What do you look for

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There have been a few posts recently on the forum asking for locations to overnight in our towns,what do most of us look for when choosing a suitable place to overnight?Personally i don't want to overnight in built up locations,i can't see the attraction in choosing somewhere with all the hurlyburly.In my home town a festival of the sea is held annually,was on my way to work one saturday morning came across a wildcamper using the town square as his overnight stop.Must have felt safe there as it is across the road from the police station but surrounded on 2 sides by noisy pubs and nightclubs all open till the 3am:eek:poor guy can't have had much sleep.Suggested he try the local beach for his second night anyway to get back to the point do most of us prefer remote locations or built up towns.Far better to have nice scenery and maybe a country pub or am i being narrow minded?Andy
 
Favoured sleepyspots

I much prefer the cover in forests and woodlands;), for quick stopovers a set back laybye with tree cover from the road, also getting tucked in between sand dunes on dead end roads in quiet beach locations:)
I also quite like country pub car parks around the back. (With the landlords permission ,of course):rolleyes::cool:
 
Hey Andy, personally privacy is important, if I know a house is nearby im not very comfortable, therefor I try and find the wildest spots that are accessable
enough for the van. As far away from civilisation and people as possible At the moment circumstance dictates that we have to be parked up quite a lot of time in a town street. Not something I would recomend as an enjoyable wildcamping experience.:)
 
Preferably somewhere well off the beaten track with a stunning view to wake up to. If that fails anywhere I deem to be safe for the night:)
 
Sleepy spots

You will develop an instict about safety.
I'v been wilding for more than 15 years now, always remote areas or small villages, all over Europe, and never been hassled.
e.g. once we wilded in the Champagne on a top hill, a picnic spot with remains of a castle (le Mont Aimé, near Bergères-lès-Vertus) (there is a French folk song; ' les bergères de Vertus ont perdu leurs vertue....-not a nice place for maidens... :cool:!). Night falling we where there all alone.:eek: Suddenly a 4x4 came up, drove round, and another time. First thought: here we got it.! :eek::eek: Jeep stops: an elderly man gets out (relief). 'Bonjour... I'm the major... (another relief).
Is it safe here to spend the night ? 'Bien sur'- the 'gendarmerie' is just down hill and there is only one road. 'Never had troubles here then ?' 'oh oui' the man replied ' we had a lot of troubles with Germans over here ?????: in '40' !!':eek::confused::D
 
I choose remote spots. On arrival in an area I do a quick reccie to chose a spot then find an alternative just incase there are any problems. After this, I stay away and only return after dark then move on early in the morning. I aim to not be seen if possible and try not to use the same spot for more than one consecutive night.

I've been 'wild-camping' for 5 years and only had a problem once when the van was surrounded by a group of about 20 youths shining powerful torches in, trying the doors etc but I was able to drive away and this was a one-off incident (and I hope it remains that way).

Occasionally I've been followed but this has been mostly by the curious who wonder how anyone can live in such a small camper (I have a car conversion).

I've camped in a few villages, particularly in Yorkshire. By being discreet, leaving no litter, making no noise and respecting the environment - as well as using local stores, I've found that villagers have generally been quite welcoming and I've felt safe when using the same spot on consecutive nights. One couple used to pop across with a daily weather forecast and I had a feeling they were generally keeping an eye on me. As Belgian says, I think you develop an instinct for safety and identifying good spots to park.
 
City Life

Is it not simple just to not park near council estates or large immigrant populations therefore avoiding most trouble!
 
as has been said you seem develop a sixth sense of where to overnight,also if you go to a certain area you know where you are safe or as safe as possible. we stay at cromford near matlock bath frequently and feel totally safe,but there is a water treatment plant further on over the river bridge with a lovely car park some may know of it . we park up during the day but for some reason that i no not of wouldn't stay the night seems totally irrational to even me but there we go .
 
robjmckinney said:
Is it not simple just to not park near council estates or large immigrant populations therefore avoiding most trouble!
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So presumably you dont mind gangs of WHITE hooded thugs then...who are far more likely to cause you bother??
 
Immigrants

I live on a council estate and know exactly what I mean and hoody's on council estates. I also have experience of areas dominated by immigrants white or otherwise, none are a pleasure to live with or wild camp near, simple common sense to avoid!
 
mandrake said:
as has been said you seem develop a sixth sense of where to overnight,also if you go to a certain area you know where you are safe or as safe as possible. we stay at cromford near matlock bath frequently and feel totally safe,but there is a water treatment plant further on over the river bridge with a lovely car park some may know of it . we park up during the day but for some reason that i no not of wouldn't stay the night seems totally irrational to even me but there we go .
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I think this is a really important point...you can have as many rules as you like but if it feels wrong, listen to your instincts...we once felt too tired to keep looking and stopped in a hidden layby that felt a bit weird...and sure enough a car of drunks arrived at 2am and we had to drive away in our pyjamas!

Spent last night tucked behind a beech hedge down a green lane near Dumfries, having reccied Caerlaverock and decided weather a bit too wild...very high tide last night, was very dramatic! So found a quieter spot and slept like a log! :)
 
I think in this country the number one thing is safety,
Followed by scenery, same thing for some places in Europe
Spain for example,
we will normally get to somewhere that
Looks nice if there are other vans there than fine, if not we
Have a quick think if we fell safe there or not.
 
Hoody's or whatever

Have enjoyed boating on the canals for a few years, travelling through the Midlands can dangerous at times, some suffered very badly. You cannot choose a different direction and for those special ocassions I always carried a catapult. They get very shocked when you out distance their bricks, the bonus is they are legal for 'fishing' of course!
 
If we are town visiting then we often plump for small industrial zones. Usually plenty of parking there and nobody thinks anything of another van-looking vehicle parked up. It does mean a reasonably early start though when they all start working and moving around.

But preferably the more remote the better, with lovely views to wake up to - heaven.

We have a rule in our household (or should that be vanhold :rolleyes:) - we must BOTH feel comfortable and happy with any site we choose. I am far more inclined to stop anywhere than hubby is. He is more security minded. Me - I think you are only vunerable if you think you are :)
 
Time gives you instinct, we once found a great looking plot a dissused coastguard station on the sussex coast, beach, sea, great views but it felt wrong creepy almost, our brave little camper rat spent a good hour heckles up growling at the old station, good enough for me to be gone.
 
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