Wild camping for newbies

[pan]

Hi, I'm new to forums and I made a post earlier today and Andy suggested it would be better in general chat instead of where I happened to be looking at the time which was for wild camping sites in Gloucestershire.

Any way I explained that I am also new to campervanning and a complete virgin to wild camping. I hate large sites with loads of caravans everywhere so I'm attracted to the idea of wild camping.

However, my concern is that given that all we want to do is get away and relax and escape all that stress, is this possible when you have to cope with the possibilities of all sorts of nasty things happening?

I'd love to hear from all those seasoned, experienced wild campers.

PAN

 

[roifromnwales]

Hi Pan and croeso to wildcamping

as with anything these days we can not say it is totally safe but in 5 years I have had No problems at all
When you are out and about and choose a place to spend the night If you feel comfortable and safe then you probably are.
If you park in towns then it is less likely that you will remain unnoticed by the town 's unruly element.
I usually park in well out of the way places a long way from where boy racers or other's would be.
If I use a place in town then it will be after checking out the area and parking nose out for a quick escape.
all I have to do if there is a problem is lift the curtain over the front screen and press the throttle and I'm out of there.
I also have a notice that i have a loud alarm that goes out on the side if there is any doubt in my mind. and we have a dog who, whilst only small, sounds like a rottwieller.
If you get a knock from the police then of course the politer YOU are, the LESS likely you will be told to move. The first thing is invite them to have a cuppa tea/coffee with you. It makes it harder to move you on if you are friendly. I have to take a lot of painkillers so I use that as an excuse to stay and also I remind them of the ads where they say pull over and have a kip if you are feeling tired. I also make it plain that we will be moving on tomorrow at about 9ish.

 

[pan]

Originally posted by roifromnwales@Mar 29 2005, 09:46 PM
Hi Pan and croeso to wildcamping

as with anything these days we can not say it is totally safe but in 5 years I have had No problems at all
When you are out and about and choose a place to spend the night If you feel comfortable and safe then you probably are.
If you park in towns then it is less likely that you will remain unnoticed by the town 's unruly element.
I usually park in well out of the way places a long way from where boy racers or other's would be.
If I use a place in town then it will be after checking out the area and parking nose out for a quick escape.
all I have to do if there is a problem is lift the curtain over the front screen and press the throttle and I'm out of there.
I also have a notice that i have a loud alarm that goes out on the side if there is any doubt in my mind. and we have a dog who, whilst only small, sounds like a rottwieller.
If you get a knock from the police then of course the politer YOU are, the LESS likely you will be told to move. The first thing is invite them to have a cuppa tea/coffee with you. It makes it harder to move you on if you are friendly. I have to take a lot of painkillers so I use that as an excuse to stay and also I remind them of the ads where they say pull over and have a kip if you are feeling tired. I also make it plain that we will be moving on tomorrow at about 9ish.

Thanks roi

Sounds like anticipation and preparation are the key words. I must be a wimp cos it sounds a bit scary to me.

Do you wild camp as a stop over on the way to somewhere or is it a way of life? :huh:

Pan

 

[Andy&Becks]

Hi thanks Pam - i thought this sort of info is the bread and butter of what's needed to get camping in the wild....

One question that comes to mind is about fines... just like the old Traffic warden can give you a ticket without warning you, can the same happen to us? For example, i spent a lovely night in a town car park, which was out of the main town next to the beach, but i did see (though tried not to ) a sign saying "NO CAMPING"...

Where do i stand? Could i have been fined?

(i didn't by the way)

 

[roifromnwales]

Originally posted by Andy&Becks@Mar 30 2005, 07:09 PM

Where do i stand? Could i have been fined?

(i didn't by the way)

sorry but I have no idea whether an instant fine could be levied. That would depend on the bye laws.
of course the 16 48 charter says that no fines can be levied without court action If you are brave enough to test it.
If you overnight in a car park this is a chance you take.

I use laybys and car parks sometimes on my way to places but there are some that are ok for several nights, for example Marazion, Hayle and others in Cornwall. Loch Awe, Jubilee point and Rowardennan in scotland. There are others too
I think the whole point of us is that we never spend too many days in one place.

I have just come back from a Bedford cf club meet which is on a campsite. This year was at Carrog station cs near Llangollen North Wales. we were only paying £3/50 a night as we were on the "Club field".
I heard him charge £30 for 3 nights to a tranny with an awning and hook up. on hardstanding [gravel patch right out side barn where loo's were and sheep lambing.]
facilities on site.
2 loos, one for male, one female. both in the barn. No hot water or heating with ventillation being wooden slats
and an old stainless steel sink no hot water outside the barn.
waste disposal was an old loo with a flush in the open.
the only other plentiful facility was the sheep s**t that was in every field.
It is right by Carrog station for the steam trains and is a very pretty location but £10 a night to park.
no way.
i'll stick to wilding. there are so many places that you can spend a few days and then move on especially in Scotland and plenty of lay bys on the way to them

 

[roifromnwales]

just to add to my previous comments
Aberystwyth there is a large car park by somerfield supermarket. The wagon drivers use it for overnighting and the police station is opposite. I have used it a few times no problem.
If I'm on route A to B and i need to pull over I look for an off road layby [one with and island between the road and the layby] and one used by wagon drivers. the only problem here is that the wagon drivers can be early starters so you could be woken early
I NEVER USE PRIVATE LAND without permission.
however
I consider any land bought with public money ie Forestry, National Parks, lay bys as land belongiong to the public and there fore usable. If there is a no overnighting sign there then obviously DON'T USE IT. It probably means they have a bye law and it will cost you if you do use it and are caught.

 

[draaiorgel]

Hi Pan,
as a wild motor camper of 36 years, I've had no problems.

Be polite to others, be aware of everything around you, obey all signs,
only a couple of times in all those years have we ignored no overnight camping signs, these were in the remotest of places where there were no indications of civilisation and off season as well.
(still no problem) Just use common sense and don't annoy anyone by blocking their view from the front of their home.
After all, we all need our own space.

As a matter of interest we have when we were desperate to find a place on a Friday night or a Saturday night used industrial estates,
knowing they would be quieter on the following mornings.
But always check out the whole estate before deciding on your spot.

Why pay an extortionate fee to park overnight in a campsite when they can't offer you any more than you have on board already.

With friendly greetings,
Ian

 

[roifromnwales]

Originally posted by draaiorgel@Apr 7 2005, 11:37 PM

Hi Pan,
as a wild motor camper of 36 years, I've had no problems.

Be polite to others, be aware of everything around you, obey all signs,
only a couple of times in all those years have we ignored no overnight camping signs, these were in the remotest of places where there were no indications of civilisation and off season as well.
(still no problem) Just use common sense and don't annoy anyone by blocking their view from the front of their home.
After all, we all need our own space.

As a matter of interest we have when we were desperate to find a place on a Friday night or a Saturday night used industrial estates,
knowing they would be quieter on the following mornings.
But always check out the whole estate before deciding on your spot.

Why pay an extortionate fee to park overnight in a campsite when they can't offer you any more than you have on board already.

With friendly greetings,
Ian

I agree with everything above
It's good sense
also there is nothing scary about it mate honest
we have now spent 4 years and about 450 nights out of which about 14 -20 of those being on a campsite. The rest have been wild places and overnight stops.
I keep a log which records all sorts of things like start mileage to from fuel campsite cost fuel cost and oth costs. how often the loo is emptied etc.
It is in the form of a book and contains five years records in one place.
I also have a map book that has my wildcamping spots on it and loads of notes.
a small dictaphone sits on the dash and if i see a likely place I note it on the dictaphone with as much detail as i can remember for locating roughly on the mapo later. it also goes on my list of data push pins and on here. and in my little book it keeps a lot of details. No matter how good your memory some data is lost