Over the next few months, Caravan Times will be visiting various sites across the UK to bring you news, views and opinions from site owners, wardens and caravanners themselves.
Until recently computers and caravans were seen as rather uneasy bedfellows, indeed many regarded a caravan holiday as a good excuse to escape the stresses of modern technology.
However, caravan parks are now gradually being brought into the digital age – last year the Caravan Club erected several new aerials and relaunched its Wi-Fi internet service, and it’s proving to be a bit hit with caravanners both young and old.
We spoke to a Caravan Club warden, who preferred to remain anonymous, and he said that the first attempt at getting internet access on sites was less than successful.
“We had Wi-Fi a number of years ago on certain sites; however, we found that the members thought that it was a little bit too expensive and we didn’t have coverage throughout the entire site,” he explained.
With a new provider signed up this year though, the uptake has been much more enthusiastic, as younger visitors are kept amused during the evenings and older caravanners can plan their day trips with ease.
“It’s been very, very popular, it’s taken off immensely,” the warden continued. “Nowadays everybody wants to use it; even the older generation are using it far more now, as they can book their next sites before they move on.”
The joys of e-caravanning
Caravan Club Wi-Fi prices start at £5 for five hours, but the more you use the cheaper it gets, with 20 hours charged at just £15 and 100 hours priced at £40.
Best of all, the credit is transferrable to any Caravan Club site in the UK over the next six months, so if you are taking an extended holiday it makes sense to buy your Wi-Fi allowance in bulk.
Having tried the service, we can report that it is perfectly suitable for light browsing, with weather reports, e-mail and search results loading promptly and without issue.
Streaming TV shows from iPlayer is not encouraged, however, and you shouldn’t expect to be able to download large files in a hurry.
Nevertheless, the coverage at the site we stayed at was great and fit for purpose – just remember to log out of your account once you’re finished with it, otherwise the clock will keep ticking and you will waste your credit.
Furthermore, according to most other holidaymakers, it seems that on-site Wi-Fi is much more than just a fad, and although it is nice to escape from the stresses of the digital world, having the convenience of internet access on hand is an incredibly handy thing to have on a caravan break.
Have you ever tried to used the internet from a caravan? Is on-site Wi-Fi better than using a 3G dongle? Share your thoughts in our forum
