by Holly Tribe
The votes in our ‘Dogs & Caravans’ photo competition have been counted and verified, and we are pleased to announce ‘Barney Watching the World go by’ has been crowned the overall champion!
The winning entry was snapped by Co. Durham resident Graeme Davison and is a lovely portrait of his border terrier, Barney, sitting on the steps outside a Swift Challenger contemplating the world around him. We had a chat with Graeme and found out what makes caravanning such an important part of family life:
Graeme Davison and his wife, Heather, began touring some five years ago as a solution to leaving their two border terriers in the kennels when they went away on holiday.
Named after the two mischievous Flintstone characters, Barney and Fred, the dogs have taken to the lifestyle like ducks to water – and the Davison’s are now official converts to caravanning. They like 
nothing better than heading off for the weekend to explore their native corner of North West England.
How did you get started?
We decided to try caravanning as we were unhappy leaving the dogs in kennels and bought an old Mardon Supreme four or five years ago to try it out. After the first few trips, it was obvious they loved being in it so soon upgraded to a Swift Challenger 380 and have been caravanning ever since. I guess you could say we have the dogs to thank for getting the caravan bug!
What are your favourite dog friendly caravan sites?
Old Hartley Club Site is one of our favourites. We are members of the Caravan Club and most of the sites we’ve been to have good dog walking areas. We’ve been particularly impressed with their attitude towards dogs, and the fact that they do not charge!
What is the most enjoyable aspect of caravanning with your dogs?
We think caravanning was made just for dogs, because if we didn’t have the dogs we would not have contemplated
getting a caravan. Fred and Barney absolutely love being out-doors, meeting people who come up to say hello to them when they sit outside. We have found if you have a dog, people are more likely to get chatting to you. On one occasion we were up at Old Hartley in Tynemouth, talking to a man who was so taken with Fred & Barney he wanted to take them home!
What has been your best touring caravan holiday away together?
Our best holiday with Fred & Barney was last year when we travelled up to Garlieston Caravan Club site, 
on the Scottish coast. Our caravan was sited right next to the harbour mouth and our Barney was in seventh heaven! He loves the sea and is never out of the water. He would be the first one up to go out in the morning, and when we returned home he sulked for three days and sat a the front door pining – we couldn’t even bribe him with his favourite biscuits!
