UPDATE: Reviews section refreshed, redesigned, searchable: Go take a look
Anyone know of any trail centers that allow overnight parking with showers? I'm in Kent and looking for new places to ride without having to book somewhere to stay.
Comrie Croft is the only one I can think of.
But.....
Glentress has showers but no overnight parking, however it is permitted at the Inners car park, and Cardrona I think, just down the road.
It's a long way from Kent but...
https://forestryandland.gov.scot/visit/destinations/kirroughtree/visitor-information
Has motorhome overnight parking and trails!
Coed y brenin had showers but not idea about overnight parking and given the recentish news not sure what has happened to the showers.
Might be worth a look though.
Is it really that much faff to book a campsite?
Does having the trailhead in a town count? Golspie, Kinnoul Hill, Golfie, Dunkeld all have hotels, campsites etc
Hotel at trailhead? Mabie.
Campsite and teepees? Comrie.
The reason Trail centres get built is to bring tourists (and, crucially, money) for the local economy. Go somewhere good to ride, stay over, go to a pub/out for a meal, give the local area a return on its investment.
@dissonance - I was at Coed y Brenin today and they shut the carpark between midnight and 6am with no overnight parking.
As others have said, I’d probably just camp somewhere nearby.
The 'Rivers Edge Pub & Campsite' is a 5 minute ride from Dirt Farm. Not that I have stayed at the campsite. The Pandy Caravan and Motorhome Club Campsite is only a bit further away and the Premier Inn at Abergavenny is handy.
The 900yr old Skirrid Mountain Inn is between the Rivers Edge and Dirt Farm and is well worth a visit.
Hotel at trailhead? Mabie.
Also has campsite, roundhouse(s), bunkhouse and showers in the forest. Most were closed when I was there in March, but think they opened properly at Easter.
Cwmcarn does camping for about £10-15 a night which means you'll have the cwmcarn and risca trails and there's Tirpentwys up the road
Couple decent campsites in Dolgellau. Tan y Fron for an easy walk to get fed. Nice warm up ride on really quiet lanes to the trails at Coed y Brenin. Decent pubs and eateries in Dol too.
I thought afan did?
You could look into some of the 'stay the night' destinations in Scotland IF you have a self contained motorhome/van. Laggan Wolftrax for example you can pay to stay the night and there is a shower inside. However, the cafe has to be open in order for the showers to be useable (you buy a token), I was there for about four nights the other day and the cafe didn't open once. Very annoying.
Otherwise I guess you just want places where they have showers as part of their facilities for after your ride and then you can park somewhere really close overnight. However, if you dont have a van and are self contained then yeah like everybody else has said, just book a campsite nearby and put up your tent.
Thanks for the suggestions. The ideas behind sleeping in my van and not booking is due to problems at home and might need a last minute escape for a few days.
I was going to suggest the stay a night scheme's if in Scotland. Some have a shower but you can't rely on them being open so be prepared for a 50s wash/whores bath in the van.
https://forestryandland.gov.scot/visit/stay-the-night/stay-the-night-destinations
Rules are technically quite tight
You can stay for:
- one night only
- between 6pm and 10am
Please note, you must not return to the same car park to stay overnight within 48 hours. We ask visitors to keep noise levels down, especially between 10pm and 7am.
Think I saw a sign at Gisburn recently saying there was going to be overnight opportunities throughout the summer at various locations? Might be worth a look at the website?
Thanks for the suggestions. The ideas behind sleeping in my van and not booking is due to problems at home and might need a last minute escape for a few days.
You will still find a place with space - apart from most of July, there is capacity across the UK for campsites in my experience.
Tell us where you want to go and folk on here can suggest sites. For example, I discovered this lovely spot that is a couple of miles warm up ride from Laggan a couple of weekends ago:
Sign up to puregym or similar. The world's your oyster then in terms of being able to sleep in a campervan but still have a real shower in pretty much any UK town.
They'd object after a January night ride, but in the summer you're just another sweaty bloke in t-shirts and shorts.
Afan and Cwmcarn both have campsites at the trial head. Can't remember the exact price but they are a very reasonable price.
Sign up to puregym or similar. The world's your oyster then in terms of being able to sleep in a campervan but still have a real shower in pretty much any UK town.
They'd object after a January night ride, but in the summer you're just another sweaty bloke in t-shirts and shorts.
I can't say I have seen that many national chain gyms in the wee places that most trail centres are....?
