15 Monday Jul 2019
Posted in Places
Tags
@candmclub, @motorhmenews, camc, caravan and motorhome club, Castleton, chrismacgowan, Christopher Macgowan, motorhome, motorhomenews, Winnats Pass
Turn right out of the Castleton CAMC site and go through the town and out the other side on your way to Chapel-en-le-Frith and there is the exquisite Winnats Pass. Hard to believe that millions of years ago it was under the sea.
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
28 Friday Jun 2019
Posted in Sites
Tags
#motorhomes, Cambridge, Cambridge cherry Hinton, camc, caravan and motorhome club, Christopher Macgowan, motorhome, motorhomenews
Am at Cambridge Cherry Hinton Caravan and Motorhome Club site which is yet another gem on the Club’s network. It’s one of the smaller sites with just 56 pitches and set in an ancient quarry works – with a pub a short walk away.
And preparing for 32 degrees tomorrow!
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
27 Thursday Jun 2019
Posted in Sites
Tags
camc, caravan and motorhome club, chrismacgowan, Christopher Macgowan, el alamein, Forestry Commission, Norfolk, The Desert Rats, Thetford Forest
Set in Forestry Commission woodland, the site has attractive pitches and loads of walking trails. Non-members are welcome; no loo block. It’s a classic “get away from it all” site combined with the exceptional high standard associated with the Club.
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
03 Friday May 2019
Tags
#motorhomes, @candmclub, @motorhmenews, bunree, camc, caravan and motorhome club, chrismacgowan, Christopher Macgowan, Fort William, motorhome, motorhomenews, The Caravan Club, Top Ten
I guess we all have our Top Ten Favourite places where we’ve stayed; I certainly do and my holiday in Scotland enabled me to stay at the Caravan and Motorhome Club’s Bunree site near Fort William. It’s certainly in my top ten.
We all have the luxury of having a mix of favourite sites, places, activities, books, films and so on. Writing this blog takes me back to when, in a former life, I did a lot of radio and TV work where you learned pretty quickly you need to have a clear favourite and spit it out without missing a heart beat. At the end of a radio interview I would frequently be asked what my favourite bit of music was to take the programme into the next sector. No opportunity there to diffidently mention a top ten. (For me it was always Mike and the Mechanics “The Living Years”) One hapless MP being interviewed along side me seemed unable to choose her favourite book and the interviewer rather unkindly remarked that if she couldn’t answer a simple question like that there seemed little hope for her career.
When asked for my favourite book back in those rather high octane days I often wondered if as a laugh I might say it was the ACSI Guide to all the aires in France.
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
24 Sunday Feb 2019
Posted in General
Tags
#motorhomes, @candmclub, @motorhmenews, anglia region, camc, Chelmsford City Racecourse, chriatopher macgowan, chrismacgowan, North Essex Centre
Chelmsford City Racecourse is the venue for this weekend’s gathering. Thank you to the Centre for last night’s generous hospitality.
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
18 Sunday Nov 2018
Posted in Sites
Tags
#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
Posted in Sites
Tags
#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
21 Sunday Oct 2018
Posted in Exhibitions and Shows
Tags
#motorhomes, @motorhmenews, camc, caravan and motorhome club, Christopher Macgowan, motorhome, motorhomenews, NCC, NEC
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
06 Saturday Oct 2018
Tags
#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
11 Saturday Aug 2018
Posted in Sites
Tags
#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
