# Use of co-ordinates to get to campsites



## Phil42

Suggested by a post in this thread.


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## DeeGee7

And sometimes the co-ordinates prove to be correct....


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## Phil42

Perhaps we now need a poll on how often they prove correct?

Phil


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## Zebedee

I presume you mean on the Continent?

Can I answer Yes and No please? :roll: 

We usually use Autoroute, and the pushpins have been entered as co-ordinates from a .csv file . . . so I suppose it is a Yes.

If we know in advance that we are likely to use a particular one I check it out at home on Google Maps/Street View, and correct the co-ords if necessary. Otherwise we take our chances - working on the theory that there's sure to be another one just down the road if we can't find the one that's allegedly just here!! 8O

Dave


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## tattytony

I answered yes because we will use that option more often than not  

But if we are touring on an adhoc basis that we will find somewhere when we need it down the road along our route :wink:


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## Bill_OR

Co-ordinates stored in POI files - yes
Co-ordinates entered directly into the satnav - no
Bill


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## Phil42

There are some interesting caveats above. Please feel free to add yours.

Phil


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## jimmyd0g

GPS co-ordinates are just a justification for using the latest boys toy.

PS

I'll get my tin hat!!


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## erneboy

And how man became able to travel the seas and reliably arrive at the intended destination when out of sight of land Jimmy, Alan.


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## jimmyd0g

erneboy said:


> And how man became able to travel the seas and reliably arrive at the intended destination when out of sight of land Jimmy, Alan.


 :lol: :lol: :lol:

Exactly. And when my mh is transformed into an amphibious vehicle & I try to find a campsite in mid Atlantic, I will consider GPS co-ordinates relevant to my motorhoming.


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## bigfrank3

If I don't already know the site, and if I have the co-ordinates, then I will use them. 

Usually if I am trying to find where I want to go and it's a number as in France followed by the campsite name with no road or maybe a number of a road, I put the place number in the satnav and route to the nearest town. 

Then I show the route and zoom in to the destination and use the directions to find where I want to be. Click on the spot and route to there. 

It sounds a lot harder than it actually is, it only takes a minute or two. 

bigfrank3 

It's not meant to be a harsh or serious criticism BUT ............... 
people seem not to have answered the survey with a click on yes or no but have answered in sentences 

bf3


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## DTPCHEMICALS

Sorry I cannot aswer your poll.

My answer would be: sometimes

Dave p


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## Zebedee

bigfrank3 said:


> It's not meant to be a harsh or serious criticism BUT ...............
> people seem not to have answered the survey with a click on yes or no but have answered in sentences
> bf3


Eh what?? 8O

24 votes and only 10 posts Frank. That suggests that the ones who used sentences probably clicked to vote as well, but just wanted to add a caveat or clarify their usage.

Or am I missing your meaning? :?

Dave


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## kaacee

I use anything at my disposal to make my journey easy and stress free.

Keith


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## Spacerunner

It depends how the location is offered.

If its a postcode, POI, address or co-ordinates.

Sometimes I even use the satnav map and navigate to the cursor position. I'm nothing if not versatile


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## bigfrank3

To reply to Dave, I always thought a poll was a simple click yes or no, right or left etc. perhaps some more bottons labeled if possible, or where available  

Frank


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## DTPCHEMICALS

bigfrank3 said:


> To reply to Dave, I always thought a poll was a simple click yes or no, right or left etc. perhaps some more bottons labeled if possible, or where available
> 
> Frank


 :lol:

Left or right ok but what about straight on. :lol: :lol: :lol:

When I ask Lady p which way we should turn she usually waves her arms about and says this way.
I usually make a mistake and go that way instead. :lol: :lol:

Most of the time we do not have a preplanned destination anyway.
Dave p


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## sallytrafic

I don't use lat long to get where I am going or review where I've been my computer however does.


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## Spacerunner

sallytrafic said:


> I don't use lat long to get where I am going or review where I've been my computer however does.


Oh come on Frank! What do you think those white lines are in the middle of the road for?


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## aldra

I'm lost

We get to where we've driven enough

Check the aire, stellplaz etc

enter the co ordinates and go

Aldra


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## tonyt

Given the choice of Post Code, address or co-ords, which was the question in the ealier thread - I'd go for co-ords every time.


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## Techno100

In the last CC survey I responded that coordinates should be updated with those of the point that the site access begins from a main road. How difficult can that be to achieve? They could then REMOVE the "Do not use sat nav to find us" :lol:


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## peedee

More often than not I create or have obtained site POIs in a CSV format and load them into my sat nav so indirectly I am mostly using co-ords, so I have answered yes. If I do not have the POI I prefer to enter the co-ords above everything else although occasionally I will also follow printed campsite direcetions on the sat nav map and mark the destination.

peedee


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## Chascass

Coordinates every time, they remind me of the first time I had a Fax machine then a PC on a construction site that I thought I did not need because I had always managed very well without them, then after 3 months wondered how I ever managed without them, the same with coordinates they make thinks so much easier.

Charlie


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## Phil42

Bumping this to see if we can get a few more votes.

Phil


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## Phil42

Interesting that there are 811 views but only 59 votes. Of course it could mean that those who haven't voted aren't interested, but I do wonder whether some of them don't realise that you can vote without commenting.

Phil


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## wakk44

I prefer to use coordinates but only after going on to google maps and zooming in on satellite and street view to find exactly where I want to be.

If the site is off the beaten track then I find the nearest accessible road and use the ''drop lat.long.marker'',input the coordinates into the satnav and away we go.  

If on the continent without an internet connection then I rely on the Autoroutes pushpin poi coordinates which are generally very accurate.The only time it was slightly out was when we were trying to find a Decathlon store in Gap,the satnav took me to the other side of a large roundabout a couple of hundred yards away.

Eagle eyed mrs wakk soon spotted the DECATHLON sign in 10 foot high letters though. :wink:


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## peedee

Phil42 said:


> Interesting that there are 811 views but only 59 votes. Of course it could mean that those who haven't voted aren't interested, but I do wonder whether some of them don't realise that you can vote without commenting.
> 
> Phil


Phil,
Always seems to be difficult to get members to vote on anything  
My understanding is only subscribers can vote which limits it a bit :roll:

peedee


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## oldun

I'm not sure what is meant by the phrase "are the co-ords correct?"

As there is no defined individual point that represents a campsite there can be no "correct" co-ords.

Surely if the co-ords are sufficiently accurate to get one close enough to see the site this is good enough - BUT - how would you define this acceptable range of values?

I visit and access sites for a well known guide and often have problems setting an acceptable set of co-ords. Yhis is often due to the fact that the track leading to the campsite is on a road not shown on the satnav and so the satnav will always take the punter to the nearest section of road shown on the satnav.

Another problem is that using postcode searching on the internet can often return very inaccurate co-ords.

having said that I have great sympathy with those of you who get lost finding campsites using co-ords. I visit between 50 and 60 campsites each year so you can inmagine how many times I have suffered in the past.


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## Zepp

We always use Co-ordinates in Europe and when or if we get there we always take our own Co-ordinates at the entrance to the aire or campsite .

I think half the time we are just lucky we find the aire we are looking for :lol: 

I also try and find the place we are going to on autoroute so i can zoom in on the last section of the route ( still get lost so not sure why i bother lol ).


Paul


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## Penquin

I am a belt, brces and piece of string person....

so if we are looking for a particular site then I will use every means possible to locate it;

written description
postcode
address
POI from TomTom or MHF
Lat and Long coords where given - often entered directly from book references (e.g. Vicarious books Spanish aires book whuch we used recently)
and the mark one eyeball since even with every clue possible it is still possible to not spot the entrance........

BUT once we have located it we record our own coords and location on TT - but we do that from the nearest public road since if you do not do that then TT cannot find nthe correct road and sometimes tries to take you in via the neighbours garden or over a river.......

Dave


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## Gary1944

Must be having an off day. How do you register a vote? I have tried but have had to give up before I become too irate!!

Not exactly relevant to this thread but someone did mention using postcodes. Can I relate a tale from our time spent working for the CC as wardens. We ran a site in the Peak District in Derbyshire called Blackwall Plantation. The postcode was set many years earlier before the adjoining Carsington Reservoir was built and a new access road installed. So the post code referred to a VERY narrow lane at the back of the site with a pedestrian entry only. No space to turn around, and only a few passing places. 

You've guessed it. Although the Club put notes on the website and in the directory many ,many people used the postcode and ended up ringing us to ask where the hell we were. Our fault of course.

We tried to have the postcode changed, but for some unknown reason the PO refused. So beware. Always read the fine print!!

Gary


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## teensvan

Hi.

GPS Co-Ordinates are the best way to find any campsite, Aire, & Stellplatz. Boat owners have found this the best way from A to B. Simple 

It is a shame the Caravan club don't use them on their instructions to their sites instead of third right at pub that closed down 4 years ago go on 1000 mtrs turn left at traffic lights that is now a round-about & and takes 5 mins to read. 

Just put in a set of numbers. Simple.

We have fulltimed for 6+ years now and trust this type of navigation to be the best

steve & ann. -----teensvan.


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## Camdoon

I remember being led to a hotel which was down an unmarked country lane and then marked my location to make it easy for me to return to the hotel.
Unfortunately the nearest road to the hotel was on the other side of a river and some 5 miles away from the hotel.
There is no perfect answer.


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## oldun

Bill_OR said:


> Co-ordinates stored in POI files - yes
> Co-ordinates entered directly into the satnav - no
> Bill


Why?

What's the difference in the quality of the coords?

To me a sat nav is just another tool to help me find the site, I do not rely simply on one method.


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## oldun

What/whose coordinates do you use?

There's nothing wrong with using coords, unless they are incorrect - some are some are not.

I use Autoroute, Google Maps. my sat nav or Google search to see where the coords direct me.

As always with anything computing, rubbish in = rubbish out


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## oldun

jimmyd0g said:


> GPS co-ordinates are just a justification for using the latest boys toy.
> 
> PS
> 
> I'll get my tin hat!!


Spoken by a true luddite.

Do you condemn users of mobile phones, computers etc in your condemnation?


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## The Geologist

I use my sextant, stop watch and the Sun! Where the heck do you think Latitude and Longitude came from? Whether you use a SatNav or a Map it uses co-ordinates, as do you - "Turn left at ..., turn right at ... etc." are in themselves co-ordinates.


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## nicholsong

All 'co-ordinates' whether Latitude/ Longituse or systems like the Ordinance Survey are a 'Convention' created by mankind - they are not absolutes.

Likewise 'time' is a convention.

We navigate by combining conventions.

Geoff


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