pat62 wrote:

Hi

My ferry will be arriving at 2230 in Calais (June 2010) I will drive for about 1 hour 30 mins towards the South. Can anyone advise a safe place to stop ? Would like to just pull up in a service station on one of the toll motorways but everyone says they are dangerous

Any ideas ??

Right FIRST the aires on the Autoroutes are no longer safe places to overnight

to help you there is a website that points you campsites that are near Motorways all over Europe
http://users.telenet.be/leo.huybrechts/00frame.htm
Click on the flag for the country you need remember that the webmaster is Dutch (I think)

BUT we do recommend the Campsites
Kawan Village Château du Gandspette - Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Kawan Village La Ferme des Aulnes - Picardy - Nampont Saint Martin
We have been to both and they are ideal stop-overs

You can find them at http://www.campingcheque.co.uk/ but the time you visit unfortunately you won't get the cheap prices

Cheers much appreciated

Surly that defeats the object of having a campervan/caravan. There are dangers in everything we do, I have been sleeping in Services (not British) most of my adult life, without a problem.

I have stayed on many campsites too and had two attempted break in's, seen mass vandalism and had a near escape from a fire in the next caravan. Plus the aggro of finding somewhere in the dark and dealing with the owner that late at night, especially in France.

The rule I follow is "safety in numbers", don't be on your own, or hidden and arrive late too. Plus if it doesn't feel right, drive on, I have.

Don't be scared by a few isolated incidents, they happen everywhere.

allanb wrote:

Surly that defeats the object of having a campervan/caravan. There are dangers in everything we do, I have been sleeping in Services (not British) most of my adult life, without a problem.
The rule I follow is "safety in numbers", don't be on your own, or hidden and arrive late too. Plus if it doesn't feel right, drive on, I have.

Don't be scared by a few isolated incidents, they happen everywhere.

Allan

I agree with you but these are now not "isolated incidents" yes they do happen everywhere and now on an almost daily event the worse areas are now Italy to the South of France/Spain corridor but reports of occurrences up in the North too now with increasing regularity right up to Calais Motor Home Aire ( the one on the beach) getting a Police presence most nights now-a-days

I agree with your other comments re French Municipals they are one of the cheapest ways to camp/caravan/Motorhome in France and I wish there was such a system here in the UK although we do have the Certified Site/Location networks from both clubs to enjoy

I must say that I have never heard anything on the news about this and I am sure if it were so wide spread there would be something. Though I am sure what you say has actually happened, probably on quite a few occasions.

It is sometime very difficult to get an accuarte perspective on these things, but unless we do, we wouldn't do anything. Thousands of people die on the roads every day, but we all still drive, many people are murdered by our spouses, but we still marry. People still climb mountains, play rugby, fly, even though there is a risk to life and limb, so they take precautions and then go ahead and have fun.

So what is important here is accuate information, of perhaps where the blackspots are, rather than "run away and hide in a campsite, because everywhere is dangerous and you will be attacked!" This is almost like the "war on terror" whatever that means, so we need to let the authorities sort these problems out and get on with our lives and holidays, rather than being frightened to leave the house.

I am sorry but I can't and won't live my life that way.

allanb wrote:

I am sorry but I can't and won't live my life that way.

Allan
Why apologise each to their own I have no problems with that at all
as a tugger I find campsites a little more comfortable due to having to find water and get rid of waste which folk with Motorhomes have built in

We have used some Aires on the A9 and each time got the Autoroute Police moving us to a place of better safety (in bright lights with video surveillance)

The areas that I get info on as being most active are the A9 - A61 - A10 /Autopista7 in it's entirety and the Spanish side not only do they use Gas at night there are some who claim to be Police trying to stop people on the Autopista. Also lots of activity in the Channel region and yes you do not hear on the news here in the UK as the press are totally polarised when it comes to anything unless there is someone actually feeding them a complete storyline that they can get some mileage out of they are not bothered