It's a whole different world over there in the UK. Poor lady. On our last trip over there we lost count of how many cars towing caravans overtook us on the motorways when we were doing the speed limit of 130kph.
Not a WDH to be seen on any of them.
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Cheers Keith & Judy
Don't take life too seriously, it never ends well.
Trip Reports posted on feathersandphotos.com.au Go to Forums then Trip Reports.
Great Motorway system in some ways but the same problems as here. People hogging the 'Overtaking lane' Tailgating, all the usual stuff. Once upon a time Tow vehicles with a Caravan were barred from the 70MPH speed limit and were restricted to 50 MPH. I don't know if that is still the case though.
One thing...... They can only to tow a Caravan that is only 80% of the weight of the tug. Same in most of Europe.
Imagine that rule here in Australia. How many would be off the road unless they had a Light Commercial or a Yank Tank as a tug.
I have been living in England for four years. It is a weird and wonderful place. The caravans here are cheap, and very light, nothing like a proper Australian van. You see some strange sights, like a VW Golf towing an eighteen footer, and so on. Most people seem to use mid range tow vehicles though.
From a distance, the caravan parks look dreadful for the most part. Either huge concentration camp style places on the coast, or sort of paddocks, with few facilities. But I must say I have never set foot in one. Not the right roads, or the right weather for me.
The motorways work well, and the cops stay away. Everyone drives over the speed limit, 70mph. It is normal and quite safe to drive at 80mph or more. I clocked my son driving home from work on the A40 out of London at 128 mph. (Golf R) Motorhomes are popular, and free camping is fairly easy going compared with Australia.
There are of course a whole society of caravan dwellers who camp year round and life long. The politically correct term for these people is travellers. We used to call them gypsies. They base themselves in Ireland, from whence they came, during winters, and travel all over the UK in summer, upsetting the locals. I do not wish to sound like a snob, but they can be a fair handful at timEs. We often have smallish groups in our area over summer.
One lot this last summer set up camp in a primary school grounds, and after a month left 20 tonnes of rubbish. Not what you think, they were charging people £35 a load to deposit their rubbish on the site! Very tasty behaviour.
The local farmers in Buckinghamshire do not welcome the travellers, and most gates off the main roads are blocked by big logs and such to make it hard for them to get in and set up camp. If they find a spot they cut the fences and build a little slip road to get the whole community in over one night. Usually twenty or thirty caravans. Fascinating really.
Not for old tired Aussies though, I am writing this on a plane between London and Abu Dhabi on the way home, my wife weeping silently beside me because we are leaving family behind here. On the day after my funeral she will be on a plane back to the UK, eating cake, and telling everyone it was for the best really, he was getting to be a drag on me.
