Finding space for a comfort stop
Hi all. We've had a small camper for years but now we're towing a caravan. Once we're off the motorway it seems to be really difficult to find a space big enough for us to pull in for a break or to change drivers. How do you all find sonewhere to stop? Do you pre plan it?
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I'm fortunate in that I can ask my hubby to take a turn towing and we can usually find a layby for a quick change of drivers. We don't normally bother with a longer stop than that and can nibble snacks and/or sip from a bottle on the move.
I do a google search of the route and look for a suitable stop if I think I'm going to need one.
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We’ve never had trouble finding somewhere to stop whether with the caravan or MH.
Dual carriageways have fairly frequent lay-bys and single carriageway roads, too. Villages and towns often have parks with car parks. We just keep our eyes open and the map often gives clues.
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If it's just literally to change drivers and nothing more, failing a lay by we have pulled on to garage forecourts or used bus stops before now. If we're on a journey long enough to need a "proper" break, we've decided to break the journey into two and stop at a CL overnight. We've found some really good ones in places we wouldn't necessarily thought of visiting by doing that.
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Same here, I'm the best layby spotter in the business.
It's a thing you get used to and remembering where some of the better ones are eg on the A30 past Exeter wait till you get to the bigger laybys which offer a buffer between you and the road.The most crowded laybys are just off motorways where drivers leave their cars for the day.
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I agree that it can be problematic in some parts of the Country, especially in Eastern England once of the main dual carriageways. Google Earth might be a useful tool in spotting where the stopping place are. Alternatively if you have a specific journey in mind perhaps ask on here in advance and people familiar with the route may be able to help. Had you not been towing a caravan I would have suggested looking out for large supermarkets en route as a useful stopping place but some, not all, can be a bit difficult to get into with a caravan on the back.
David
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On dual carriageways and single roads they are usually well signed, and then signed again just as you get to them. Planning does help though, especially if it’s a journey you know. Can be a touch more problematic on lorry routes, as they are lay by hogs. Longer breaks are best well planned, and not in lay-bys right next to carriageway. Ox bows are better, although goodness knows what goes off in some of them!
We do as little motorway as possible when touring, so find stops easy to plan.
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We have used pubs, petrol stations, supermarkets, garden centres, a chapel car park, truck stops, a Burger King cafe, a couple of National Trust sites, Cribbs Causeway shopping mall, and a Travelodge hotel car park. Trago Mills is a bit too near for us, but other visitors to Cornwall stop there too.
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This comment i agree with, large Trucks which nearly all are these days. Just one truck can take up a whole lay by, these laybys were designed before large Trucks were the Norm. Must be really hard when towing now, we now have a PVC motohome so it isnt too bad, but tricky on occasions. And thank goodness for the onboard toilet. A frequent 'lifesaver'.
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We travel with the caravan all over the UK and being of a certain age often need a comfort stop and have never found it to be a problem. In fact I am more comfortable in the knowledge with the caravan attached we have a toilet with us rather than having to find one.
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