I spent my holiday sleeping in someone’s front garden and a pub car park – it was perfect and cost almost nothing
SLIDING back the door to our campervan, we take in the morning view – and there are no other caravans or tents to ruin it. Because rather than being on an official campsite, our home for the night is someone’s front garden. No, we’re not squatting. We’re taking advantage of the growing popularity of “aires” […]
SLIDING back the door to our campervan, we take in the morning view – and there are no other caravans or tents to ruin it.
Because rather than being on an official campsite, our home for the night is someone’s front garden.
No, we’re not squatting. We’re taking advantage of the growing popularity of “aires” — unofficial campervanning spots that range from village halls and pub car parks to people’s front lawns.
The idea is already common in France and throughout the Continent.
Now the UK is cottoning on, and is offering more weird and wonderful places to spend the night.
Prices can be from just £10 — and in some cases, free if you buy a pint.
Brit Stops, once a guidebook and now an app, has lists of thousands of hosts willing to have campervans park up, while France Passion operates in a similar way across the Channel.
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Both include listings from farm shops and vineyards to pubs and attractions offering to host campers.
Crowd-sourced apps Searchforsites and Park4Night allow people to upload a spot they have discovered, and there are various Facebook groups dedicated to motorhome stopovers and wild camping.
My husband Jamie and I are on a quest for peace and quiet over the summer season and have challenged ourselves to camp our way around the UK without using a regular campsite.
It is on Park4Night that we discover the first stop on our “non-campsite” trip — a front garden tucked away in Norfolk.
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A quick message to arrange arrival and the next day we’re all set up on our hosts’ driveway.
Our dogs are given the run of the garden, and us a list of local recommendations to check out.
The next night we move to the coast and a pub just over the sand dunes from the beach.
There’s no charge to park, just a polite request to buy a meal and drinks if using their car park as a stopover. Other pubs have a more formal set-up.
Either way, it is clearly a hit for both pub owner and punter.
A growing number of landlords offer the option and Facebook group UK Pub Stopovers For Motorhomes And Campervans boasts more than 150,000 members.
And pubs are not alone. As we search for places to stay, we find village halls have cottoned on to the idea, too.
Some are even offering basic facilities and setting up booking systems on their websites.
On a Facebook group we find a spot just outside Suffolk seaside town Aldeburgh that turns out to be the most magical stop of the trip.
While some towns have strict “no overnight parking” signs, others don’t have any restrictions — just the polite request to “leave no trace”.
We get back from dinner in time to watch the sunset, taking in the unrivalled free view with one or two other quiet campers.
The few we speak to haven’t used official sites for years for various reasons.
For one it’s about cost — UK campsites can top £30 a night in some places in peak season.
For others it’s about escaping the crowds and enjoying the solitude.
After just a few days we realise our challenge to camp round the UK without a campsite is not only manageable, but addictive, especially as we move into the summer holidays.
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It gives us the chance to explore new places, eating and drinking in local businesses and visiting tourist spots around the country with minimal planning.
It’s everything we love about campervanning — just without the campsites.
TOP FIVE UK NON-CAMPSITES
- Stow-on-the-Wold Rugby Club: Just outside Stow and full of lovely Cotswolds pubs and restaurants. £20 a night with facilities.
- Tan Hill Inn, Richmond: Camping in a pub car park with stunning views over the Yorkshire Dales. £10 per person per night with facilities.
- Marina car park, Stratford-upon-Avon: In the heart of the historic West Mids town with plenty to do. £15 per night.
- Never Turn Back, Caister-on-Sea: Lovely Art Deco pub over the dunes to the beach in Norfolk. Free camping in the car park and no obligation to eat there.
- Aira Force car park, Lake District: Part of a new initiative by the National Trust to allow motorhomes to park overnight for £10.