Route planning help please!

A good truck sat nav or one that allows you to set road preferences in the first instance to come up with a route, I use Co-Pilot. Then I would check using google maps plus street view to check in detail any areas I though iffy. If you are just travelling in this country the the OS maps 1 : 50k can also be very useful.

peedee

The user and all related content has been Deleted User

We tend to do an AA route planner then check the directions with the club book. We then get the road atlas out, write rough directions so we know if the sat van starts going off piste that our written directions from the map will keep us on hopefully good roads till the sat nav catches up! Once we’re within striking distance from the site, we go by the club book. Works for us and mostly takes the stress out of traveling on unfamiliar routes 🤞😂

Without a doubt, for travel in UK, Ordnance Survey maps are invaluable. They will certainly allow you to check out gradients, bridges, the roads are coded to give you everything from motorways to unfenced lanes, and everything else you need to plot a route. Couple this with something like Google Earth to check out any issues highlighted by actually driving sections of your route, and you ought to be able to have a fair idea of getting from A to B and any hazards along that route. Map reading is easy once you make a start. I can’t comment on Sat Navs for towing, as we have never used one, but no doubt others can advise.
National Parks, such as Dartmoor, North York Moors, etc are bound to have some tricky roads, and coastal areas are prone to narrower roads. A basic understanding of the types of hedges around the UK is a bit of an overlooked aspect as well, as some find to their cost. Granite walls in Cornwall, and drystone walls in Yorkshire are much less forgiving then hedges elsewhere. But if there’s a caravan site out there, with care and some forward knowledge, unless the site says unsuitable for very wide or long outfits, mos5 are reachable if you go having done some research. Happy touring😁👍

I couldn't tell you the last time I saw an OS map, let alone used one for navigating, especially while towing. EmilysMum is almost always too busy on her phone to have a paper map on her knee. 🤐

I do as Deleted User User .... enter postcode on my car's sat-nav &/or WAZE on my phone & set off. I've always got there. 

I don't tow but the ability to reverse and get out of difficult situations is important especially in rural areas where you can cause potential problems for other road users. An awareness of single track roads and common sense springs to mind. I agree with others about good maps and forward planning. Always bear in mind the local instructions offered by the club and site owners. 

good maps & forward planning don't make any difference if you're faced with on coming traffic on a single track road ... you just need to try & read further up the road than you would if you were not towing or driving your car rather than a large motorhome and wait at passing places if need be.

The official route/intsructions to the club site at Castleton would have you drive for miles to avoid Winatt's Pass  .... the wardens there nearly faded away when I said I'd just towed down there to get to the site .... 

ED, you are a professional driver, so probably have an excellent understanding of getting a huge vehicle from A to B, and down the trickiest of roads😁 Agree about reading the road ahead. Good manoeuvring skills are a boon as well. And don’t be intimidated into doing something by anything easier or smaller to reverse simply because they are incapable of using their mirrors or turning their necks. 

Winnats Pass without snow is a pussy cat😁 The Long Mynd however…….🤣We survived.

The user and all related content has been Deleted User

We love an adventure, and getting to those beautiful, hidden gems. Quite possible to still achieve with research, care, and practising those skills.

I didn’t enjoy towing that much, but made myself do it, and got quite happy at taking a caravan over Dartmoor and up onto the NYMoors. I work on the theory that thousands of others do it, so it’s not beyond me😁 I actually disliked motorways more