Cool reception this year for motorhomes

Not Dorset but Hampshire, Tichfield thru to Stokes Bay an area i know very well

"Have Motorhomes become a problem for the council in any way? Staying overnight when they shouldn't? Littering? Maybe taking up too much room in the parking "

exactly this and of course the usual tipping of toilet waste into the hedges or even the sea, buying up 2 parking places and only paying for one, some inconsiderates parking in one and setting up tables & chairs in adjacent space, and of course taking up all the front of house spaces, Fareham and Gosport council have spent considerable amounts of money driving in wooden stakes to keep vehicles off the grass verges etc. 

and as TTDA says

"It’s usually abuse of facilities by a few that limits progress for the many sadly" 

our restrictions are not quite as draconian as the ones outlined in the OP by Dorset council, but height barriers on most of the car parks have been very effective, e.g. you would not get a car in with a top box on, and all new signs saying no overnight camping/sleeping etc. At Stokes bay Gosport council have provided i think 8 spaces dedicated to MH's, but you have to pay, so these are often empty.

And although the restrictions have had a dramatic reduction in the number of MH's/campers  in the area, they do bring their own problems, e.g. more parking in residential areas close to the beach, local OAP's who cannot walk to the beach or those that drove to the beach and then took a walk along the prom followed by a cup of tea and bacon sannie at the local shack now have to pay, you can buy and annual ticket,£80 i think.    

Not sure what effect this has had on local businesses, but car parks have been very full even in the evenings during this spell of lovely weather, and there have also been plenty of cars parked in resedential areas, so my guess would be minimal.

Not sure what the overall reaction has been locally, but I know many who own apartments on the sea front are mightly glad to have their view back 

There are a lot of undiscovered places that are now totally different after this pandemic. Best case in point I can think of is Northumberland. Always been reliable for a “getaway from others” type of place, but the forced stay in the UK period has meant it’s secrets are now out there. The shock we had driving into Bamburgh a couple of years ago was incredible. Not a space left in a normally very quiet car park, and they had had to put lots of Field portaloos in to stop visitors doing unsavoury things to the local gardens😱 We drove straight through, turned right inland away from coast and found a lot more peace and quiet. My hope is that many have now gone back overseas, and have short memories of just how lovely the UK can be😁

Some places are welcoming MHs with open arms though, we were very impressed with Scotland. It’s certainly put it very high on our list of places to do more exploring with MH. But not the NC500 route😉 

Motorhomes, a small minority, have always been a problem in some areas. It’s nothing new, it’s just that the sheer numbers on the roads have increased “the few” who don’t think of others to unacceptable levels. Local councils aren’t there to throw money at policing the situation, so they take draconian measures. We saw some caravans being used this way over last two years as well. Not travellers, just single units “wild camping”. Goodness knows what they do for water and slopping out🤢

There was plenty of space in the Bamburgh Links car park this June and the Amble one but not Beadnell. I overnightied in the Bamburgh one with 4 others with two spaces still free but when I left at 8 am, to catch the low tide for Holy Island, I noticed there were still campervans overnighting in the laybys! Either they were not aware of the opportunity to park legally for a fee or they were too mean to pay!

peedee

TDA, don't let the bad press put you off the NC500. We've done it a couple of times and not encountered any issues. 

Obviously avoid July and August.

May/Sept/Oct are usually good months to do it. Choose you sites/nighthalts in advance avoiding the 'party' sites. There are some really nice places to see, when we did it last May we were surprised that it wasn't busier.

Fort William will always be busy, a lot of that is to do with the Jacobite train. Once north of there it was fine.

Scotland is trying hard (in some areas) to provide overnight parking places, the Highlands being one of the proactive councils, D&G as you mentioned are another. 

There are alternative routes to the NC500 and plenty of beautiful places which are just off route. A month ago we were wandering around the Ardnamurchan Peninsula and what a delight it was away from ‘it’ all. Similarly, on the Stoer peninsula. You just have to look beyond. 

Thanks TG. We like to plan our own routes, and for us, if we were doing it properly the NC 500 would last us a year!🤣 We like to be down every nook and cranny, explore anything of interest, so racing around a specified route isn’t really us.
We met some nice people in D&G “doing” the  SW300, but they weren’t seeing the best places in our opinion. We like days off from driving as well, get on our bikes and spend most of the day out cycling. CLs are best for this, a lot safer to leave pooch on his own for a long sleep. 

I think the routes are really good for folks new to touring though. 

I think the “too mean to pay” bit probably rings true. We stayed on a lovely little Aire near Caerlaverock, HS, water, waste, CDP and a picnic table, stunning location, all for £5 a night. Some mean so and so had only decided to leave £2 rather than £5 in their payment envelope, because the fuel prices had gone up!

From today onwards and into early September we know that unless we get to popular spots in Dorset (on our nearest coast) before 10 am we will have trouble finding much room for ourselves let alone a vehicle. It isn't to do with anyone being unwelcome it's just the sheer number of people. Good luck to others heading to other popular places, it's much the same everywhere.

I should also point out that there are some excellent THS sites and rallies dotted along the coasts of the SW and they probably work out cheaper than days spent battling crowded car parks. 

Yes, Brue. That’s it in a nutshell! First come first served, bit like those prime pitches we hear of! If some areas are problematic for motorhomes go discover places where its not. They are out there!

Following on from Rufs comments on Fareham & Gosport parking, I have noticed that, since parking fees have been introduced at Portchester Castle car parks, there are fewer cars there now.

It has also had the 'collateral damage' effect of charging people who attend the parish church which is situated within the castle grounds. It is also going to impact members of the adjacent sailing club who, in the winter months, park their cars there  for longish periods whilst working on their boats.  It's impacted more on the local community than it has visitors. If I'm heading there, it's walking distance but for many it's an unwelcome development.