UK Motorhome Stopovers

This is our listing of officially approved (non-campsite) overnight stops, and service points.

Please help us!
Have you stayed at any of our listed stopovers? Let us know what they were like, send us a photo, give us GPS coordinates! Send us information about new stopovers, they must be officially approved - photograph any signs or let us know the owners/local council details so that we can contact them. Please use our contact form

For news on UK Motorhome stopovers see our Stopover News page

For general information on stopovers (also known as aires) see this page

We encourage anyone using official motorhome stopovers to mention the facility when patronising local businesses, and if appropriate, write/email to the local council, thanking them for providing the service.

Prices, where given, are the latest ones reported to us, they may not be up to date.

Tintagel car park

Tintagel car park sign - let's hope we will soon see more like this!

CHESHIRE

Chester
Little Roodee Car Park
Overnight fee £4.60 valid till 9am but additional ticket can be purchased for daytime parking. No facilities at the moment but toilet disposal and fresh water are planned. Short walk south east of the city centre. Just off the A483 Grosvenor Road, by the river.

CORNWALL

Tintagel
King Arthur's Car Park, opposite The Old Post Office, Fore Street
Large level carpark in centre of Tintagel town, easy access for 6m+ M/H. Reasonably secluded at far end of carpark.
Officially licenced for motorhomes to stay overnight
£3 for the night (4.00pm to 10.00am approx)
No services
Public toilet block in the car park closes at 10pm

Marazion
Kings Road car park.
Small car park close to the town centre and right on the sea front. Overnight parking is allowed for £4. No services. Owners of large motorhomes would be wise to check the availability of spaces before attempting to drive into the town, the car park is often full during the day.
Note that the large car park (Folly Field) on the edge of the town does not allow overnight stays.

COUNTY DURHAM

Darlington
Chesnut Street car park, off Northgate (A167).
This is a commercial vehicle overnight park, Darlington Borough Council have confirmed to us that motorhomes may stay overnight here and have not indicated that there are any restrictions. Daytime parking is free, the overnight charge is £3.50. No facilities.

DEVON

Barnstaple
Fishleigh Farmhouse Foods, Fishleigh Barton, Umberleigh, EX37 9DZ.
On the A377 6 miles South of Barnstaple. Camping & Caravanning Club CS (members only) but has a 'stopoff' service for all motorhomers, allowing filling with fresh water, and emptying waste water and toilet, £3. No other facilities. Farm shop and restaurant on site.

Putsborough Sands (southern end of Morte Bay)
£15/night weekdays, £18/night weekends and Bank holidays
Fresh water, public toilets
map

HAMPSHIRE

Aldershot
Parsons Barracks Car Park, and the Peabody Road Car Park, North Camp.
Rushmoor Borough Council have confirmed that motorhomes may park overnight in these car parks. From 18:00 users are required to purchase a pay & display ticket costing £1.00, this covers the vehicle until 09:00 the following morning.

HEREFORDSHIRE

Herefordshire County Council have confirmed that overnight parking of motorhomes is permitted in the following car parks 'as long as no nuisance is caused'. Both are frequently used for overnight parking by lorries.

Hereford - NEW ADDITION Jan 2008
Merton Meadow Car Park
Close to the centre of town next to the Hereford United football ground.
Car charges apply: £0.80 per day, free from 6.00 pm to 8.00 am. Toilets available (close at 6.00 pm)
Height barriers are closed on Saturday and Sunday nights, between 7.00pm and 7.00am. Motorhomes may still stay overnight, but will be unable to enter or exit the car park between those hours.

Leominster - NEW ADDITION Jan 2008
Broad Street Car Park
Close to the centre of town, off the A44 (Broad Street).
No charge. Toilets available (close at 6.00 pm)

KENT

Canterbury
Kingsmead Coach Park.
Fresh water available, grey and black water dump facilities (ground level) on payment of the parking fee of £5 for 12 hours. Unlimited spaces. Overnight parking is permitted.

New Dover Road Park & Ride car park
Fresh water available, grey and black water dump facilities (ground level) on payment of the parking fee of £2.00 per day (includes bus fare). 24 spaces. Overnight parking is permitted at 2x day rate.

Dover
Marine Parade (map)
Motorhomes may park on Marine Parade for up to 12 hours. Free after 6pm. No services

Union Street Car Park (Dover Harbour Board) (map)
Motorhomes may park here at the following rates (2007):
Up to 4 hours £1.50
4 to 8 hours £2.50
8 to 24 hours £5.00
24 to 48 hours £8.00
48 to 72 hours £10.00
No services.
For both of these stops access is via The Esplanade off the A20 roundabout (see maps) NOT the eastern end of Marine Parade

Folkestone - NEW ADDITION Jan 2008
Folkestone Harbour
Motorhomes may use the harbour truck parking area, cost is £7.50 per night. There is a drivers’ rest room with showers and toilets. [We have heard that the overnight fee may be as low as £4 - if anyone can confirm that, please let us know]

OXFORDSHIRE

Abingdon
Rye Farm Pay & Display car park.
On the A415 going south from Abingdon, on the left hand side just across the river bridge. The car park has a separate section for HGV's and coaches. Vale of White Horse District Council have confirmed that motorhomes to park in this section overnight.
May be busy with HGVs. No services. Public toilets across the road. Short walk into town for shops, restaurants, pubs, etc
Parking fee: £3.50 for a maximum of 24 hours. Motorhomes only pay the car rate.

SUFFOLK

Bury St Edmunds
Ram Meadow Car Park
Off Cotton Lane to east of town centre, near Abbey Gardens.
5 dedicated motorhome spaces, £1.20 per day, Overnight parking is permitted for one night. This is at no extra cost, although anyone staying after 8am should buy another ticket (£1.20) for that day. Public toilets nearby.

Northern Ireland

CO. ANTRIM

Ballymoney
The Anglers' Rest, 139 The Vow Road, Ballymoney

The aire at Broughshane

Broughshane (Aire de Service)
Houston Mills.
Follow the brown tourist signs to Houston Mills (at the Larne end of the village)

Antrim
The Ramble Inn
236 Lisnevenagh Road, Antrim, BT41 2JT

Carrickfergus (Aire de Service) - NEW ADDITION Jan 2008
Harbour Car Park, Carrickfergus
Tokens from the Tourist Information Centre, Unit 4 Heritage Plaza, 11 Antrim Street, BT37 7DG Tel. 028 9335 8000 and Marina Office, 3 Quayside, BT38 8BJ Tel 028 9336 6666

Whitehead (Aire de Service) - NEW ADDITION Jan 2008
Blackhead Path Car Park, Whitehead
Tokens from Bentra Golf Club, Slaughterford Road, Whitehead, BT38 9TG, Tel 028 9337 8996

CO. DERRY

Coleraine
Brown Trout Golf and Country Inn 209 Agivey Road, Aghadowey, Coleraine BT51 4AD

Eglington
Decks Bar & Restaurant 1 Campsie Business Park McLean Road, Eglington, BT47 3XX

CO. DONEGAL

Killybegs
Ringfort Inn Darney, Bruckless, Killybegs

CO. DOWN

Newtownards
Daft Eddy's Restaurant, Sketrick Island Newtownards Co Down BT23 6QH

Killyleagh
Ringdufferin Country Club Ringdufferin Road, Toye, Killyleagh, BT30 9PH

CO. FERMANAGH

Ballinamallard
Ballinamallard United Football Club Ferney Park, Ballinamallard BT94 2HH

ABERDEENSHIRE

Fettercairn
Bowling Club car park - no details available

MORAY

Tomintoul
Car park of Tomintoul Bowling Club, Lecht Drive, Tomintoul.
Off the B9008 Tomintoul to Dufftown road. From Dufftown or Lecht Ski area turn left into Lecht Drive just before the village.
From Grantown on Spey, turn left in Tomintoul at sign for Dufftown and Lecht Ski area, then immediately right into Lecht Drive.
The standing area is level hard core
Overnight parking of motor homes £5 per night per vehicle. Pre-booking preferred
Drinking water available. Toilets, including disabled, on site.
Shops within 200 yards
More info: sales@whiskycastle.com

ANGLESEY

Lligwy Bay
The two car parks for Lligwy Bay, just north of Moelfre, allow overnight stays for a fee of £8
OS Grid Ref: SH 492 873 GPS: 53° 21.683'N 4° 16.004'W (beware narrow lanes)
OS Grid Ref: SH 496 870 GPS: 53° 21.532'N 4° 15.667'W (easier access to this one, which also has toilets)

POWYS

Powys County Council have confirmed the following provisions for motorhomes to stay overnight:

Brecon - New addition Feb 2008
The Watton car park - motorhomes may stay overnight free of charge (between 6pm and 8am) for 1 night in 7. This is a temporary provision while the usual motorhome parking facility in the coach/lorry park is currently unavailable

Hay-on-Wye - New addition Feb 2008
Oxford Road car park - motorhomes may stay overnight free of charge (between 6pm and 8am) for 1 night in 7

It should be noted that stopovers are NOT a substitute for campsites, they do not have the facilities or security of a campsite and are usually only intended for short stays, either as an overnight stop on a long journey, or as a base for a short visit to the local community and to make use of local facilities. They are for self-contained motorhomes only, i.e. you should not put anything outside the vehicle - no chairs, tables, barbecue etc. It should go without saying that waste water must NOT be dumped on the ground, or put down surface water drains. Many of these sites do not have disposal facilities, so rubbish, waste water and toilet disposal may need to be done at an alternative location.

Camping & Caravanning Club Motorhome Stopoff facility
The Camping and Caravanning Club have a facility at some of their sites for motorhomes to empty black and grey waste, and make use of on-site facilities for up to 3 hours, for a fee of £5.25.

The Club website has a list of the sites offering this facility here.

Unofficial stopovers

There are several listings of unofficial places to stop overnight to be found on the internet. We no longer give direct links to any of the listings because the thoughtless actions of some motorhome users has meant that some places listed are no longer usable. A Google search for 'motorhome stopovers' or 'motorhome wild camping' willl produce some results, but use them at your own risk.

Motorhome Parking
Details of motorhome parking facilities from all UK Councils can be found at www.motorhomeparking.co.uk
This is a very useful site which includes details of car parks where overnight parking is permitted, but it must be borne in mind that even where parking overnight is permitted, local bylaws may prohibit 'camping' or sleeping in vehicles.