UKC

Am thinking of going to live in my van in N Wales for a month and get some climbing done. Can anyone recommend some good places to park up at the usual spots, Gogarth, Ogwen, Llanberis, Capel, Tremadog? Also any recommendations of places to top up with water and get a shower?

Thanks

Usually stay at dolgam campsite in Capel Curig £6 a night last year including hot showers.

We lived in our van for 2 months in North Wales last Summer and had a great time.

Parking: there's lots of free parking spots that are well used. We would move around every few days so as not to give the impression of setting up camp / taking the p**s. The Pass layby can be noisy but this is offset by waking up next to the climbing and the water supply is a hop over the wall in the stream. Toilets at Nant open 8am ish. Bus Stop Quarry turning is also a very popular van spot BUT be mindful, no easy access to toilets and (rightly so) locals are getting fed up with their back yards in essence being used as loos ------ The layby at the base of Tryfan also a good spot. The toilets at Ogwen were open 24 hours last Summer. Not quite so easy to get water.

Water: Llanberis Pass stream. Lake Padarn. It's up to you if you want to filter it etc.

Showers: Pete's? Other than that, not sure. I swam in lake Padarn most days which freshened me up no end

Have fun, spend money in local businesses, be respectful and don' look like you're setting up home and you'll have a fab time

Whenever i have slept in my van, I hAve always parked in one of the lay byes just passed plas y brenin on the road heading towards Snowdon and the pass. There are usually other campervan parked along the road and never had any problems. I think you can park in moel sibod cafe car park for £5 and use their facilities 

Hi and thanks for the replies. Some useful info. I've found the parking near the lake behind the DMM factory works well too. Finding showers and fresh water is a challenge everywhere. I think Pete's have stopped allowing showers for outsiders.

Any good options for Gogarth and near Capel? 

Use leisure centres for showers, that's the obvious answer for that problem.

Join a club and park at a hut

Join one of the national clubs, msybe the Climbers Club. They have numerous huts in snowdonia and lake district. Van parking and use of the kitchen, toilets and showers for ~£6-8 / night.

Cheap camping at Anglesey Outdoors.

For water I find the 5 litre bottles you can get from supermarkets good, normally about £1.50 each and you can refill if you ever find a tap.

Public toilets you can find thought this app, ios only. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/flush-toilet-finder-map/id955254528?mt=8

Wild camping uk(https://www.wildcamping.co.uk/) has a bunch of spots worth checking out. If driving to a new area overnight I'll often stay at one of these spots first before scouting out other areas. If you are in the mountains (N Wales, Lakes, Scotland etc) then there are often lots of lay-bys along roads that have been improved over the years as the old road is left in place. As in the road between Caple and Pen-y-Pass. You also get into the habit of always being on the look out for hidden gems. 

There's often people in vans at south stack car park, North stack is good but dont get the views but they do have toilets