The Wandering FamiLee

Never fear, if your normal motorhome winter escape from the UK has been somewhat spoilt by Brexit, you can still enjoy the beauty of Europe and beyond, for as long as you like and on a tight budget. It is completely possible to do the Schengen Shuffle for 6 months plus, without breaking the bank.

Hello Wild Camping!

Wild Camping in the UK, France, Spain, Portugal & Morocco.

Perhaps you’re a seasoned wild camper or maybe an experienced motorhomer who has travelled far and wide using campsites but has not tried camping wild so much, Perhaps you think that wild camping is only for new age hippies. Maybe you’re concerned about emptying your loo, your safety or van security. Perhaps you worry about being moved on by police or officials or being hounded by locals.

Whatever your reason for reading this, thanks for being here. We hope to dispel some myths and provide a very unofficial guide to wild camping with a family and dogs (optional) based upon our experience and learnings.

Wild Camping is…

A great way to go further on a budget. It’s completely possible to wild camp in between campsite visits where you can catch up on laundry, use wifi and motorhome services. When you’ve topped up, you can move on and spend very little. Also, remember maybe 80% of the Aires in Europe offer water refills and cassette emptying for free.

A fantastic way to see the true nature of a place is to wild camp. Whether your camp is in nature or in a town or city, you’ll have an opportunity to truly experience the place where you find yourself in.

A natural place to meet likeminded people. You’re wild camping which means folk just like you will be doing the same. What’s more; they’re most probably seasoned travellers and will be able to share some more great places to stop on your route.

Full of special memories. Undoubtedly you’ll remember your experiences of camping wild. One campsite merges into the next when you move around a lot, but those special wild spots will stay with you forever.

Wild Camping is not…

Anything like a Campsite or Aire. There is unlikely to be anywhere to fill or discharge water, empty your loo responsibly or hook up to electric.

Something you wouldn’t want to do in a huge group, to have a big party or make loads of noise, rubbish or disturbance.

Do when Wild Camping:

Take your rubbish with you when you leave. Find somewhere appropriate to dispose of your rubbish responsibly.

Give back to the local economy. Visit the markets, shops and small industries that operate in the local area. Spend a bit of money if you can. Help out or offer your expertise where opportunity arises.

Appreciate the fortune and freedom of wild camping and pass on that energy out to the local community.

Stay secure. Make sure you’re able to keep yourself and your stuff safe. Make sure bikes and boards are securely stowed away or locked up.

Dial into your intuition. Gut instinct, little voice inside, that feeling – whatever you want to call it; call upon it when wild camping. If it doesn’t feel right to stop, don’t.

Clear up after your pets. Even if people from the local area don’t themselves.

Take your loo with you. It’s heartbreaking to see other campers emptying their chemical toilets in gutters and bushes etc.

Don’t do while Wild Camping:

Don’t be a wood-pooper (or bush-pooper for that matter). Or, if you get caught short without a loo, at least clean up after yourself, dig a hole and burry it. As all dog owners know, there’s nothing worse than a wood-pooper in camp!

Don’t P**s off the locals. Be respectful and remember you’re a guest in someone else’s community or space.

Treat the area with respect, especially the nature. No need to take down good growing trees for firewood or pick a bunch of young native flowers to brighten up your space.

Don’t get stroppy if you are asked to move on. If police or officials do ask you to move on, you’re best to smile and say ok. If you have children and it’s late you could politely ask if you could stay until the morning. You can always ask them to advise you of somewhere you can stay in your van. More often than not, they’re happy to oblige. Don’t take it personally, sometimes you’re just unlucky. Even the most popular of wild spots have a clean up from time to time. Leave it a couple of weeks and try again, chances are you won’t get a visit from officials again.

Don’t get all your gear out. Don’t take the Michael and don’t give the impression that you’re there to stay. Wild spots are generally temporary. People are generally ok with that. They don’t want to see you setting up home and rolling out all your chairs, tables, bbq’s etc.

Don’t add to the overcrowd. If you arrive at a wild spot and it’s already overcrowded, move on. Chances are it’s just about to get ‘cleaned up’ by the authorities and to be honest, it’s not the ‘wild’ sport you were looking for.

Places to Wild Camp

You can wild camp anywhere in the world but for this blog post we have highlighted the countries motorhomers and campers are seeking to explore the most from the UK.

Wherever you’re going, make sure you download the Park for Night App.

Wild Camping in the UK

Probably the hardest country to wild camp in. Yes, believe it or not, if you manage wild camping successfully in the UK, the rest of Europe and North Africa will be a doddle.

Often the easiest locations to wild camp at in the UK are those with parking fee’s and without ‘no overnight sleeping’ signs. Pop a couple of quid in the meter and you’re sorted for the night.

Other than that, you’re talking remote locations, away from privately owned land, as well as national trust or heritage sites.

Your biggest foe is those pesky height restriction barriers. If you’re in a transporter or smaller camper, you’ve got a few more options up your sleeve.

The good news is if you’re from the UK you can speak the language and you know who you’re dealing with – this makes the process easier and gives you that added sense of comfort of being in your own land.

Wild Camping in France

France is a wonderful place and Motorhomes and campers are more than embraced from corner to corner of this beautiful and spacious landscape. You obviously have the advantage of a myriad of Aires but there are still some super special places to stay that are more rustic than Aires. You can pretty much stop anywhere in France and on the whole it is very safe too. Areas that are a little more tricky and less accommodating are in the South and around Monaco.

Remember to buy your morning baguette and croissant in the local Boulangerie and you’ll be welcomed with a friendly bonjour from the local community.

Often when Aire’s are full, you are able to wild camp outside. That might be an option in more nature based locations and less in large towns and cities. Our favourite aire in France spils outside and up the road in the high season and know one seems to mind.

Wild Camping in Spain

Wild camping in Spain is both beautiful and generally pretty friendly. Like all countries, Spain can have its share of localism but this is generally in the smaller traditional towns. Go for where looks and feels good. But remember to get ready for some late nights, or bring some earplugs on your travels – the Spanish love to party! The atmosphere is always loud, light hearted and full of music and laughter. Avoid the major cities and instead head for rural Spain. There are farms and vineyards that will welcome you in too.

Wild Camping in Portugal

Ahh Portugal! How we love you. Over 10 years ago when it was just myself, Jez and Barney, we lived in car parks and wild spots for free for over 6 months – and we loved it! Day in, day out we enjoyed the stunning coastline and national parks, the delicious food and the gnarly surf. It’s a little more tricker these days following the Covid pandemic. Everyone flocked to the national park areas on the West Coast which ended up with a ban for all overnight sleeping. However, you can get lucky days where you can get away with short stays. Be mindful that you could get a fine if caught in a no sleeping area. Never mind, there is so much more of Portugal to explore and wild camping is pretty much accepted in the towns and villages providing you’re respectful.

Wild Camping in Morocco

It really is worth going to Morocco. Not just to extend your time away, over the allocated Schengen 90 days. Morocco has everything including a vibrant and hospitable culture, wildlife, oceans, mountains, colour, delicious food, amazing art and of course the desert.

Over and above the campsites dotted over the country, you have the option of ‘guarded parking’ or wild camping. Sometimes the two unexpectedly merge. For instance, like us you might be hanging out at a completely wild spot, owned or run by know one. Then all of a sudden a smiling young or often old man will come wandering in with his berber-wear with the intention of you gracing his palm with silver. Nine times out of ten, this is just a passing guy trying his luck. You’ve got a couple of options here. You could argue with him and refuse to pay him. You could get into a little haggling war or you could do what we do: cross his palm with some silver dirhams, a big smile and be thankful that you get to stay in the beautiful spot for [next to] nothing. Expect the unexpected in Morocco. Go into all negotiations respectful and good humoured and you’ll be just fine.

A reminder to only stay where feels safe and we would advise, in our own experience to go to ‘guarded parking’ areas in towns and cities and leave wild camping for the more rural areas.

Cautions when Wild Camping

Go with your gut! If it doesn’t feel right, don’t stop. There’ll be other places.

We truly hope this blog has ignighted some excitement on trying out wild camping. We’d love to know your special spaces and places – let us know!

Love to you!

The FamiLee x

This blog post is supporting these rather handy reusable and expandable bottles and mugs from Hydaway. Super handy for road trips and backpacking – check them out! MEET HYDAWAY