Wild camping or overnight parking?

[voxol51]

The very word wild 'camping' is scary to non motorhome owners. What does wild camping mean?
In an attempt to set up a system of UK aires/stopovers are we wild camping?
When does overnighting become wild camping?

In much of Scandanavia, sleeping in your van overnight in a carpark is quite acceptable - and known as overnighting, PROVIDING only your 4 wheels are on the ground.
Put anything else out; deck chair, bin, even your door step - and you are classed as freebie camping, which is not tolerated, and you will get moved on.

To me, overnighting/stopovers means exactly that - arriving in the evening, staying/sleeping overnight, and moving on next day.
Wild camping to me draws mental pictures of spending daylight hours and overnight, in an idylic, miles from anywhere, setting.
Free' camping, suggests free loading, sponging, dossing, leading to rubbish, litter, and so on.
Wild camping or Free camping, the very word 'camping' conjures up pictures of washing lines, gas bottles, and other clutter.

We have just returned from Spain. We wild camped, and we overnighted.
We picked places where we felt safe, where we were not bothering the locals, and they weren't bothering us. We tried to position the bus where it was not a big white blob on the landscape. We stayed a max of 2 nights in any one place, leaving nothing behind to show we had ever been there.
We met Brits, French, and Spanish motorhomers with the same ideals as us.

We also saw first hand in various towns, clusters of up to 30 motorhomes whose occupants felt they had the right to take over sea front carparks and stay for weeks on end with total disregard for local residents.
(In our countries defence, the majority of these people had van registrations showing they were from 2 certain countries - Brit, French, and Spanish registrations were a very small percentage in these motorhome encampments.)
This to me is neither wild camping or overnighting. This is selfish abuse of local amenities, and causes anomosity toward m/homers in general, and increases the chances of finding height barriers, and signs, keeping us away.

Within motorhome circles we shall probably always use the terms wild and free camping, but if we wish to improve our public image we have first got to show people that a motorhome is not a caravan. When it comes to overnight stop overs we are more related to trucks than caravans. - we come, we park overnight, (with only our wheels on the ground), and then we go. We are not 'camping', we are just parking/resting overnight.

So after reading all that, can anybody come up with a more user-friendly word to describe what we do?

Voxy.

 

[Graham Hadfield]

Good question.

Cairngorms National Park Authority told me:
"You may be aware of recent legislation passed in Scotland that means Scotland now has one of the most permissive systems of outdoor access rights in Europe. Every one has statutory access rights to most land and water for recreation, education, passage and some commercial activities as long as they exercise their rights responsibly. Guidance on how to exercise access rights responsibly is given in the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. However it is important to note that the rights do not extend to vehicular use unless the vehicle or vessel is adapted for disabled use and in use by a disabled person.
People also have the right to camp although roadside or car based camping do not fall under the definition of wild camping. ‘Wild camping’ in the context of the outdoor access rights assumes use of a tent or bivvy site and relates to non-motorised use, or people moving well away from their car to spend the night. I assume that ‘wild camping’ in the motor home sense would be that undertaken outwith formal sites and not supported by any external infrastructure such as toilets, electric hook ups etc, but presumably could be close to the road or utilising car parks, lay-bys etc?
The Code gives the following advice regarding wild camping:
“Wild camping is defined as lightweight, done in small numbers and only for two to three nights in one place. You can camp in this way wherever access rights apply but help to avoid causing problems for local people and land managers by not camping in enclosed fields of crops or farm animals and keeping well away from buildings roads or historic structures. Take care to avoid disturbing deer stalking or grouse shooting. If you wish to camp close to a house or building, seek the owner’s permission. Leave no trace by: Taking away all your litter; Removing all traces of your tent pitch and of any open fire (follow the guidance for lighting fires); Not causing any pollution.” ".

Bold & italic type their emphasis.

Graham

 

[voxol51]

oh Graham, yes, erm, fine, well....,

In short, good for Scotland in taking this giant step, but..

in their small, lightweight tents for 3 day-ish duration, where do they go to the loo, where do they dump grey water, and what do they do with rubbish?

Come on Scotland, the mind boggles, give us a break.

Voxy.

 

[sagart]

Wild camping or overnight parking

Then you get the fool who asserts his "right to roam" and screws it up for others.
My son has 30 acres here and has never worried about the occasional tent or motorhome...equally on the common grazing in his crofting township, no other crofter has been too bothered.
Now it is fenced and gated....why? Idiots in 4x4's roaring all over it and, when challenged, whimpering "right to roam" - strangely they never did before and are, invariably, on holiday.
The best area, with superb views of the Cuillin, water available and even a local cooperating in allowing her septic tank to be used for emptying loos, now has a bull in it (best grazing is our excuse)

 

[sagart]

Wild camping or overnight parking

I know it was the fault of 4x4's in this instance and nothing to do with motorhome users, but it shows how problems can arise.
Relations here had been so good that when last year one of our local girls got engaged we held a reiteach (an engagement party) where the man does not attend and the imagery used in "negotiations" between the best man and the girl's family are best kept in Gaelic to spare the blushes of the sensitive.
There were two motorhomes in the township on the common grazing, one Dutch, the other English.
They were "with" us, so the girl's parents quite naturally invited them along, with their young children to join the party.
They then met a real ceilidh and went back to their vans clutching a presentation bottle of the local home brew http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/skye/carbost/index.html

 

[GARY ENGLISH]

Wild and overnighting.

I think voxol 51 description of the two is spot on. Many of us do both here and abroad.To have aires like abroad can only make things better for motorhomes users, as in some areas it is near on impossible to wild camp , but perhaps overnight on a (DARE I SAY IT A CAR PARK)could be possible.Main thing is things improve,and we get some nice weather.

 

[sea lion]

oh Graham, yes, erm, fine, well....,

In short, good for Scotland in taking this giant step, but..

in their small, lightweight tents for 3 day-ish duration, where do they go to the loo, where do they dump grey water, and what do they do with rubbish?

Come on Scotland, the mind boggles, give us a break.

Voxy.

I suspect you have never enjoyed backpacking.

For the loo you use a bush. Once a day you dig a hole.

You take the small amount of rubbish you create with you. Since you have brought it with you and eaten the food within,this is no problem.

Grey water? There is no such thing. You wash yourself and you pan(s) in a stream.

All very sustainable and causes no problem.

I wild camp when backpacking in england. You get so far out of the way that no-one ever finds you let alone hassles you. What is within the law is of little relevence.

 

[monkeynut]

I used be well into Backpacking and know where your coming from the most that ive ever left is a few grains of porridge or rice washed out of my pan and thats how I live in my van no grey water/portaloo or binliners of rubbish I like to keep things simple for min impact
sorry gone off topic there

 

[Journeyman]

Then you get the fool who asserts his "right to roam" and screws it up for others.
My son has 30 acres here and has never worried about the occasional tent or motorhome...equally on the common grazing in his crofting township, no other crofter has been too bothered.
Now it is fenced and gated....why? Idiots in 4x4's roaring all over it and, when challenged, whimpering "right to roam" - strangely they never did before and are, invariably, on holiday.
The best area, with superb views of the Cuillin, water available and even a local cooperating in allowing her septic tank to be used for emptying loos, now has a bull in it (best grazing is our excuse)

Sagart, please tell me you are not referring to my most favourite site up there in bonny Skye???

 

[happybonzo]

maybe using a scrim net over the van might be an idea? There was some-one at Rickmansworth Aquadrome for many months hidden behind the trees and no-one realised that he was there.
My pal, Simon, threw a scrim net over his Sprinter and was told to p... off by the RAF Police. Parking in a layby on a busy road and throwing the net over it does not mean to say that others cannot see you - ROTFALMBO
I suppose that half the trouble is that our vehicles are white; perhaps if they were a less obtrusive colour then it might be easier?

 

[sagart]

Wild camping or overnight parking

Sagart, please tell me you are not referring to my most favourite site up there in bonny Skye???

What on earth do you drive to get down to Suisnish, or did you walk from Camas Malag?
No, it's of the more northern end of Skye I was mentioning...

 

[Journeyman]

No Bull

Thanks, I'll be back again soon...

 

[hillwalker]

Well said sea lion, ive been bivying and camping many times and you cant beat it.The rubbish youve got you take with you and for washing thats what rivers or burns are for. and what is grey water? you leave the place as you found it.Keep scotland clean.

 

[irenerobbie]

scottish water

hi hillwalker, doesn't that burn water taste good too and it makes the best tea . or ,is it that everything tastes good when you come off the hills?

 

[hillwalker]

A Cold One

You cant beat a cold beer sitting in your van or tent after a hard day on the hills.just chillin watchin the river.wish i was ther right now

 

[hillwalker]

Aye That As Well