Wild Camping

[Jodalo]

Funny enough in our dotage we play a lot of baseball so we keep the bat under the drivers seat and the ball in the door pocket..You never know when you will get the urge to play baseball....

Yes it’s amazing how many taxi drivers are into baseball. Who would have thought it?

 

[Vagophile]

I want to come traveling with you! Sounds like great fun!!

It depends what your expectations are. I always try to master at least "yes, no, good morning/afternoon and how much" in the local language. Never forget that in some rural areas, the locals may never have seen a foreigner, let alone one in a camper, so you can be an object of curiosity. Go with the flow, be respectful and as diplomatic as possible. I take a stock of boxes of Quality Street sweets bought cheaply at Christmas; handing these round can work wonders. I find that, in general, people want to be friendly and find out more about you, your life, your home, family, politics(yes!)earnings etc.etc. and the more they find out about you, the more you find out about them. This really is one of the main reasons why I travel.
In my Kombi days, we were about to park up on the edge of a wood in Northern Greece when we encountered four shepherds, about 10 massive dogs and a few hundred sheep. I said hello and was asked our intentions. Explaining that we intended to stop for the night, the shepherds immediately told us that there were wolves and bears in the area and we should be careful, suggesting that we parked near their mountain hut. They then showed us the spring that they took water from and one asked what time we would retire. Seeing that I was a bit hesitant to reply, he explained that they would be eating later and would we like to join them?
Spit roast leg of lamb washed down by local Retsina never tasted better. No campsite can replicate that.
If there were any bears or wolves around, we didn't see or hear them, because we fell into a deep sleep, replete.

 

[Pete Roberts]

Yes it’s amazing how many taxi drivers are into baseball. Who would have thought it?

So the moral of the story is don’t mess with Taxi drivers and old blokes in a VW camper..Unless you want a good game of baseball that is...

 

[sbmcd]

In my 6 years of Cali ownership and a fair bit of wild camping we have never had to break camp in the middle of the night, except once when the wind started tossing the van about at a high Cairngorm wild camp, moved 50 meters to park between two great whites for shelter.

 

[Tomato]

Might use one of those camping apps that have reviews....

Quality Street will de escalate. Waving a stick or bat will escalate if the threat of violence is genuine. They’ll use your bat on you.

I’m sure a fake cough and the internationally recognised word “corona” will be off putting enough. Hold your breath. It’ll give you that rosey cheeked high temperature look

 

[Camino]

This set of guidelines is being developed for Scotland by the businesses which rent motorhomes and van http://www.campa.org.uk/ and thought it might be useful if folk haven't see it yet.

I'm in the highlands and we recently had two visiting great whites reported to police after traveling from Manchester. The earliest we'll be allowed non-essential travel will be 15th July. I'm not saying that's right, just that's the way it is right now.

 

[Lightning]

So, last night I was watching the Jungle Book, parked up on the highway with lots of other vans, and winding down from a long day of doing nothing, when I heard a small commotion outside, and upon stepping out to check it out I had an unplanned and fraught discussion with a very angry lunatic waving a 3 foot long sabre while walking backwards. This was followed up some time later with an equally uncomfortable chat with the armed response unit. Apparently somebody in one of the other vans had hurt his feelings on Facebook. It was pretty terrifying!

 

[Velma's Dad]

So, last night I was watching the Jungle Book, parked up on the highway with lots of other vans, and winding down from a long day of doing nothing, when I heard a small commotion outside, and upon stepping out to check it out I had an unplanned and fraught discussion with a very angry lunatic waving a 3 foot long sabre while walking backwards. This was followed up some time later with an equally uncomfortable chat with the armed response unit. Apparently somebody in one of the other vans had hurt his feelings on Facebook. It was pretty terrifying!

That's terrible. I hope it was the 1967 version of the film not 2016.

 

[Lightning]

That's terrible. I hope it was the 1967 version of the film not 2016.

It was the original. I just subscribed to Disney plus and it has all their classics for £5.99 a month.

 

[willwander]

So, last night I was watching the Jungle Book, parked up on the highway with lots of other vans, and winding down from a long day of doing nothing, when I heard a small commotion outside, and upon stepping out to check it out I had an unplanned and fraught discussion with a very angry lunatic waving a 3 foot long sabre while walking backwards. This was followed up some time later with an equally uncomfortable chat with the armed response unit. Apparently somebody in one of the other vans had hurt his feelings on Facebook. It was pretty terrifying!

Highlander?

 

[kurienp]

So, last night I was watching the Jungle Book, parked up on the highway with lots of other vans, and winding down from a long day of doing nothing, when I heard a small commotion outside, and upon stepping out to check it out I had an unplanned and fraught discussion with a very angry lunatic waving a 3 foot long sabre while walking backwards. This was followed up some time later with an equally uncomfortable chat with the armed response unit. Apparently somebody in one of the other vans had hurt his feelings on Facebook. It was pretty terrifying!

An immersive movie experience indeed!

 

[Perfectos]

So, last night I was watching the Jungle Book, parked up on the highway with lots of other vans, and winding down from a long day of doing nothing, when I heard a small commotion outside, and upon stepping out to check it out I had an unplanned and fraught discussion with a very angry lunatic waving a 3 foot long sabre while walking backwards. This was followed up some time later with an equally uncomfortable chat with the armed response unit. Apparently somebody in one of the other vans had hurt his feelings on Facebook. It was pretty terrifying!

Are you sure it was not Mulan ?


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[Lightning]

Are you sure it was not Mulan ?


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I might watch that tonight, hopefully I won’t get any flashbacks.

 

[66tim99]

A very comprehensive list of how to park up defensively.
I don't think that my list is too bad for forty years of travelling. I've decided not to publish any more!
On the plus side, we have been invited to a Greek wedding, joined in a French boar hunt and had a day trip in a caique just through a random connection with locals while parked up.

What a life!

 

[orbital]

Might use one of those camping apps that have reviews....

Quality Street will de escalate. Waving a stick or bat will escalate if the threat of violence is genuine. They’ll use your bat on you.

I’m sure a fake cough and the internationally recognised word “corona” will be off putting enough. Hold your breath. It’ll give you that rosey cheeked high temperature look

Quite. Someone who means you harm is probably quite good at it and quicker on the draw too.

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

Not wild camping in the true sense but interesting article in the Sunday Times today. New company called ‘Wild With Consent’ offers offers pitches where only 1 self contained vehicle is allowed per night. Just Northumberland at the moment but I guess they’ll add more locations in time?

 

[Vagophile]

Picked up in another thread;

Stealth camping spots disappearing

These signs are now in almost every little parking spot in the Brecon Beacons. Some little spots have about 10 of them. The one in the photo is in a lovely remote spot actually located outside the National Park according to Ordinance Survey map app I use. I had a friendly (presumably) local...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

and the reason I remembered:

Stealth camping spots disappearing

These signs are now in almost every little parking spot in the Brecon Beacons. Some little spots have about 10 of them. The one in the photo is in a lovely remote spot actually located outside the National Park according to Ordinance Survey map app I use. I had a friendly (presumably) local...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[soulstyledevon]

Not wild camping in the true sense but interesting article in the Sunday Times today. New company called ‘Wild With Consent’ offers offers pitches where only 1 self contained vehicle is allowed per night. Just Northumberland at the moment but I guess they’ll add more locations in time?

View attachment 82745

£100 a pitch…

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

£100 a pitch…

Give that a miss then

 

[icic]

Once things settle down doubt anyone’s going to pay £100 to park in a field by themselves, It will be lower than that, unless they offer a composite toilet, jungle shower and picnic bench type of thing.

 

[Auberg-ine]

At a certain moment, silence is what we will pay for.







... but till now still fortunate...

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

Can anybody recommend a safe spot in the Chichester/Portsmouth area for a 1 night stopover? Most campsites are fully booked due to the Goodwood Revival on the night in question plus we won’t arrive until quite late and many sites won’t tolerate that.

 

[phil keegan]

£100 a pitch…

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[phil keegan]

£100 a pitch…

Average price of Northumberland pitches this week £39.20


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[Elly Swanson]

Can anybody recommend a safe spot in the Chichester/Portsmouth area for a 1 night stopover? Most campsites are fully booked due to the Goodwood Revival on the night in question plus we won’t arrive until quite late and many sites won’t tolerate that.

How late will you be arriving? Most pubs will let you Kip in their car park if you eat there, some if you’re just having drinks. Or cafes/pubs/hotels that open early for breakfast may be okay with you rocking up late if you book brekkie with them.