Staying overnight on the services

[Deejuk]

I recently discovered that quite a few service stations up and down the country allow caravans to stay overnight for around £30. As I am relatively new to the world of caravaning in comparison to most I personally found this news quite useful especially if we wanted to trundle off to the top of Scotland or the very south of England etc.

Has anyone done this, do you need to book, or what's the score? I assume you simply put the legs down in the truck stop and take it from there. In addition, are their any alternatives to break up long journeys that can be cheaply and easily used by caravaners? I believe motorhomes can use some supermarkets etc but caravans are a little more difficult to juggle round supermarkets, especially for a nervous novice.

Any thoughts on this would be great.

 

[Buckman]

At £30 cheaper to find a proper site which will be quiet and also with all the facilities. Plus of course the stench! Where would you get your water unless you are prepared to carry water?

 

[Tobes]

As Buckman says, much nicer and potentially cheaper to find a CL / CS on the route and stay there. When we can we tend to sort 2 nights, explore the local area and make it a part of the holiday.

 

[otherclive]

Plus one more for a CL/CS which would be cheaper and more a part of the holiday. I have used HGV areas on services when the caravan and MH bays were full but only to break the journey. Staying overnight would be noisy with the comings and goings of HGVs plus do some still run their ancillary plants for chilled goods?

 

[Deejuk]

I totally understand all you are saying and agree. I just wondered what people thought about it, booking a CL is probably the better option etc.

 

[Beardy]

I find the link below usefull for finding CL's , much better than the CAMC website.

CAMC Certified Locations – Google My Maps

Maintained by a CAMC Member independently of the Club. Updated 1st July 2024. CLs with name and links to their info pages. Use the filters to show / hide CLs with / without EHU.

www.google.com

 

[audiorob]

Maybe Google can help - decide on your preferred location and search ‘caravan sites near *****’ and see results in the map and with a screen left side list.

 

[RogerL]

I totally understand all you are saying and agree. I just wondered what people thought about it, booking a CL is probably the better option etc.

The advantage of not using a caravan site is that you can arrive late and leave early - a big disadvantage of using motorway service areas is that specific caravan spaces aren't always provided or are full of vans and cars when they are!

If you're heading for the Highlands, Cairn Lodge (was called Happendon) on the M74 has caravan parking tucked away from the truck and car park - with the advantage that it's part of Westmorland Group who run Tebay and Gloucester services so the food it at least palatable - it's also got a 3 hour free limit instead of the usual 2 hours.

 

[Banus]

There are loads of pubs that allow you to stop on their car park overnight for FREE as long as you have a meal and a pint at the pub. We've just returned from the IoW and on our way down stayed 20 mins from Southampton at the Otter at Otterbourne. Perfect level tarmac car park and outside garden tap to fill the aqua roll. Saves doing the whole trip in one tiring day.

 

[alamo16584]

Very few service stations in north of Scotland with overnight parking like this, however, lay-by's WITHOUT yellow lines are OK, if for 1 night, but you would get moved if there for longer. You may get a knock but just explain "better bed then dead"