My experience is that it’s people in cars who cause 99.9% of the issues, I see it almost daily, up here on the moors where we live, it’s people in cars who chuck all the rubbish out of the window, have picnics and leave rubbish, food wrappers, drinks cans, fag packets, used nappies, people in cars who drive around thieving and breaking in to outhouses, properties, nick the wild flowers, pull up and snip honeysuckle from your garden, pull up and nick all the rock salt then drive off, I could go on and on.Unfortunately, I CAN believe it ..... I've lived up in the North-East of Scotland for circa 35 years on a quiet just-off-the-main-drag plot/road, and I JUST ONCE have had a caravanner pull up into the bottom drive of my smallish plot, and set up an awning + chairs out in my garden and let their kids & dogs run around without any control.
I never noticed until the next morning, and when I confronted them they gave me a load of verbal abuse and told me that "they knew" anybody is free to camp and wild-camp anywhere in Scotland under Scottish Law, AND that they would not move until the next day when it suited them, so I should Foxtrot Oscar.
I took it my usual calm, mild, and acceptive manner
, and my son & I immediately barricaded the entrance to our plot with our diggers & cars, and politely informed them that if they wanted our vehicles moved, I would be charging a "Relocation Fee" of £50 per vehicle on the First Day to move our vehicles, which would also be tripling every day or part-thereof on each subsequent day thereafter.
They (as expected) went ballistic and accused me of kidnapping & blackmail, and threatened to physically assault us. I then told them that my son had recorded everything and that I was immediately calling the police about the violent threats. The police turned up about 45 minutes later, watched the recording, and advised the scumbags that although I could not technically charge them a "Civil Parking Charge" due to my plot not having the legally required signage, I WAS Legally Perfectly entitled to charge a "Vehicle Relocation Fee" to move OUR vehicles out of the way, so the Scumbage were advised to pay quickly and leave or suffer the consequences AND the Police warned that they had noted the Vehicle & Personal Details of said trespassers and WOULD come after them if I reported ANY criminal Damage or Further Harrassment.
Said scumbags grudgingly paid, threw everything in their caravan, & immediately pissed-off.
I've NEVER had any tourists trimming plants, etc ... BUT I also ONCE caught a LOCAL farmer cutting my border tree branches back some 12-15 Feet INSIDE my plot because he claimed they might scratch his shiny new combine (which was circa 15 feet wider than my little country road).
Over the decades I've also dragged out several drunks who ditched their cars into the burn alongside the bends in our road, but they were ALL locals AND we've rescued the neighbour's cat & took it the vet when it got caught up in the farm's barbed wire fence (but that wasn't a "tourist" cat
So whilst I appreciate that many of the wild stories & claims put out by some are no doubt BS of the highest order ... I also KNOW such things CAN happen in real life (albeit rarely in my experience).
Twice weekly up here I go out and pick rubbish up left by people in cars. It’s people in cars who stop and use the moors as a toilet, I’ve seen it here and in Scotland.
I’ve seen all the same when we’ve toured Scotland, unfortunately it doesn’t make as good a story though and it’s tolerated as the people causing all the problems are probably staying in hotels, B&Bs, tents on campsites etc
There’s good and bad in all walks of life, of course there will be some bad motorhomers but I think the issue is greatly exaggerated by campsite owners, Chinese whispers, 2+2 makes 7 etc etc
How many times have you seen letters written to local newspapers, heard reports on forums, heard tales in the pub, village hall etc about cars being the problem compared to how many times you hear talk of motorhomes being the problem.
If people in cars cause virtually the issues, as they do up here on the Teesdale moors, then you would expect virtually all the reports to be complaining of cars, unfortunately the exact opposite is true.
), I’m familiar with all the seasons up there and have done the route a few times (both motorcycle and MH). I do a bike trip to Scotland every year but since Covid (and the ensuing popularity of the route) we’ve restricted ourselves to Dumfries and Galloway. However, we've been contemplating travelling further north for next year’s trip.
) I asked them what the source was. Others replied ‘internet search’ and ‘Google’ and they seemed to struggle to understand that I was asking for the source reference and not which search engine had been used. We’re doomed I tell thee, doomed!
Numpties!
