Tag Archives: #motorhomes

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

IAM welcomes tougher mobi penalties.

08 Tuesday Nov 2016

Posted by in Road Safety, Uncategorized

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IAM RoadSmart has welcomed an increase in the punishment for drivers caught using a held-held mobile phone whilst driving – saying drivers need to learn that their actions could kill.

This morning (8 November) the Government announced that anyone caught using a hand-held mobile phone while at the wheel of a car would be fined £200 and receive six points on the licence – a doubling of the existing penalty.

The issue was brought into sharp focus last week when lorry driver Tomasz Kroker was jailed for 10 years when he killed a family of four in a crash caused by him being distracted by his mobile phone.

Neil Greig, IAM RoadSmart Director of Policy and Research, said: “Addressing the growing problem of smartphone use whilst driving will require a combination of enforcement and education as well as drivers, passengers, companies and individuals taking more responsibility. 

“IAM RoadSmart is disappointed that the government did not support our calls for first time offenders to be sent automatically on a re-education course specifically tailored to mobile phone use and breaking our apparent addiction to being constantly connected. We also want to see car companies, mobile phone makers and social media providers working together to develop technical solutions to hand held mobile phone use in vehicles.”

Neil added: “It is essential that drivers get the clear message that if you are on the phone and have a fatal crash you can expect to go to prison for a long time. There is a lot of support among the driving public for stronger penalties and more enforcement focus on mobile phones, but also a feeling that this is not always reflected in sentencing. 
“The Home Office must also review it’s policing priorities to ensure they reflect the risks that new technology can bring on the road.”

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews

Last of the summer sun in Carlyon Bay, Cornwall?

07 Wednesday Sep 2016

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Enjoying a few days here in Cornwall.

It is a bit of a trip down memory lane for me in that light years ago when I was with the truck division of British Leyland I was here a lot as English China Clays (ECC Group) was one of our biggest customers and I was forever here demonstrating off-highway trucks for use in the china clay mines. 

The Carlyon Bay Hotel always seemed to feature in our discussions and I popped in for a meal last night to remind me of those days. It has of course extensively modernised over time but some traditions live on – a pianist still performs in the main dining room.

When I was here in the early seventies ECC was a huge employer and the county was littered with spoil heaps. Employment was vital but the side effects of the mining was not pretty. The world moved on and finally by 1999 the company had stopped trading – in its heyday it was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. We tend to think that disruption is a new phenonomen because we see new players moving in and doing things differently but sadly too many industries have failed to reinvent themselves. And now there is a China Clay Museum charting the rise and fall of the industry.

To a visitor like myself Cornwall clearly has a range of industries at work but I get the impression that now tourism is top dog. Indeed the County Council recently decided to keep its Brussels office in an attempt to continue to encourage inward investment despite the Brexit vote.

It’s been a lovely break.

http://www.carlyonbay.net

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews

Saint-Nazaire

28 Sunday Aug 2016

Posted by in History, Places

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You will know I have an interest in WW1 and WW2 history and so unsurprisingly on my way home from a few days near Bordeaux I followed the coast northwards to Saint-Nazaire to see the WW2 German Uboat pens which, due to their massive bomb resilient construction, are in remarkably good order. They dominate the harbour line of this still busy industrial and ship building port.

Several things occurred to me as I approached the area over the huge and long road bridge. In true French style there is a large motor home parking spot across the street and attached to that is a parking machine entry type aire if you want to stay over night. Day parking in the car park is free. Secondly, whilst Saint-Nazaire might not be on the main tourism route because of its heavy industry and chemical plants, I loved the place. It is very laid back , everything seemed so easy and without exception everyone I came across was so very friendly. At the tourism office at the entrance to the pens they are selling tours around the port and the city and so I reached for my Euros and said I just wanted to wander around the pens by myself – I have a pathological aversion to tours with guides. No problem I was told. The pens are entirely free for public access but that I needed to remember they are essentially dangerous as there are no guard rails or hand rails in order that their original state is preserved as best as possible. 

The pens are hugely impressive, well preserved and fascinating. However, it would be irresponsible of me not to underline what we all know – that they were built largely by slave labour, many combined forces suffered heavy losses and casualties trying to destroy them – or at the very least disrupt them – and Uboats were successful sinking hundreds of allied ships and killing thousands of troops in the North Atlantic. Provided you keep that very much front of mind during the visit, they are well worth a visit. 

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews

Les Criques de Porteils, Collioure near Perpignan, France.

23 Saturday Jul 2016

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Les Criques de Porteils is one of the best sites I have ever stayed on – a five star site in every way and added this year to The Caravan Club’s “Venture Abroad” catalogue. Swimming pools, WiFi, restaurant, take-away, comprehensive shop and much much more combine to make this a spectacular choice in a spectacular location. And ANPR just makes the whole business of entering and leaving entirely hassle free with no cards or codes to remember. Loved every minute of the week. 

Collioure is about a mile away and is a delight in its own right – full of restaurants and plenty to do.

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews

NCC conference highlights market opportunities.

29 Friday Apr 2016

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More than 200 delegates attended the NCC (National Caravan Council) Conference 2016 last week to hear a stellar line-up of expert speakers including: Nick King – Insight Director, Autotrader; Carl Castledine – CEO, Away Resorts; Harvey Alexander – Director of Marketing, The Caravan Club; and Alex Marshall of Management Consultants CIL. Kevin Keegan OBE was an extremely popular after dinner speaker, helping to raise £2,440 for the NCC Benevolent Fund charity.

John Lally, NCC Director General, said: “From start to finish our speaker line-up was excellent this year, delivering fresh insights and new perspectives while stimulating plenty of debate in the process. Topics included adjusting caravan products for Millennials and developing new ways of promotion (mobile-friendly, via specially designed apps, using social media etc). Speakers looking at the bigger picture examined how technology is changing the world, the state of the UK and worldwide economy and how positive thinking can influence your business in a positive manner.  

 “Getting together as an industry is really important. Following a successful 12 months for many, it remains vital our industry continues to innovate and attract new entrants to the market, to improve its customer service and product quality and embrace self-regulation. If we do that, our speakers were agreed that success will continue in 2016 and beyond.”

 

A selection of quotes from the event are shown below:

Carl Castledine – on innovation

‘As baby boomer spend slows, our industry must be ready for Millennials … who will become the primary engine of the UK consumer economy.’

Harvey Alexander – on new entrants to the world of leisure vehicles

‘A recent study showed 11 million UK adults are our potential audience – those who love outdoors but don’t own a leisure vehicle, and can potentially share our passion …’

 Alex Marshall – on the mergers and acquisitions outlook (holiday parks)

‘We will see strong valuations, further consolidation and further investment in the product …’

Nick King – on successfully selling vehicles

‘Forecourt visits are down 41pc in the automotive industry in three years. But we are still selling successfully. A buyer will now visit more websites than forecourts.’

Psychologist Dr Maureen Gaffney – on positive thinking

‘In this world the optimists have it not because they are always right but because they are always positive.’

Market commentator, Justin Urquhart Stewart – on the UK economy:

‘The UK is the world’s fifth largest economy. It’s got pulling power – the Number 1 in Europe for inward investment, with 85k new jobs created …’

 

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews

The National Caravan Council (NCC) 2016 conference.

23 Saturday Apr 2016

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I attended the NCC 2016 conference in Liverpool this week. 

It was an excellent event, very well run with excellent speakers and good to see a very positive atmosphere on display. Also, in my purely personal opinion, really good to see that one of the primary themes was how we can do better, and what we need to do to be better – so no complacency but rightly looking at other industries to see what if anything we can learn from them.

Congratulations to the organisers!

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews