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11/10/2024 at 1:43pm
Location: East Herts
Outfit: 1992 Elddis Wisp 450CT + X Trail
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Joined: 05/11/2013 Diamond Member 
Forum Posts: 6270
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Quote: Originally posted by Monty15 on 11/10/2024
As a caravaner, my options for illegal/opportunistic/'wild' camping are somewhat more restricted on sheer length of outfit and where it will fit, but in the few places I can find to stop for a legitimate journey break, I think 'why would anyone want to stay here!'. They may serve a purpose for a stretch of the legs, cuppa etc. but most are NOT places you'd want to spend more time than absolutely necessary!
As a pensioner, my wallet is not bottomless, so pitch fees are considered carefully, but REALLY can't see the appeal of where some folks seem to want to pitch, and even 'free' seems poor value for money, the 'cost' is in the unpleasantness of the surroundings and lack of facilities!
I couldn't agree more Monty! No way would we want to stop in a layby or on a motorway services for more than a short break on a journey. We too are pensioners and have to consider the pennies very carefully, but I want a patch of grass under my outfit and some proper facilities.
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Best Regards,
Colin
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 via mobile 12/10/2024 at 3:34pm
Location: Ayrshire
Outfit: Auto-Sleeper MHs
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Joined: 10/4/2007 Diamond Member
Forum Posts: 5143
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Quote: Originally posted by Colin21 on 11/10/2024
Quote: Originally posted by Monty15 on 11/10/2024
As a pensioner, my wallet is not bottomless, so pitch fees are considered carefully, but REALLY can't see the appeal of where some folks seem to want to pitch, and even 'free' seems poor value for money, the 'cost' is in the unpleasantness of the surroundings and lack of facilities!
I couldn't agree more Monty! No way would we want to stop in a layby or on a motorway services for more than a short break on a journey. We too are pensioners and have to consider the pennies very carefully, but I want a patch of grass under my outfit and some proper facilities.
Ah but…
How about being beside a beautiful rural loch or lake backed by scenic mountains? A car park with a public toilet that’s open 24/7 and has a water tap outside? Or on a grass sward beside a long stretch of sandy beach but in walking distance from pubs? I know of both such places because I stayed at official sites less than 10 minutes walk away from both. My pitch £33 - 43 pn but including EHU & showers (expensive, my usual site is £25).
I was not tempted because so many MHs are doing this now in the popular areas that you can barely open your doors or walk between vehicles in these overnight parking places, they park so close. I stay on sites for more privacy & for fire safety reasons, but with similar views (or nearby pubs).
It has nothing to do with how much my MH cost me - it’s the “van life” which a number of UKCS members are or have been familiar with, through choice or necessity. Done responsibly, not a problem; but empty your chemical toilet on the beach or machair- that’s illegal.
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2024 = 20 sites / 41 nights. 2023 = 9/23. 2022 = 13/35. 2021 = 11/29. 2020 = 4/20. 2019 = 13/35. 2018 = 20/33. 2017 = 10/22. 2016 = 19/33. 2015 = 15 sites / 27 nights. Didn't count 1976 to 2014.
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12/10/2024 at 5:31pm
Location: London
Outfit: Lunar Cosmos 524
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Joined: 17/9/2015 Diamond Member
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Quote: Originally posted by Fiona W on 12/10/2024
.....
Ah but…
How about being beside a beautiful rural loch or lake backed by scenic mountains? A car park with a public toilet that’s open 24/7 and has a water tap outside? Or on a grass sward beside a long stretch of sandy beach but in walking distance from pubs? I know of both such places because I stayed at official sites less than 10 minutes walk away from both. My pitch £33 - 43 pn but including EHU & showers (expensive, my usual site is £25).
I was not tempted because so many MHs are doing this now in the popular areas that you can barely open your doors or walk between vehicles in these overnight parking places, they park so close. I stay on sites for more privacy & for fire safety reasons, but with similar views (or nearby pubs).
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Well Fiona, all sounded idyllic, right up to the point you mentioned mass 'cheek by jowl' parking/pitching! I've certainly experienced car parks on the coast like that when trying to legitimately park the car! For me anyway, part of my camping enjoyment is having a bit of space between me and the neighbours, AND some comfort in there being a decent firebreak.
Last CAMC site I stayed on had decently spaced all HS pitches with grass verges and shrubs separating them which were NOT intended to be part of the pitch, but numpty that pitched next to me got it ALL wrong and his van was as physically close to mine as he could have got it, NOT anything like the club regulation set up! The fire break, or lack of, risk concerned me, but before I could bring it to the attention of wardens, they'd already spotted it and instructed him to move it all to regulation layout! In his 'correctly' placed position he also managed to totally unnecessarily reverse his short 2 berth van up to almost touching the shared EHU bollard, which made it difficult for both himself and others to access the sockets! What goes on in some people's heads!
I've stayed on quite a few CL sites where TBH you could pitch another unit between the pitches and still not be crowded! - I like that!
Many may poo poo the need for a fire break, 'who's ever seen a campsite fire?'. Well, I have! At a rally event, a friend's gas cartridge cooker burst into a fireball, thankfully at some risk to herself she threw it away from anything else combustible, and it got extinguished safely. Other friends nearly lost their brand new £60k motorhome on first outing when the tent on the next pitch caught fire (3 way fridge on gas, too close to tent wall!), which was closer than normal fire break distance! Only quick action by fellow campers in dousing the fire stopped that becoming a far bigger conflagration! There was a video that was doing the rounds a couple of year back, of a MH on a CAMC site that literally burnt to the chassis in a seriously large fire before fire services could get to extinguish it. - Only the strict CAMC pitch space rules prevented a chain reaction to neighbouring units! I regularly stay (with a tent) on pop-up camp sites in France where they don't seem to give a damn about safety and fire breaks - one of our obsessive overstocked items is multiple fire extinguishers! Apart from gas stoves in various forms, the majority of pitches have petrol driven generators too (no EHU on site)! Really is the proverbial 'accident waiting to happen'!
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13/10/2024 at 11:23am
Location: London
Outfit: Lunar Cosmos 524
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Quote: Originally posted by Fiona W on 13/10/2024
And on the subject of fire, I did a small risk assessment & reckoned the issued fire extinguisher attached to the front seat was too far from the cooker at the rear, should something go up in flames (OH has form - set fire to his parents’ kitchen by leaving something on the hob). So we have a fire blanket in reach by the back door; not expensive or bulky.
First time I had my caravan serviced after I acquired it, service engineer checked I had appropriate fire extinguisher and fire blanket, then 'chastised' me for having them in a prominently labelled locker opposite the kitchen, stating extinguisher should be exposed for easy access on end of the kitchen toward seating area, to ensure it can be used to get past a fire to the door for safe exit, and that the fire blanket should be adjacent the cooker for quick access, I didn't argue, but asked him WHERE I should mount them! He though for a moment and had to concede that there was no suitable spots for fixing, and that my prominently labelled unobstructable locker was probably the best compromise! Just one of many poorly thought out 'features' of caravan design - manufacturers advise you have these things but then make no provision for them!
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