Public perception

[JamesT@Dundee]

Sounds like a busy tourist area, so why not build a toilet block for the tourists.

There has been a local initiative to do this. A new toilet block at Traigh last year, but I'm not sure it can cope with those numbers.

 

[Northernraider]

In one of the areas they did then abused the person - unpaid volunteer - who looked after them to the point they 'resigned'

Only they didn't .

The person that was meant to have resigned commented on the post on Facebook and said it was a load of tosh and they left for a better job with more money. Nothing to do with abuse.


But that didnt fit the person writing the post's agenda.

 

[Minxy]

We tried a so called wild camping spot in Spain once, if wild camping means less than a metre between vans, a place stinking of sewage rubbish everywhere, people with very expensive vans, trying to save the very low cost of a proper camp site. I will always go for a proper site.

You've done it once and based your view on that which is a shame. Most of the places we go to are nothing like that at all, if there is an issue its usually where the non-MHing locals go (beaches etc) and uses the bushes, dunes etc as toilets.

You forget they are living the dream. Haha

Not in the example given, we do live the dream in the places we go to where the vast majority aren't anything like this.

 

[Claire Ambler]

The trouble isn’t just motorhomers or renters or caravanners, it’s every where the ‘f’ you attitude. Here in Croatia there is a severe litter problem from ‘grotty yachties’ who think nothing of chucking their rubbish overboard. The Moho/caravan/tenders are clean by comparison

 

[Northernraider]

Probably because it is not an official camp site and is an AONB.
I can see the reason to build a toilet block but it would probably only encourage more of the same horrible behavior.
We tried a so called wild camping spot in Spain once, if wild camping means less than a metre between vans, a place stinking of sewage rubbish everywhere, people with very expensive vans, trying to save the very low cost of a proper camp site. I will always go for a proper site.

That's not wild camping



This is wildcamping

You forget they are living the dream. Haha

I am ....most of the time

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[Ivory55]

That's not wild camping



This is wildcamping

View attachment 503169View attachment 503170View attachment 503171View attachment 503172View attachment 503173

I am ....most of the time

I only said it as it’s something I have seen written on the back of vans staying at these places. I do admit I have never stayed there so can not comment how good it is, only visited others there.

 

[dabhand]

but I'm not sure it can cope with those numbers.

Yes number twos are a problem

 

[robin999]

Face it it's 99 percent daytripper youths, young adults and traveller's who leave mess around or fly Tipp. Real lack of moral compass instilled in kids these days. The old leave it as you find it hillwalking/climbing adage is my thing. Mostly avoiding accessible beaches sees the problem practically dissappear.

 

[Ian Bosman]

Defecating on the beach, terrible. What’s wrong with a toilet and spare cassette.

We live on the moors remote location and ALL the litter we get is caused solely by tourists in CARS, picnics, day trippers who don’t have storage, don’t have bins and don’t have toilets, all of which motorhomes have.

I don’t see any campaigns to ban these cars or letters like the OP one to complain about cars, if it was motorhomes causing it there would be hell to pay and so much publicity to ban them.

If you are in a remote location, need the toilet and are in a Motorhome what do you do? If you are in a car and in a remote location and need the toilet what do you do?

If you are eating and in a Motorhome where do you put the rubbish? If you are in a car and eating where do you put the rubbish?

So if you are in a car take your rubbish home, take your shitty nappies home, take your fag packets and beer cans home please.

I can feel pen to paper coming.

Maybe it is time that the maximum fine is increased from £150 to say £500 with the minimum set at £150. There are too many selfish people who only think that they have the “right” to do as they please so that others are inconvenienced.
Only this last few days my wife and I had an example, we were with our dog on a camp[iste with the rule that at all times the dog be kept on a lead so we duly anchored our beagle to a reasonably long lead but our neighbours had two which were left free to roam. While the owners husband was fondling our dog the two others dogs rushed up to him which resulted in our dog going for one of theirs. Then when I enquired whether the dog was injured I was told by the neighbours wife that I should muzzle mine as a dangerous breed despite the fact I was able to pull off mine easily. Their dogs were much larger and I think my dog was frightened so came out in attack mode. Then today on leaving the campsite there was a very large dog turd next to my van at a point where my dog could not reach and I know that other owners were keeping to the being on a lead rule except these two. We shortened our lead after the original incident to keep ours as close as reasonable for the dog to our van but ours remembered it and always got stressed when these two appeared.

 

[robin999]

Good in principle but years of public sector cuts mean there would never be any capacity for enforcement. I just wish people would consider that at the ballot box. recent governments have been savvy in pushing the blame elsewhere but in reality it comes down to choices contributing enough taxes while protecting the vulnerable. You can tell I'm no Tory!

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[Oldchappers]

When confronted with a problem, is the best response to go in to full on denial? "It's not us, g'vnor, it's them others". The thing is, there is a problem with accessing the countryside, however it is done. Instagratification, EnvyTube, Fakebook and all the other so called social media sites, coupled with restrictions on holidays to Ibiza etc mean that there is a whole new demographic hitting the wild places by whatever means they have at their disposal. This is placing unprecedented pressure on our natural environment that councils and police are not resourced to manage so they will go for 'simple' approaches' such as the PSPO at Thanet mentioned in another thread here. The motorhome community needs to think hard on how to respond to this, not try to pretend it's nothing to do with us.

Weed out the culprits and throw away their keys.

But who will? the Caravan Club? MHF? Camping and Caravan Club? Most importantly who pays for it?

Without a BIG budget it will be like peeing in the wind, a bunch of Rohan wearing weirdo's that get a polite brush off to yet another email asking for Aires "like they have in France" would be the Councils perception.

A photocopied bit of paper stuck in the windscreen proclaiming that "I'm nice" or "I don't shit on the beach" will be a blurrily ignored by the masses, the same "masses" that look through their blinkered eyes and see a thousand people on "their" beach, a car park full of cars with a small percentage of vans, and even smaller percentage of "Proper" motorhomes, yet blame every bit of waste, rubbish and glass on the "campers"

I regularly stop and ask people what they are doing when they park in a couple of farm entrances on the approach to my place, I do it as often the pull in's are littered with takeaway rubbish and empty cans. I normally get told to **** off and mind my own business, to which I respond extremely aggressively and make the point that it "Is my business, their parking on MY land and if they don't pick up their crap and **** off, my lads will be down in a shot" So far its worked, they pick up their crap and bugger off, no doubt to dump it somewhere else.

But that is a couple of spots on one short Country lane, I still see rubbish left and fly tipping, grass cuttings, old mattress's

Its a problem with Society not one that a bunch of motorhome enthusiasts can fix, no respect for anything, no respect for Authority and nothing that the Authorities can do any way! If the Police pin try to enforce the law, they're to heavy handed, if they arrive with a light touch the mob becomes feral and turns on them, look at the dickheads that wanted to go to the vigil of the murdered woman during the lockdown! They were repeatedly told NO, still went then bleated that the Police manhandled them!

My kids were brought up to respect! How did we do it? we spent time with them and when they were naughty we punished them! A squirt of Fairy Liquid in the mouth when they swore, sent to their room when they were naughty, a slap when they were bigger.

Now these things are considered "abuse" But we have four Sons, Men that we can and are proud of, that know right from wrong and would still quail if Lyn got angry! "It wasn't the forehand, it was the backhand after she's missed, that hurt the most" they'll joke among themselves.

So what have we got now? a society that is full of people that know their rights, yet have no intention of respecting other peoples rights, Yell at teachers, Spit at the Police, swear at anyone that tries to make them do something, whereas I think that the next time some Yob spits at a Copper, the Copper should smack him in the mouth with immunity from prosecution, watching Coppers having to roll around on the floor with yobs, knowing full well that they are probably being filmed and that punch will look awful in ultra slow motion Hi Definition as it goes viral in Instagram bringing condemnation from the vacuous, is appalling

No wonder the Police are struggling to recruit!

The Backlash will come don't doubt it!

In the meantime, I'll just stay on Campsites and not get tarred with the same brush!

interesting as I

But who will? the Caravan Club? MHF? Camping and Caravan Club? Most importantly who pays for it?

Without a BIG budget it will be like peeing in the wind, a bunch of Rohan wearing weirdo's that get a polite brush off to yet another email asking for Aires "like they have in France" would be the Councils perception.

A photocopied bit of paper stuck in the windscreen proclaiming that "I'm nice" or "I don't shit on the beach" will be a blurrily ignored by the masses, the same "masses" that look through their blinkered eyes and see a thousand people on "their" beach, a car park full of cars with a small percentage of vans, and even smaller percentage of "Proper" motorhomes, yet blame every bit of waste, rubbish and glass on the "campers"

I regularly stop and ask people what they are doing when they park in a couple of farm entrances on the approach to my place, I do it as often the pull in's are littered with takeaway rubbish and empty cans. I normally get told to **** off and mind my own business, to which I respond extremely aggressively and make the point that it "Is my business, their parking on MY land and if they don't pick up their crap and **** off, my lads will be down in a shot" So far its worked, they pick up their crap and bugger off, no doubt to dump it somewhere else.

But that is a couple of spots on one short Country lane, I still see rubbish left and fly tipping, grass cuttings, old mattress's

Its a problem with Society not one that a bunch of motorhome enthusiasts can fix, no respect for anything, no respect for Authority and nothing that the Authorities can do any way! If the Police pin try to enforce the law, they're to heavy handed, if they arrive with a light touch the mob becomes feral and turns on them, look at the dickheads that wanted to go to the vigil of the murdered woman during the lockdown! They were repeatedly told NO, still went then bleated that the Police manhandled them!

My kids were brought up to respect! How did we do it? we spent time with them and when they were naughty we punished them! A squirt of Fairy Liquid in the mouth when they swore, sent to their room when they were naughty, a slap when they were bigger.

Now these things are considered "abuse" But we have four Sons, Men that we can and are proud of, that know right from wrong and would still quail if Lyn got angry! "It wasn't the forehand, it was the backhand after she's missed, that hurt the most" they'll joke among themselves.

So what have we got now? a society that is full of people that know their rights, yet have no intention of respecting other peoples rights, Yell at teachers, Spit at the Police, swear at anyone that tries to make them do something, whereas I think that the next time some Yob spits at a Copper, the Copper should smack him in the mouth with immunity from prosecution, watching Coppers having to roll around on the floor with yobs, knowing full well that they are probably being filmed and that punch will look awful in ultra slow motion Hi Definition as it goes viral in Instagram bringing condemnation from the vacuous, is appalling

No wonder the Police are struggling to recruit!

The Backlash will come don't doubt it!

In the meantime, I'll just stay on Campsites and not get tarred with the same brush!

As a newer motorhome owner, I will attest to this wholeheartedly. When I first joined this forum, it was to ask questions about motorhomes in general and to read about other peoples vans. This then morphed into asking you all about specific vans I was thinking of buying. Along the way, I learnt an awful lot about HOW to use a van...not just what buttons do what or how to operate certain functions, but also about the thought and, for want of a better word, the mindset of it all.
Some of this was obvious to me. I have "tented" all my life and also my parents instilled in me a great love and respect of nature. The behaviour reported in the OP is abhorrent to me as it is to all of us. Nearly every single time we camp off grid, we will end up spending a quick 10 minutes to litter-pick around the area. We consider it our payment for staying in some of these amazing places and are glad to be able to take our son to them and teach him this kind of attitude as well.
Other stuff was completely new though...if I'm not staying on a site, where can I dump my grey water, where can I empty my cassette, where can I fill with fresh water. Questions like this were answered by reading through other's posts and learning from what was said in the comments.
I am 100% sure that some of the reporting is biased against motorhome users/owners. We are a big, white, obvious target that stands out much more than a transit van or a Ford Galaxy does.
At the same time, it behoves us to realise that here, in this forum, we are inherently biased to defend our past-time and sadly, that defence is sometimes blind. Motorhome users DO leave rubbish lying around, they DO empty their cassettes into hedges, they DO drop grey at beauty spots. We can't keep turning a blind eye and denying it happens.
The surge in new owners, like myself, could be a turning point for us, BUT it requires education for new owners. We've all seen here the dramatic surge in Newbie posts since Covid began - hell, I'm one of them I guess. We need to be engaging them, sharing what we've learnt and guiding them in the "right" way of doing things, not highjacking threads to argue about whether or not grey waste is good or bad for plants or how much SOGs are loved or hated.
Please don't think I'm trying to criticise this forum. I'm not. It is, in general, friendly, welcoming and yes, fun!

I sympathise with these concerns and also get so angry at those who seem to not care about anyone other than themselves.
I have not given up politely pointing out to people what they are doing that’s not acceptable but I’ve also got used to loads of abuse back and being told to FO.
My wife thinks one day I will get punched or something worse - but someone has to say something.

On my way back from a lovely little site in the East Highlands. We were parked up for a few days watching people come and go. Generally most were excellent however one guy did think it was acceptable to wash out his toilet with the drinking water hose.

 

[Wabs]

I think whoever invented the term NC500 needs to be shot,all it does is attract nutters who drive like they stole the vehicle,and young people who think it’s cool to achieve the same,none of them have any idea of respect, and the country code, I does annoy me, and more than anything , I feel sorry for the locals who have to put up with it,,,I’ll get off my orange box now,,

 

[Northernraider]

I think whoever invented the term NC500 needs to be shot,all it does is attract nutters who drive like they stole the vehicle,and young people who think it’s cool to achieve the same,none of them have any idea of respect, and the country code, I does annoy me, and more than anything , I feel sorry for the locals who have to put up with it,,,I’ll get off my orange box now,,

And motor homes and caravans bringing the place to a standstill

 

[Wabs]

And motor homes and caravans bringing the place to a standstill

Yep I totally get that,but before the NC500 was launched , Scotland was still accessible,mostly not now ( unless out of season) the route was to bring revenue to the local communities,and I’ll bet the local people don’t see much of that, all they see is the mess left behind. It’s a massive tourist trap run by a Danish bloke who just happens to own most of the land around it,,which again doesn’t filter down to the people that live there,,hence my reason for think it was a huge mistake in naming it. The roads have always been there, just naming it makes it a magnet as a goal.

 

[Northernraider]

Yep I totally get that,but before the NC500 was launched , Scotland was still accessible,mostly not now ( unless out of season) the route was to bring revenue to the local communities,and I’ll bet the local people don’t see much of that, all they see is the mess left behind. It’s a massive tourist trap run by a Danish bloke who just happens to own most of the land around it,,which again doesn’t filter down to the people that live there,,hence my reason for think it was a huge mistake in naming it. The roads have always been there, just naming it makes it a magnet as a goal.

I agree ...i used to travel up there 6 or 7 times a year from age 17 ....ive now not been since 2017 because its ruined.
But thats happening everywhere now as motorhomes and campers become more and more popular.

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[Northernraider]

Was this anyone on here

 

[Wabs]

Was this anyone on hereView attachment 510604

I would love to see how it got in that position,,,,

 

[Northernraider]

I would love to see how it got in that position,,,,

So would i ...and id love to see how it got out . Not sure what the guy with the rope hopes to achieve. If it rolls over he will be catapulted over the loch

 

[Howard B]

I would love to see how it got in that position,,,,

Vehcle coming the other way perhaps.

 

[Wabs]

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[Otter Spotter]

But who will? the Caravan Club? MHF? Camping and Caravan Club? Most importantly who pays for it?

Without a BIG budget it will be like peeing in the wind, a bunch of Rohan wearing weirdo's that get a polite brush off to yet another email asking for Aires "like they have in France" would be the Councils perception.

A photocopied bit of paper stuck in the windscreen proclaiming that "I'm nice" or "I don't shit on the beach" will be a blurrily ignored by the masses, the same "masses" that look through their blinkered eyes and see a thousand people on "their" beach, a car park full of cars with a small percentage of vans, and even smaller percentage of "Proper" motorhomes, yet blame every bit of waste, rubbish and glass on the "campers"

I regularly stop and ask people what they are doing when they park in a couple of farm entrances on the approach to my place, I do it as often the pull in's are littered with takeaway rubbish and empty cans. I normally get told to **** off and mind my own business, to which I respond extremely aggressively and make the point that it "Is my business, their parking on MY land and if they don't pick up their crap and **** off, my lads will be down in a shot" So far its worked, they pick up their crap and bugger off, no doubt to dump it somewhere else.

But that is a couple of spots on one short Country lane, I still see rubbish left and fly tipping, grass cuttings, old mattress's

Its a problem with Society not one that a bunch of motorhome enthusiasts can fix, no respect for anything, no respect for Authority and nothing that the Authorities can do any way! If the Police pin try to enforce the law, they're to heavy handed, if they arrive with a light touch the mob becomes feral and turns on them, look at the dickheads that wanted to go to the vigil of the murdered woman during the lockdown! They were repeatedly told NO, still went then bleated that the Police manhandled them!

My kids were brought up to respect! How did we do it? we spent time with them and when they were naughty we punished them! A squirt of Fairy Liquid in the mouth when they swore, sent to their room when they were naughty, a slap when they were bigger.

Now these things are considered "abuse" But we have four Sons, Men that we can and are proud of, that know right from wrong and would still quail if Lyn got angry! "It wasn't the forehand, it was the backhand after she's missed, that hurt the most" they'll joke among themselves.

So what have we got now? a society that is full of people that know their rights, yet have no intention of respecting other peoples rights, Yell at teachers, Spit at the Police, swear at anyone that tries to make them do something, whereas I think that the next time some Yob spits at a Copper, the Copper should smack him in the mouth with immunity from prosecution, watching Coppers having to roll around on the floor with yobs, knowing full well that they are probably being filmed and that punch will look awful in ultra slow motion Hi Definition as it goes viral in Instagram bringing condemnation from the vacuous, is appalling

No wonder the Police are struggling to recruit!

The Backlash will come don't doubt it!

In the meantime, I'll just stay on Campsites and not get tarred with the same brush!

I take exception to your comment about ’Rohan wearing Weirdos‘ I only wear Rohan for its quality and the fact that it lasts for years

 

[Larrynwin]

Good in principle but years of public sector cuts mean there would never be any capacity for enforcement. I just wish people would consider that at the ballot box. recent governments have been savvy in pushing the blame elsewhere but in reality it comes down to choices contributing enough taxes while protecting the vulnerable. You can tell I'm no Tory!

Taxation will not help respect for the environment and there can never be enough police but perhaps CCTV in problem areas could be an answer.

 

[Ivory55]

Taxation will not help respect for the environment and there can never be enough police but perhaps CCTV in problem areas could be an answer.

Your right if you don’t care now more tax would not make you care anymore. Personally I think I pay enough tax as it is, it always seems to be around 22% off the top.

 

[bobnick]

What's a "Rohan"?

 

[Ivory55]

What's a "Rohan"?

Keeting ?

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[Ivory55]

Is he a singer

 

[Speve]

We could set up a Responsible Motorhomer page that explains we are self sufficient, can go a minium of three or four days says without emptying tanks, we take out litter home etc. Then have a corresponding Responsible Sticker on the van with maybe a QR code to scan that takes you to the page.

Here’s the CAMpRA badges that are available now:

 

[bobnick]

Is he a singer

A Rohan is not only a singer he's an Irish singer

 

[bobnick]

As i didn't believe Ivory i googled it.
It's pants

 

[Northernraider]

What's a "Rohan"?

Were they not in harry potter?

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