Van Life Essentials
A secluded park up down a side lane
Car park with no ‘no parking’ signs
Table of Contents
Is overnight parking in a campervan or motorhome legal?
Hayling beach
Brighton beach offers no restriction overnight parking till 10am
Where to find free overnight parking
Here is some inspiration for areas where you might find free overnight parking. The more you look the more you find!
Countryside/Rural
- Some natural areas, like national and regional parks, don’t have signs. Find a quiet corner
- Forestry commission areas, some areas don’t have active logging and you can scoot down the path and hide out
- Parking laybys
- Tourist attractions can have large car parks that are unattended at night
- Estates, guesthouses, resorts
- Farms and farmsteads
- Rural pubs, restaurants, cafes, and local businesses
- Disused quarries can prove to be a good spot
Urban
- Towns & city centre- evenings and weekends
- Industrial estates have large carparks that are sometimes unpatrolled.
- Disused lots can be good but can attract unsavoury types
- Budget hotel carparks like Premier Inn offer a parking opportunity due to understaffing levels
- Shopping mall centres are generally good places to park in a pinch
- Community buildings (libraries etc), park grounds recreational facilities, park
- Side streets in the city centre, around the docks or the financial district can be good and quiet.
- Side streets in residential areas. Look for stretches of quiet roads next to high walls out of line sight of the houses.
Coastal
- Seaside parking
- Community camping/ free camping areas
- Donation-based spots.
- Businesses
- Small town parking areas.
- Train stations/out-of-town parking areas
- Marinas
- Canal ways, rivers
Where to avoid
- Busy city centre areas, especially in the pub zones
- Council estates can be dangerous, so make a judgement
- Some secluded car parks attract delinquents, so be aware of potential risks
- Lorry stops are never good, thefts go there to rob the cargo, and you could be a target due to this.
- Avoid parking directly outside someone’s house. You’ll definitely draw attention
Sometimes you can find a great clifftop view
Parking up on a quite road in the countryside
Obey the signs
No overnight in national park sign
Signs like this are a green light for overnight
No parking at any time
Be stealthy and blend in
Once you have found a spot for the night, you want to blend in and activate stealth mode. Avoid drawing attention to yourself and your rig by setting up camp. (This means taking out your awning, chairs, tables, BBQs, setting fires, hanging up washing lines and anything else that might look obvious to the passerby that you are camping) and getting yourself caught or exposed. That goes for your environment too, Don’t disturb nature by parking up. Try to stick to spots that have already been forged, avoid making new tracks, cutting up the earth and soil, and running over bushes, shrubs, and the natural environment.Â
As well as this, try to be respectful and appropriate to your environment: Loud blaring music, excessive noise, shouting, lighting fires, slamming car doors, generally causing a nuisance, being hostile to others, and playing music until late at night. These anti-social behaviours can annoy local residents, wildlife and other campers. Behaviours like this will soon get you moved on quickly too. Try to extend respect and courtesy towards locals and neighbours in the area.Â
Depending on the area, you can even go so far as to do your cooking and nightly preparations somewhere else then just drive to your planned spot and just bed down for miniumal noise.
Avoid congested places
Busy places where parking spots are at a premium, minimal spaces, or overcrowded can be some of the worst places to try and park overnight. Places with high activity, such as tourist destinations or in the height of tourist season, or holidays/weekends are places and times to avoid. These areas tend to have a lot more activity, are monitored 24/7. They are usually overcrowded, overpriced, difficult to find parking and, or a combination of all. Free and wild parking in the height of summer in areas like the NC500 route in Scotland can be impossible due to the volume of visitors and the congestion that follows. Busier areas tend to annoy the locals more when you wild park too. Keep this in mind, and if you really can’t avoid a busy place, try to get there late and leave early.
Secluded parking in Garve, Scotland
Hanging hi-vis jackets over seat can give the iillusion of a work van
Park up late and leave early
The easiest way to score free parking somewhere is to park up late and leave early. Most cities and towns will even have free parking allocated in the evenings, Sundays, and sometimes over the entire weekend (Winning!) Arriving late and leaving early keeps you that little bit safer. Areas are quiet at night, people aren’t around to see you, and if you leave early, it’s as if you were never there. We find this method works well for a city park up or weekend in the city. As a note you need to bear in mind where the local nightlife is to get a good nights rest.
Leave no trace
Use these apps.
These Apps are a fantastic resource for finding free overnight parking! We used Park4night as our main source for finding free spots, and it has been instrumental.
Forest park ups can be secluded but eerie
Quite city centre street parking can be a good option
Ask permission
If you stumble onto private land, always ask permission, if you want to stay the night. Sometimes you may find yourself in the middle of nowhere thinking you are on public land but it’s actually private and come across the owner, chances are they have seen campervans and motorhomes before, and they might be more than accommodating, but only if you ask! If you have been asked to leave, then it’s best to comply. Avoid any confrontation for your and your van’s safety! People can be unhinged when they are angry, and the last thing you want is yourself getting hurt and your van getting vandalised.Â
If you are stuck for a place to park and are around farms, rural pubs, restaurants, hotels, supermarkets, cafes, or local shops go in and ask for permission to park for the night. Very often, you will get a positive answer. People are quite often happy to exchange free overnight parking for a meal at the pub or buying some local produce. Don’t ask, don’t get.
Safety and security
Your and your van’s safety is of the utmost importance, invest in it. Have solid security solutions like good locks, a safe, somewhere to store extra cash, credit cards, and passports safely, an alarm system and cameras. Or any kind of extra security. Watch out for suspicious behaviour and always go with your gut feelings and intuitions. if something doesn’t feel right leave and go somewhere else. Make sure before you park up, you know the exit routes and before going to sleep have torches to hand in case you need them. We have a rule when we travel where if one of us doesn’t feel good about where we are staying we leave, no questions asked.
 We hope you enjoyed reading and find some fab spots. Please feel free to sign up or leave a comment below if you enjoyed the read and stay safe out there
