Guide to motorhome wild camping – UK
Wild camping is permitted in Scotland, but it is technically illegal to wild camp in England or Wales. Providing you choose your park-up carefully though and you’re respectful of your surroundings, wild camping in a campervan is certainly possible and reasonably common throughout the UK.
We love wild camping in the right circumstances and we’ve slept in some sensational spots in our campervan. This post covers the do’s and don’ts of motorhome wild camping, as well as tips on how to find a decent park-up.
The first step is to look for a public parking area with no overnight parking restrictions. We’ve come to notice more severe restrictions being introduced in the most picturesque areas, including in Scotland. These are natural honeypots for campervans, and it indicates that these areas may have become overrun by wild campers in the past. This can be damaging to the local environment and can also impact on other people’s enjoyment of the area, including the locals.
Being a respectful wild camper
During the coronavirus pandemic, wild camping and freedom camping have increased significantly. While the majority of campers are courteous and respectful, a minority of wild campers behaving irresponsibly have angered locals and driven local authorities to clamp down on wild camping in campervans. It’s a classic example of a disrespectful few ruining it for everyone, but it’s more important than ever that we all behave considerately and advocate responsible wild camping – we could be on the brink of losing these privileges altogether!
This includes:
- taking all your waste away with you and disposing of it properly (including human waste!)
- keeping noise and disruption to a minimum
- parking considerately – don’t breach parking restrictions and don’t cause an obstruction
- moving on if a park-up already looks busy with campers
Several initiatives have recently launched that encourage people to take ‘leave no trace’ to the next level and leave park-ups better than they found them. A few minutes with a litter picker can make a huge environmental difference and send a powerful message that we’re not all rancid humans. The Camper Dreamin’ team have launched one such initiative, called Leave it Better.
We also advocate using campsites where appropriate. If you want to light a fire and get rowdy with your mates, find a campsite that allows you to do so. You’ll be supporting a local (likely independent) business and not ruining anyone’s day while you do it.
Finding places to wild camp in a motorhome
Providing you’re taking all the appropriate measures to leave no trace and not become part of the problem, it’s ultimately down to how you feel about a place. In some areas, a ‘no overnight parking’ sign may be a deterrent that isn’t actually enforced, while in other areas you could get moved on in the night or wake up to a ticket on your windscreen. Out of respect, we avoid parking anywhere with restrictions even if there are other campers there. If there are no visible restrictions, you’re not causing an obstruction, you’re keeping your head down and you’re not inconveniencing anyone, then chances are you’ll be alright.
There’s a really handy app called Park4night which is great for finding overnight parking spots. It’s an online community app where people can add park-ups and others can leave reviews and add photos. As this app grows in popularity, the number of park-ups listed is growing but some of them do get pretty busy, particularly if they’re in a desirable spot. We’ve found some excellent sleeping spots using this app though and definitely recommend having it on your phone.
Follow Driving and Skiving on Facebook or Instagram
You can usually get a pretty good feel for whether or not you’ll get away with parking up for the night (and whether it’s a safe place to do so) so the best thing to do is to trust your gut. If there are other campers parked up there, have a chat to them. We always find it reassuring to know there are other friendly people sleeping out alongside us. If you’re uneasy about a park up then you’re unlikely to get a decent night’s sleep anyway, so you might as well move on.
When we do and don’t wild camp in a campervan
We tend to use free park-ups if we’re just looking for a place to sleep during a long journey, but also if we’re visiting friends or travelling without a set plan. We’ve slept in some not glamorous but perfectly comfortable laybys, carparks and residential streets. We’ve also slept in some stunning free spots with beautiful views.
If we want to base ourselves somewhere for a couple of days with the comfort of knowing that we won’t get questioned or moved on, then we might book a campsite. There’s a lot to be said for having somewhere to fill up your water tanks, take a shower and dispose of your rubbish. Also, a lot of campsites are small, independent businesses so there’s no harm in supporting them where you can.
If we don’t need campsite facilities, don’t have a set plan or simply want to pull over and sleep somewhere late at night, then a free park-up will always win. Most campsites don’t allow late arrivals anyway.
Ultimately, when it comes to finding a free park-up you’ll win some, you’ll lose some. We’ve parked up in some beautiful locations before only to get spooked and move on, while other spots have worked out perfectly. Some of our favourite free park-ups have served us well time and time again.
Pub carparks are another affordable, flexible park-up option that you might want to consider. A lot of pubs are OK with campervans parking up overnight if you buy some food or drinks. For more information, see why we love pub carpark campervan stopovers.