Aires in the UK
Comments
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Hey, don’t cast aspersions, Euro.
If I want something, I’ll pay the price. £30 for a nice clean safe site or a grubby cheek by jowl car park foc? No contest.
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There's no doubt that you can get some good quality affordable meals if you look around - I remember one lunch right on the harbour front in Sorrento a couple of years back, a caprese salad with bread for me, pizza for Mrs M, with ice cream to follow and a glass of wine each for, if I remember correctly, just under €20.
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It certainly is in Dundee. A number of years ago we got in touch with the LA there to check if there was any MH parking during the day and or evening for tourists to park and see the city. There response was that when they complete the new development at the waterfront by the V&A Museum there will be parking set aside for MH's.
We have recently got back in touch with them now that its all completed. No they didn't set aside any parking either for during the day or evenings. How do they expect tourists ( who they want to visit) park up responsibly. Cities like these shot themselves in the foot time after time.
Edit: there are huge unused ( at night time) car parks all over the country these could be earning money from MH's set a time limit say 8 - 8 for a fee.
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But surely one of the points about aires is their suitability for visiting local villages/attractions and since so many MHers insist they are good for the local economy it's hardly surprising that food and food outlets are brought into the discussion is it?
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as you say, £30 for campsite or a nice clean, safe aire foc? No contest
certainly when ypu factor in the aire will usually be withing walking distance of the town/village/seaside we are visiting whereas the campsite might be many miles away.
yep, no contest.
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+1, when I return to LV’ing it’ll be via the non tugging route👍🏻. By then I reckon the smart money will be in short stay no fuss sites.
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Oh, I thought you’d gone again....
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Not many folk plan for a short one JV🤷🏻♂️🙄
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"...perhaps M can tell us all where the 50p 'meal deals' are?"
And a warm welcome back to the forum, BB!
Actually, I thought I'd made it crystal clear that I was exaggerating (I actual said that didn't I?), just a bit of "forum licence". And I definitely haven't claimed any knowledge of aires other than what I've picked up on here - why would I?
But how about answering the substantive part of my post - you have mentioned several times how cheaply you can eat in villages when stopping at Aires in France - would you be keen to do so at Grassington and pay the prices I mentioned to eat in the village?
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are you saying that 'one of the most fervent "over there, aire" customers on the forum' is me?
i cant remember what town you might be referring to but its certainly true that we are happily entertained in Spain by typical Menu del Dias which are usually 3/4 courses, incl wine and might set you back €10 or so...
i dont by Cappucinos so i cant comment on your other point.
i doubt im 'back', i just wanted to add a bit of basic info to thread that seemed to lacking it.
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Exactly the point ,how many years has it taken for the "over there" LV makers to start to realise with the UK, all the latest toys need to be fitted as standard to sell over here,
Those would want a chain of MC stops (apert from what both major clubs already supply)could put it to the Dragons for finance
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i do agree....aires go against all thats 'caravanning' in this country and that culture wont be shifted for a vary long time, if ever.
the uk provides the sort of sites its customers want....the base of potential airs users in the uk is way too small to have an effect.
Britstops and similar pick up the crumbs but there isnt the groundswell for 'aires' as such.
however, i do believe that LAs should be considering using underused parking spaces for fee based MH overnighting.
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I mentioned family friends who run a small motorhome site (I think it's 15 vans...) south of Oban overlooking a sea loch. They have been totally inundated with pitch requests this year. Sadly some of those they can't accomodate are wild camping on the nearby coast causing distress to the locals by not taking care or cleaning up etc. Scotland would be an ideal place to set up more aire type places but there will still be the determined wild camper who doesn't want to pay or even look for an official overnight stop.
I presume in places like France "wild campers" are happy with the free aires but whether the UK has the space and inclination village by village to offer this facility is the big question. We have friends who, before Covid struck spent all their holidays in France on free aires, paying was a rare event! We spotted them in a UK car park in the SW one morning, next to the site we were using.
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Well good, we agree (almost!)
I don't quite see, though, why, even outside the present difficult circumstances, hard pressed LA's would consider this given you've said yourself there isn't a "groundswell" of desire for them .... unless, of course it's to provide a substantial and consistent source of income, in which case the charges might be prohibitive for many (and especially in view of the many ready alternatives PD and others have mentioned.)
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i said i didnt think there was a groundswell for aires....whoever they might be provided by...but, surely, any town (especially in these strapped times) can muster a bit of paint in an underued carpark and just add the appropriate rate to the payment machine.
isnt this better than turning potential income away, especially if they pay to park like other users?
ot doesnt affect me as i dont spend much time here looking to do what we do when away, but from what i read on MH forums, folk get the message and (in the age old manner) 'go elsewhere'.....for some that might mean illegally parking.
as WTG mantioned, isnt it better to encourage them and collect a fee and some extra income on top....?
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Which defeats the object and is just what we are saying. People are put off visiting if there is no parking and you have to buy an expensive rail ticket to do so. If people were allowed to use the car parks which are empty overnight there is no cost only income. If this were allowed then not only could you visit but also eat/drink out and buy other things from shops etc.
BB (welcome back) makes it very clear a bunch of caravanners debating and commenting on an issue where they have no stake/interest or are ever likely to understand the concept as they are happy with pulling a big white box onto a regimented site to sit there for 5 days in ET's case and a week or more for others and go out on the same road each day to visit attractions in the area and where towns have lots of parking to cater for their out of town camp sites whereas MH's would prefer to be in the centre and travel about every day or so staying en route.
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Tourism honeypots, they smile while they rob you and we thank them.
I think most people who appreciate aires tend to avoid such places unless really bored. Always crowded, usually poor value, often tacky, always expensive.
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£3.90 actually, which I believe is not untypical.
"Happy"? Me? I buy a pack of 8 Necafe instant cappuccino sachets for £2 and take a flask of hot water on our walks - not quite the same thing especially since they stopped doing the little pots of chocolate powder to sprinkle on them!
But hush! We're veering into the abyss which is food & drink again!
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BB
Been trying to point this out all through this thread but it seems that those running Local Authorities don't have the imagination to think a little differently, maybe because they worry that their residents are equally short of imagination! If the only reaction is to slam a fine of somebody it doesn't suggest the issue has been thought through as to what causes the issue in the first place?
I think the situation will only get worse as more people who are not from the "camping club" tradition buy or convert motorhomes. There was a story on the BBC website a week or so back explaining how a young couple could not get abroad for their holidays so they decided to convert a van into sleeping accommodation and set off on their holidays. The thought of using campsite probably hadn't entered their mind? If that sort of thing catches on where will it all end up?
David
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makes it very clear a bunch of caravanners debating and commenting on an issue where they have no stake/interest or are ever likely to understand the concept as they are happy with pulling a big white box onto a regimented site to sit there for 5 days in ET's case and a week or more for others and go out on the same road each day to visit attractions in the area and where towns have lots of parking to cater for their out of town camp sites whereas MH's would prefer to be in the centre and travel about every day or so staying en route.
I cannot say that I value your response. What makes you think that we have no concept of what you would wish to do but, apparently, feel unable to do? It seems like sour grapes to me as you are aware of limitations in UK and seem to feel that nobody understabd s your woes. I caravan in UK and accept the limitations. You motorhome and whinge at the limitations. Why would caravanners necessarily travel the same roads each day? Many stay 4 or 5 days and inland have 4 points of the compass to travel, by the sea only 3 points.
It is not my fault that I can travel into small villages and park, it is why I caravan.
In the UK there are pros nd cons of motorhomes and caravans. You make your choice.
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Although I have not seen any proposal for a new Bristol site, any Aire in this area is very unlikely to be of any use to Motorhomers, as there are so many folk living in old vans and almost derelict motorhomes along with a fair number of travellers around the region, it will be likely full most of the time.
The Aires we have noticed on our trips through France have been packed and just enough room to open the side door between vans. Never seen a 6 metre gap yet. Perhaps someone with knowledge of the rules could advise if there are any gap requirements any who would enforce them.
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