Public resentment

The greatest problem travellers have to face is the lack of sites. The 1968 Caravan Sites Act requires councils to provide sites for travellers siding in their area. Nowadays most councils fail to meet the minimum statutory requirements. Travellers can be summoned and fined for simply occupying the given area. Another negative aspect is that local governments view the travellers as "Rural Terrorists".

Here are some of the local voices:

R.E. Goodacre in his letter to “This is Lancashire” writes: “…These New Age Travellers don’t work at all, and leave a dirty mess of rubbish, to be cleaned up afterwards at the ratepayers’ expense. They are parasites to whichever local authority they descend upon. They pay for nothing and they think the world owes them a living.”

A resident of Leicester says: "We are not happy about paying L800 in council tax every year and have them sit across the road paying nothing" (from the Leicester Mercury).

Health & Education

Travellers have to face a lot of problems like getting basic health care and their children are often unable to get admission to school. New Age Travellers often have to resort to emergency departments for treatment although many doctors take on travellers, especially children.

Education is very difficult because people are frequently moved on. There are a few people concerned about education of NAT's children who teach them on sites from "school buses" or caravans. They take onto sites around the country as travellers request a visit. They are usually teachers from the Travellers' Schools Charity (TSC), a group which began in the mid-80s to give on-site education for children.

The charity provides children with workbooks to enable their parents to use effectively the time they have. The books are designed to suit the needs of travellers as tasks usually refer to travelling.

One of the travellers' teachers says: "I don't think school is a very good place to educate children really... There are better ways to get kids to learn. At school there's not space for them to develop their own interests, make mistakes and just play".

Beliefs

New Age is not a religion, but it can be a way of life. It is an adaptable philosophy rather than a rigid set of rules. It includes changes in attitudes towards ways of life, our planet, medicine and towards each other. The human body is treated as a whole; mind, body and soul are no longer separate entities. Also, the Earth is perceived as a living organism itself.

People who get involved in the New Age movement often choose to live outside of conventional lifestyles and they are called New Age Travellers. Others try to reconcile their religious beliefs with the principals of New Age, while some are attracted to pagan religions through their interests. Most New Age followers display a wonderfully eclectic mix of Eastern spiritual influences, Western mysticism, alternative lifestyles and good old-fashioned paganism.

Actually New Age means whatever one wishes it to mean. Everybody brings their own faith, beliefs and opinions to the New Age. It has something for everyone.

Lifestyle

They make their living in many ways. Some of them are mechanics, carpenters or electricians, others work casually in agriculture and building sites. Many are skilled at crafts such as making jewellery, pottery or paintings which they later sell at markets. Others run cafes, stages and sound systems at different festivals and raves. Their favourite occupation is recycling waste and scrap, although recently it has become more difficult for them since they need to have a carrier's licence.