If you’re touring Buckinghamshire, you’re in luck, as you can pitch your ‘van for less at one of Practical Motorhome‘s Nightstops. The Black Horse Pub in Great Missenden is situated on the ‘old Aylesbury road’, the A413, and is a lovely little pub on the edge of town, well-placed for exploring the many things to do in Buckinghamshire. 

Rik Whittaker of The Motor Caravanners’ Club (MCC) stayed there recently in his motorhome and used it as a base so that he could enjoy a day trip on the train to London. Here’s his review of this handy Practical Motorhome/MCC Nightstop, which is one of the 40 stopovers we’ve signed up to our scheme. 

Rik says, “The Black Horse Pub sells high quality food and ales, in fact I’d call it a gastro pub. If you are dining in the pub, then there is no charge for overnighting in your motorhome outside.

“The pub car park has a sloping entrance and needs a little care, particularly with a larger motorhome. We used the field, getting to it by driving through the pebble-covered car park to the right, which doubles as hard standing if the field is too wet. Take care on exiting the pub car park, as traffic views are slightly restricted.

“When we stayed there were temporary toilets available for us to use in the field. The pub toilets are available during opening hours, which are from noon until 11pm, every day. We didn’t need to use their drinking water, or to empty the grey water tank out. There is no chemical disposal point here and no electric hook-up, so it’s probably best to use the Black Horse just for a night or two before moving on with those full tanks and the loo cassette intact.

“The town of Great Missenden is a 10/15-minute walk away, but take care because from the pub entrance you’ll have to walk in the road for a little way until the footpath starts beside some houses, some 250m along the road. Once you arrive, you’ll find that the town is well stocked with small shops and a small local supermarket. The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre on the quaint old High Street could be of interest to many people, especially those with children aged six to 12 years. There are also some good antique shops and boutiques that could well keep you occupied for hours.”

Day trip to London 

We all love cheap holidays and not only can you save by staying at a Nightstop, you can enjoy the stunning surrounding Chiltern Hills for free when staying here, either by foot or trundling in your ‘van. It’s also close to Wendover, Aylesbury, Tring and Amersham. This wasn’t what Rik had in mind, however. “We made use of Chiltern Rail’s train from Great Missenden into London’s Marylebone Station. It takes just 46 minutes and they run every half hour during the week, from early to late at night. We missed our planned train home, but luckily there was a train that got us back to Great Missenden station at midnight.”

Rik says that cheap day adult return rail tickets from Great Missenden to London are cost effective at £11. Or, you could get a Cheap Day Return with Travel Card, at £14.20 per adult, which includes buses and London Underground trains. Off-peak weekday travel starts after 9.30am (before that a return to London is £18.40).

When The Black Horse Pub asked us if it could become one of our Practical Motorhome Nightstops we worked with our partners at the MCC, who were happy to grant the pub a CL licence, allowing five motorhomes per night.

The pub is certainly very motorhome-friendly, and is the location chosen by the VW Club for their Lazyday rally and by Buckinghamshire Caravan Club members for their rally.

Have you tried out our Practical Motorhome and Motor Caravanners’ Club Nightstops yet? Just browse our other locations and give them a ring during the hours stated to check availability.

For more chat about overnighting elsewhere, check out our forum

Happy touring!