motorhome overnight parking

artisan

Hi all new to this forum but have read many threads,am looking for input from all motor-home users, i have owned a motor-caravan for 14 years, am a member of a club, but when not travelling to rallies like to wild camp and meet up with other motor-home users.I was invited with other interested parties to attend a meeting last march in Belfast with the Northern Ireland Tourist Board to try and promote motorcaravaning and establish parking for same.Next week i am attending another meeting in N.I. the theme is what facilities motor-home users would require to attract them to areas and would they support a nominal overnight charge. We have also contributed to the review been done by Bord Failte, so any suggestions submitted can also be used to encourage the Irish Tourist Minister to provide suitable overnight parking for motor-home users.Please forward any suggestions or ideas and between all the motorhome community we can strive to establish a network of Aire De Services like the ones we all enjoy on the continent.

killalanerr

hi and welcome to boards,interesting who is attending your meeting ,im sure we would all love a network of Aires and i for one would have no problem paying a fee ,

artisan

local councils in N.I. set up a review body to find out what facilities we need, have been invited to give my view

Malta1

Just wish to echo the comments from Killalanerr above

niloc1951

Hi artisan,

You have a Private Message from me, or should have if I have sent it correctly

artisan

Thanks so far, would not like to ask councils to spend money setting up parking facilities if the support is not there.

Martin_D

Something has to be done to accommodate Motorhomes (from home and abroad0 - it is essential to promote tourism and prober planning and development of safe and appropriate facilities. As I've said here previously France has managed to develop an enormous network and appears to have no problems with illegal use of the facilities.
Fear and narrow mindedness abounds here - small business sector need to be lobbied as well as the spin off to local businesses is clear. An informal Forum will not of course achieve this - a public organised lobby is required (?Clubs)

artisan

Hi Martin, thanks for your comments, the tide is turning, the local economy need our custom and tourists, the clubs only represent one third of the motor homes in use,so it is important to get the views of everyone.

Irishgoatman

Hi artisan,

I fully agree with the other comments.
I would have no objections with fees as long as they are commensurate with facilities offered. This, I feel, could be varied from semi-wild to very civilised to suit all kinds of 'van owners perhaps?.
Just my thoughts:).

shaysue

Fully agree. Personally I have no problem paying for a facility. Considering waterways Ireland already has facilities in place for boats its a pity these can't be added to to include a few EHU and water points for Motorhomes. Foreigners coming here must be shocked at the lack of facilities except in overpriced camp sites. Up North many local authorities have excellent facilities for motorhomes/campers along the waterways there. Pity some of the staff in Waterways and Bord Failte can't seem to notice the increase in the numbers of motorhomes on the roads of Ireland for the past number of months. And they want us to stay at home for our holidays!
I am off to France and Spain tomorrow where proper facilities are made available but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for our local authorities to do anything constructive. Good luck with your meetings and I do hope something positive happens as opposed to lip service!:cool:

bogman

Not to mind the barriers in car parks restricting access to motorhomes, anyone I know that owns a camper is responsible and takes away their rubbish with them

niloc1951

When I tour in Ireland I make a point of visiting the tourist office, other 'official' office or a shop in any town we spend time in and always ask the following question.

"We are touring in our motorhome and would like to spent the night in your town an maybe have a meal and a few drinks (the economic benifit), is there any place we can park safely overnight and which will not offend the local residents"

On a recent tour we were directed to "places where campers usually park" by staff at a Garda Station, tourist office and a shop.
The towns were Dungarvan, Bantry, Glengarriff, Castletownbere and Kenmare.
All directions were 'unofficial'

It is beginning to look like people 'on the ground' see the benefits, we just have to work at getting official recognition.

Can I suggest that if everyone spent just a few minutes making such inquiries (even it was not part of the planned trip to stay in the town) it would increase the awareness of the local tourist office etc. of the demand for designated parking.

Unsympathetic towns could be named here as 'motorhome unfriendly' and those which facilitate overnight parking as 'motorhome friendly' and thus be rewarded with the benefit of motorhome based tourists spending in their local economy.

Also, while we will bring groceries with us which would spoil if left at home we try to make a point of shopping for our daily needs as we tour and avoid doing 'a big shop up' before we set off, this way we can demonstrate the economic benifit to our 'host' towns and villages.

We should not let ourselves be accused of not putting our money where our mouth is :;).

artisan

Hi Niloc, excellent comments, would you mind if i use your letter in future meetings i hope to attend with tourism officials

blokarter

I also agree.

We do a similar thing by asking about local stop overs or Campsites when topping up fuel. Most filling station staff know where to find the best local everything. If there is no filling station we stop at a cafe or pub for lunch and ask.

We have never had a problem when doing this as most people are happy to help visitors.

I have recently sent a letter of support to a motorhome park in co. Down who are having problems with permission for their site. I mentioned that not only the site is losing out but also the local shops,bars etc. They have asked if it is possible to use this letter during a future consultation.

( Artisan. I have sent you a PM)

niloc1951

artisan wrote: »

Hi Niloc, excellent comments, would you mind if i use your letter in future meetings i hope to attend with tourism officials

Certainly and if you make contact with those I mentioned in my PM they can share other material which they have from me with my blessing.

Hi Artisan,

Here's my two cents for what it's worth although I'm probably not your target demographic.
I'm a fulltime wild/stealth camper with over a year living in a vehicle. I do not loiter or litter. My vehicle moves daily between work, paid public parking, friend's houses, wild ireland, quiet city streets etc...
I'd be happy to pay subscription for overnight facilities of fresh water, toilets, drainage, a metered mains outlet and a bin.
The availability of public water, that up until recently was a constitional right in this country is appaling when compared to France.
In my experience electricty to recharge leisure batteries is by far the hardest of all motorhome amienities to maintain on the road. Sockets are available to the marine world, I see no reason not to facilitate them on the road. Also electric cars can benefit from the same outlets should they ever become popular.

artisan

Hi All, just a update was at a meeting in N.I. yesterday about motor homes, councils have employed a research company to gather information on motor home tourism, signs are good for establishing more official motor home stop overs.Am looking for more help in putting our case forward, we need official statics on motor homes, am starting new thread on this topic if you can help please do so

Dublin Mum

artisan wrote: »

Hi All, just a update was at a meeting in N.I. yesterday about motor homes, councils have employed a research company to gather information on motor home tourism, signs are good for establishing more official motor home stop overs.Am looking for more help in putting our case forward, we need official statics on motor homes, am starting new thread on this topic if you can help please do so

Just came across this very interesting thread. Love the idea of making enquiries regarding motorhome parking in the various towns we stop in.

Just wondering if someone can direct me to the thread Artisan refers to above. Thanks.

meercat

Dublin Mum wrote: »

Just came across this very interesting thread. Love the idea of making enquiries regarding motorhome parking in the various towns we stop in.

Just wondering if someone can direct me to the thread Artisan refers to above. Thanks.

if you click on artisans name it will bring up a section where you can scroll down to
find more posts by artisan
click this to see all previous posts
dont think he has started this thread yet though

spaceHopper

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=74531698

Irishgoatman

I should have thought of this earlier. (Yet another senior moment!).

I never take my camper out of the country so have never seen the Aires that you all mention.
I get the idea of course but would love to see some pics if anyone has some to post here please:).

killalanerr

Irishgoatman wrote: »

I should have thought of this earlier. (Yet another senior moment!).

I never take my camper out of the country so have never seen the Aires that you all mention.
I get the idea of course but would love to see some pics if anyone has some to post here please:).

have a look at this site loads of photos http://www.campingcar-infos.com/Francais/ccia.php?pays=FRANCE just click on the map

Irishgoatman

killalanerr wrote: »

have a look at this site loads of photos http://www.campingcar-infos.com/Francais/ccia.php?pays=FRANCE just click on the map

Thanks for this killalanerr, but as I don't read French I used Babylon to translate into English but still could not find 'photos.

With all the talk about wanting similar site here surely someone has 'photos that show the sites but not personal info (camper reg, family 'photos etc.).

It's always better to see what someone experienced rather than promo pictures with the sun always shining and everything spic and span.:)

WildWater

Google is thy friend.

Irishgoatman

Yes, I did "google" it. Google and I get on pretty well.

I was looking more for the personal touch but I'll make do with what I found.

Thanks.