18 Monday Feb 2019
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#motorhomes, @candmclub, @motorhmenews, canal, Christopher Macgowan, CL, Stafford, the anchor inn
The Anchor Inn, Peggs Lane, High Offley, Woodeaves, Stafford ST20 0NG. CAMC number 1414 in the 2019/2020 Sites Directory and Handbook.
Remote, isolated, delightfully old fashioned is how you might describe this pub with CL attached.
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
12 Tuesday Feb 2019
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#bristoldocks, @candmclub, @motorhmenews, Bristol, Bristol docks, caravan and motorhome club, Christopher Macgowan, motorhome, motorhomenews
One of those special visits which in all honesty requires precious little prose as the photos say it all.
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
26 Saturday Jan 2019
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#motorhomes, @candmclub, @motorhmenews, caravan and motorhome club, Chatsworth, Chatsworth Park, Christopher Macgowan, Derbyshire, motorhome, motorhomenews, Ypres
Chatsworth Park must be one of the Caravan and Motorhome Club’s most popular sites and even on a chilly weekend in January it is a total delight.
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
18 Sunday Nov 2018
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#motorhomes, @motorhmenews, Airstream, Brighton, camc, caravan and motorhome club, Christopher Macgowan, motorhome, motorhomenews
Spent some time this week at one of my favourite sites. With the Brighton Marina a leisurely 15 minute stroll away and Uber on hand for a trip into Brighton itself, it is hard not to like.
The wonderful weather accompanied me from Crystal Palace and I was able to see the two Airstreams which now join some of the other alternative accommodation available on site – with more types to follow on areas of the site not suited to caravans and motorhome pitches.
There’s a lot of talk at this time of year about winter storage and how to prepare for winter and come through it unscathed without any frozen pipes or frost damaged equipment. It’s an important subject if you are to avoid an unpleasant and unwelcome bill next spring when you start touring again. For my part, my motorhome is in use throughout the winter so I just keep it ticking over on the days it and I are languishing at home. It is on permanent Red Alert to depart at a moment’s notice.
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
18 Sunday Nov 2018
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#motorhomes, @andrewjditton, @candmclub, @DebLudford, @motorhmenews, @TheTrudgians, @WaltersWardens, camc, Christopher Macgowan, Crystal Palace, London, Low Emission Zone, motorhomenews, OAY
Stayed this week at Crystal Palace which remains a hugely popular site because you can get into central London so easily and it is a really pleasant site to stay at anyway. It is in the Low Emission Zone so you need to make sure your vehicle does not attract a charge but, that apart, it is a great spot and so very quiet.
I also met wardens @walterswardens which was a great pleasure. They are doing a tour of duty at Crystal Palace and as I follow them on twitter it was good to meet them in person. I have now met @andrewjditton @TheTrudgians and of course @DebLudford so my list of faces matching a twitter handle is growing.
The site – as is well known – is one of the CAMC leased sites and as is equally well known the owners are anxious to develop their whole Crystal Palace property portfolio. The Club has already received a couple of extensions to its lease but the day will come when it finally has to close and I would urge you to visit as soon as you can to avoid disappointment! The Club has over fifty five sites this year open all year and Crystal Palace is one of them.
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
06 Saturday Oct 2018
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#motorhomes, Beaulieu, Black Knowl, Brockenhurst, camc, caravan and motorhome club, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Christopher Macgowan, Hampshire, Ian Fleming, motorhome, motorhomenews, National Motor Museum, Roald Dahl, The New Forest
A delightful stay in The New Forest this week at the Caravan and Motorhome Club’s Black Knowl site near Brockenhurst; as you can see, the autumn colours are now well advanced.
A visit to the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu and a glimpse of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the soon to be opened 50 years Celebration Exhibit. Ian Fleming will always be remembered for James Bond but he wrote the story for his son Caspar with Roald Dahl – and the film’s director Ken Hughes authoring the screenplay. (Blogger David Bird kindly sent me a photo of Chitty towing a caravan so the car is even more famous than you might think!)
A lovely week indeed!
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
26 Sunday Aug 2018
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#motorhomes, @motorhmenews, caravan and motorhome club, chrismacgowan, Christopher Macgowan, Edinburgh, Edinburgh CAMC Site, motorhomenews, motorhomes
Edinburgh is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the UK and it is no surprise the Club’s Edinburgh site is open all year and invariably full. It is on the west side of the city about half way to the airport. A short walk takes you to the Forth of Firth and fabulous views of the famous bridges.
As I was in Edinburgh for some time supporting one of my daughters directing a play (The Half) at the festival I treated myself uncharacteristically to a service pitch and having done so I’m not sure I will ever be able to go back to a standard one!
Wonderful city to visit of course; wonderful site to stay on. My late wife had family in Edinburgh and she and I used to be regular visitors; these few days have made me determined not to let too much time go by before I return.
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
11 Saturday Aug 2018
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#motorhomes, @motorhmenews, Abbey Tea Rooms, camc, caravan and motorhome club, chrismacgowan, Christopher Macgowan, macgowan, motorhome, motorhomenews, My Great Grandfathers Restaurent, Tewksbury, Tewksbury Abbey
Tewksbury Abbey CAMC site is a gem – particularly if you are a motorhome owner as it is barely 400 metres from the town centre. It has recently undergone a big upgrade, has gold standard WiFi, good TV coverage and is of course famous for winning the Sites in Bloom award year after year. A warm welcome from the wardens in the new reception office is assured.
Tewksbury is a small market town and the enormous abbey is the main attraction. Only slightly behind on the list of attractions is the prawn cocktail in My Great Grandfather’s Restaurant and the cream tea in The Abbey Tearooms.
All very enjoyable!
Christopher Macgowan
#motorhomenews
09 Thursday Aug 2018
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#motorhomes, Cambridgeshire, camc, caravan and motorhome club, Christopher Macgowan, CL, Lincolnshire, macgowan, motorhomenews, Norfolk, Upwell, Whaplode St Catherines
The village of Upwell in Norfolk is well worth stopping at and having a mooch round. Unless you have a decent map onboard you’re hard pressed to know whether you are in Norfolk, Cambridgeshire or Lincolnshire. Over the years it has had its local authority boundary changed several times. It is intersected by the River Nene, has a pub, a cafe and butchers – and more besides.
I was staying on a nearby and outstanding CAMC CL at the Bluebell Inn in Whaplode St Catherines which is definitely in Lincolnshire.
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
22 Sunday Jul 2018
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#motorhomes, @candmclub, @motorhmenews, bistro, camc, Christopher Macgowan, club, Knaresborough, The Wanderer, wardens
Perhaps unsurprisingly due to the weather and coupled with The Wanderer on site bar and bistro, the Knaresborough Caravan and Motorhome Club site was packed.
Had a lovely weekend there and despite being full the wardens manage to present an immaculate site with that special Club “ordered calmness” which is such a distinctive and unique feature.
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
