- May 29, 2020
- 83
- 84
- Funster No
- 71,193
- MH
- Currently looking
- Exp
- Newbie
Good evening folks.
Firstly my apologies - there is a lot of preamble to my question here, and tbh the sensible thing would be to skip that and go down to about line 20 of this post for the actual discussion/question/topic.
Before I ask for the benefit of your wisdom and experience, I will explain that I feel rather like a prodigal son, returning to the motorhome fold after four years of ill-advised narrowboating madness.
Not that anyone will remember this, but just in case: I made my first post here about full-time MH living, at the height of the 2020 pandemic:
www.motorhomefun.co.uk
I got some fantastic advice from the kind folks on this forum, I formed up my ideas about the best options, and I did loads of window shopping and showroom visits- and with the benefit of all the advice here, I finally decided on a Burstner i680G with the big front lounge.
And then a few days later, I had a drunken conversation in a pub, and I went and bought a narrowboat instead- and I've been living on the boat ever since.
But in all seriousness, it wasnt just the booze (combined with my gullible mind) that led me away from motorhome full timing.
What actually happened was that as I was gaining information and wise advice here, I also started looking for information about full time MH living on youtube (never a great idea at the best of times), and I saw dozens of tales of MH dwellers and vanlifers being abused by furious locals, a couple of them actually assaulted, police trying to move on wild campers in MHs, and CLs/campsites closing down all over the place (at least temporarily).
I fell for the youtube hype, and I decided that full timing in the UK (during the 2020 pandemic) just looked like way too much hassle. On a narrowboat you can moor in a lovely quiet rural spot for up to 14 days if you want to, without any fear of challenge or hostility. In fact the locals are usually very friendly to boaters- which it seemed was not the case towards full time MHers during the pandemic.
But now, after 4 years of waterways living and endless exposure to the evils of ducks, I have repented my sins. I have seen the light, and I now realise that full time MH living is the way to go.
And all of the advice in that thread is still accurate and relevant, and the Burstner 680G is still my favoured option. Well, probably.
But with my apology over, its time for my question.
As my thoughts started to turn increasingly towards MH living, I started looking at vanlife and MH life channels on youtube (again), and to be honest it does seem (just as in 2020) that things are currently looking a tad grim for someone who wants to 'wild camp' for most of the time.
I'm seeing loads of stories of overnight parking/camping being banned in many of the places that were popular with MHers for decades.
The youtubers are once again talking about angry locals shouting abuse at them (sometimes just when passing in their cars), just as they did back in 2020.
Some people report passing motorists pressing on their horns as they pass MHs parked in laybys up in Scotland, and many local councils in England are enacting bans on overnight parking/camping in beauty spots - apparently because many vanlifers have been parking in these places for weeks at a time, lighting fires or barbeques on grass verges, dumping grey and waste on the road, putting out tables and chairs etc. I've no idea what the truth of the matter is, but the end result is that full time MH living (wild camping) in the UK seems to be getting more difficult- at least in many of the nicest places.
I'm not going to be put off motorhome living this time, not least because I want to do some European trips.
So I will be selling the boat and buying a motorhome before this year is out, but I'm still curious about the state of affairs for full timers in the UK. And so I wanted to ask whether the full timers on here have been feeling more hassled, more restricted, or perhaps less welcome in the last few years than they did in the past, when they wild camp?
Firstly my apologies - there is a lot of preamble to my question here, and tbh the sensible thing would be to skip that and go down to about line 20 of this post for the actual discussion/question/topic.
Before I ask for the benefit of your wisdom and experience, I will explain that I feel rather like a prodigal son, returning to the motorhome fold after four years of ill-advised narrowboating madness.
Not that anyone will remember this, but just in case: I made my first post here about full-time MH living, at the height of the 2020 pandemic:
Sacrifices needed to full time in a 6 metre van?
Hi everyone, I want to firstly say apologies if this has come up recently, but I couldn't find it so I hope you won't mind giving me the benefit of your full-timing perspective and your knowledge and experience on this big question. My question is, how long does a van need to be, to full time...
www.motorhomefun.co.uk
I got some fantastic advice from the kind folks on this forum, I formed up my ideas about the best options, and I did loads of window shopping and showroom visits- and with the benefit of all the advice here, I finally decided on a Burstner i680G with the big front lounge.
And then a few days later, I had a drunken conversation in a pub, and I went and bought a narrowboat instead- and I've been living on the boat ever since.
But in all seriousness, it wasnt just the booze (combined with my gullible mind) that led me away from motorhome full timing.
What actually happened was that as I was gaining information and wise advice here, I also started looking for information about full time MH living on youtube (never a great idea at the best of times), and I saw dozens of tales of MH dwellers and vanlifers being abused by furious locals, a couple of them actually assaulted, police trying to move on wild campers in MHs, and CLs/campsites closing down all over the place (at least temporarily).
I fell for the youtube hype, and I decided that full timing in the UK (during the 2020 pandemic) just looked like way too much hassle. On a narrowboat you can moor in a lovely quiet rural spot for up to 14 days if you want to, without any fear of challenge or hostility. In fact the locals are usually very friendly to boaters- which it seemed was not the case towards full time MHers during the pandemic.
But now, after 4 years of waterways living and endless exposure to the evils of ducks, I have repented my sins. I have seen the light, and I now realise that full time MH living is the way to go.
And all of the advice in that thread is still accurate and relevant, and the Burstner 680G is still my favoured option. Well, probably.
But with my apology over, its time for my question.
As my thoughts started to turn increasingly towards MH living, I started looking at vanlife and MH life channels on youtube (again), and to be honest it does seem (just as in 2020) that things are currently looking a tad grim for someone who wants to 'wild camp' for most of the time.
I'm seeing loads of stories of overnight parking/camping being banned in many of the places that were popular with MHers for decades.
The youtubers are once again talking about angry locals shouting abuse at them (sometimes just when passing in their cars), just as they did back in 2020.
Some people report passing motorists pressing on their horns as they pass MHs parked in laybys up in Scotland, and many local councils in England are enacting bans on overnight parking/camping in beauty spots - apparently because many vanlifers have been parking in these places for weeks at a time, lighting fires or barbeques on grass verges, dumping grey and waste on the road, putting out tables and chairs etc. I've no idea what the truth of the matter is, but the end result is that full time MH living (wild camping) in the UK seems to be getting more difficult- at least in many of the nicest places.
I'm not going to be put off motorhome living this time, not least because I want to do some European trips.
So I will be selling the boat and buying a motorhome before this year is out, but I'm still curious about the state of affairs for full timers in the UK. And so I wanted to ask whether the full timers on here have been feeling more hassled, more restricted, or perhaps less welcome in the last few years than they did in the past, when they wild camp?
