walkhighlands

This forum is for general discussion about walking and scrambling... If writing a report or sharing your experiences from a route, please use the other boards.

Campervans

Re: Campervans

Postby CharlesT » Mon Aug 15, 2022 3:06 pm

JWCW2014 wrote:
CharlesT wrote:Oh dear! I've always fancied a small campervan, but reading the above it seems it would make me even more of a pariah than did my chosen profession. ☹


Director of a private car parking company?

I said "Pariah" not Agent of Satan, there is a difference.😽
User avatar
CharlesT
Mountaineer
 
Posts: 4502
Munros:156   Corbetts:2
Hewitts:262
Wainwrights:214   Islands:2
Joined: Dec 22, 2011
Location: West Oxfordshire

Re: Campervans

Postby jupe1407 » Tue Aug 16, 2022 11:45 am

CharlesT wrote:Oh dear! I've always fancied a small campervan, but reading the above it seems it would make me even more of a pariah than did my chosen profession. ☹


Genuinely surprised to discover you own Chesthill Estate Charles :lol:
User avatar
jupe1407
Mountain Walker
 
Posts: 1501
Munros:269   Corbetts:52
Fionas:12   
Sub 2000:7   
Islands:6
Joined: May 15, 2012
Location: Forfar

Re: Campervans

Postby CharlesT » Tue Aug 16, 2022 8:06 pm

jupe1407 wrote:
CharlesT wrote:Oh dear! I've always fancied a small campervan, but reading the above it seems it would make me even more of a pariah than did my chosen profession. ☹


Genuinely surprised to discover you own Chesthill Estate Charles :lol:

If only! Personally I spent a very pleasant Winter's day doing those four.
User avatar
CharlesT
Mountaineer
 
Posts: 4502
Munros:156   Corbetts:2
Hewitts:262
Wainwrights:214   Islands:2
Joined: Dec 22, 2011
Location: West Oxfordshire

Re: Campervans

Postby Bastonjock » Sun Aug 21, 2022 1:53 am

I have a campervan,it's 4.7 meters long and can be parked in the same space as an estate car . I have not paid for a car park in a very long time nor I have I paid for a campsite

I use a sog toilet and not a chemical one ,that way I don't destroy the septic tanks that are found in the out of way places in the Highlands

I minimise my impact on the environment by parking up during the day and either going out for a hike or a cycle , I never stay overnight in the same spot two nights running
Tonight I am parked up on the Norfolk coast in a car park that is free from charges during 6pm untill 8am , tomorrow I will park up in a side street and go cycling
I will spend money in each place that I stop ,if I was forced to pay for campsite or parking fees that would reduce my cash and I would have less to spend on local businesses

My vehicle is insured ,taxed and MOT,d ,it is my main form of transportation,I choose not to own a car

The larger motorhomes and especially those that are rented imho are the ones that cause problems ,there are on the other hand those of us who "wildcamp" and do our best to minimize the impact ,I also use a tent from time to time ,I leave no trace with either my Moho or when I'm tent camping
Bastonjock
Backpacker
 
Posts: 60
Munros:1   
Joined: Sep 14, 2021

Re: Campervans

Postby rodderss » Sun Aug 21, 2022 8:47 am

From my experience is not the vw transporter style camper vans that are the issue , they can tramp on as safely and quickly as any car.

It’s the bigger white motorhomes that are worst and dare I say old people happy to drive at 40-45mph in cars.

I was stuck behind an old man who I knew for 11 miles yesterday at 40-45mph.probably oblivious there was anybody behind him.

Maybe we should start a topic headed old people.
rodderss
 
Posts: 164
Munros:47   Corbetts:15
Fionas:8   
Sub 2000:29   
Islands:2
Joined: Sep 2, 2016

Re: Campervans

Postby al78 » Sun Aug 21, 2022 9:11 am

rodderss wrote:From my experience is not the vw transporter style camper vans that are the issue , they can tramp on as safely and quickly as any car.

It’s the bigger white motorhomes that are worst and dare I say old people happy to drive at 40-45mph in cars.

I was stuck behind an old man who I knew for 11 miles yesterday at 40-45mph.probably oblivious there was anybody behind him.

Maybe we should start a topic headed old people.


Is it specifically old people? This happens in SE England a lot, people driving as though their car will explode if they exceed 40 mph. I'm not convinced it is age specific, more that some people have poor spatial awareness and some of them drive vehicles that are too big for them to handle properly (cars have got bigger over the years). Sometimes it may be people looking for a road or address in an unfamiliar area.

One of the worst examples fairly recently was when I was driving along the A272 heading for Coolham which is a straight NSL primary route. There was a driver at a side junction on the right waiting to come out onto my side of the road. They couldn't be bothered to wait for me to pass so they pulled out in front of me forcing me to brake from 55 mph to 15 mph, then proceeded to pootle along at 30 mph. Fortunately it didn't take long for an overtaking opportunity. They could have waited another three seconds then pulled out onto a clear road
User avatar
al78
Walker
 
Posts: 1409
Munros:32   Corbetts:9
Donalds:1
Joined: Feb 1, 2018

Re: Campervans

Postby CharlesT » Sun Aug 21, 2022 9:49 am

rodderss wrote:Maybe we should start a topic headed old people.

You're venturing onto very dangerous ground there, unless of course it is your intention to laud their knowledge and wisdom. 🙂

And, bad driving is not the preserve of the old...
User avatar
CharlesT
Mountaineer
 
Posts: 4502
Munros:156   Corbetts:2
Hewitts:262
Wainwrights:214   Islands:2
Joined: Dec 22, 2011
Location: West Oxfordshire

Re: Campervans

Postby ScotFinn65 » Sun Aug 21, 2022 9:57 am

rodderss wrote:From my experience is not the vw transporter style camper vans that are the issue , they can tramp on as safely and quickly as any car.

It’s the bigger white motorhomes that are worst and dare I say old people happy to drive at 40-45mph in cars.

I was stuck behind an old man who I knew for 11 miles yesterday at 40-45mph.probably oblivious there was anybody behind him.

Maybe we should start a topic headed old people.



I'm no THAT old (yet) and l don't have a campervan or motor home (yet).

However, l have found myself driving more slowly as the years going bye when l visit the Highlands. I enjoy taking my time and absorbing the scenery (being cautious to keep an eye on the road, from time to time. Is this wrong?

We've got other threads telling us to take our time doing the hills and not to rush, now we've to rush to where we're going before we slow down to do the hills. Now I'm confused 😜

Seriously though, when I'm taking my time driving, the easy answer just seems to be to pull over often and be considerate to other road users
User avatar
ScotFinn65
Hill Bagger
 
Posts: 233
Munros:119   Corbetts:2
Sub 2000:2   
Islands:3
Joined: Oct 10, 2017
Location: Lempäälä - Finland
Walk wish-list

Re: Campervans

Postby JWCW2014 » Sun Aug 21, 2022 10:09 am

This thread reminds me of a Jeremy vine radio 2 daytime phone in discussion. Do we really lose so much time being stuck behind someone going 10-15 mph slower than we’d like for 30 mins?
User avatar
JWCW2014
Walker
 
Posts: 429
Munros:90   Corbetts:4
Fionas:1   Donalds:1+0
Sub 2000:12   
Islands:11
Joined: May 31, 2022

Re: Campervans

Postby al78 » Sun Aug 21, 2022 11:30 am

JWCW2014 wrote:This thread reminds me of a Jeremy vine radio 2 daytime phone in discussion. Do we really lose so much time being stuck behind someone going 10-15 mph slower than we’d like for 30 mins?


Yes, when it happens repeatedly on one journey and when it results in hitting a bad phase on a sequence of traffic lights. In Horsham, many traffic lights have a sub 10 second green phase, so a dawdler that takes over 5 seconds to move on the green phase ends up forcing several people behind to wait another 2-3 minutes on the next red phase. All those delays add up and when you have job and family responsibilities, time is valuable and thoughtlessly holding people up is a bad thing to do. I can think of no good reason why it is better to take longer than necessary to do utility tasks and journeys.
User avatar
al78
Walker
 
Posts: 1409
Munros:32   Corbetts:9
Donalds:1
Joined: Feb 1, 2018

Re: Campervans

Postby al78 » Sun Aug 21, 2022 11:42 am

ScotFinn65 wrote:However, l have found myself driving more slowly as the years going bye when l visit the Highlands. I enjoy taking my time and absorbing the scenery (being cautious to keep an eye on the road, from time to time. Is this wrong?

We've got other threads telling us to take our time doing the hills and not to rush, now we've to rush to where we're going before we slow down to do the hills. Now I'm confused 😜

Seriously though, when I'm taking my time driving, the easy answer just seems to be to pull over often and be considerate to other road users


It is not wrong in itself as long as you are considerate to others and assist drivers behind to pass when safe i.e. don't put your foot down on the nice straight section then slam your foot on the brake at the next bend, and as long as absorbing the scenery isn't distracting you from the road and potential hazards.

The thing is, whilst you might be undertaking a leisure journey with all the time in the world, others are working and trying to get somewhere, may have tight deadlines have high demands place on them, so slowing them down is externalising costs on them. The UK seems to have gone down the road of not employing sufficient staff and squeezing more and more out of the existing ones. A few years ago when I took a taxi from Dundonnell hotel to Ullapool, we got chatting and the driver mentioned that cyclists can be seen as a nuisance because of their lack of speed, the lack of safe overtaking opportunities on Highland roads, and the unwillingness of some cyclists to pull over and let traffic past. I am a regular cyclist and find the anti-cycling nonsense thrown out by the tabloids as tedious but I can identify with this. There is a big difference between leisure and utility journeys. Driving to a car park to climb a hill is more utility than leisure, and if someone is driving a fair distance, being held up can mean the difference between climbing the hill and having to change plans because they no longer have enough time.
User avatar
al78
Walker
 
Posts: 1409
Munros:32   Corbetts:9
Donalds:1
Joined: Feb 1, 2018

Re: Campervans

Postby al78 » Sun Aug 21, 2022 11:44 am

CharlesT wrote:
rodderss wrote:Maybe we should start a topic headed old people.

You're venturing onto very dangerous ground there, unless of course it is your intention to laud their knowledge and wisdom. 🙂


Yes, the correct thing to do in the UK is fawn over old people and demonise young people, since old people proportionally have greater voting power so they can swing elections. 🙂
User avatar
al78
Walker
 
Posts: 1409
Munros:32   Corbetts:9
Donalds:1
Joined: Feb 1, 2018

Re: Campervans

Postby CharlesT » Sun Aug 21, 2022 11:59 am

al78 wrote:
CharlesT wrote:
rodderss wrote:Maybe we should start a topic headed old people.

You're venturing onto very dangerous ground there, unless of course it is your intention to laud their knowledge and wisdom. 🙂


Yes, the correct thing to do in the UK is fawn over old people and demonise young people, since old people proportionally have greater voting power so they can swing elections. 🙂

Cobblers! For want of something more explicit.
User avatar
CharlesT
Mountaineer
 
Posts: 4502
Munros:156   Corbetts:2
Hewitts:262
Wainwrights:214   Islands:2
Joined: Dec 22, 2011
Location: West Oxfordshire

Re: Campervans

Postby ChrisButch » Sun Aug 21, 2022 12:59 pm

al78 wrote:. Driving to a car park to climb a hill is more utility than leisure.

Golly
ChrisButch
 
Posts: 200
Joined: Apr 18, 2016

Re: Campervans

Postby Senja » Sun Aug 21, 2022 10:18 pm

The reason you cannot overtake that bike is traffic coming the other way.
Senja
 
Posts: 290
Munros:132   Corbetts:27
Fionas:189   Donalds:58
Sub 2000:479   Hewitts:298
Wainwrights:97   Islands:64
Joined: Aug 22, 2015
Location: East Lothian

PreviousNext



Can you help support Walkhighlands?


Our forum is free from adverts - your generosity keeps it running.
Can you help support Walkhighlands and this community by donating by direct debit?



Return to General discussion

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 18 guests