A NEW PUB in Hampshire and a community centre in Norfolk have just joined our Nightstops scheme, which we run with The Motor Caravanners’ Club (MCC).

 

Our friends at the MCC have granted them certificated location (CL) status, which means they’re now legally entitled to allow up to five motorhomes to stay overnight. Unlike most CL sites, you don’t have to belong to any club to use any of our Nightstops. Nightly fees are low and vary depending on the location and facilities. Some Nightstops will reduce the nightly fee or even let you stay for free if you buy a meal from them.

 

Full details of all our Nightstops are in Practical Motorhome magazine every issue, and you can see them plotted on our Nightstops map online, with phone numbers and post codes.  

 

The two newcomers are The Flying Bull, a country pub on the Hampshire/ West Sussex border, and Banham Community Centre and Social Club. in Norfolk.

 

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The Flying Bull Nightstop is 20 minutes from Portsmouth’s ferries

 

The Flying Bull Inn

If you stay at The Flying Bull Nightstop you’ll be able to buy delicious home-cooked meals from your hosts Chris and Russ. Not only has the pub just joined our Nightstop scheme, but it also has several bed-and-breakfast rooms to offer and has won the award for best pub accommodation in Marston Brewery’s Pub of the Year Awards 2014.

 

Dogs are welcome in the bar at The Flying Bull Inn, which is in Rake, near Liss and Petersfield, with the Hampshire/ West Sussex border running through the bar. This is a beautiful rural location, very handy as a stopover if you’re on your way to Portsmouth International Ferry Terminal, just 20 minutes’ drive down the A3. The inn has a pretty beer garden and a field of around an acre behind the pub.

 

Open all year

This Nightstop is open all year and it costs £5 per night*. Please ring Chris Birkett on 01730 892 285, between 12 noon and 6pm to check availability. Access is 2.5m wide. Please arrive by 11pm. 

 

The Flying Bull Inn, London Road, Rake, Hampshire GU33 7JB. Tel: 01730 892 285. Email: info@theflyingbull.com. The pub has its own website and is on Facebook and Twitter @lissflyingbull

(*Price correct in March 2014, subject to change at pub’s discretion,)

 

Directions

Exit the A3 (London to Portsmouth Road) sign posted Midhurst A272. At the first roundabout take the first exit left, signposted Rake, Liphook and Midhurst. Continue past the Midhurst turning on the London Road B2070 for approximately 4.5 miles. When you enter the village of Rake, you’ll find The Flying Bull pub at the bottom of the hill on the left.

 

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The Hampshire/West Sussex border runs through The Flying Bull

 

Facilities

Water, toilet when pub is open, rubbish bins, dogs allowed, dog exercise area, disabled-friendly.

 

Places of interest

Shop 600m; golf five miles away, fishing within half a mile, lots of walks, South Downs National Park.

 

Banham Community Centre and Social Club

This social club in Banham, near Norwich, offers drinks at bargain prices and also has a children’s play area outside. You’re welcome to use this Nightstop all year round. Please ring the manager on 01953 888 109, from 9am-5pm, to check availability.

 

The access gate is 15ft wide and the road is 16ft wide. The full address is Banham Community Centre, Kenninghall Road, Banham, Norwich NR16 2HB. Tel: 01953 888 109, from 9am-5pm. 

GPS N52.448426 E1.035203 

 

Directions

From A11 at Thetford take the A1066 to Diss then follow the signs to Banham Zoo. Pass the zoo on the right and Banham Community Centre is  250m on the left. From Attleborough, follow signs for Banham Zoo.

 

Facilities

Water, chemical disposal, rubbish bins, dogs allowed, dog exercise area, hardstandings, disabled toilets in Banham Social Club when it’s open.

 

Places of interest

Shops, Post Office, Banham Zoo, Banham Barrel pub (formerly called The Cider Shed) and takeaway, Silver’s Catch Fish and Chip shop, garden centre and mini supermarket in the village. 

 

 

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The Community Centre and Social Club in Banham is on Facebook 

 

 

More about our Nightstops scheme

Practical Motorhome magazine publishes the full list of Nightstops in the Talk section in each issue. The welcome addition of The Flying Bull and Banham Community Centre means there are now 37 brilliant Nightstops around the country, ready and waiting for your visit.

 

More motorhome-friendly stopovers

The Motor Caravanners’ Club has also licensed a much wider network of motorhome-friendly CL campsites, but you’ll need to join their club to use those. It’s a not-for-profit club run by volunteers. If you join, you’ll have access to a wide network of regional and special interest groups who use their motorhomes to meet up for events, rallies and tours in Britain and Spain.  The club is open to anyone who owns or uses a motor caravan, whether it’s factory-built or privately converted (up to an acceptable standard for hygiene and safety reasons). 

MCC membership costs just over £30 a year, plus a joining fee of £5 for administration, which is waived if you pay by direct debit. 

 

Please share this story with your friends!

 

Kate Taylor

Practical Motorhome

March 2014

 

Practical Motorhome has a lively Facebook page and is also on Twitter @pmotorhome.