Dan Cartwright has over 12 years of experience in the caravan and motorhome industry. He is a judge for a number of prestigious leisure vehicle awards and regularly heads off in his motorhome with his family. Every week, Dan shares his insights with the community. Here’s what he has to say this week.
I’ve got the best job in the world. I get to see all the new caravans and motorhomes as they’re released by manufacturers. I assess them as part of my judging roles, test new towcars and explore new places to stay. At some press events, I even get to meet celebrities and talk about the great outdoors. On top of all that, I get to spend time intimately filming and producing content on caravans and motorhomes, providing reviews for all different types of organisations.
The job does involve a lot of time away from the family and travelling up and down the country, but it’s well worth it. So I thought I’d give you some insight into my highlights of the year.
Winter
Thinking back to the start of 2022, there were a lot of shows in the opening six or seven weeks. Manchester, Birmingham NEC and Glasgow, to name a few. Not only did I attend these events, but I worked at them, judging the Motorhome Innovation Awards at the February NEC show.
I love the events, but long travel, short, dark days and classically bad British weather aren’t as welcome. However, the relief I found in Scotland as I headed up to Aviemore in the caravan for a snowboarding trip was fantastic. Glasgow at this time of year is nothing short of perfect for the snowy conditions and it reminded me there’s more to caravanning and motorhoming than sodium lighting and event venues.
At the end of February, I was privileged to be invited to the launch of the Queen’s Green Canopy with the Caravan and Motorhome Club. It’s an excellent tree-planting initiative that was set up to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee and now acts as a memorial to her lasting legacy.
Spring
Heading into March, the easter planning began to creep in. Suddenly, like most of us, I was considering the possibilities of non-winter-related outdoor sports, places and things to do. Personally, this is when I really start to enjoy taking my leisure vehicle to new destinations. I try to visit two to three sites each spring to give reviews, but also just to enjoy them. I’d encourage all of our readers to do the same – get out and try new experiences.
Summer
Entering the summer months is when we started receiving lots of press releases for caravans and motorhomes scheduled to hit the market in 2023. The work we did involved travelling all over, from Durham to Hull and Germany to Italy. With so much movement, we really initiated our geek-level approach as to what the next year would hold for our community.
Hooray! The school holidays have crept up on us. At this point in the year, most manufacturers closed their doors and fewer press events were booked. So what did we do? Obviously, we headed off to try a few international campsites with the kids! This involved our first-ever all-inclusive camping facility in Benidorm at the Magic Robin Hood Holiday Park. With an array of impressive, on-site water slides, it was just amazing for the children.
Another one of my highlights came as the summer months closed out when we headed up to the famous Millbrook Proving Ground. The whole week included getting to grips with all the latest vehicles, towing caravans around high-speed bowls and mountain routes, as well as speed and reversing tests. It was brilliant, as always, to be involved with the event.
Autumn and winter
Coming toward the end of 2022, the October NEC show gave us a lot to look forward to and a lot of work involved to make sure everybody has what they need and, of course, the judging of the show.
At this time of the year, we start to look at persuading people not to put their caravan or motorhome into storage for the winter but instead offer inspiration and reasons why they should use their leisure vehicles all year long.
This is when we really see the benefits of the Grade Three tests and cold chamber filmings we’ve done in the past. Inevitably, it’s also when I put my Christmas tree and three or four motorhome baubles up, and offer a prize to the person who sends in the best ‘I had Christmas dinner in a caravan’ story.
I really do have the best job in the world. As we approach the festive season, I always realise how great this industry is. Unlike other areas that can be very cut-throat, we’re a family that looks after each other and inspires our community to do more, share adventures and make sure the whole country has caravanning, motorhoming and the great outdoors available to them.
