I’m planing a break to Scotland from Essex with caravan but very limited with time so my plan is to finish work around 9-10 pm jump in car(caravan) get 3-4 hours under my belt then stop for the night then carry on in the morning ,anyway my question is my wife is worried about sleeping in services so....are they safe or anybody know any alternatives ......many thanks mark .
Most services do not allow overnight stopping or if they do they charge a fortune. Find a big off road lay by, ignore the "no overnight parking" because basically you are not. As the police and safety folk say "have a break and pull over" works for me. Normally I just put one leg down and tie a duster on the steering wheel to remind me. Get the wife to make sanrnies and fill a flask before you leave.
I use to have four hours sleep then start of and drive up to Edinburgh that should give you a good start to your holiday as over two hours in sevices you have to pay
Not sure you'd get much sleep/peace in motorway services, caravans are usually punted into lorry parking area, the trucks are coming and going all night, you get the noise of engines starting, air brakes hissing, refrigeration unit engines running continuously, cab doors opening and closing, it just isn't very quiet! You'll also get charged (max 2-3 hour stay for free) more for an overnight stay there than most camp sites charge for a pitch, but without any of the amenities. I wouldn't consider services safe enough to leave your outfit unattended for long, but I wouldn't worry unduly if staying with outfit, go for food/loo one at a time.
With your timings, no camp sites are going to be taking arrivals, so a quiet off road layby looks to be as good as it gets. Use Google Street View before you set off to get an idea of the area and likely spots when you have picked roughly where you want to take a break.
With the abysmal provision for caravans at Motorway & A road services they don't make it easy for long journeys like yours.
Quote: Originally posted by Monty15 on 09/9/2019
Not sure you'd get much sleep/peace in motorway services, caravans are usually punted into lorry parking area, the trucks are coming and going all night, you get the noise of engines starting, air brakes hissing, refrigeration unit engines running continuously, cab doors opening and closing, it just isn't very quiet! You'll also get charged (max 2-3 hour stay for free) more for an overnight stay there than most camp sites charge for a pitch, but without any of the amenities. I wouldn't consider services safe enough to leave your outfit unattended for long, but I wouldn't worry unduly if staying with outfit, go for food/loo one at a time.
With your timings, no camp sites are going to be taking arrivals, so a quiet off road layby looks to be as good as it gets. Use Google Street View before you set off to get an idea of the area and likely spots when you have picked roughly where you want to take a break.
With the abysmal provision for caravans at Motorway & A road services they don't make it easy for long journeys like yours.
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Overnight
via mobile 09/9/2019 at 9:55am
