We're taking the caravan to Glastonbury in a few weeks. Leaving the site after the event can be awful if you time it wrong (some people queued nearly 9 hours to drive off the site last year), so my plan is to get a few hours kip then leave about 4am.
However it's a long drive back up North so, somewhere up the M6 we may need to pull over and top up on sleep again, we've got all day but do need to get home on the Monday. I don't think just pulling into a layby for a sleep is legal or safe and service stations don't like that sort of thing either, at least not in the bits I've visited as a car driver.
So where could I stop for a few hours? Where do lorry drivers stop for a kip and are these places good for weary caravanters too?
Have a look here - http://www.transportcafe.co.uk/ - I'm sure some of them will probably allow members of the public to park up for a while, we've used a couple of them ourselves in previous years but on the A roads. You could always ring the one you fancy and ask.
------------- Tigermouse
I have a very temperamental personality - 50% temper and 50% mental
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stop at the hollies just off jct 12 down the A5 1/2 a mile on the right tuck yerself in the corner be ok just have a word with the girls in the cafe let them know what you are doing
Just park on any motorway services, in the caravan or truck section. You are supposed to pay if you stay more that 2hrs. If you were parking up for the night about 10pm,ish they may wheelclamp non payers but if you are not stopping util about 5am you might get away with it.
It will get very noisy in't morning with trucks moving about tho, so you won't get much sleep.
I've never been abroad but I understand drivers are allowed to pull into service areas & park free of charge over there. Why, if we're all in europe, can't drivers in need of keeping themselves safe be allowed to pull in for a rest free of charge here too. After all, we regularly see overhead signs encouraging drivers to not drive tired yet we charge them for taking a rest.
I've made numerous long distance journeys in various vehicles over the years and had upto 9hrs sleep at motorway services all over the country, tho admittedly not with the caravan on the back I have had trailers of different kinds in tow.
All I would suggest is don't get the aquarolls out otherwise people will think you're staying there a tad longer than a mere kip
We've travelled a fair bit round the motorways in south and south-east, and often stop for a few hours kip in the service areas. We've never been charged to stop, but we always look for the manager and ask before dropping the legs.
Maybe we've just been lucky, but ask and see what happens!
------------- Glyn W.
What if the Hokey Cokey really is what it's all about....?