Aires in the UK
Comments
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Biggarmac – Thanks for pointing out another ‘Aires campaign’ but it is not something I personally would advocate now or in the future unless it totally focussed towards private enterprise as I personally think councils etc have need of their money for IMHO more necessary/important things especially so at this particular moment in time.
Ps. only read a few pages as the thread is too long for the time I have to spare just now.
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The network in its current form is fairly new. However, although some of the Aires are brand spanking new, others are repurposed community Aires. I assume like us there local authorities are struggling for cash and find an advantage in this sort of link up. One we used was very close to a Chateau in the Loire and was located at the edge of the village. The free one in the back of the car park in the centre, still mentioned on the literature, has ceased to exist.
All the ones we stayed at were in nice places, although wether as tenters, caravaners or motorhomers we tend to aim for an area and have a few stopping places in mind, only deciding when we get there.
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I did make that very point way back in the thread and I think I gave PD credit for having pointed it out in another earlier thread on this subject. There are indeed a growing number of such facilities so I'm not sure there's any call for either club or any local councils to get involved. One of our favourite "hidden away" pubs in Cornwall has joined the Britstop organisation (not sure how long ago it joined) and we have often seen MHs stopped off there, though given the lanes leading too it no-one should expect to squeeze one of those huge RVs in there!
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They have a lot of space, on the outskirts of cities everywhere. The whole country is going building mad all LA’s need to do is rope a section of the land off & negotiate an Aires as a commercial enterprise. We have the room just not the will🤷🏻♂️. Eventually when Moho’s are in the majority & tugging is a rarity the penny will drop👍🏻
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Why would you think that? If it is where people want to be, then they will pay a reasonable charge, most experienced/long term MH users are not freeloaders in our experience, those who are, are of a different mindset.
What we have seen is that many MH owners look for stops close to things they want to see and do so that alternative transport is not required, or if they do use the MH on a visit, there is suitable parking, which venues such as NT are increasingly providing.
And having seen some of the projects our council spend money on, some could easily be better spent on making provision for MHs to encourage them to stay and shop locally!
Up here we have no shortage of space, if the Gov and the locals want the tourist £s, they need to provide the infrastructure, and then crack down on roadside camping and the disgusting waste disposal methods.
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Spot on AD, your rough calculation is way more accurate than JV’s oft used phrase👍🏻-
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Hang on....i thought Aires, Stelplatz etc was something from over there, so why are we not comparing the land mass/population of say France with the total land mass/populations of the UK, rather than comparing various parts of the UK with each other, i seem to recall being able to motor many miles on the A10 in France without encountering major cities, try doing that on the M6 south of preston, and yes you may be able to travel for miles through open countryside, countryside used to feed us.
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OK then. Netherlands, which I understand has a higher population density than the UK? 190 Aires according to Vicarious Media who specialise in publishing books on Aires in various countries. 127 Aires in Belgium where the density might even be larger?
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A certain tourist destination is providing an Aire type facility. It will be catering for 25 motorhomes with hook up. I suppose they have identified a demand.
Good, maybe more will follow
An informal network of Aire type provision is steadily growing: Britstops, Motorhomestopovers, Club Motorhome, ukmotorhomes, Practical Motorhome Magazine Nightstops scheme, Motor Caravanners Club lists of pub stopovers. Some of these are ‘pay to join' schemes; others just free listings.
Indeed there does seem to be some good options amongst some of them.
It's happening, just not in a very organised fashion. But maybe the Clubs might care to join in??? (Not a hope in ....)
Not in their interests.
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But surely it must be good for the economy to attract people to towns and villages to visit places of interest and tourist attractions, density of population is not a barrier nor is the size of the country its about having an open mind and providing facilities for self contained vehicles to be able to park and stay safely to entice them to visit and spend money.
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Even if the whole of the UK is considered and the empty areas of Wales and Scotland included, our population density is still over twice that of France.
Although our population density is lower than the Netherlands and Belgium when considering the whole of the UK. On an England only basis we are slightly higher / identical. It depends on who's figures you look at.
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I was mulling over this thread while enjoying my "eat out to help out" lunch at our village pub today (thanks once more, Mr Sunak).
It does seem to me that there would need to be a more fundamental shift in the national pysche to make any investment worthwhile.
I can remember one of the most fervent "over there, aire" customers on the forum explaining how, in France, one could pull up at an attractive rural (free) aire, stroll into the village, be treated like minor royalty, wine and dine on the "menu du jour" for the equivalent of 50p a head and be literally beseeched to stay longer (ok, some of that may be exaggerated but you get the picture!
)By contrast we were in Grassington in the Yorkshire Dales just last week. On the edge of the village is a large National Trust car park, little used in the evening, with public toilets - just the sort of spot I imagine folk would thing ideal for a UK aire. But stroll into Grassington for lunch at one of the village hostelries and a sandwich and drink will cost you between £10 and £15 each, or a cappucino in one of the cafes is getting on for a fiver!
So I wonder how many folk would stump up that sort of cash to repay the local economy for the costs involved?
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French campsite owner said to me that French motorhomers don't like to spend money. Are British ones different ? I doubt it.
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