Wild camping is it safe ?

[Midnightmapper]

We wild camped the first time a week ago. It went well. Not sure I would wild camp in a city park though.

We have camped in the wild in many countries in Africa, Iran, Egypt, Oman as well as in Europe (all this in a Totota Landcruiser with rooftop tent) and North America. We now have a Cali Beach. We NEVER had a single issue, apart from once in Italy, where, for a change, we were on a campsite! Burglars had cut a hole in the fence and tried to steal stuff from our tent, while we were sleeping! We say: camp wild, but camp sensibly!

 

[Straad]

I have only one word of advice regarding wild camping. Walk onto your potential pitch before you drive onto it. That way you are less likely to drive into a bog and get stuck….. but, of course, only an idiot would that (once)!

 

[Sp0_0k]

Just watched a YouTube video wizard in the wild a lovely couple who stopped in a park for night near Manchester they got woken at 1 in the morning by people throwing house bricks at their van absolutely terrible they could have been so easily hit.The side door window was smashed the front windscreen was cracked and the side panel was damaged.Things like this really do make you think.

Similar incidents can hapoen even in a peaceful norway. So there are always risks involved. Not that bricks can't fly into your house windows.

 

[Wannabecamperman]

For those who want something close to wild camping but with the knowledge of others who have used the spot before try the Searchforsites website / app . Many of the locations in the UK shown on that site are pub stops, some good and some not so good. Use the knowledge of others and your own intuition and almost always you will be OK.

Those of us who wander Europe, especially France and Germany will confirm that things are very different across the channel so don't despair at the lack of understanding here in the UK.

This was the experience on a German Stellplatz (free or very cheap open motorhome parking)...

We parked at Vorenbach just for one night. Around mid evening a few youths came into the park with the makings of a BBQ & Beers etc. Before they set-up one of them came over to us and asked if we minded them having their BBQ close to us (30m away). Next morning the only evidence of their visit was a scorched spot in the grass where the BBQ had been!
Where in the UK would you get that sort of behaviour?

And yes the T6 shown in that site review is ours.

It's a good point how discipline and standards have slipped so very much with so many 'feral' youths in Blighty, whereas on much of the Continent, the same can not (generally) be said. I suspect the breakdown in many cases of the nuclear family and secularisation / woke 'me, me, me' culture is partly to blame.

 

[Jay586]

I live by the sea & near hills. "Wild" camping here seems to entail parking nose-to-tail on laybys or with 20 other vans on the vandalised beach access.

My Council Tax is being spent on cleaning, mending barriers & ever lower barrier structures. It makes daily use way more difficult. Local town is now charging a fortune for parking, which makes short dog walks there prohibitively expensive.

It's a total pita. One discreet van clearly not an issue, problem is that it's not one van & a fair few will have the full awning out with chairs, toys & fencing. A lot of people are living ft in the vans too. It was like the wild West over the summer, absolutely chaotic.

There's an argument that the Council should provide Aires & facilities. But given they have struggle to provide basic services & have a rural low income tax base, really it is a challenge.

 

[Jay586]

And don't even get me started on the diesel generator noise.

Went up the moors to escape fireworks for the evening, due to the dog & frankly me having ptsd from how distressed she can get & my ears were bleeding from a motorhomer with the loudest one ever. Even deaf husband complained...

 

[rod_vw]

I live by the sea & near hills. "Wild" camping here seems to entail parking nose-to-tail on laybys or with 20 other vans on the vandalised beach access.

My Council Tax is being spent on cleaning, mending barriers & ever lower barrier structures. It makes daily use way more difficult. Local town is now charging a fortune for parking, which makes short dog walks there prohibitively expensive.

It's a total pita. One discreet van clearly not an issue, problem is that it's not one van & a fair few will have the full awning out with chairs, toys & fencing. A lot of people are living ft in the vans too. It was like the wild West over the summer, absolutely chaotic.

There's an argument that the Council should provide Aires & facilities. But given they have struggle to provide basic services & have a rural low income tax base, really it is a challenge.

Deliberate vandalism and leaving of litter cannot be condoned by any of our community.

Yes I realise that North Wales has been over-run with those of our persuasion in recent years. However the need for facilities has been known by the local authorities for many years without any action having been taken. Powys have nearly cracked it in most of their car parks with overnight parking permitted except for the waste & fresh water supply facilities. Why don't Denbighshire, Conwy, Gwynedd, Isle of Anglesey, Ceredigion etc. follow their example?

What we need here in the UK is some clear and concise rules both for motor home owners and local authorities plus a correction of the laws relating to sleeping in a vehicle. A careful and appreciative assessment of the policies adopted in the more enlightened European countries could bring about decent facilities here. Many of us don't need or want regimented camp sites we want the freedom to come and go as we please.
I say 'facilities' but we don't need anything elaborate just approved parking areas with waste disposal (wet & dry) and fresh water supply. Most of all proper legally enforced rules provided at a basic cost with the proceeds of that going to the local community NOT a business.
A start for the rules...

• Nothing but the four wheels on the ground.
• Motor homes ONLY no caravans or tents etc.
• Enforced limits on parking duration.
• Payment if required with receipts issued and registration mark on the receipt.
• Enforced limits on number of vehicles.

Those who have wandered Europe will recognise most of that.

If most communities both large and small were expected to provide such facilities within a time span of a few years UK motor home users could look forward to a much better leisure experience and hopefully we could attract more tourists with similar tastes.
.

 

[Vagophile]

Those who have wandered Europe will recognise most of that.

Couldn't agree more with your comments as no doubt do tens of thousands of others. So why are local authorities so reluctant to provide even very basic parking and facilities? It's baffling to me; the continental experience demonstrates what can be done effectively and inexpensively, to the benefit of the traveller and the local community.
Unfortunately, the image of traveller in the U.K. is coloured by those of no fixed abode and not helped by the recent uncaring additions to motorhoming due to pandemic restrictions. It's also possible that local vested interests come into play.
Over the past couple of years there have been some positive moves, notably in Scotland, and there are moves to promote the provision of Aire type parking locations led by CAMpRA UK Ltd., an organisation which I think deserves the support of all those who would like Aire type facilities in the U.K.
I appreciate that I have gone well off topic, but this subject is discussed perennially and progress seems very slow; if we are all in agreement about what should be done, how do we achieve it?

 

[Tony hylton]

As far as I am concerned Wild Camping = Wilderness Camping, and a city park is not wilderness by any stretch of the imagination.

Purely for info,
anyone travelling through Luxembourg and looking for a good base to camp and then explore the city, along the mousel river, around Remich are many spots , I believe one can park in normal parking spots for at least a night without problems . In the centre of Remich by the local swimming pool is a dedicated camper parking with recycling facilities and toilets, not sure about showers, nominal price per night.

 

[Azteccamper]

Maybe a rather simplistic answer, but local authorities just haven’t got the money in most cases. In urban areas, I think they could be opportunities for private businesses (superstores, enterprise zones, etc.), but once anything becomes ‘official’ then it has to meet a plethora of health and safety standards. There is a wide variety of CL’s and CS’s available via camping clubs as well.
But it would brilliant to see a couple of village camper spots.

 

[chockswahay]

I have just skimmed through the video on YouTube (yes a bit too long I think) and I think the couple were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. They had made reasonable efforts to park safely in view of miles/time etc and I would have probably done much the same. It is an issue parking after dark but tbh parking in the daylight probably gives a false feeling of security sometimes. I would add that usually for us I would pick a place a bit more secluded however that can mean one is ‘all alone’ if this type of event occurs.

Yes it is a risk but there is a lot one can do to mitigate this as has already been said.

Regarding ‘wild camping’ I don’t really see the problem with the title…… it’s just another way to describe stopping somewhere other than an approved or licensed camp site.

We will continue to park overnight in non campsite places simply because they suit us, are more often than not exactly where we want to be, are not crowded, and are FREE I will admit that this is easier to do in less populated places (like Scotland). Just because we own a fairly expensive camper does not mean we wish (or can afford) to pay fairly expensive fees to stop over night.

I would go on to say that if we were wishing to stay more than one night or had children with us we might well use a site but we are nearly always touring so the stopover is just a break between adventures!