Camping-Car Park may come to the UK
Comments
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My cousin went to Cornwall last week towing his caravan and said that he will stop off at the motorway services and pay to stay overnight, the price of which which includes 2 meals. He didn't specify which services it was but I would envisage that a number of services provide a similar deal. Personally I think that aire type stopovers sound very good for the occasional night when driving long distances, especially in view of the huge amount of traffic there is on the roads these days and the many hold ups due to accidents, congestion and narrow lanes.
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This year does seem to be a bit different. Although the number of MH's on site have been increasing year on year, the number with awnings attached does seem to be higher than usual. Whilst in normal times we might occasionally spend a week on a site, an awning would just be hard work, plus taking a good chunk out of our payload. As far as good public transport is concerned, I'm not sure that has the normal draw. Much more important for us this year is walks available from site. We have no desire to get on a bus, even though we do have passes. Moving every 3 days provides plenty of variety. Camping car park type Aires in useful locations would be very welcome. I think if they ever come to pass the problem might be getting a space in them.
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I seem to recall some time ago when discussing CL's I suggested that there were a lot of visitor attractions and Stately Homes that have large parking areas and that the Club could encourage these places to set up as CL's. Perhaps it would be worthwhile for Camping-Car Park to pursue the same idea where they would probably want more than five spaces so there would be more of a planning implication. Portmeirion seem to be setting the pace here so easy enough to copy.
David
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vbfg :--, My cousin went to Cornwall last week towing his caravan and said that he will stop off at the motorway services and pay to stay overnight.
As a diabetic I am supposed to check my sugar levels every 4 - 5 hours of driving so I am used to checking in advance the whereabouts of M-way services. As a result I can assure everybody that there are some Services that could not pay me enough to use 'em !! So a Five hour or Over Night stop does get my interest !
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NT have already been approached. You can already park a motorhome at many of their locations but not overnight. Waddesdon has a huge car park and I have seen many motorhomes parked there. Anglesey Abbey has six spaces, I used one recently and you can also use the coach park.
peedee
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So, with these Aires, I arrive, drop the caravan off, put the legs down, nip into town for a while, sleep overnight, get rid of grey water, black water and recycling and disappear the following day.
Sounds like a good idea to me particularly when touring and some clubs don't like you staying for only one night.
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I suspect such aires are likely to discriminate against towed caravans, RF. ☹️
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Do you mean the Swannery Car Park? Plenty of space outside of main season apart from market days. Good level access to Weymouth - ideal.
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Yes please, but haven’t canvassed me as a member.
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Not sure. I'm not that familiar with the area but I believe it was a P&R park that was built for the Olympics and is now hardly used.
Does this help?
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So what? It doesn’t take away anything they never had, just adds to the party for the membership overall. A good thing surely?
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I'm told that you can find the survey on their website.
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So what - nothing. I was responding to RF, that's all. Why are you pouncing on that?
This outfit is a company and can serve whoever they like and it's nothing to do with membership of CAMC.1 -
No, different place, but still a good location.
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Is there a specific link to the survey? Or is that only available to paid up members?
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Any failure to provide a required facility will see people "making their own arrangements" which may be even less to the liking of local councils/residents. With the increasing number of motorhomes it is not going to be possible to continue to treat them as pariahs with height barriers at every turn. Provision of short stay overnight spots is long overdue. Why the likes of NT/EH are so reluctant to utilise their car parks is beyond me.
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Perhaps it is not the function of the NT and EH to provide overnight accommodation for MH, or other LVs and camping for that matter.
I'm a member of SNT and HS and I would not want to see my membership fees spent such an activity, and it will involve costs that is for sure in setting up, it is not just a question of opening up the car parks.
Would they get this money back? Would they chance it seeing any such petitions has always fallen flat? Not to mention the mess left by MH in some places, it is probably made worse than it is of course by the press and not all MHers do that of course but enough do, and so if they are treated as pariahs, who is to blame for that?
Far better they do the job and role they were meant to do with their buildings?
Not every member of HT and EH will have a motorhome.
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It would require such organisations (and perhaps some of its members) to think a bit outside the box. Many of these visitor attractions have plenty of room and quite large car parks. We are probably only talking about enough room for say ten units with a minimum requirement of fresh water and waste disposal, obviously more facilities like electrics could increase the income. No need for toilet blocks beyond what is already provided by the venue.Might also provide extra income for the on site catering. If a CL owner can provide, as they increasingly do, such facilities at a cost to make it worthwhile I can't imagine the NT or similar having to spend much more pro rata . The likelihood is that it would provide a steady income to supplement the costs of running the actual house and gardens so probably a win win situation all round? If it could be done in cooperation with the likes of something like Camping-Car Park it would mean even less involvement by the landowners who would just collect a nice fee every year.
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Are they reluctant? Is that their stated position? I’ve stayed on at least 2 NT CL sites in Dorset & Wiltshire. Both great locations with benefits like being on site at the start/end of the day to avoid crowds. I can remember one year having Stourhead entirely to ourselves one frosty winter afternoon. Doesn’t need to be subsidised my members but at least restricted to members. If they didn’t want the capital costs, they could partner with an organisation like Camping-Car and generate some revenue from estate that would otherwise be unused.
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They do indeed have plenty of room but again no matter how minimal the facilities offered it will cost money. In either HS or NTS there have been reports of how short of money this year has made them. A CL can count on that income all year round, however many NT/EH properties close down for several months a year.
So they could use the toilet block already there? and that woule mean extra cleaning? Extra cost?
The on site catering would is open during the day, yet this is for overnight parking?
Again it is not just a simple matter of opening up the car parks for over night camping. Who collects the money? when? I really doubt the income justifies the expenditure
I am not against these places for MH but I have to say it appears some want other organisations to provide them with money that people have paid for other things.
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Book yourself into Stourhead or Kingston Lacy CL sites and you’ll see your objections are groundless.
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I don't understand that why would that be? I'm talking about NT or EH and my 'objection' regards them, not a CL?
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Because they’re both NT properties that provide CLs which is not dissimilar to an aire or whatever it is you’re insisting is not feasible/practical/affordable on NT sites!
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Not at all and no bearing at all, in those proprieties they have opened up a campsite for all day and night camping for caravans as well, not just MHs. And I think that a CL is nothing like an aire at all, and certainly not one that charges £20 a night.
If you re-read my posts carefully Bill, you'll see that I am, and others are talking about opening up NT and EH car parks, that are currently used during the day for overnight camping and using funds to create them where the income would not justify it. A totally different proposition.
Anyway I am not insisting on anything anything being feasible or not.
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As the thread is about Camping car park, or similar, I would think we don't know enough about the financials to state that funds would have to be used to create them, where income would not justify it.
We have stayed on two sorts of Camping car park sites. Totally new builds and taken over existing Aires / car parks. In the case of the latter CCP have put in fencing, barriers, computerised pay point, CCTV, electric, Wifi and new waste / water facilities.
As I say we don't know the financials it may be that CCP take the lions share of the risk and also of the profits, with the venue just supplying the land and benefiting from increased visitor spending. Unless we know who pays for what the arguement is rather academic.
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As I say we don't know the financials it may be that CCP take the lion's share of the risk and also of the profits, with the venue just supplying the land and benefiting from increased visitor spending.
That was always my impression SteveL.
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