Tag Archives: chrismacgowan

I need little encouragement….

18 Sunday Jun 2017

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I am at home this weekend. 

Amazon’s Alexa – the all important woman in my life – has just told me via her afternoon update which I increasingly rely on to keep me up to speed – that it is 30 degrees C right now. At the same time I have received a regular email from The Lake District (an excellent service by the way) giving me loads of reasons why I should be hot footing it to Cumbria.

With photographs like that I require little encouragement.

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews

#motorhome #lakedistrict #omgitishot

Montreuil-sur-Mer

26 Friday Aug 2016

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Montreuil sur Mer is about an hour south west of Calais and is one of my favourite stopping places – either on the aire which is a hundred metres from the town or on the excellent site which is at the bottom of the very steep hill. On numerous occasions at the end of a long evening I have been grateful for the down hill ramble to the site knowing only too well an uphill yomp by then would have been impossible. But of course for me the aire is best. 

Sur Mer is a bit of a misnomer because the sea is nowhere near having receded several kilometres several hundred years ago. It’s a lovely town, very much unspoilt and this time I wandered in for breakfast the next morning and before I knew it a couple of hours had slid by and it was time to head for Calais. It’s just that sort of place.

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews

Tickets on sale now for February show.

30 Friday Oct 2015

Posted by in Exhibitions and Shows

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NEC Birmingham – 23 – 28 February 2016

 

• Holiday, short break and outdoor pursuit inspiration

• Exciting new glamping holiday village to launch

• Expert advice for anyone new to leisure vehicles

Tickets are on sale now for the Caravan, Camping & Motorhome Show, taking place from 23rd – 28th February 2016 at the NEC in Birmingham. The event is the UK’s largest start of holiday season showcase and every February welcomes visitors that love nothing more than spending their leisure time in the great outdoors. It’s the place to visit for families, pet owners and anyone else looking to go on holiday in a leisure vehicle and there’s plenty of free advice for those new to the lifestyle. Advanced tickets start at just £7* for seniors (60+ years), £8* for adults, kids go free, and free parking and a Show Guide are included too.

In 2016 a brand new glamping holiday village will debut at the Show featuring bell tents, yurts, tipis and other trendy accommodation options. There’s more than 350 exhibitors, plenty of outdoor accessories to browse and buy and exciting feature areas that add up to make a fantastic value day out.

The popular dog agility area returns as well as a packed programme of sessions in the revamped Experts’ Theatre, including slots on what to look for when buying a first leisure vehicle. For people new to towing, or those looking to freshen up their skills, the free towing experience is back to help visitors try driving with a caravan in a safe and controlled environment. And, free motorhome manoeuvring sessions can be booked with expert tuition from qualified instructors.

James Bissett, marketing campaign director for NCC Events, organiser of the Caravan, Camping & Motorhome Show, said: “Following on from our successful Motorhome & Caravan Show in October 2015 I can’t wait to throw open the doors to our February start-of-season showcase, especially with our new glamping holiday village in mind. For anyone who loves spending time in the great outdoors and wants to find out more about the leisure vehicle lifestyle there is no better place to start than our show. We’ll have plenty more thrilling news to come in the weeks ahead so stay tuned to our website and social media channels.”

Organised by NCC Events, a wholly owned subsidiary of industry trade body the National Caravan Council, and supported by The Caravan Club and The Camping and Caravanning Club the Show features many leading leisure vehicle manufacturers, including Adria, Bailey, Coachman, Elddis, Lunar, Swift, Trigano and more. This means visitors will be able to compare all the latest motorhome and caravan layouts, interiors and benefit from exclusive show offers on thousands of products ahead of the 2016 season.

 

Tickets can be booked by going to: 

http://www.caravancampingmotorhomeshow.co.uk 

or calling 0844 873 7333

 
Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews

* When booking before 23.59 on 22/2/16. On-the-door prices: £10.00 Adult, £9 Senior (60yrs+). Children 15 years and under go free when accompanied by a paying adult/senior. Car parking is included in the ticket price and the free show guide is subject to availability. No dogs (except assistance dogs). Calls to cost 7p per minute plus your phone company’s access charge. £1.25 transaction charge applies unless otherwise stated. 

 

NCC Events is the exhibitions arm ­ and a wholly owned subsidiary – of the NCC. The NCC is the trade body for the UK caravan industry, encompassing touring caravans, motorhomes, caravan holiday homes and park homes. The NCC represents some 800 member outlets in manufacturing, park operations, distribution, retailing, and in the provisions of specialist suppliers and services within the UK caravan industry, which is worth in excess of £6 billion per annum (sale of products, services and holiday spend).

 

NEC show hailed a great success by dealers and manufacturers alike.

25 Sunday Oct 2015

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Photo: Lots of discussion, negotiations and firm orders being placed were a major feature of the show.

The Motorhome & Caravan Show 2015 opened with a bang and the setting of a new Guinness World Record for the largest ever caravan made from interlocking plastic LEGO® bricks. Ex-World Superbike Champion Carl ‘Foggy’ Fogarty and TV presenter Matt Baker, a guest of The Caravan Club, laid the final bricks and declared the event open in front of a packed crowd eager to see all the new for 2016 leisure vehicle products. Subsequently, many of the 400 exhibitors have reported record sales at what is the UK’s biggest leisure vehicle launch show.

 

Yet again a huge buying audience was delivered to the NEC, for example the UK’s largest dealer network Marquis enjoyed its most successful indoor exhibition on record with orders in excess of £10m being taken at the Show. Lowdhams exceeded its expectations with a 50% growth in sales and Swift Group reports sales from the show being so good its order book is almost full for the year, with its Sprite range 10% up on the incredible performance of 2014.

 

Once the event closed its doors earlier this week (Sunday 18th) 94,514 (96,237 in 2014) people had visited. It drew its biggest crowd on Saturday 17th, with 25,308 (26474 in 2014) people through the doors and interestingly 48% of all advanced tickets booked to the Show were by people new to the event.

 

This success is indicative of a leisure vehicle market that is on the up, with new registrations for motorhomes up 25% to 10,461 and new caravans despatched to dealers up 5% compared with this time last year.

At the Show live product showcases took place each day in the revamped Experts’ Theatre from leading UK and European leisure vehicle manufacturers including Adria, Auto-Trail, Hillside Leisure, Hymer, Knaus, Lunar, Roller Team and Swift Group.

 

Footage of the LEGO brick caravan has already clocked up more than 325,000 views on YouTube with it featuring, to name but a few, on the BBC, MailOnline, The Sun, Evening Standard, Mirror.co.uk, Metro, Yahoo!, mashable.com in The Sunday Times, regional media and generating a massive social media and online impact with millions of Twitter accounts reached and thousands of article shares on Facebook. It also featured around the world on Discovery Channel Canada, Foxsports in America, German national newspaper Bilde.De and as far away as Australia.

 

Other famous faces to star during the event included Rowland and Monica Rivron, Julia Bradbury, Chris Goffey, chefs Sean Wilson and Dean Edwards as well as ‘Gadget Girl’ Ella Williamson.

 

The event is organised by NCC Events and supported by The Caravan Club and The Camping and Caravanning Club. Anthony Trevelyan, Chairman NCC Events, said: “The outstanding number of caravans and motorhomes sold at the show and the high visitor attendance underline the success of the industry and the benefit of providing people with an enjoyable, low cost day out. The key is in delivering a top quality show at a super-competitive price, which we will continue to do at the Caravan, Camping and Motorhome Show in February 2016.”

 

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews

Am enjoying my new Ecocamel SoftWater shower…..

11 Saturday Jul 2015

Posted by in Technical, This and That

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You don’t really want to know this but I cannot function properly unless each day I kick off with a refreshing hot shower. And that applies not only at home but even more so when I am travelling in the motorhome.

Ecocamel has come up with the seemingly impossible combination of a really good water spray, some new soft water technology and yet a shower head that uses less water than earlier versions and a lot less than ordinary showerheads. With a 100litre fresh water tank in the motorhome, the sort of water economy I am getting with the new showerhead makes life a lot easier when I am on the road whilst still delivering that all important “charge” to get me up and running each day. The design of the new unit is very high tech – air is drawn in through the air intakes and mixes with water to increase the pressure and forces the water out to significantly boost the power of the shower.

So I get my power shower each morning and use less water.

More from http://www.ecocamel.com

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews

In this heat I am sometimes just happy to be home.

05 Sunday Jul 2015

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I’m trying hard not to complain about the heat but sometimes, just sometimes, it’s good to leave the motorhome on the drive and enjoy being at home. I guess like all Brits, given half a chance, I am prone to complaining about the weather at all times and under all circumstances but I will admit I am finding 28˚C to 30˚C a struggle.

Am I alone on this??!!

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews

BCA caravan and motorhome sales move to Nottingham.

01 Wednesday Jul 2015

Posted by in Marketing, Motorhomes

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As the summer heatwave arrives at last, the thought of a staycation in the UK becomes even more appealing. And more and more people are enjoying a break in their own caravan or motorhome so they can enjoy the best of British summer weather, whenever it arrives.

 To meet the growing demand, BCA now stages a twice monthly Caravan & Motorhome sale at the Nottingham centre, with sales taking place every second and fourth Thursday of the month. With a wide range of vehicles to suit every budget, the early sales have attracted large crowds with nearly 100 motorhomes, RVs and caravans sold.  

 The next Caravan & Motorhome sales, scheduled for 9th and 23rd July, are also expected to create a lot of interest. The sale is entirely undercover with pre-sale viewing from 9.00 am, while the motorhomes are driven and the caravans towed past the rostrum, giving potential buyers every opportunity to see the vehicles.

 BCA’s UK Operations Director Simon Henstock commented “The first sales at the BCA Nottingham centre at the start of June attracted big crowds of buyers who bid strongly on a range of vehicles, from caravans to luxury motorhomes. And we’re expecting strong demand for the July sales too, as there are vehicles to suit every budget”.

 Vehicles lined up for the 9th July sale include a 2010 Auto sleeper Broadway Motorhome, 2011 Auto Trail Frontier Comanche Motorhome and 2014 Bailey Unicorn Barcelona Caravan. Sales start at 12 Noon.

 Visit the BCA website at http://www.bca.co.uk

Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
 

Black Knowl CC site – one of the best?

21 Sunday Jun 2015

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This week I have been at Black Knowl Caravan Club site in Hampshire – and what an outstanding site it is.

It is set within the ancient royal hunting forest of William the Conqueror which is now a National Park and is within walking distance of Brockenhurst. This is very much a site for the walker and the cyclist with some 140 miles of track nearby. It has an open aspect and you really do feel you are in the middle of nowhere. Indeed, it is so isolated there is no WiFi as the copper wire from the exchange is of such a length that it cannot cope with broadband. 

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews

The A82 in Scotland. One of Europe’s great drives I reckon.

13 Saturday Jun 2015

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I have just completed – and not for the first time – the drive on the A82 alongside Loch Lomond and up to Fort William and beyond. I put it up there with the best drives in Europe. Huge, spectacular scenery and passes of extreme beauty such as Glencoe. Breathtaking stuff.

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews