Year Round Camping Now Available In Scottish Forests

If you’ve a fully equipped campervan with toilet, you can now camp year round in many if the car parks operated by Forestry and Land Scotland. Previou …

By stwhannah

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Year Round Camping Now Available In Scottish Forests

Ooooh! Make sure that Webasto is in working order.

does anyone call these things ‘motorhomes’ anymore? or is ‘campervan’ the preferred lingo?

when I saw ‘camping’ I thought it meant proper camping like, ie in a tent 🙂

Campervan = converted van.

Motorhome = coachbuilt box on a van chassis.

Has been my understanding for years….

It’s a great provision. We use them all the time.

Would be good if England and Wales start to offer the same.

does anyone call these things ‘motorhomes’ anymore? or is ‘campervan’ the preferred lingo

As pointed out above, campervans and motorhomes are slightly different things.

Yeah, but the vehicle featured sits in that grey area between campervan and motorhome.

Always assumed that a motorhome had bathroom facilities and a campervan didn’t ?

does anyone call these things ‘motorhomes’ anymore? or is ‘campervan’ the preferred lingo?

In my experience it’s decided by the owner.

As pointed out above, campervans and motorhomes are slightly different things

Neither of which are camping?

Its a bit annoying that its getting harder harder to find somewhere to pitch a tent (fnar) but forestry infrastructure that should be for everyone only allows campervans?

I suspect it’s mainly down to them only wanting people with toilets onboard.  We used the forest sites a couple of years ago between Christmas and New Years and obviously any sanitary facilities at them we closed, so to avoid people crapping in the bushes, self contained vans only.

@joshvegas

you can pitch a tent in the forest.

Indeed, a lot of these aire type places are only for those with onboard loos. Unfortunately, most tent folk do not lug around a porta-potti.

“Overnight parking” was the headline they were looking for?

My estimate as the amount of funding allocated by FLS for the provision of facilities like waste disposal and the enforcement of these new rules ?
Big fat zero based on my local experience where we’ve seen zero upkeep, the closing of trails, removal of boardwalks, bridges. Invasive species like knotweed and giant hogweed continue to spread unhindered. Public toilets closed since COVID. I could go on…

Indeed, FLS seem a black hole of funds for these projects. Money in = shiny new facility, but minimal maintenance or provision of the ‘basics’…

Don’t forget the millions in revenue they’re getting due to huge amount of harvesting going on – they leave a post-industrial wasteland completely devoid of life.

Yeah, but the vehicle featured sits in that grey area between campervan and motorhome.

Nope, it’s a motorhome

If you can get it in a normal sized car park space, it’s a campervan

If it’s too big for that, it’s a motorhome

I suspect it’s mainly down to them only wanting people with toilets onboard.  We used the forest sites a couple of years ago between Christmas and New Years and obviously any sanitary facilities at them we closed, so to avoid people crapping in the bushes, self contained vans only.

We have a campervan and don’t have a loo onboard. I/we will occasionally camp in it where there are no facilities and consider a wee (no number twosies though) behind a discrete bush as fair game.

Indeed, a lot of these aire type places are only for those with onboard loos. Unfortunately, most tent folk do not lug around a porta-potti.

I get that but would they as a condition of staying in these locations? Presumably they intend to police this or effectively its anyone in a van. If they place it then when not police users of any kind under the same rules?

I’ve stopped in enough scottish laybys to realise that having an onboard bog is no guarantee that it won’t be emptied before driving off.

Effectively an reward for having enough money to own an unnecessary recreational vehicle* while someone on a shoe string driving their wee car and lugging about a small tent has to find somewhere to pay for**.

Its more of an observation than a grievance of mine.

*Thats not supposed to be judgemental, they literally are, still want one, might get one.
**Because i don’t think under the new plan i could leave my car parked in the carpark overnight and lug my tent somewhere. And would i want to leave my bikes anyway?

Presumably they intend to police this or effectively its anyone in a van. If they place it then when not police users of any kind under the same rules?

Let’s get real for a moment. Turn up in a FLS car park after dark, park up for the night, leave at first light. What’s your chances of seeing any “enforcer”? These schemes are just a way to milk those that are trying to abide by the rules whilst letting off anybody at all troublesome. See: LLTNP camping permits.

LLTNP have a team of seasonal rangers who police the camping zones on a daily basis – they regularly challenge people camping without permits, and repeat offenders incur fines. How many people slip through the net, I have no idea. The rangers are funded and managed by LLTNP, not FLS, although I think they do manage some of the camping on FLS land around Aberfoyle

I know this as one of my buddies has been a seasonal ranger for the last couple of years, and we often pass car journeys with tales of his dealings with the rich variety of characters he encounters.