Tour de France

[TonyJones]

Councillor Martyn Bolt claims Kirklees Council camping restrictions could drive away Tour de France visitors.
Full story here:
http://www.tmcto.org/index.php/motorhome-news/item/89-kirklees-council

 

[gjh]

Not just Kirklees.
As mentioned previously, we've had to go down to Derbyshire (close to the Holme Moss stretch) several times in the last couple of weeks and there are restrictions on many roads.
Signs warning of parked vehicles being towed away even appear on roads several miles from the actual route. I even saw a notice on the A1 saying that access to Leeds Bradford Airport will be restricted.
Anyone going anywhere near the route (whether for the event or anything else) between 4th and 7th July would be well advised to check the Travel Information to avoid problems.

 

[TonyJones]

Odd, isn't it, that the French seem to manage to run the Tour every year, all over their country, without all this hassle? I know we're a small, crowded island,but these are both rural areas where there's plenty of room.
(BtW, I fixed your link Keith. For some reason links seem to work better on here if you start a new line for them. No idea why!)

 

[gjh]

You would certainly think so on the face of it Tony.
I think the problem is infrastructure in some areas. I don't know about France but in the Glossop area, where I grew up, the population and car ownership have grown dramatically and there are a lot of properties which have no off-street parking because many of the streets were built in the Victorian era or the early 20th century. In order to maintain a semblance of normal life for residents in the face of an expected 30,000-40,000 visitors there alone (something like 7 miles from the closest point of the event) lots of controls have had to be put in place.
The road closures are detailed Here (the graphic Here shows the extent at a glance) but, in addition, many local roads have parking restrictions to prevent mayhem.
I can remember sitting on this corner (close to the Newshaw Lane shuttle bus point) with friends in around 1958/9 collecting car numbers - we probably only saw a dozen or two in an hour but there are far more now (Google actually picked a quiet day for street view

). The lamp posts on the roads there already had advance warning parking restriction notices on them when we were there a week ago.
We have to go again next week but, luckily, we've been able to arrange it for Tuesday/Wednesday so will be well out of the way before the weekend

 

[TonyJones]

Well, watching the 1st stage on ITV, there's no shortage of motorhomes parked near the course. Clearly a lot of them will be on those overpriced pop-up campsites, but quite a few on Buttertubs Pass* were right by the roadside. So well done to those who ignored the warnings, took their chances and found places to stay - CHAPEAU!
* aka "Cote de Buttertubs" - don't you LOVE the French TV subtitles?

 

[TonyJones]

Well, the two Yorkshire stages have been breathtaking - and d'you know what? Yorkshire really didn't need to rip off the visitors, those TV pics will have boosted their tourist trade no end for the next few years.
We're now happily ensconced in the pub car park near Chelmsford, where we've booked a meal tonight and arranged to stay over - to watch Stage 3, almost the way we would in France! I'll keep you posted how our visit goes.

 

[TonyJones]

Meal was excellent - not the cheapest, more "restaurant than pub, but well worth it. I can now reveal, it's the Horse and Groom, Roxwell Rd. Looking forward to watching Le Tour go past tomorrow.

 

[TonyJones]

Well, what a day. Fantastic atmosphere, just like when we watch it in France (except that, with no "camping-caristes" collecting them all, we finally got our yellow arrow for the windscreen)!
There was even a Hymer parked on the grass verge nearby, who'd ASKED the highways people first and found it was ok to overnight there - so "Chapeau" to Essex Highways too!

 

[LizziePope]

That sounds brilliant – has anyone else seen Le Tour? Or is anyone else hoping to see it in France?

 

[Retread]

The U.K stages have been a great hit in France, A number of people here have spoken about Le Tour and the wonderful country side and of course the timed stage down the Mall.

 

[LizziePope]

The U.K stages have been a great hit in France, A number of people here have spoken about Le Tour and the wonderful country side and of course the timed stage down the Mall.

That's great to hear!

 

[Flicka]

The organisation of the Yorkshire stages made you proud to be British. Saw the saturday stage 1. @ Otley & had a brilliant time sited @ their Football club. Hospitality & atmosphere was excellent. Uncrowded view as a little way from town centre. The only slight glitch was that all the shops had sold out of bunting, etc., because of the high demand. One lady was still making some &said she would be working till late Friday night for orders she had taken. Found what I wanted at Garden Centre next to football club & made our own to decorate the van, with the TdF jerseys. We got many complimentary remarks. The general downside for many was the rates & minimum booking period being charged at lots of the sites. This did put some people off going, especially as indications were there was little availability left. Despite the tremendous crowds, I found there were numerous temporary sites with availability at reasonable cost, although I didn't book until the Wednesday. Congratulations Yorkshire TdF team

 

[gjh]

Otley FC received a lot of critiism for its pricing in the run up. Were there many motorhomes and caravans actually there?
Graham

 

[Flicka]

The critism raised against Otley FC was mainly from a n other site close by. (which was a private enterprise charged higher fees & minimum No. of nights, but did have outdoor big screen & some other attractions) Otley FC offered any combination of nights & suffered low bookings due to the critism, unjustly IMHO. A n other site went so far as to try & get Otley FC application revoked by the council. Sour grapes on their part (again IMHO). I would rather temp site fees go into community than a farmer's back pocket.
There were approx 20 units, (tents mainly,) with room for maybe another 10/12 units.

 

[Retread]

Just back from a few days away during which I managed to experience 'le Tour' from a camping-cariste's POV.
At Monbazillac where there are already a number of vignerons who offer free parking there were additional flat fields, one adjacent to a Café, and FREE. Managed to stay with M.Camus and had an interesting wine tasting, their White sec (Les Avinturieres) is a bit moreish, going back on Friday for more

.