On route night stops
I prefer, when doing a long trip, to travel at night when the roads are quieter. Rather than wait to set off on Saturday morning I like to leave on Friday evening and travel till I get tired before stopping for the night. That way I avoid some of the traffic and arrive where I want to be earlier.
Do other members do this and where do you stop? Motorway services rip you off for parking if you stop for more than 2 hours. (Maybe I should have just put a full stop after rip you off!) At motorway services it is also likely that you'd be parked in a lorry park with the associated noise of all the comings and goings and refrigerated trailer motors running constantly.
I know a couple of places where I can stop and have a few hours sleep but haven't tried it with the caravan yet, the big test will be when I travel from Lincoln to Arran in 4 weeks.
Any hints, tips or suggestions?
Comments
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We used to do this when we lived in the south and were going to Scotland in our caravan. We'd stay at a Service Station on the motorway. We became used to the sound of the refrigerators on parked lorries.
Nowadays, I can drive for 8 hours on quiet roads in the dark in the motorhome without feeling tired providing I have short breaks.
To go to Arran from Lincolnshire as a caravanner, I would set off c9pm, do three two hour slots with a break between them. In the motorhome and good travelling conditions, I'd do three hour slots with a minimum of half an hour break. I'd aim to get to the ferry terminal for sunrise and have a much longer stop nearby.
One thing to consider is the needs of any passengers.
I would not do this trip without a lengthy night stop after a day at work unless I had a few hours sleep beforehand. I'd also rest on the first day of the holiday. I suggest you see how far you can get and take it a step at a time. Have a good time on Arran.
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We don't do night travel, we would rather have a sleep at home and get up early, then have a proper sleep at the other end. We used to live a ten hour drive from our family but always found it easier to travel in the daytime and rest at night. Personally I feel night time travel needs a day of recovery so in some ways you lose a day. Hope you enjoy Arran, a lovely place to visit.
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If we know a route well, we have in the past found some safe, quiet pull ins to get our heads down for a few hours. I have to qualify it by saying that we don't use all busy routes such as motorways or dual carriageways though, these are not safe or quiet. We have slept in service stations in the past, but hated it, even in the proper areas.
Nowadays, we plan our trips carefully and if a very long one (such as yours) we would consider an overnight stop at a CL somewhere. We have never liked night driving, too boring and sleep inducing for us. Stopping off has also led to some lovely interesting discoveries, and in our latter days with a caravan we would spend a few days hopping down to Cornwall and back! Easy to do if you have the time admittedly.
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