I don't know if I've missed it but I'm just thinking it would be good to have a list of places to stop and provision and fill up with diesel when travelling from one site to another - especially if you have a fairly large motorhome that once you get to a site you don't want to take it out again.

I searched for such a place on our travel up to Scotland and found an ASDA 24 Superstore just off jct 44 on the M6 which we used to buy food, wine and diesel - and we will do the same on our way across to Teesside in a couple of days. We had no trouble parking our Bessacarr 560 here, and I'm just thinking this sort of information would be useful to keep in a list for other users of this site.

What do you think?

Sounds useful :thumbs:

Most Satnavs already have asda tesco etc loaded os poi's but if you need more I found a handy site for P.O.I's .also has a map if you want a quick look .downloads for most satnavs here and other very interesting poi,s campsites etc:
[hide]http://www.poiplaza.com/index.php?p=mapdb&d=1770&lstpg2=sdb&lstpg=search[/hide]

Most Satnavs already have asda tesco etc loaded os poi's but if you need more I found a handy site for P.O.I's .also has a map if you want a quick look .downloads for most satnavs here and other very interesting poi,s campsites etc:
[hide]http://www.poiplaza.com/index.php?p=mapdb&d=1770&lstpg2=sdb&lstpg=search[/hide]

After thinking about this i,ve created an autoroute poi in the download section,should be available soon.
anyone with Autoroute can download this.I dont have the latest autoroute but imagine it can be opened with it and saved as a file.
Its got asda,tesco morrisons and lidles more may be added but got to go to work now

I would say POI's are the right way to go.

I'm not familiar with autoroute, but I'm sure its the same as most GPS software where you can search for nearest shopping by type, etc, so no matter what your route you can find a suitable stop along your route or close to it.

Thanks for the suggestions.

It doesn't help if you don't have satnav, or you just want to sit down with a map and have a list of useful stops in order to make decisions about where you want to go and what route you want to take. Sat nav's also don't give info on exactly what is available or how easy it is to park a certain size of vehicle or even if such vehicles are allowed on the site.

I think it is more useful, or maybe added info, to have information of peoples actual experiencies. But maybe that's just me :0)

what are poi's?

Hi,I see your point here but all i can help with any near me are :
M5 junc 17 asda and morrisons,
M5 junc 21 morrisons ,towards weston.
POI's are points of interest which are loaded in a satnav or on your PC(laptop) in a programme like microsoft autoroute.
This is a very useful piece of software for planning journeys.Hope this helps.
cheers Pete

Autoroute seems to be like a software version of a map but with the added benefit of a gps and route planning. I never used it but am tempted to try it.
I tend to use my old garmin gps like a map when planning. Zooming in and out on the map to get an idea of where we're going. I also use good old fashioned map books but I think autoroute would combine the two in an easier to use way.

You could look at the map easier and it would be easier to sit down an plan your next journey.

I could be wrong. Maybe someone who uses autoroute could advise more.

Hi ANNEG I see you are new to our forum and I wish you a warm :welcome4:. As Middle for Diddle says Autoroute is a useful product for route planning as well as a sat nav. I am a total fan of it and have used the various versions fo the past 14 years, so then let me see if I can interest you in the concept..
It runs on Windows computers not Apple macs, probably because it is sold by Microsoft.
It uses the same mapping information as most of the other Sat Navs use.
It is quite like having a paper map that you can zoom into to a very close level and then out again to get the big picture.
Having planned a route it will map a route out for you based on your likings for various types of road, your liking or not for toll roads or ferries. Where it scores here is if you fancy visiting another place on route or using a different road you merely mouse drag the section of the route near where you want to turn off to the new road or place and it redraws accordingly.
You can save your routes and use them again.
Points of interest or POIs range from campsites, stopovers, shops, LPG outlets and many more and are freely available or you can make your own.
If you really miss the paper maps you can even print them out.
With the addition of a bluetooth GPS receiver you can let it guide you just like any of the other pure Sat Nav products do.
It will draw you a snail trail of your route as you travel just in case you take a wrong turn and find yourself going round in circles.
Once having acquired a copy of the software you can load it onto your home PC, your tablet (windows of course) or laptop and netbook.
You will find some helpful tips in the members download section if you decide to go down this route so to speak..

Maybe it's just me but I am looking/suggesting something you can use that doesn't involve having internet access or paying to use any software, plus gives you additional info about what the stop allows - size of vehicle that can be accommodated in the car park, what they sell, whether diesel is available, how easy it is to access the site - etc

Maybe I am being a bit naive but I would just like a list of places that people can recommend that I can sit down with a good old fashioned map (while watching the box maybe, or sitting on the beach sunbathing, or even reading/reviewing for 30 mins before falling asleep in bed!) and review and see what I think without having to have internet access - don't get me wrong I have worked with computers (system and application programming since 1972) but I quite enjoy the relaxed life these days! :0).

I forgot to say that Autoroute is an offline system so that does go part way to your shopping list, as for a trial copy of it you can download a trial copy of it from the microsoft website. There are usually a few hooky copies of it floating around if you really do not want to spend on anything other than paper maps.

As for reviews of sites, this site has some excellent ones many with pictures. If you fancy somewhere no one has posted a review on take some pictures when you visit it and feed it back into the members section and enhance the site for the benefit of others. It is also worth asking if anyone has visited the area. I do sometimes email the Tourist Information offices as a last resort, If only to find out what days are market day.

Hello all. Newbie here. I think a print out list is a brilliant idea, especially if, like us, you change direction at the drop of a hat which knocks planning into a cocked hat.

Just to point out the issues with using SatNav POI's (points of interest). We gave this a go on our return journey down south from Scotland.

We were on our way from Barnard Castle to Leaming Spa and decided to stock up on a few things. We'd stopped at the services for the dog and a break and then checked the Sat Nav for the nearest Asda so we could get a few provisions we wanted.

We actually checked for an Asda with a petrol station as we wanted a big one so we could park our 7 metre long Bessacarr motorhome easily, and found one 3 miles away. Things looked good as we were heading for an industrial estate, saw Homebase, Lidl etc, then it turned out that the Asda was a a mile away down narrow streets and had 3 separate small car parks around it which we couldn't fit into even though it was a large store. There were yellow lines on all the roads and we ended up in the 'air and water' bay of the Asda petrol station while my husband quickly popped into the store and back again before anyone was able to tell us to move!

We won't be doing that again! If only we had had a list of a store to avoid, and one that was good to park we would not have been in that situation. I don't think you can beat actual recommendations of people who use such stops rather than just a satnav destination.