Before I start I think it’s worth mentioning that there are great campsites located all over the place and they can certainly make your road trip easier and more comfortable. The people who run campsites work hard to make them as enjoyable as possible, so I certainly wouldn’t want to discourage you from using one.
What is Wild or Free Camping?
When you say Wild Camping think “wilderness camping”. The idea is you drive to somewhere deserted, maybe a beach, a forest or somewhere mountainous, and stay there for the night with no facilities other than what you carry onboard. You pay to wild camp in some locations, and sometimes you don’t.
Free Camping is simply parking up somewhere for the night in an off-grid location. It might be in a wilderness setting, but it equally might be in a city, behind a factory, or in a supermarket carpark. If it’s scenic it’s a bonus but the main thing is it’s free.
Why Wild/Free Camp?
Why Wild/Free Camp?
I enjoy Wild Camping because of the sense of freedom and satisfaction it gives me. There’s a special sense of being the master of your own destiny when you park up in a beautiful location, preferably with on one else around, and get to soak in the view of an ocean sunset, or watch the clouds in the mountains, and know that you carry everything onboard that you require to exist in this world. It’s a really liberating feeling that you’ve freed yourself of needing to mow the lawn or hoover the front room, or whatever other people are doing with their spare time, and just open the door and soak up the nature. It’s pretty great.
I enjoy Free Camping because its free and I’m poor, put simply!
But really, for me, it’s about having freedom in nature.
What are the rules?
The law on this subject is quite complex and I’m not going to brave the minefield by going into it, so you should definitely read around and do some research on the matter for yourself. I personally accept that if I park up anywhere other than private land with the land owners permission I run the risk of being moved on. In 3 years it never happened once, and that’s because I stuck to these unwritten rules. Although I’ve just written them down, so I guess they’re pretty official now…
1. Keep a low profile. Don’t whip out the deck chairs, the gazebo, blast loud music, or congregate in large groups. If you attract attention you run the risk of drawing in bad attention, and to be honest, whenever I see a rag tag campsite set up in a layby somewhere it really frustrates me as doing this just gives the impression of vanlifers as being loutish, ignorant and trouble causing. The fact is that no harm is probably being done, but I totally sympathise with the locals who don’t want to see the untidiness. It tars anyone traveling/living in a van with the same brush, so just be discreet and we can all get along fine.
2. Leave no trace. Most people are pretty onboard with the whole no litter idea, so I won’t labour the point, but remember that people passing your spot for the night don’t know that you intend to put that bag of rubbish in the bin, and its just stashed under your van to give you some space, so keep any litter indoors until you take it to a public bin. I’ve seen posts on facebook of signs left in carparks/laybys along the lines of “this area was litter picked by XYZ from such-and-such campervan club”. I think that’s great and sends out the right message. Let’s become a nation of litter pickers! And it should go without saying that you should cause no damage during your stay.
3. Be polite to locals. If someone asks if you’re staying the night, just be honest (unless you feel unsafe, in which case consider moving location). I’ve had people walk over to tell me I can’t park there for the night, I’ve got chatting to them and they’ve ended up wishing me good evening and said how jealous they are! Sometimes they even recommend other spots they’ve seen vans parked up for the night.
4. Be polite to other vans. By this I mean just use a bit of etiquette and if the only way you can fit into that idyllic park up is to squeeze cheek by jowl next to someone else, maybe just consider finding another spot for the night. You know who you are Mr Citroen Relay on the Isle of Arron…
5. One night only. I move spot every night. This way I never draw much attention to myself, I’m not there for long enough to annoy any locals, I’m not hogging the “best spot” from anyone else wanting to park there, and it’s actually good for the security of my van as its probably less likely to be broken into than if it was in situ for a few days. If I’m in the same area for a few days I’ll build up a catalogue of spots to choose from as I’m driving around and then rotate through them. I might stay in the same spot twice in one week, but not for two nights in a row.
6. If you do get asked to move, by the land owner, the police, or a ranger/warden, just do it gracefully.
There’s really not much more to it than that!
In my next post I’ll go into what facilities you should carry on board to make life easier, and which ones you might be surprised to discover you can easily do without. Read more in Part 2