Parking charges.

[pistolpete]

There’s a nice country park near me. Really near like two or three miles away but parking is £2 for two hours. £7 for half a day. I do like doing decent long walks with the pooch so hate clock watching. Just checked and an annual pass is £65. Seems a lot. Is that the going rate for parking passes?

 

[Highmileagecob]

We have free parking round our way, but friends who live in Wales are allowed a resident's pass for nothing for their country park, as a perk of paying council tax. Any chance of you finding free parking just outside the park boundary?

 

[cold_feet]

We have a country park near us that has recently introduced similar charges. So now people park all along the narrow road through the middle. It’s a wildlife trust park, not council, so I do see they have to raise money somehow, but it’s not ideal.

 

[Arzada]

There’s a nice country park near me. Really near like two or three miles away but parking is £2 for two hours. £7 for half a day. I do like doing decent long walks with the pooch so hate clock watching. Just checked and an annual pass is £65. Seems a lot. Is that the going rate for parking passes?

I guess its value depends how often you go there. Two hours once a week is £104 pa and a visit every day with an annual pass works out at 18p per day. The daily charge at my workplace about 12 years was £4 per day. I drove because at the end of the day I visited family in hospital where I then paid something like £2 for an hour.

 

[Archangel]

I pay £55 for renewals (£60 for the first one) for Pembrey Country Park and 1 go 2 or 3 times a week.

I bought a permit partly because, although there is a free car park on the edge, the dog is getting older and being in the park means she doesn't have to do the slep to and from the car. Plus with a permit I can always park, They keep the place in really good order, empty bins, mend the surfaces so I feel it is well worth it.

 

[JumpTheMoon1]

If you like long walks with your pooch then walk to the park - parking fee gripes solved.Two hours at £2 seems ok now and again - 2 hours is more than enough time to walk a dog.

 

[Odyssey]

Where I live, parking charges for the forest start at £1.50 for an hour and go up to £6 for up to 6 hours. An annual pass is £150, which is far too much, especially seeing how much less they are in other areas!

Apparently the forest car parks are a lot emptier than they were before the charges were introduced. I've heard that some hard up people whose only pleasure was walking in the forest are now unable to go, because they can't afford the parking, it's such a shame. Surely there could be a concessionary rate for passes for people on means tested benefits. Walking is one of the few forms of exercise that's free, and that most people can do to some degree. Not everyone is lucky enough to have open spaces on their doorstep either.

 

[Parrotperson]

The local beach car park is a hoot. Free fir an hour (not long enough fir a decent walk) then £5 for 3 hours ???.

Might badger the council to introduce residents permits. You never know. I’d quite happily pay £65 per year for unlimited parking. £1.25 per week. Bargain.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

We pay £2.50 to park for 2 hours at a reasonably local country park. We usually take the dogs once per week (about 45 mins journey) and are more than happy to pay to contribute to the upkeep of the car park and the grounds. If a yearly pass were offered, we would probably buy one.
Incidentally if we need to use a secure dog field, that costs £10 per 30 mins, so the parking charge seems very reasonable.

 

[Squeak]

I didn't know how lucky I had it - for forestry England we pay £20 for a year!

 

[KittenInTheTree]

If it's only two or three miles away, why not just walk there? You could plan to make a day of it and take a picnic along for you and the dog.

 

[The Bouncing Bog Trotter]

We have a ‘charge’ car park for our local big woods so people now just park on all the lanes leading up to it on either side of the roads, so the verges are all destroyed and large vehicles can’t get through. The entrance to the bridleway is nearly always blocked by parked cars whose drivers can’t read the ‘keep clear at all times’ sign. I guess we are about to see the same on the Ashdown Forest as paid for parking is about to be introduced.

 

[pistolpete]

If it's only two or three miles away, why not just walk there? You could plan to make a day of it and take a picnic along for you and the dog.

I did that once. Ended up being an eight miler. Not something I’m fit enough for regularly!

 

[maisie06]

They have introduced paid for parking at a local beauty spot on the south downs, people now just park all over the verge alongside the busy A29 , I actually happy to pay it's around £6 but a 5 hour limit I think which has upset some walking groups who used to meet there for all day hikes. And many older people used to park for an hour for a cup of tea from the kiosk have stopped doing so...the good thing is the car is safer there as the more isolated car parks have a massive problem with car crime and you have a 50/50 chance of finding your windows smashed when you return to the car, even if it;s obviously empty of valuables.

I have National trust membership and a couple of nice NT estates within 30 mins of home so I make full use of my free parking perk!

 

[Cahill]

i have a season pass,it cost £60 for the year and covers 2 places
i can park at one park where they charge 2.10 for 2 hours
i can park at another where it is £1 for 2 hours
i can park all day if i want

it was a self xmas pressie and i have easily been in profit after only a couple of months.
i walk the dogs and also do parkrun, i use both places a lot and it is great not having to remember the right change.