery. But in a mh the battery is also charged from the engines alternator when running, so is unlikely to go flat.

BUT I had to repair a caravan for someone recently and instead of that normal simple system, it had a battery for solo use, but when you connected the EHU it fed a large 12V power supply and activated a changeover relay so the 12V stuff did not run from the battery but from this big 12V power supply. In this case it was the contacts of the relay that had burned out, so when the EHU was unplugged the connection back to the battery was not making due to burned out relay contacts.

In any event it needs fixing. Start a new thread starting with pictures of what you have in your mh in terms of batteries and electrical controls and I am sure we can resolve it.
 
Another possibility of how the lights don’t work is very common.
Folks buying an old cheap Motorhome thinking they’re going to do the “NC500”. When they don’t even know how to work the lights never mind the important things.
#justsayin
 
Nabsim said:
Not forgetting some motorhomes you actually have to turn on 12V fr it to work
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Exactly. The original poster obviously hasn’t done much research or figured out how to work the power management system in their old new to them van.
A little knowledge is dangerous.
 
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