Motorway parking for caravans
On a recent trip out with our caravan, we once again came across the same old problem at Motor Way Service areas. No where to park up to rest and get refreshment. Although designated areas have been clearly marked as ‘CARAVANS ONLY’, we found cars parked there and even, at Brent Knoll, a single motor bike was blocking any outfit from driving into the slots provided.
This is not only a lazy and selfish act but can be extremely dangerous. ‘Tiredness Can Kill – Take a Rest’ says the signs, but when you are forced to continue driving on because of these ignorant people, it is not conducive to Road Safety.
Could the Caravan and Motorhome Club (and other interested parties) make strong representation to the powers that be, to clamp down on this and enforce the fact that these areas are strictly for the vehicles intended? I’m sure a large number of members have experienced this annoying problem
Moderator Comment - Moved from the Story Section
Comments
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As I understand it the Club does have some sort of working group looking into this this very problem. Unfortunately COVID has got in the way of progress with problems of bring people together from various organisations.
David
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I do wish people would stop blaming COVID for a lack of action. Far more likely to be a lack of interest.
This problem has been highlighted on numerous occasions over the years and still persists today. Despite the surveys and numerous reports of the problem nothing appears to be being done about it.
As for people not being able to get together others seem to have managed quite well using platforms such as zoom.
The silence from the club on the subject is deafening.
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I made the comment on CT a long time ago that the UK Motorway services network is designed and operated for profit by major companies who have long leases.
Motorway services are NOT there to promote road safety by encouraging rest periods and other safe practices
Motorhoming and Caravanning have changed vastly in the period of over 60 years since motorways opened and very little has changed on the networks. Personally I find the climate in service stations (prohibitions) "fines" for overstaying and all the other intimidatory stuff sufficiently oppressive and unwelcoming to go a long way (pun intended) to avoid visiting.
I find it difficult to understand how this is going to change in the short term with a government who who have other priorities and operators who are happy to rake in the cash the status quo provides.
However in the longer term the challenge of electrification and the needs for possibly hundreds of charging points may trigger radical reforms
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Perhaps an approach for the problem to one of the BBC or ITV regional programmes would work, as they are always looking for a story to screen and I would envisage that nearly all regions will have a motorway or A road service area in their region. At this time of year it will affect a large number of people who will shortly be going on holiday, so it is a contemporaneous issue. The owners of the services certainly don't seem to care much about the issue.
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I honestly don't think the plight of caravanners and motorhomers at service areas is going to interest the viewing public and certainly won't elicit sympathy. We're not the most popular of folk on the roads.
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+1
It's interesting to note that when VOSA (or whatever they're called now) want to inspect caravans at service areas, there's always acres of space! I'm not suggesting for one minute their work is not essential - it most definitely is, but the spaces are there at various motorway stops and only very few are monitored, presumably by their own staff, especially at weekends. How difficult can it be for the so-called CAMC working party to phone or email these people?
From a commercial point of view, maybe Moto, Welcome Break, Roadchef et al are not that keen to provide 'services' to caravanners, who by their very nature, are unlikely to spend in-store, having their own supplies on board. That said, the few that do offer easy parking are always well attended with many stretching their legs in the direction of the service areas.
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We did likewise.
But I don't understand why the club's don't do more about these non revenue raising issues on behalf of their members, were not members of either club at present, including shoddy builds etc. Oh whoops I think I've just answered my own question - see the words non revenue making! Club being a term that hasn't been removed from their title because it feels good 😉
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This year, when UK travel services are on overload it has been a challenging experience for many. On the southern reaches of the M5, due to delays, we came across marshalling at 9pm at Sedgemoor services. Marshalling is probably a way forward to relieve the pressure in some services. It works very well on the A1M at Wetherby.
From mid July onwards motorway travel to holiday areas is going to be difficult. If people alter the time of travel it might ease things a bit? Mid week travel is slightly better too, unfortunately weekend holiday travel is a challenge in popular places.
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It clearly can be done, reference the Gloucester services on the M5. No idea wether that was a condition of the planning but they are a model for others. However, unless legislation was passed mandating there provision / policing I can’t see much changing at existing sites, as there is no incentive. A MH and more so a caravan take up a great deal of room for little return. Many don’t spend anything at the services while they are stopped, even in normal times. They remodelled Strensham services southbound on the M5 a few years ago and in my opinion, made caravan parking worse, as a huge coach bay reduced HGV places. These are now often parked up on the long exit slip as well as in the caravan provision.
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We also tend to avoid them, if possible, these days. However, it is much easier to park our circa 7m rig than 12 metres of car and caravan. When we had one, I always used to spend time researching potential on route stops and feeding them into the sat nav as way points. Now we just hope for the best and can normally find a space big enough in a lay-bye, even if a car is parked in the middle.😂
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ot only are less coach tours at this time which may make the Increase in LVs finding parking for a break easier ,there is also the situation of less HGVs on the road because of the as on the news this morning a 60,000to100,000 shortage of drivers ,all grades which may also give space in laybys
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Many don’t spend anything at the services while they are stopped, even in normal times.
If they charged reasonable prices that might not be the case, cannot remember the last time I bought anything other than LPG in a motorway service area, and that was only because I couldn't get it anywhere else.
peedee
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I suspect the Clubs have had a few more important things to be thinking of over the last 18 months? Survival might have taken a greater priority over motorway parking? The survey had actually been done prior to COVID but it's the follow up that has been delayed. The Club are also not operating on their own, there are many agencies and organisations that need to come together which is probably done face to face rather than remotely. We all know that there are not nearly enough stopping places on motorways. It was one of the reasons given by lorry drivers for leaving the profession. I would also think that as profit making organisations the service area companies would be more predisposed towards caravans and motorhomes if they thought that those that stopped actually spent some money, even a couple of cups of coffee? Personally I think rather than expecting the club to do something members of the public would be better raising it with their MP's?
David
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And therein lies the problem. They aren’t charities.
Whilst we do refrain from buying fuel. We do purchase the odd coffee, OH usually wants a costa. Also often lunch or evening meal items from those that have M&S or Waitrose. Plus the very good shop selling local products at the Gloucester ones. That’s in normal times at any event, like many we have been avoiding contacts during the pandemic. If folk just expect to use the parking and perhaps the toilets, I don’t know what the answer is. Perhaps a charge like at Sherwood Pines (forest enterprise) You tap your number plate in to pay for your parking or buy an annual pass. All checked up on using ANPR. The French have a similar system, they charge for the autoroutes and provide lots of basic Aires included in the price.2 -
It would be interesting to see how many of us park in the empty bus bays when caravan bays are full and if we have been moved on.
I've done it twice. Once by mistake after getting in the wrong lane at Ferrybridge. I pulled into the very bottom bay and was never moved on. Now lorries use the same area. I also parked in the bus bay at Cherwell Valley when the caravan parking was full. I was approach by an attendant and asked to move to the top end of the lorry park. When we left the bus bays were still empty
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Warning!
An M5 service stop in Devon was closed this week due to "sheer volume" of traffic.
Now that the school holidays are upon us I think it would be a good idea to stagger journey times if you want to find a space for a break.
We have never seen so much traffic in the SW this year, next weekend will probably be extremely busy for all concerned.
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SteveL said:
"They remodelled Strensham services southbound on the M5 a few years ago and in my opinion, made caravan parking worse, as a huge coach bay reduced HGV places. These are now often parked up on the long exit slip as well as in the caravan provision."
Although I stopped there many times, I can't remember what the caravan parking was like at Strensham before it was redeveloped.
However, I stopped there a week ago on the south bound side. I actually commented on how well organised the caravan parking was (I was thinking about a similar thread that was on this site a couple of weeks ago). It had massive, unmissable signs - so often not the case - and very clear guidance as to how to access it. It was a bit of a tight turn into the caravan park mind you. There was a decent amount of room, but it suffered with the common failing that it was a rank of about eight (not precisely sure of the number) very long parking bays. This so often means that an outfit will park at the front and then others, rightly, park behind. The van at the front then departs leaving a big gap at the front which it is often very hard, or impossible, to access. Departing can sometimes be tricky too. Much better to have a greater number of shorter bays - but possibly design wise this is more difficult - not sure. I did see a sign to an overflow parking area for caravans as well, but I did not visit this and, to be honest, could not even figure out exactly where it was.
Sorry the picture is rubbish - suffering after getting the file size down to under 500k.
I must add that large HGVs would find it impossible to access the caravan bay that I am talking about. The turn would be much too tight. Smaller lorries could, however.
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Not visited since the start of the pandemic. The last time was just after the refurbishment and that area was full of lorries and a couple of LV’s. I didn’t really pay much attention to size. They may well have altered it since to try and stop larger incursions. It was out of holiday time but close to lunch time, the HGV area was full and they were parking on the exit slip and we could not find anywhere to park. Thanks for the info, we are heading that way soon and I won’t cross it off my list until we have had another try. Unfortunately if you are heading down the M50 you miss the Gloucester services. I like Strensham north bound which has plenty of easily accessible spaces.
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..but arent the physical 'parking areas' not provided by a 'local authority' and the franchise to sell food, fuel, coffee, farm foods or whatever dished out to likes of Moto..
i cant see Moto etc being responsible for the design of the parking areas...
i agree that French toll roads put our motley efforts (in services and road building to absolute shame) and they arent cheap but it isnt just the toll roads that have services, and decent ones at that.
you only have to look at our 'lay byes' to realise how much care and effort we really (dont) put into providing a space where folk can take a safe break for free.
ive seen lay byes where youd be taking your life in your hands just to open the door, and thats in a car not a MH.
The service/price levels are a bit chicken and egg...why would anyone spend top dollar inside for an experience which starts with poor, cramped, unsafe or inadequate parking...
the Gloucester services are far more akin to what one expects, and gets, in other places.....
if folk are to be encouraged to stay and spend a bit (thats impossible, its always a lot...) then the experience has to start with something that doesnt cause hypertension in the car park.
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BoleroBoy wrote:
"..but arent the physical 'parking areas' not provided by a 'local authority' and the franchise to sell food, fuel, coffee, farm foods or whatever dished out to likes of Moto..
I cant see Moto etc being responsible for the design of the parking areas..."
Since 1992 motorway services have been owned by the operator. They are responsible for acquiring, planning and developing the land. Pre-existing services were owned by the government and leased to operators. These were sold off to the operators as part of the privatisation drive of the 80s and 90s.
One presumes that any redevelopment of former government owned sites would also be the responsibility of the operator. However, there are legal rules and regulations about parking provision (and lots of other things to boot), but within those limits I assume the operator can plan it how it sees fit. I gather that the number of parking spaces - for coaches, caravans, cars, HGVs and disabled - is based on a formula that has, as its key criteria, traffic flow.
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thanks....
now we know who to blame
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The service/price levels are a bit chicken and egg...why would anyone spend top dollar inside for an experience which starts with poor, cramped, unsafe or inadequate parking...
I have on a few occasions stopped at a service station both in France and Germany and actually had a meal and I couldn't think of one single occasion in all my years of travelling in the UK and stopping in Service stations where I've wanted to do the same. The thought repulses me.
Even the takeaway options in France are miles better than found here. So even though the operators are often foreign companies running our service stations they still supply us with what they obviously feel is what we want. To me it's slop or fast food, which is still slop to me.
Maybe Gloucester and Tebay might start to slowly redress the operators ideas but I fear not.
So even if they improved parking over here I wouldn't be inclined to spend more.
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