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MOTORHOMENEWS

~ A personal take by Christopher Macgowan on tourism, travel and motorhomes.

MOTORHOMENEWS

Tag Archives: caravans

“Caravan” by Gareth Iwan Jones

19 Sunday Jul 2015

Posted by chrismacgowan in This and That

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#motorhomes, caravans, Christopher Macgowan, Dr Stables, Gareth Iwan Jones; motorhomenews, The Caravan Club

  
Photographer: Gareth Iwan Jones.

On a warm summer’s day in 1884, Dr William Gordon Stables, accompanied by his two daughters and a Newfoundland named Hurricane Bob, set off from his Berkshire home for what was to become the first British caravan holiday. ‘The man who is master of a caravan,’ Stables wrote in anticipation of his week-long wagon trip around the Home Counties, ‘enjoys the perfect freedom denied to the tourist, whose movements are governed by the timetable.’

More than 130 years on, millions of Britons still agree. Shunning the lure of low-cost air travel and package holidays, these libertines have been doing it all themselves for decades, and that won’t change soon. The Caravan Club – founded in 1907 to ‘bring together those interested in van life as a pastime’– currently has more than 2,500 badged sites, enough for an average of one for every 30 square miles of the country, and over a million paid-up members. An Englishman’s home may be his castle, but it can always be improved by some wheels, it seems.

Last summer, the Bristol-based photographer Gareth Iwan Jones, 33, undertook a mission to capture the caravan community in its natural environment, in sites from the southern tip of England to the bitter lochs of Scotland. Hiring a three-birth motor­home (a 2010 Elddis Autoquest 180 Sun­seeker) with his wife, Kim, also 33, Jones zigzagged 2,393 miles across the country, visiting 32 caravan sites, pausing at each to take portraits of the visitors and collect fragments of their stories.

Though he admits to being familiar with the taste of charred sausages and the dull drum of rain on metal from caravan holidays to Southwold as a child, Jones considered himself outside the culture when he began his journey. ‘It was all pretty new to me,’ he says.

The idea stemmed from his love of ‘hobbyists’; his previous projects have included ferret enthusiasts and child gymnasts. ‘Most of my work focuses on how people spend their leisure time, and I’ve always thought of caravanning as a wonderfully eccentric, colourful world full of quirky characters,’ he says. ‘It is, but I was humbled by how friendly and open everyone was. Not a single person declined.’

Managing to depict the minutiae of caravanning without appearing super­cilious, Jones’s images, which feature a mixed cast befitting their itinerant theme, have now become a book, Caravan: A Great British Love Story.

‘Caravanning is not the easiest way to relax,’ Jones says. ‘There are obstacles to overcome at every turn. Even the morning expedition across cold wet fields to reach the shower block can feel like triumph over adversity. But the rewards for sticking with it and embracing the challenges are numerous.’

Just as the pursuit’s famous fans look like the unlikeliest of bedfellows (the former Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett, the England football captain Wayne Rooney and the thoughtless fictional amphibian Mr Toad are three well-known caravan owners), Jones insists there is no ‘typical’ enthusiast. Instead, regions attract their own, distinctive crowds. ‘I noticed that in the north of Scotland there was a much larger percentage of younger couples and families who had made the journey up there, while middle England tends to draw more over-60s, for some reason.’

Despite those differences, Jones found something common among his subjects’ motivations for hitting the road in the first place. ‘People love the quality of time with family and friends that caravanning affords,’ he says. ‘It appeals to our basic, hard-wired instincts, if it is for only a week.’

Caravan by Gareth Iwan Jones (Frances Lincoln, £12.99) is available for £10.99 plus £1.99 p&p from Telegraph Bookshop 0844-871 1514; http://www.books.telegraph.co.uk

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews

Strong caravans and charabancs presence at the National Motor Museum.

01 Friday May 2015

Posted by chrismacgowan in Exhibitions and Shows, General, History

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Beaulieu, caravans, charabancs, chrismacgowan, Christopher Macgowan, motorhome, motorhomenews, National Motor Museum, NMM

        

Well worth a visit – and not just because of the strong caravanning presence.

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews

Caravans & Charabancs – Leisure Motoring After the First World War

09 Friday Jan 2015

Posted by chrismacgowan in Exhibitions and Shows

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Beaulieu, caravans, charabancs, Christopher Macgowan, motorhome, motorhomenews, National Motor Museum, The Caravan Club

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The National Motor Museum Trust and its project partner The Caravan Club, are commemorating the centenary of the First World War in an innovative project Caravans and Charabancs – Leisure Motoring After the First World War. This two year project is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Caravans and Charabancs will explore the untold legacy of this devastating conflict, charting how accelerated social and technological developments in wartime led to a revolution in leisure motoring in the decades that followed.

A forthcoming programme of community events, exhibitions and social media campaigns will enable the public to engage with previously unseen aspects of the National Motor Museum’s Designated Photographic Collection and that of The Caravan Club.

Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews

Staycations are proving popular again

21 Thursday Aug 2014

Posted by chrismacgowan in General, Travel

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caravans, Christopher Macgowan, motorhomenews, motorhomes, staycations, The Caravan Club, Tony Hall, trailer tents

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Staycations are proving popular again this year with 55,000 more caravan, motorhome and trailer-tent holiday bookings made with The Caravan Club, than in 2013!

It seems that the wonderful weather this summer has persuaded more of us than ever before to holiday at home, rather than run the gauntlet of the airport and head overseas.

Even with the school summer holidays reaching their penultimate week, there is still time for a last-minute staycation. The Caravan Club recommends that people don’t just enjoy one summer break, but spread out the fun, making the most of their time while the children are off school, by taking several mini breaks. The Club also encourages people to value their leisure time – whether spending it with friends or family or taking a well earned retirement, it is precious!

By taking a caravan or motorhome holiday, you can pop away for just one or two nights locally or embark on an epic tour of your homeland – the choice is yours. Either option allows you to spend quality time in the outdoors with loved ones, while discovering what the UK has to offer.

Director of Marketing for The Caravan Club, Tony Hall, says, “This year it seems that many more people have discovered the great outdoors and the benefits of a caravanning or motorhoming holiday and taken the opportunity to enjoy a break in the UK.

“So many people spend the first half of the year looking forward to their one-and-only annual overseas summer holiday, and then the second half of the year feeling blue because it is over.”

Hall added, “The Club isn’t suggesting that a touring holiday must replace your main overseas summer trip, rather supplement it, helping you to make the most of your precious annual leave.”

With a caravan or a motorhome, every weekend can be a last-minute holiday. Research shows that taking many shorter breaks away can be better for recharging your batteries than you than taking fewer longer ones, resulting in a more rejuvenated self when you return to work.

The Caravan Club represents over one million caravan, motorhome and trailer-tent owners and gives them access to around 2700 campsites in the UK – this means that there is one Caravan Club badges site for every 30 square miles of the country! Whether you are looking for a rock pooling beach holiday, a quiet countryside retreat, a cultural city break or an activity based family adventure, there is a Caravan Club site to suit everyone.

Visit http://www.caravanclub.co.uk to find out how you can get started.

Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews

Caravans not to face MOT-type testing.

12 Wednesday Mar 2014

Posted by chrismacgowan in Technical

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caravans, Christopher Macgowan, mot, The Caravan Club

The Caravan Club led the charge on lobbying against caravan MOTs and, following meetings with EU officials, The Club is pleased to see that yesterday’s vote at the European Parliament in Strasbourg confirmed previous indications that caravans (and other light trailers) will not be subject to MOT-type testing.

After a series of meetings of EU officials in Brussels, during November and December, it was clear that Club lobbying efforts had been effective and that it was highly likely that caravans, and other light trailers, would be removed from the scope of proposed testing. The European Parliament Transport Committee voted on 21 January 2014 to accept this, as did the full Parliament on 11 March 2014. Technically, a final confirmation vote by the European Council is expected later in March before we can be completely sure, but contacts in both Brussels and Westminster are confident of a positive outcome.

Tony Hall, Director of Marketing for The Caravan Club, says, “The Club was delighted to have led the way in lobbying against this vital issue and we believe that our efforts were instrumental in achieving this decision, although a final confirmation vote is due to take place at the end of March. This demonstrates The Club’s ongoing commitment to its members who can continue to enjoy their leisure time without unnecessary financial and administrative burdens.“

Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews

A visit to the Swift Group at Cottingham.

04 Wednesday Apr 2012

Posted by chrismacgowan in General

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caravans, chrismacgowan, Christopher Macgowan, motorhomenews, motorhomes, Nick Page, parkhomes, Swift, Swift Group

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I was lucky enough today to have a walk round the Swift Group factory at Cottingham near Hull.

This is a substantial operation manufacturing motorhomes, caravans and park homes with a workforce in excess of 700 and with two further manufacturing plants in the area. It is an impressive and modern facility producing one of the widest ranges of products under some of the best known brand names in the industry.

As a long standing automotive industry person myself, UK governments have not always valued and encouraged our very substantial manufacturing base and if nothing else the recession has changed all that as it gradually dawned on the coalition government just how important it is. A visit to Swift by any government minister would demonstrate jobs, investment and innovation on a big scale – something the government wants to see more of and which Swift delivers day after day.

A thoroughly enjoyable and impressive experience!!

Christopher Macgowan
twitter: motorhomenews

DUSSELDORF CARAVAN SALON

26 Friday Aug 2011

Posted by chrismacgowan in General

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caravans, Christopher Macgowan, Dusseldorf, motorhomes

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Wall to wall motorhomes at the Dusseldorf Caravan Salon.

I would say two themes are clear.

Firstly a lot of attention to new liquid habitation heating systems and winterisation. Secondly, a number of manufacturers seem to be installing sophisticated fold away bed systems above the driver and passenger seats in the shorter motorhomes – say below 6.50 metres and then using the now bedless space to create space and comfort. And then the same bed is left there in the longer models as a second bed with often the main bed now being an island bed.

Both of these themes have been around for some time of course but walking through the vast halls at this enormous show they struck me as themes which, over time, were heading towards being the standard. Which is bad news for me as I cannot be doing with precision mountaineering just to get to bed!!!!

I guess a third theme is the very positive and upbeat atmosphere which is nice to experience and is based on increasing sales levels in Germany and some other European markets. I tried to find people to be grumpy with but failed miserably.

Christopher Macgowan
twitter: motorhomenews

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