# Overnight parking/camping rules in UK



## 112293

Hi

This is our first year with a motorhome. Great experience-Greece, France, Italy, Germany, Holland, and Belgium- NO PROBLEMS -but a trip to Scotland and our first encounter with a cultured Englishman! Real aggression. We stopped on a small road in a coastal English village on a free parking 6pm-9am zone. After about an hour from the building across the road comes good old British Bull Dog who owns said house. Lots of aggessive finger wagging and "You can't park there overnight. Sleeping on the road is illegal"

So my question is what is the law on staying in a motorhome on the public highway in the UK?

Oh we legged it as we didn't want our tyres slashed etc.

Peter.


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## EdinburghCamper

I was about to post the same question as I want to park up somewhere to make sure I got a good vantage point for the QE2 tomorrow!

Did you not ask the guy if he can read? Free Parking, 6pm to 9am!

Gary.


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## 107088

Can I expand the question by asking if there's a difference between parking, and camping?

What I mean is...to me parking normally means I park, leave the vehicle and return later. Camping is where I park the vehicle, stay in it for an extended period, sleep maybe then leave.


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## teemyob

*Parking*

Maybe you could of told the miserable git that you had broken down! Or told him to get along to some city centres and tell the same to the homeless.

Then drove off at a later time.

Trev.


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## geraldandannie

There's a lovely spot in Essex (oxymoron ??) that overlooks the sea. You can park for up to 24 hours, but not overnight 8O 

I suspect that "Bandaid's Law" applies  

Gerald


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## Rislar

I was wondering this also, can i just pitch up on a carrage way parking are, not that i would because of the noise but i'd like to know if i could?


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## waspes

I dont see any reason why not, lorry drivers do it all the time, plus they are breaking the law if they dont stop after a certain time.

Peter.


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## 95196

*carriageway parking*

as far as i understand it there is no law against it ...but local council bye laws apply in each different county. They are aimed at stopping 'travellers' and we have never been asked to move on in the uk if just stopping a night or two..and we've often been seen by and waved at by the police,council people etc.
i say be sensible, pay any charges asked no one will bother you


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## thieawin

OK. The law and why and the reality.

In UK, and most commom law countries everything is legal unless there is a specific law against it

There are national laws we are all supposed to know about and local laws or bye laws about which, because they vary, explicit warnings have to be given

1. There is no national no parking overnight and sleeping in your van law
2. You cannot do it on private land without land owners permission, but they can only ask you to leave, trespass is not a criminal offence
3. On public land there will be bye laws in all probability. The sign has to provide specific warning so no staying in vehicles over night is specific, no camping may not be if you have 40 foot USRV. No sleeping in vehicles is also specific. Anything else and you are free to stay and sleep

Practically do not stay where it might offend a near neighbour, do not have buckets for waste on show, don't park where there are gates which might be closed to ock you in, may be in the right but do you want to waste time with a jobs worth in the morning.

Leave early, quietly and tidily

Remember it is not the police who will endoprce most bye laws but bye law officers, they will be tucked up at home in nice warm beds and do 09.00 to 17.30. If you are approached by an irate member of the public, explain you are not local, sympathise with him, ask him to show you the bye law and where the warning sign is.


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## 112293

Thanks for the advice, especially Thieawin, for the very useful summary.

Peter


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## Spacerunner

I think if you use a bit of discretion and do not park up in built up areas you should be ok.

Personally i would never park in the vicinity of houses, rather choose a more rural area where there is no one to upset. Also the fact that you are in a 'remote' area will also help with security as you will not be a ready target for city lowlife types.

BTW has anyone ever been moved on by the police, if so, in what circumstances?


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## oilslick

*We wild camp all the time*

We have gained some interesting views / experience on this as it is a topic which comes up now and then.

We dont tend to park opposite peoples houses as a respect to them and a desire to be left alone, and to maintain a good motorhome relationship. Additionally we like the privousy and the views that we have found in less crowded areas.

I do think in a way it is a shame you drove off, as he has won that one. You should have told him you work for the police! (although thats illegal)

If it says over night parking is ok then does that mean with people in the van or not?? we say parking is simply parking i.e. the van is HERE and STATIC! Sleeping in the van is irrelevant, either you can put the vehicle there or you cant. What offence are you commiting? "You sleeping in there sunny?"... "er no one eye open officer!" or "Wife asleep, me awake". We have often woken up to find some patrol car parked next to us... probably just had a kip too!

Camping? we think that means using a tent, we are motorhoming. A "No Overnight Camping" sign is usually planted by some common or beach etc and we believe it means no tents. Afterall my Trauma heater isnt a camp fire is it?

The biggest nuisance in some of these spaces are the drug taking litter dropping boy racers and the "late night going s on" NOT the motorhome.

As motorhomes gain in popularity and campsites continue to put their prices up then I think we must be careful we dont help the law ruin it for us, and that is another reason we are careful about where we park and what we do.

Grant & Andrea


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## rs200538

It's unfortunate that the UK is so anti overnight parking. Basically that is what we are doing, leaving rubber touching the road overnight. Be sensible stay one night and move on, don't get loads of chairs tables etc. out. You are doing nothing wrong and this is a civil offence if anything, therefore they can't do anything unless you are causing a criminal offence. Even bylaws with signs saying "No overnight sleeping in Vehicles" is a breach of your human rights. The council cannot stipulate when somebody can and can't sleep.


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## annetony

We have overnighted in the New Forest a few times and have never been asked to move on, even though the ranger pulled onto the car park/picnic area

He probably thought we were better staying on there than the boy racers that pulled on and went off straight away when they saw us

I think that if you are a lone van and only stay the one night people tend to leave you alone, unless you run into Victor Meldrew that is :lol: :lol: 

Anne


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## EdinburghCamper

I was at a "photographic meet" in Blackpool this weekend, and I was AMAZED at the number of Motorhomes parked up on the main prominand - at least 10 spread out over a mile or so!

8 after I arrived 

Parking meter does not start until 10am, and its £6 for 8 hours.

No trouble, 200 yards to the pleasure beach (if you fancy it), and literally 30 yards from the shore!

I know Blackpool is tacky as hell, but still - if you have the kids or grandkids for a few days, I don't think you would have any trouble.

Gary.


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## 101465

If its legal to park then park up, how does anyone know you are sleeping? how often do you see a motorhome parked up with the blinds down so people cant see inside, quite often its outside the owners own house, so short of knocking on the door and asking no one would really know, except in my case where they would hear me snoring, so I would say do as others here have said use your common sense and respect other peoples privacy, and leave the area at least as clean or cleaner than when you arrived.
Tony


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## raynipper

*Overnight parking/camping.*

With regard to overnight parking/camping.

In the UK everything is permitted except that which is specifically forbidden.
In Germany everything is forbidden except that which is specifically permitted.
In France everything is permitted even that which is specifically forbidden.

Ray in flexible France.


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## aultymer

> With regard to overnight parking/camping.
> 
> In the UK everything is permitted except that which is specifically forbidden.
> In Germany everything is forbidden except that which is specifically permitted.
> In France everything is permitted even that which is specifically forbidden.
> 
> Ray in flexible France.


Nice one Ray!


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## 102731

Parking on the highway
The public highway can consist of a carriageway, footpath, pavement and grassed verge and in law nobody has any right to do anything on the highway except to pass and repass (i.e., to travel along the road or footway). Parking on the highway, however wide, is an obstruction, even if there are no waiting restrictions and no yellow lines, and anyone causing an obstruction can be subject to the appropriate penalties for that specific offence. In reality, such are the demands of modern life that on street parking on most roads is condoned where the degree of obstruction is relatively small. 

This from Walsall Council, so you have no right to park, let alone sleep etc. Why would you want to park on the roadside where the camber of the road will make you van lean to one side?


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## jhelm

Always an interesting topic. In Italy we seem to be seeing more and more signs saying no campers. But I'm not sure what that means. It's legal to park a camper wherever a car can park, so I think all they can typically say is no camping, but they abbreviate it to no campers to discourage campers from parking where the should be allowed. Here the line between camping and parking is drawn when you put something outside the perimeter of your camper, stairs down, windows open, etc. then you are camping. 

I feel we are seeing more and more an anti camper attitude, especially in the major tourist areas. They seem to prefer the big buses full of people who spend then leave. Or those who spend big in the hotels or camp sites (typical cost for family of four 40 euros per night).


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## 04HBG

Several years ago whilst visiting the sister inlaw we slept in the motorhome in a little side road, at midnight the local plod knocked on the door and had a nose in, saw the kids and i told him the sister had no room to accommodate, he said no problem anytime i see you here i will keep an eye on you have a good night. A bit of common sense.

Chatting to a retired Police Inspector from Scotland last year he told me that he always camps wild both north and south of the border and there is no law against it they will just ask you to move on and if you then ask them politely if there is anywhere you can go they will nearly always let you stop or tell you where to go. No i haven't been brave enough to try myself


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## Bizbolt

*overnight parking/parking rules UK*

I have recently purchased a 28 foot American RV and have now been told that it is too long to park overnight on a road. Does anyone know if that is true as I would like to do some wild camping and specifically went for the smallest RV that I could live in but one that still had a permanent bedroom.


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## oldun

thorpe said:


> Hi
> We stopped on a small road in a coastal English village on a free parking 6pm-9am zone. After about an hour from the building across the road comes good old British Bull Dog who owns said house. Lots of aggessive finger wagging and "You can't park there overnight. Sleeping on the road is illegal"
> 
> Peter.


Another interpretation of the situation could be that a gentle, law abiding citizen who has paid all his taxes etc etc and now wishes to live out his life in a peaceful quiet and pleasant position is fed up to the teeth by freeloaders and dossers who believe that they can do what they like, wherever they like without any regard to the sensitivities of others.

Now this interpretation is no more extreme than that presented above.

Why do so many people believe that they can do what they like but object abusively to others when they raise an objection?

In my opinion my rights to a certain degree of freedom to park where I like is being eroded by those who believe that they have the right to park in town centre streets, right outside peoples accommodation. These type of "wild campers" (what a joke) are no better than any other itinerant.

It's about time that we re-learnt the fact that we can only have rights if others have responsibilities and conversely the rights of others are our responsibilities.

This means that we must all give and take and not just take.


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## jhelm

Don't you all pay taxes on those roads and why would someone think that because his property abuts a public road or parking area he has any right to tell people what they can or can not do on said public property. I don't see how someone who has quietly parked his MH, has the shades down and is not making noise or bothering anyone, probably just sleeping, is creating any big problem for the local residents.


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## ThursdaysChild

Do be aware of the difference between a pull-in and a lay-by.
A pull-in is considered to be part of the highway, and is subject to highway regs, which probably exclude parking/camping/sleeping.

A lay-by is separated from the highway by a strip of land, and that is where you will find the truckies parked up and sleeping.


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## camper69

ThursdaysChild said:


> A lay-by is separated from the highway by a strip of land, and that is where you will find the truckies parked up and sleeping.


Oh I thought they all sleep on the edge of the roads in and out of Dover :roll:

Derek


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## phil4francoise

I understood it as the signs saying no sleeping no overnight parking etc are there because a by law is in force and no sign equals no by law. By haaaving the sign up and by laws in place localcouncils can if need be enforce them ie if 20 travellers turn up.This is certainly the case through out France ,They are in place in case they need to move travellers on ,end of story


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## ChesterfieldHooligan

:lol: Hi I just tell them I a private eye doing undercover work watching a suspect ! :lol: your's Brian and Nod


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## tuftey

who on this earth would park on the front in blackpool we wouldnt overnight there we go down the bottom were the road widens out and most mh park up 


we tend to park were there is wagons if we park on the road cos we know its safe to park


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## PIEDODGER

Just got back to Edinburgh today from Gibraltar wild camped all the way (apart from 1 night in Benidorm to top up) Gibraltar, Malaga, Almuneca(2 nights) Benidorm(3x nights), Tarragona, Narbonna, Vierzon, Calais (2 nights), Harlow (2 nights), Workington and using all the non toll roads NO problems.  Would like to add that I normally parkup at marinas, edge of ind estate or supermarkets ie Carrfours, if it doesnt feel right (safe) I look elsewhere. Not residential. PD.


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## 96706

oldun said:


> Why do so many people believe that they can do what they like but object abusively to others when they raise an objection?
> 
> In my opinion my rights to a certain degree of freedom to park where I like is being eroded by those who believe that they have the right to park in town centre streets, right outside peoples accommodation. These type of "wild campers" (what a joke) are no better than any other itinerant.
> 
> It's about time that we re-learnt the fact that we can only have rights if others have responsibilities and conversely the rights of others are our responsibilities.
> 
> This means that we must all give and take and not just take.


Good point, Oldun  When in our van I want to park where I want (thinking that our quiet stay isn't intruding on anyone), but if I was at home I'd be pretty pissed off if a van parked outside my house and proceeded to "live" there - OK, as a M/H owner I probably wouldn't mind, we'd probably go and chat which would **** them off in turn :lol: - but if I was just Mrs. Normal Resident, yes it would annoy me. Can't have it both ways can we 8O :lol:

Mrs D


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## 112293

Another interpretation of the situation could be that a gentle, law abiding citizen who has paid all his taxes etc etc and now wishes to live out his life in a peaceful quiet and pleasant position is fed up to the teeth by freeloaders and dossers who believe that they can do what they like, wherever they like without any regard to the sensitivities of others.

Now this interpretation is no more extreme than that presented above.

Why do so many people believe that they can do what they like but object abusively to others when they raise an objection?

In my opinion my rights to a certain degree of freedom to park where I like is being eroded by those who believe that they have the right to park in town centre streets, right outside peoples accommodation. These type of "wild campers" (what a joke) are no better than any other itinerant.

It's about time that we re-learnt the fact that we can only have rights if others have responsibilities and conversely the rights of others are our responsibilities.

This means that we must all give and take and not just take.[/quote]

Yes the above is a possible but incorrect interpretation of what actually happened. We left because we were THREATENED. I agree that we all have rights and responsibilities. I only wanted to know how the law stands. I object to being labeled as a freeloader and dosser! As a law abiding person I do not believe that threatening behaviour can ever be excused or that it should it be tolerated. If I am behaving legally, and this includes behaving properly, responsibly etc, then no one has the right to THREATEN me however peaceful quiet and pleasant their postion maybe! 
If a similar situation were to occur again I will call the police and not move until they have attended.

Peter


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