New Scottish 7 Day Pass

[bigtwin]

I think you now fully well what I mean ie camper's that park up for the night dump there waste/ loo waste where ever they like

I think that you’ve described the SCUMBAGS part but I was asking about the FREELOADERS part. What did you mean there?

Would you like it if someone came and emptied there loo in the drain or wasteland outside your house

What kind of question is that? Why would you think that it appropriate to ask me that question?

And they don't even bother to buy a paper or bottle of milk in the village as a thanks for allowing us to stay in there lovely surroundings

Who are THEY?
From where are you viewing their actions?
How many of them have you observed?
Are THEY the same individuals that are dumping their waste (and do you have a separate observation post to witness those actions or do you possess an all seeing eye)?

Ian

 

[chain driven]

Hi. As a Scot living in Scotland ( all my life by the way ) just in case people start to criticise my comments. ( as I had my comment on this subject blocked by the so called Scottish site ) .
When the NC 500 was first used to attract tourists, did anyone give a thought as what infrastructure could be put in place to not only support this but for the local community to gain from it ? So the popularity of the NC500 grew with no infrastructure. I am sad that these few councils think that this pathetic attempt at resolving an issue created by themselves will help .
Anyone thinking of contributing to this should think hard ( in my opinion)

 

[bigtwin]

I am sad that these few councils think that this pathetic attempt at resolving an issue created by themselves will help .
Anyone thinking of contributing to this should think hard ( in my opinion)

Too little to late?

Or do you think there’s a better solution?

Ian

 

[A S R]

Or do you think there’s a better solution?

Yeah, concentrate on getting the infrastructure in place FIRST!
Get the aires up and running, maintain them, advertise them well. If they put them in places / towns / scenic spots / forests etc where people want to be then everyone will benefit. Local business will massively benefit too. Pubs, shops etc… Once people ( even the scumbags ) know they don’t have to park somewhere dodgy / annoying to locals and they can service their vans the dumping of all sorts of crap would almost immediately stop.
It’s not rocket science.
As I mentioned before, I’d quite happily pay something like £10 - £15 a night for this. I spend nearly 2 months a year up in Scotland so contribute to the locals / councils etc. They also need to cater for slightly longer vans too.
There’s a new one at the Bridge of Orchy which is great but there’s a length limit.

 

[PaulC70]

Totally agree but we all know who we are talking about

Dont' use we, you are making claims you cannot prove.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[chain driven]

ASR I could not have put it better myself

 

[cyberyacht]

No problem with a charge for providing a facility, be it water, waste, safe parking. A charge where there is no additional provision over that which is available to the general population for free is decidedly cheeky.

 

[bigtwin]

Yeah, concentrate on getting the infrastructure in place FIRST!

That ship has sailed. Given that, how do you conclude that making a start is ‘pathetic’?

Totally agree but we all know who we are talking about

Well, you don’t speak for me so you will have to elucidate on exactly who it is that you refer to. I note that you haven’t clarified my earlier questions regarding the extent of your knowledge on this matter.

Dont' use we, you are making claims you cannot prove.

Indeed. It is far too easy to generalise implying that individual situations are widespread and attributable to large populations without any real foundation.

Ian

 

[CWH]

Highland can't even afford to fix the roads so how do "we" think that "they" are going to justify providing and maintaining facilities for a minority tourist group?

 

[The Ice Man]

It’s easy to see that there is a degree of dumping going on around scotland I’m a fairly regular visitor and have seen a number of cases where the dirty dumpers due to lack of knowledge or just plain DGaF have left a filthy mess.
Another lack of awareness I’ve noticed in a number of locations often around the coast were villages have areas that MHs can park overnight and all they ask is that the visitor donate to the RNLI or local charity. But I see so many that just don’t bother just use the spot and move on. FLBs.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[CazPaul]

So if it’s down to just choice and it’s already places where you can pay a tenner I can’t see it catching on up be honest.

 

[bigtwin]

So if it’s down to just choice and it’s already places where you can pay a tenner I can’t see it catching on up be honest.

I think that those without onboard showers may find it of value.

Ian

 

[CWH]

So if it’s down to just choice and it’s already places where you can pay a tenner I can’t see it catching on up be honest.

There's a lot of people already bought into it stating that they want to contribute to local infrastructure

 

[nicholsong]

There's a lot of people already bought into it stating that they want to contribute to local infrastructure

It might contribute to the upkeep of local infrastructure, but only if it attracts more income than the discount.

I cannot see that this scheme will contribute to capital to expand the local infrastructure, certainly not in respect of MHs.

 

[CazPaul]

There's a lot of people already bought into it stating that they want to contribute to local infrastructure

Ok I never knew that, we’ve been to Scotland many times and each times have contributed to local infrastructure, fuel, meals, shopping, visitor attractions etc

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[bigtwin]

There's a lot of people already bought into it stating that they want to contribute to local infrastructure

But the scheme doesn’t really add anything in that respect. Overnighting, for a fee, is already available at the car parks in the scheme. In fact, if anything, offering free showers is reducing the potential income.

Ian

 

[CWH]

It might contribute to the upkeep of local infrastructure, but only if it attracts more income than the discount.

I cannot see that this scheme will contribute to capital to expand the local infrastructure, certainly not in respect of MHs.

As it stands, no. But the idea is that this is a trial to see what sort of uptake there is, with a view to expanding to other areas within Highland and potentially adding black waste dumps to some where there's nothing locally - that would be expensive as many of the cp's aren't anywhere near mains sewage.

Ok I never knew that, we’ve been to Scotland many times and each times have contributed to local infrastructure, fuel, meals, shopping, visitor attractions etc

This is looking at basic council-provided services like cp's, bins etc

But the scheme doesn’t really add anything in that respect. Overnighting, for a fee, is already available at the car parks in the scheme. In fact, if anything, offering free showers is reducing the potential income.

Ian

I'd imagine it's hoped to pull more off-site campers into cp's.

I can see lots of issues with the scheme as it stands but it's just a trial.
And I believe it was thought up to pacify those who felt that introducing a tourist tax that didn't include m/h & c/v was unfair. Sadly it's given campsite owners a bone to pick at. Both arguments fuelled by irresponsible press and easily-led social media posts.

 

[PaulC70]

There's a lot of people already bought into it stating that they want to contribute to local infrastructure

Ok I never knew that, we’ve been to Scotland many times and each times have contributed to local infrastructure, fuel, meals, shopping, visitor attractions etc

This. We do lots of touring and use quite a lot of car parks / aire type facilities and we always contribute whether it's a free spot or paid for car park with no facilities. We shop locally, try to use independent shops as much as possible, hell even when we go to the pubs I'll always try at least a pint or two of any locally brewed beers.

 

[hja]

It’s easy to see that there is a degree of dumping going on around scotland I’m a fairly regular visitor and have seen a number of cases where the dirty dumpers due to lack of knowledge or just plain DGaF have left a filthy mess.
Another lack of awareness I’ve noticed in a number of locations often around the coast were villages have areas that MHs can park overnight and all they ask is that the visitor donate to the RNLI or local charity. But I see so many that just don’t bother just use the spot and move on. FLBs.

Yes. We were in Scotland earlier this year, used an aire with dump and fresh water and a voluntary contribution of £10. Nice location. Pleasant surroundings and handy for a castle. Well used judging by the number of vans when we were there. We put our donation in the box and it was possible to pay on line, but I do wonder how many did.

 

[Conniedriving]

Why be so unpleasant? - it's voluntary.
It's not about driving anyway, it's for up to 7 nights parking in designated spots, plus showers, plus (if there's anything left over) contributing to local infrastructure.

Can they guarantee that there will be a spot for you to park when you get there ?

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[bigtwin]

Can they guarantee that there will be a spot for you to park when you get there ?

Can anyone guarantee a spot on any other overnight stop? No, they can’t.

Ian

 

[CWH]

Can they guarantee that there will be a spot for you to park when you get there ?

No. Could be a bit of a problem with pre-payment, eh.

 

[nicholsong]

No. Could be a bit of a problem with pre-payment, eh.

Nay problem.

Pre-pay, find there is space. Claim there was no space and refund.

No worse than tail-gating to get into a CCP on one payment.

We wildcampers do not have to resort to such tricks, of course.

 

[Apacheman]

On a different note I sent an email to the National Trust recently suggesting they consider introducing a Motorhome membership. The idea being that for an increased membership cost, Motorhome membership would allow those who choose to pay it to stay overnight in their car parks. No nightly cost, just an additional annual membership fee and easy to manage as you would have a specific card stating Motorhome Member.

 

[BrochMike]

On a different note I sent an email to the National Trust recently suggesting they consider introducing a Motorhome membership. The idea being that for an increased membership cost, Motorhome membership would allow those who choose to pay it to stay overnight in their car parks. No nightly cost, just an additional annual membership fee and easy to manage as you would have a specific card stating Motorhome Member.

Watch out - they may take some of your suggestion on board!
eg. introducing a higher price for a special motorhome membership but without allowing overnight stay

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Apacheman]

Across the Outer Hebrides there are numerous spots where Motorhome’s are allowed to park up. There are signs suggesting that those using the spots donate £5 via a text on their phone. The money goes to providing service facilities at various points around the islands. Would that not be better than a voluntary permit?

 

[CWH]

Across the Outer Hebrides there are numerous spots where Motorhome’s are allowed to park up. There are signs suggesting that those using the spots donate £5 via a text on their phone. The money goes to providing service facilities at various points around the islands. Would that not be better than a voluntary permit?

The OH places I think you're referring to are in Harris & run by the West Harris Trust not the Comhairle, so a different animal.
The OH influx is limited by ferry spaces; Highland it's "open season".
There's also the recent politics around tourism taxation in Highland which I think prompted this idea.
So while you may well be right in suggesting that would be better, it's not comparing like with like.

 

[Spriddler]

On a different note I sent an email to the National Trust recently suggesting they consider introducing a Motorhome membership. The idea being that for an increased membership cost, Motorhome membership would allow those who choose to pay it to stay overnight in their car parks. No nightly cost, just an additional annual membership fee and easy to manage as you would have a specific card stating Motorhome Member.

It has been well-discussed on here several times and the NT have trialled it briefly at a few. There are many operational reasons why they don't wish to allow m/homes to overnight at their 'stately home' properties, but they do operate many touring camp sites.
(For 7 years my DIL has been a manager at Petworth House, a NT stately home in Sussex so I get a lot of background info on their doings).

 

[bigtwin]

Would that not be better than a voluntary permit?

Isn’t it much the same thing; a sort of pay monthly (well, weekly) vs pay as you go?

Ian