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MOTORHOMENEWS

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

MOTORHOMENEWS

Tag Archives: touring

The Big Little Tent Festival.

25 Wednesday Jul 2018

Posted by chrismacgowan in General

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#motorhomes, Big Little Test Festival, camc, caravan, caravan and motorhome club, Christopher Macgowan, motorhomenews, motorhomes, tent, tenting, touring, tourism

As with many other organisations in the tourism industry, the Caravan and Motorhome Club is always finding ways to engage with young people, young families and those who one day will take up tenting or owning a caravan or motorhome.

The Big Little Tent Festival is such an initiative. As an existing motorhome owner subscribing to this blog, you do not require persuasion. Like me, you know what fun it is! But do take a look at the video if only to admire the highly unusual venue!

Click HERE or insert link below into your browser.

https://vimeo.com/onsightuk/review/281481620/00800a2fa7

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews

The Bavarian Adventure continues.

17 Sunday Jun 2018

Posted by chrismacgowan in Places, Travel

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#motorhomes, @motorhmenews, Alps, Bavaria, chrismacgowan, Christopher Macgowan, Germany, Lindau, macgowan, motorhome, motorhomenews, Salzburg, touring, tourism

I continue to be enthralled by my Alpine tour between Lindau and Salzburg. The scenery is beyond delightful and the standard of the sites for motorhomes is exceptional. Totally enjoyable.

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews

What it’s like visiting a CL which won “CL of the Year” 

03 Friday Nov 2017

Posted by chrismacgowan in Sites

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#motorhomes, caravan and motorhome club, Christopher Macgowan, CL, CL of the year, Ellesmere, Ian and Janet Kelly, motorhome, motorhomenews, OAY, practical caravan, Shropshire, touring


Ten years ago Birch Hill Farm CL won the Caravan Club’s (as the Club was called then) “CL of the Year” and I thought it would be interesting to stay on site and see how things were going ten years on. Success has continued as it won Practical Caravan’s “Best Small Site” award in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

The Club has around 2500 CL owners under the scheme – in an over simplistic nutshell these are sites allowed to take up to five outfits, only Club members can use them, maximum stay 28 consecutive days and the site has to comply with a small but important range of standards such as safe water and so on. By their very nature and a key part of their attraction is the wide variety of types on the network. The Club’s Sites Directory is at pains to describe each one; open all year or not, hardstandings or not and so on – so the member can choose what suits their needs and, typically, members get to know what suits them best and therefore develope a list of favourites. Some Club members so prefer the CL network they rarely make an appearance at any of the 200 Club sites.

When you stay at Birch Hill you can see almost immediately why it won in 2007 but more importantly it becomes obvious that far from resting on their laurels, owners Ian and Janet Kelly have continued to maintain a seemingly impossibly high standard and make further improvements. WiFi boosters for the free WiFi, a combined online booking and personal telephone system, a bespoke dog tag with the site’s details, masses of tourist information and a functional website that might put some larger sites to shame. One of the reasons it is easy to get to is because there is an arrival video of the website which makes life so much easier – on this occasion I was a solo motorhomer and believe me an arrival video is invaluable!

So I salute the policy of continuous improvement which is very much in evidence here and, when all is said and done, deepest Shropshire near the town of Ellesmere is not a bad spot to find yourself in at the beginning of November. Oh, and of course it’s open all year which is important to me as an all year round active motorhomer.

Quick link to website is HERE

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews

People are falling back in love with touring in the UK.

20 Saturday May 2017

Posted by chrismacgowan in General, This and That, Travel

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camc, caravan and motorhome club, Caravan Times, Christopher Macgowan, harvey alexander, jusy go, motorhome, motorhomenews, Tom Leaning, touring


Harvey Alexander interview: People are falling back in love with touring the UK. The Director of Marketing at The Caravan and Motorhome Club has been talking at length with CaravanTimes

by Tom Leaning of Caravan Times

CaravanTimes recently caught up with Harvey Alexander, Director of Marketing at the Caravan and Motorhome Club, who has just returned from participating in the JustGo motorhome re-location programme with his family.

Mr Alexander also discussed what he attributes the Club’s record year (2016) to, in terms of member retention and acquisition, what he believes clubs and organisations can do to continue this growth and how the Club is attracting younger members.

Here’s the interview transcript below:

“We picked up a motorhome from a company called JustGo, and drove it back through Italy, Switzerland and France, stopping at 4-5 of our sites along the way, and brought it to the UK where it will spend another year touring the UK.”

On how long the holiday took and what the highlights were:

“So, you can take anywhere from up to 14 days. We took 5 days. Some of the highlights were just the driving through Italy and Switzerland, which was inspiring. It wasn’t a chore at all. When you think of driving around the M25 on a bank holiday, it sends a shiver down your spine. But when you’re out there in a motorhome, you’re high up and you’re touring and you’re really stopping wherever you feel you want to. It was just amazing. We stayed at some really stunning sites: one on the edge of Lake Como, where you’re literally by the water, lovely surroundings, there’s mountains in the background, the kids were playing football outside the motorhome, as they do. And then, from there we went on through Switzerland and ended up in the Morvan forest in France – again, one of the most stunning landscapes you’ll see. And we stayed at this tiny little site, with probably 20 or more pitches; just a really lovely setting in the forest, a fishing lake at the bottom of the site. [It just us] the ability to escape the pace of everyday life, to simplify things and get back to nature – it was just incredible, a real treat.

On the JustGo motorhome re-location programme:

“JustGo offer this to anyone who wants to try and drive a motorhome across Europe. They do it every year to bring their new fleet back to the UK, and we did it as a bit of a trial for our members to really see how we can make that the best experience it can be, in terms of getting the right routes for people, and giving them the opportunity to build their memories.”

On what he attributes the CAMC’s record year (2016) to, in terms of member retention and the acquisition of new members:

“It’s really interesting. We’ve seen record amounts of new members joining. Also, we’ve seen 90 per cent of existing members staying with The Club. And I suppose what’s most important to us is the fact that we’ve had a record amount of members touring our sites network across the UK. So I think it really comes down to our members loving what they’re doing, and enjoying it so much that they’re extending their season. Our last quarter of 2016 – October, November, December – was one of our best last quarters ever. So, it’s just incredible. We’ve got 40 per cent of members coming in who own a motorhome now, which is really interesting because they’re changing the dynamic and we’re seeing that motorhomers tour later into the season, which is great. So, we need to make sure that our sites are ready for the caravanners and the motorhomers, trailer-tents, whoever wants to come, but making sure we’re always staying relevant for that touring member.”

On what clubs and organisations can do to make sure these positive results continue:

“Well, I suppose the key thing, in this digital age, is we’ve got to keep inspiring people to get out there and enjoy the great outdoors. It’s about recharging. We attribute quite a lot of the increase down to shorter breaks. We have members who love their summer holidays with the Club or their Easter breaks, but it’s also down to the members who decide on a Friday night who say “d’you know what? Let’s just go away for a few days this weekend. Let’s recharge. Let’s get back to nature, and enjoy ourselves” rather than getting caught in that daily grind. We all feel that it all goes too quick and you’ve never got enough time to do anything, but I find myself if you just put that bit of effort in to just stop, go away – it doesn’t even have to be that far – I live in Rochester and we’ve got some wonderful sites around Kent. I go to Daleacres in Hythe or Bearsted – they’re literally 45 minutes away. But what it means is we can go and we can be in the middle of a lovely countryside park, within for 40 mins to an hour, where we’re just enjoying time as a family.”

On attracting younger members:

“I think that if you go around any of the shows and you look at these caravans and motorhomes, they’re anything but basic. They are homes from home. Some of them offer more luxury than their own homes. And I think that the fact is with all the latest mod-cons where you’ve got the proper heating in there, you’ve got cooking facilities, you’ve got digital [equipment] in there. It just helps people enjoy the great outdoors without feeling compromise. We’ve just come off the back of sponsoring the UK surfing championships down in Cornwall. The age group there is obviously not a typical age group for the Club, but they all love Club sites, they all love being part of the Club because we’ve got 40-odd locations that are near the greatest surfing resorts across the UK. So, I think it’s about being relevant for members and those people thinking of joining and creating that relevancy for them because there has been a stigma attached in the past that [the Club] was just for retired people, but I’m 40+ with a young family, and I guarantee you the best holidays we have are when we get the motorhome out or the caravan and we go down to the coast and we just have a great weekend.”

On falling back in love with the UK:

“We have recognised that people are starting to enjoy the UK more. They’re falling back in love with the UK. And that’s really the spirit of the Club in terms of touring. So, I think it’s important to recognise that, that they’re so much on our doorstep to explore.”

For more information about the JustGo motorhome relocation programme, visit:  

Just Go

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews

Wishing you a happy 2017 with some great touring holidays…..

31 Saturday Dec 2016

Posted by chrismacgowan in Travel

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Christopher Macgowan, motorhome, motorhomenews, touring


Paris photo by Thomas Nebbia

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews

La Roucateille, 09330 Montgaillard, near Foix, Midi-Pyrénées.

10 Sunday Jul 2016

Posted by chrismacgowan in Sites

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Christopher Macgowan, Foix, la roucateille, motorhome, motorhomenews, touring

I am enjoying immensely my tour from Bilbao to Perpignan. In Foix there is a first class site with some of the most immaculate facilities I have ever seen. To be found on page 342 of the 2016 edition of The Caravan Club Touring France directory – a book you cannot leave home without!
Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews

Image

Time to get touring.

12 Saturday Mar 2016

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#motorhomes, Christopher Macgowan, motorhome, touring

image

Spring is in the air and my touring plans for the year are being finalised. Definitely time to get going.

Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews

Posted by chrismacgowan | Filed under General

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A very Happy Christmas to you and great touring in 2016.

22 Tuesday Dec 2015

Posted by chrismacgowan in General, This and That

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Christopher Macgowan, Grenoble, long tailed tits, motorhome, motorhomenews, Napoleon, Napoleon Route, Nice, St Tropez, touring

  
As 2015 comes to a close I wish you a very Happy Christmas and hope you have some great touring in 2016. 

For my part one of our best trips was when Faye and I followed the Napoleon Route – http://www.ultimatedrives.net – in France from Grenoble to Nice; it was stunning and we had the sense to do it in the summer whereas Napoleon made the treck in winter in snow and all sorts and had a pretty terrible time by all accounts.  That was in 1815 on his return from Elba. Whereas by contrast Faye and I lived quietly for a few days in St Tropez at the end of our route – Napoleon went on to attempt to rule the world at the end of his. This contrast would have worried my mother who was always concerned that I would “never amount to anything” without ever specifying what it was she had in mind.

Also following Sandra and Iain Baxter on their Grand European Tour affectionately called “Mind the Gap Year” was a delight – they can be found at http://baxterbus.wordpress.com

I shut down now for Christmas with a photo of this morning’s visitors. A flotilla of Long Tailed Tits is in town and they visit me as a team of between two and eight strong. They are sociable and polite; do not fight over the food or with one another and display the sort of behaviour my mother would have approved of.

Have a great break and may you, your friends and your family have a wonderful time and still be talking to each other on Boxing Day! I will do my best.

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews

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