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
26 Wednesday Jun 2019
Posted in Exhibitions and Shows, Places
Tags
#motorhomes, Beaulieu, Christopher Macgowan, Hampshire, motorhomenews, National Motor Museum, Transporter, Volkswagen, VW, VW T CHILL
VW Transporter fans will be chilling out in style at Beaulieu’s VW T Chill as they set up camp with their much-loved campers and commercials in the grounds of the National Motor Museum for a relaxing weekend from Friday 9th to the main show day of Sunday 11th August.
Returning by popular demand, the laid-back rally will bring together all ages and versions of the legendary VW Transporter, from the iconic split windscreen and bay window Type 2, through the much-loved Type 25/Type 3 to the modern-day T4, T5 and T6.
There will be family-friendly activities to join in with throughout the weekend at one of the south’s leading visitor attractions in the heart of the New Forest. It is the perfect opportunity to meet fellow owners, make friends and socialise. On Saturday 10th, rally-goers can join the cruise-out to the picturesque maritime village of Buckler’s Hard, with a classy VW convoy which is sure to get heads turning, then test knowledge in the pub quiz, before warming by the communal fire pit.
On the main show day of Sunday 11th Beaulieu attraction visitors can join the experience, with the chance to see these amazing vehicles at Show and Shine on the Events Arena. Owners will be polishing and decorating their gleaming Transporters to go on display, with prizes for the most eye-catching machines.
Live music by singer songwriter Izzii Moulsdale will provide entertainment, while the theme for this year’s fancy dress competition is Vanimation. Dress as a favourite animated or cartoon character to be in with a chance of scooping the Best Fancy Dress prize. There will also be prizes for winners of the VW T Chill colouring competition, with under-5s and under-10s categories.
Participant tickets, for those taking part in a VW Transporter, are £16 an adult and £8 a child, with camping tickets at £32 per pitch. Campers’ entry into the showground is from 2pm on Friday 9th to 6pm on Sunday 11th, while VW Transporter owners are welcome to simply join the rally for the Sunday Show & Shine if they prefer. Participant tickets include entry to all of the Beaulieu attraction, including the National Motor Museum with its Chitty Chitty Bang Bang 50 years exhibition, World of Top Gear, On Screen Cars, Beaulieu Abbey, Palace House and the grounds and gardens. For tickets and details see www.beaulieu.co.uk/events/vw-t-fest.
All other visitors, who would like to see the Show & Shine on Sunday 11, are able to buy a general attraction entrance ticket and enter Beaulieu through the Visitor Reception building from 10am.
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
20 Thursday Jun 2019
Although its history is dominated by its almost total destruction in WWI, the rebuilt and revitalized Ypres is a favourite destination. It has so successfully moved on whilst always respecting that history and enormous sacrifice and loss of life given by so many countries.
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
16 Sunday Jun 2019
Posted in General
Tags
#motorhomes, @motorhmenews, Beaulieu, Christopher Macgowan, motorhomenews, National Motor Museum, New Forest, Simply VW, VW
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
14 Tuesday May 2019
Posted in Sites
Tags
#motorhomes, @motorhmenews, chrismacgowan, Christopher Macgowan, haw wood farm, saxmundham, suffolk
Mostly I stay on Caravan and Motorhome Club sites; firstly because I think they are among the best and secondly because of my close links with the Club. But today I am at an independent site in Hinton near Saxmundham, Suffolk.
It is is a full facility site, beautifully maintained and a delight to stay at. Haw Wood Farm
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
07 Tuesday May 2019
Posted in Places
Tags
#motorhomes, @motorhmenews, Adlestrop, Cairngorms, Christopher Macgowan, Edward Thomas, motorhome, motorhomenews, ScotRail, trains, Tulloch
ScotRail does look after many of its rural stations in an exemplary manner. This one in Tulloch doubles up as a bed and breakfast for walkers and backpackers.
Standing on the silent platform I could only think of school English Literature lessons and Edward Thomas’ Adlestrop:
Yes I remember Adlestrop
The name, because one afternoon
Of heat the express train drew up there
Unwontedly. It was late June.
The steam hissed. Someone cleared his throat.
No one left and no one came
On the bare platform. What I saw
Was Adlestrop – only the name.
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
02 Thursday May 2019
Posted in History
Tags
#motorhomes, Christopher Macgowan, Commando, Commando Memorial, Lochaber, motorhome, motorhomenews, Scotland
My recent visit to the Highlands rightly took in the imposing Commando Memorial which is a Category A listed monument in Lochaber in the Highlands and is dedicated to the men of the original British Commando Forces. Much of their training was carried out in this area.
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
12 Friday Apr 2019
Posted in Sites
I guess Henley-on-Thames will always mostly be famous for its regatta but, over and above that, at any time of year it has its attractions being on the river and surrounded by the Oxfordshire Chiltern Hills. If you like your wild bird life as I do, this is a good spot for seeing red kites.
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
12 Friday Apr 2019
Posted in Sites
The ten minute walk into the town makes this site a delight. Moreton-in-Marsh is a smallish market town in the Evenlode Valley and is within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Gloucestershire. It’s on the Fosse Way Roman Road and, of great interest to me, it has a railway station so I can get my train fix.
The site itself is first class and now additionally sports the Club’s new Alternative Accommodation called Experience Freedom. The units are up and running, look great and the bookings are flooding in. Why am I not surprised!!??
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
