Motorhomes & carparks
Just asking .... I have a caravan
I live 5 mins walk from Burrs Country Park Caravan Club site, and in doing so walk past 3 general public car parks. Yesterday morning a variety of motorhomes were parked on 2 of them and in the late afternoon they'd been joined by a few more. As I left from
dog walking duties there were two Plod vans ..... I assume they were there because of the motorhomes. 
This morning,
there were 8 motorhomes & one caravan hogging a single carpark.
My question is .... can you stop overnight on any carpark that takes your fancy unless specifically told you can't?
Comments
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I suppose, if there are no restrictions, then we can. Restrictions come in all shapes and sizes and a lot may be open to challenge. No parking between 7pm and 7am is clear. No camping, in my view isn't. Sleeping overnight in a vehicle isn't camping, it's,
err, sleeping in a vehicle. Just because the vehicle is equipped for camping doesn't mean that is what you are doing, after all, if you sleep in a car are you camping? I wouldn't want to test it though, I'll stick to sites and CL/CSs.0 -
I would think that the land owners need to make it clear what they are prepared to allow on their property by clearly displaying signage to that effect.
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Just spoken to the council who have said the motorhomers & caravaner have claimed ''traveller's rights'' and have refused to move. The council are unable to physically remove them and a court order to remove them can't be taken out until monday morning.
By that time they'll probably have all gone home.So in essence, they're just a bunch of hard faced barstewards! They're obviously not short of a few quid ... one is a large 14 plate twin axle Rapido. So if you want a free weekend, pull up in a council carpark, claim ''traveller's right'' and refuse to
move ..... you'll b able to stop after 12 on Sunday too!0 -
Appleby fair starts tomorrow perhaps the natives are on the move? ,they generally move up after the derby , i think its sunday till thursday at least it used to be cheers:) mrs bc
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If there is nothing to say you cannot park then we do. Number of Council Car Parks we use say No Camping but they don't bother if you if you don't get your chairs and BBQ out We also pay the £1 overnight charge. Two of the Car Parks have CCTV so we would have been moved on if they had a problem. Not all are MH friendly for an evening stop you just have to be prepared to move if required. The No Overnight Sleeping signs make me laugh how do they enforce it. If they knock on the door and you answer it you are not asleep. What's to stop you saying you sat up all night playing cards.
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The first point is that you can not normally camp in a car park, only in those where the parking order allows it. It is also the parking order that is important, not any signage in the car park. So it is wrong to assume that just because there is no sign
then it is OK.The situation is complicated by the ethnic group status given to English Gypsies and Irish Travellers under the HRA and RRAA. From the explanation given by the OP it would appear that the group involved is claiming such rights. The problem that councils
have - and it's nothing to do with having no backbone - is that some groups who do not have those rights lie to claim them and that it takes time under the law to take action against them. The current government has announced plans to change that but has not
yet had time to do so.Anyone who thinks it is OK to camp in defiance of a parking order needs to think on that it is because of such selfishness that we have height barriers in some places which stop even daytime parking.
Graham
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Have a look at the end of this article, they may still get a ticket !! (oh, and a loo at your expense....)
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Have a look at the end of this article, they may still get a ticket !! (oh, and a loo at your expense....)
A prime example of the dilemma facing councils. Do they pay £225 for the portaloos or even more to clean up after the travellers leave?
The comments attributed to Alison Halford are disappointing. As a former Assistant Chief Constable she should know the legal situation better than to make such comments.
Graham
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To diverge slightly from the main theme of this thread. We have all seen the signs on motorways etc "Tired? Take a break". Where can one legally take such a break? I mean, if you are tired you will presumably want a sleep. And if you are in a motorhome
or caravan what is more natural than that you use the fitted beds? Yet by obeying one injuction in the interests of safety on the roads you seem to be falling foul of other rules which prevent sleeping in car parks. Opinions please.0 -
To diverge slightly from the main theme of this thread. We have all seen the signs on motorways etc "Tired? Take a break". Where can one legally take such a break? I mean, if you are tired you will presumably want a sleep. And if you are in a motorhome
or caravan what is more natural than that you use the fitted beds? Yet by obeying one injuction in the interests of safety on the roads you seem to be falling foul of other rules which prevent sleeping in car parks. Opinions please.1. MSAs, though they are expensive for stays of more than 2 hours and don't all have specific motorhome/caravan parking.
2. Lay-bys. As long as there is no local restriction then they can be used as there is no national legislation banning sleeping in them. See
Here.3. CLs. There are plenty which are not too far from main roads and, unlike people whose driving is dictated by work commitments, we all have the capability to plan our journeys to include breaks when we know we are likely to be tired.
Graham
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To diverge slightly from the main theme of this thread. We have all seen the signs on motorways etc "Tired? Take a break". Where can one legally take such a break? I mean, if you are tired you will presumably want a sleep. And if you are in a motorhome
or caravan what is more natural than that you use the fitted beds? Yet by obeying one injuction in the interests of safety on the roads you seem to be falling foul of other rules which prevent sleeping in car parks. Opinions please.1. MSAs, though they are expensive for stays of more than 2 hours and don't all have specific motorhome/caravan parking.
2. Lay-bys. As long as there is no local restriction then they can be used as there is no national legislation banning sleeping in them. See
Here.3. CLs. There are plenty which are not too far from main roads and, unlike people whose driving is dictated by work commitments, we all have the capability to plan our journeys to include breaks when we know we are likely to be tired.
Graham
Write your comments here... You are avoiding the question. If you are tired and the only place available to stop is an "area" where sleeping/camping whatever is prohibited what do you do? Continue driving to the endangerment of yourself, your passengers
and other road users or break the law/by law and park? It's a Catch 22 situation. It is not possible to obey two conflicting laws/rules. Personally I would park up and, if it ever got to court, Iwould explain my predicament to the judge hoping that he would
agree with me that safety is the more important consideration and that I was right to stop. I think the police and AA, RAC etc would also agree but I wait to be proved wrong.0 -
Molly,
We live next to a Country Park and on a couple of occasions travellers pitched up in the car park until the council managed to legally act. The mess left was disgusting...
Eventually a few of us persuaded the council to put up a height barrier and a gate which we open and lock on a rota basis.
No more problems.
Steve
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Is there any difference between Travellers and Gypsies sleeping overnight in Lay-bys, Car parks, Waste ground and public spaces ---------- And Motor caravanners doing exactly the same thing.
Some would say . "No difference at all, they should all be treated the same ".
Suggestion to Motor Homers if you are looking for somewhere to park up and sleep overnight and don't want to put your hand in your pocket you could always pull in beside any group of Travellers or Gypsies. I'm sure you would be made very welcome.
Of course you could always stay on a campsite or a CL - much better, much safer and there is a proper disposal for your grey and black waste. The nightly charges are reasonable too.
K
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To diverge slightly from the main theme of this thread. We have all seen the signs on motorways etc "Tired? Take a break". Where can one legally take such a break? I mean, if you are tired you will presumably want a sleep. And if you are in a motorhome
or caravan what is more natural than that you use the fitted beds? Yet by obeying one injuction in the interests of safety on the roads you seem to be falling foul of other rules which prevent sleeping in car parks. Opinions please.1. MSAs, though they are expensive for stays of more than 2 hours and don't all have specific motorhome/caravan parking.
2. Lay-bys. As long as there is no local restriction then they can be used as there is no national legislation banning sleeping in them. See
Here.3. CLs. There are plenty which are not too far from main roads and, unlike people whose driving is dictated by work commitments, we all have the capability to plan our journeys to include breaks when we know we are likely to be tired.
Graham
Write your comments here... You are avoiding the question. If you are tired and the only place available to stop is an "area" where sleeping/camping whatever is prohibited what do you do? Continue driving to the endangerment of yourself, your passengers
and other road users or break the law/by law and park? It's a Catch 22 situation. It is not possible to obey two conflicting laws/rules. Personally I would park up and, if it ever got to court, Iwould explain my predicament to the judge hoping that he would
agree with me that safety is the more important consideration and that I was right to stop. I think the police and AA, RAC etc would also agree but I wait to be proved wrong.It's only a Catch 22 situation for people who are lax enough to put themselves into it. As I said earlier, and as JVB66 also says, it is perfectly possible to plan ahead to avoid such a situation.
Graham
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Agreed, Graham ! Even the Club reccommends a stop after 2 hours or so on the Routes they provide ! And you do not need to sleep to overcome "Tiredness". If on a M S A Then a brisk walk to the "Usual Offices"
or shop followed by a quick check on the Camper or caravan & you should be all chipper again & ready for the next leg of your journey !0 -
It never ceases to amaze me the lengths some people will go to to save a few quid on a camp site when they have paid an eye watering amount of money for a camper van.
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They will be Travellers, with a capital T. 'It's the season, horse fairs etc.... Lots using motorhomes nowadays. Look on the bright side, at least they aren't invading a Club Site!
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It never ceases to amaze me the lengths some people will go to to save a few quid on a camp site when they have paid an eye watering amount of money for a camper van.
As mentioned in various posts it was probably Travellers in the instance the OP was talking about. Having said that, some of the differences between motorhomes and caravans are that there are more places one can camp
legally in motorhomes and motorhomes are more self contained than many caravans (on board water tanks for instance) so lend themselves to off-site camping more readily.As regards saving a few quid, isn't that one of the factors which attract people (in both motorhomes and caravans) to rallies and Temporary Holiday Sites? There is nothing wrong with saving a few quid per se is there?
It isn't everyone who pays an eye-watering amount for a motorhome either. Our own (now 13 year old) motorhome cost rather less than some new caravans when we bought it 4 years ago
Graham
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It never ceases to amaze me the lengths some people will go to to save a few quid on a camp site when they have paid an eye watering amount of money for a camper van.
Quite a generalisation in that statement unless you have definitive proof to the contrary.
We paid a slightly more eye watering amount for the m/h than the eye watering amount we paid for the caravan and towcar. The reason being a change of job and shifts meant the caravan was hardly being used so no longer economical to keep. The m/h allowed
us to leave home on a Friday evening and return on a Sunday evening without the worry of trying to get a campsite on the Friday night or expecting other members to forfeit a full choice of pitches on a Sunday so I could stay until 4pm for free. Never ceases
to amaze me the lengths some people will go to save a few quid .We mostly wildcamp now all around Scotland and make sure we stay away from any houses so not to annoy any locals.
As for trying to save a few quid we always make a point of putting money back in to the communities we camp near whether buying provisions of having a meal. If their happy to accept motorhomers then they deserve our support. So we probably spend the same
as we did when using sites.0 -
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As mentioned in various posts it was probably Travellers in the instance the OP was talking about. .....
I believe it was a group of friends, not 'Travellers', that had met up again for a birthday ..... they've done it before apparently
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It never ceases to amaze me the lengths some people will go to to save a few quid on a camp site when they have paid an eye watering amount of money for a camper van.
Quite a generalisation in that statement unless you have definitive proof to the contrary.
We paid a slightly more eye watering amount for the m/h than the eye watering amount we paid for the caravan and towcar. The reason being a change of job and shifts meant the caravan was hardly being used so no longer economical to keep. The m/h allowed
us to leave home on a Friday evening and return on a Sunday evening without the worry of trying to get a campsite on the Friday night or expecting other members to forfeit a full choice of pitches on a Sunday so I could stay until 4pm for free. Never ceases
to amaze me the lengths some people will go to save a few quid .We mostly wildcamp now all around Scotland and make sure we stay away from any houses so not to annoy any locals.
As for trying to save a few quid we always make a point of putting money back in to the communities we camp near whether buying provisions of having a meal. If their happy to accept motorhomers then they deserve our support. So we probably spend the same
as we did when using sites.Agree with the last paragraph; pity the UK is so posh to not take on the aire du camping car scene as in france.
As we are playing 'my dad is bigger than your dad na na na'. Our MH was less than our caravan, but with the car that tows it being four times that, our rig is more than your rig la la la...
and
we look for the best value sites and no longer wild camp as we have a caravan don't you know0 -
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I believe it was a group of friends, not 'Travellers', that had met up again for a birthday ..... they've done it before apparently
Thanks for that clarification. No difference really as they are still a group of people who think that regulations don't apply to them and whose actions reflect badly on everyone else.
Graham
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Agree with the last paragraph; pity the UK is so posh to not take on the aire du camping car scene as in france.
The UK isn't that posh though. It's perfectly possible for people to obtain caravan site licences or take advantage of one of the licence exemptions to set up a site. They could also restrict it to motorhomes only if they wished to. It doesn't happen mainly
because there isn't sufficient ROI in it.However, were the CC and the C&CC to emulate the MCC and allow use of their CLs/CSs by non-members then we would be a long way to having something like an aires network
Graham
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