Codes of Conduct

Exploring The Seashore Is Fun, But Please Remember:

• Leave animals where you find them.
• Take care when touching soft-bodied animals - they are very delicate.
• Carefully lift and replace any rocks you may have moved - there are animals underneath which need them for shelter.
• Leave attached seaweed in place - there is plenty lying loose on the strand line.
• Do not trample through rock pools.

Take Photos, Not Living Animals

• Shells come in all shapes, sizes and colours. Many still contain living animals, even if they do look 'dead'. If you want to collect shells, please make sure they are empty before taking them home.

If you want to buy a souvenir:

• Buy a photograph, book or poster of colourful marine creatures rather than shells, coral, starfish and urchins or other 'marine curios'. Remember 'curios' would almost certainly have been alive, when collected. If we don't buy them, the shops won't sell them.

Avoid Disturbing Wildlife

You can see many animals at their best when they are behaving naturally. This is true for animals such as seals, otters and seabirds, as well as rock pool animals. To avoid disturbing wildlife:

• It is best to watch from a distance, through binoculars if possible, especially if the animals are nesting, or pupping in the case of seals.
• Keep your dog clear of birds and other animals.
• Remember, it is now illegal to disturb or harass many species of birds and animals.

Take Your Rubbish Home With You

Beach rubbish is unsightly and can be dangerous to sea creatures. Much of the litter on our shores comes from tourists, shipping, fishing vessels and sewage outfalls. You can help to reduce this problem when visiting the coast:

• Take your rubbish home - burying it is no solution.
• Keep your dog from fouling the beach.
• Report canisters or drums that may be washed up on the beach, but do not touch them.
• Take part in BeachWatch - the annual beach clean and survey organised by the Marine Conservation Society, or Adopt-a-Beach - a regular survey of beach litter.
• Bag It and Bin It, Please Don't Flush It - bag and bin all plastic bathroom waste such as cotton bud sticks.

Watch Where You Go

Beaches and sand dunes are prone to erosion and easily damaged by people and vehicles. To help protect the coast:

• Keep to established paths and dune boardwalks.
• Park in designated car parks and keep access to footpaths clear.
• Do not use beaches or dunes for scrambling motorcycles or other 'off-road' vehicles.
• If you dig holes in the beach, please fill them up again.
• Leave pebbles and rocks on the beach rather than collect them for your garden.

Be Careful!

All cliffs are unstable and potentially dangerous, yet they are an impressive sight and from the cliff top it is possible to enjoy a panoramic view of the coastline. Cliffs also provide a very specialised habitat for the plants and animals that live on them.

Take Care Near Cliffs:

• Remember that it is dangerous to climb up or go near the top or bottom of a cliff.
• Please don't throw or push anything over the edge of cliffs. As well as being dangerous, it can increase the rate of cliff erosion and kill or disturb wildlife.
• Play safe on the beach too: Check tide times to avoid being cut off. Keep away from soft sand and mud - it is easy to get stuck!

Protect The Environment

• Take your litter home – leave no trace of your visit
• Do not light fires and only have BBQs where signs say you can
• Always keep dogs under control and insight
• Dog poo – bag it and bin it – any public waste bin will do
• Care for nature – do not cause damage or disturbance
• Enjoy The Outdoors
• Check your route and local conditions
• Plan your adventure – know what to expect and what you can do
• Enjoy your visit, have fun, and take back only memories

Leave No Trace

• Plan ahead and prepare
• Be Considerate of others
• Respect Farm animals and wildlife
• Travel and camp on durable ground
• Leave what you find
• Dispose of waste properly
• Minimise the effects of fire

On The Road

• a) The selection of trailer caravan and towing vehicles allows adequate performance in line with the Towing Code, namely: (i) The actual laden weight of the caravan should be kept as low as possible and should never normally exceed the kerb weight of the towing vehicle. (ii) The engine is powerful enough to keep the outfit at a speed, particularly on hills, that does not baulk other traffic. (iii) The caravan is carefully loaded to provide good balance and avoid instability.
• b) The caravan complies with all Road Traffic Acts and other relevant Regulations, in particular, that there should be an adequate view to the rear of the caravan.
• c) Where the caravan is a trailer towed by a vehicle, it is insured against third party risks. This must cover not only the caravan when attached to the towing vehicle, but also when detached.
• d) Particular attention is paid to those sections of the Highway Code relevant to trailer caravans. (i) To cause the minimum inconvenience to other traffic, the caravanner observes traffic to his rear and ensures that every opportunity is offered for other vehicles to overtake. This includes the need always to allow space in front of the outfit for faster traffic to pull into with safety (and never to have two or more outfits bunched together), and on narrow roads to pull in and halt at a safe place to allow following traffic to overtake. (ii) To carry out normal road manoeuvres with increased care to take account of the length of the outfit, the vehicle’s reduced acceleration and longer stopping distances when braking. This requires greater anticipation, early signalling of intentions, and a very careful watch of overtaken traffic, particularly cyclists, before pulling in again to the nearside of the road.

On Any Site

The Member:

• a) Pitches on private land with the express permission of the owner.
• b) Places the caravan where it will not interfere with the convenience or enjoyment of others.
• c) Avoids damage to turf by digging holes only when absolutely necessary and replacing turf where possible and by considerate use of the vehicle.
• d) Disposes of any rubbish only by means provided on the site. If no receptacles are provided, as on some small farm sites, rubbish is taken home for disposal, or to any other recognised disposal point that has space.
• e) For touring, other than on sites equipped with toilets, will carry his own sanitary equipment (usually chemical closet and related fluid) and dispose of the contents only at the point provided for that purpose. If burial is necessary, as perhaps on private property, this will not be done in the vicinity of any watercourse.
• f) Allows no wastewater from the caravan to foul the ground, but ensures that suitable receptacles are connected to the waste pipes to collect the waste, and the receptacle emptied as necessary. In the few instances where no disposal point is provided, minimum fouling is achieved by distributing the water over a considerable area, as along a hedge.
• g) Allows neither children nor animals to spoil the enjoyment of others, by keeping them under control.
• h) Drives slowly and quietly when on site.
• i) Respects the privacy and peace of others at all times by keeping mechanical, instrumental and vocal noise to a minimum.
• j) Ensures that any laundry outside the caravan is displayed as discretely as possible.
• k) Keeps the pitch neat and tidy with no loose equipment outside the caravan beyond what is necessary or appropriate and on departure leaves it as clean as, or cleaner than it was on arrival.
• l) Observes the Countryside Code relating to water cleanliness, fire dangers, litter, public paths, gates, control of dogs, damage to crops, hedges, walls, trees and plants, livestock and wildlife