Dornafield Touring Park

A couple of years ago we were at FM when Three motor caravans arrived all on hire all non members and stayed for 3nights? I lent my watering cans to one who needed water ,the conversation included how cheap it was to stay on the site , it was over forty pounds?per night for each couple being non members and  that was not peak prices

Many of us demographics of this club ,are it seems way behind the salaries some are getting ,and also some pensioners especially those from government golden key pension schemes 

The use of a "Splash& Dash" facility does not of itself indicate that a motorhome is necessarily parking/camping illegally. It may, for instance, have stayed quite legitimately on a council/ pub car park overnight but which did not have a waste disposal facility.

Personally I think legal overnight stopping places should have to provide basic facilities.

"Personally I think legal overnight stopping places should have to provide basic facilities."

....but that's not how the Aires system works in Europe.

there are Aires that have services only, some have overnighting and services, some have overnight parking but no services.

it just depends on what the local community has provided.

I didn't see why this can't apply to 'Aires' in the uk.

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Some folk plan for their own future way in advance taking responsibility for themselves whereas others live for the day expecting others to be responsible for them in the future. The former have little or no issues JV.

I’m well aware YT, we used Aires as much as we have used sites, when taking our MH to France. Although not the ones with no facilities, there are plenty that have them. My comments stand. Permission shouldn’t be given for overnight stopping places unless they can provide basic facilities. All the local authority, or whoever provides the space is doing, is moving the responsibility for providing correct disposal provision on to someone else.

We get out a bit more and are equally happy with both, when in the respective countries. In France on our tour this year, our site costs averaged £13.30, whilst in this country they averaged £26.70. I suspect average costs will be up in 2023 in both countries.

Edit.     The  average for this country is a bit false, as it was brought down by the £17 a night we paid for our stay at Altnaharra. Now that’s a bargain site, they could ask more.😉

Do you think it appropriate for a pub to be told what they can and can't do with their car park? Such locations are very ad hoc and used perhaps only occasionally yet would be expected to invest in infrastructure  impinging on their, already no doubt, slender profit margins.

Yet CAMC sites which already have the infrastructure in place decline to provide the service and miss out on an income stream.

With respect, whilst they are great and a useful addition to the overall system, confining yourself to one set of commercial 'Aires' as in Camping Car parks doesn't give a very wide view of the total Aires network.

The thing is, with a system as large and diverse as the one across Europe, there is always 'somewhere' to get access to services.

one could stay a couple of days on an aire without services (and some of these are wonderful stopping places in countryside or villages, so why knock them, they're part of the 'whole') and then move onto one with services....or even one with just a service point but no stopping allowed and then to the next overnight.

perhaps it's because there isn't a 'one size fits all' approach to Aires in Europe that makes it such a wonderful and delightful part of touring there.

perhaps those who are comfortable overnighting in a council owned car park (see my South Hams thread) or even a pub car park are those who have been 'doing it' in Europe and realise that these services are precious and to be respected, hence the desire to be able to stay but to find somewhere to dump waste if facilities aren't available at that 'aire'.

If you were to read the user comments against any of the thousands of stopping places listed on, say, park4night the most common phrases are those users expressing their heartfelt thanks to the local authorities for the provision of the service they've just made use of.

there is a real deep respect for the Aires network and folk don't abuse it as they realise how lucky they are to have it.

having different types of aire, including those without services certainly doesn't turn folk into waste leaving wild campers. 

quite the opposite in my experience.

however, enough of Aires and back to Dornafield...

Yes I do. If they are providing overnight accommodation parking they should provide at least basic disposal facilities. I am by no means taring everyone with the same brush but we all know there are those who will dispose of irresponsibly.