Baltic Wharf Caravan Club site saved

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by Megan Henderson

Following public outcry and meetings with Bristol City Council, The Caravan Club’s Baltic Wharf site will not be moved

The Caravan Club‘s Baltic Wharf site has renewed its lease for another three years after countless discussions with the Bristol City Council.

Back in March of 2014 CaravanTimes reported that, due to a demand in primary schools the Baltic Wharf site was set to be moved so that a school could be built in its place. Just over a month later we reported that a petition had been started to save the Baltic Wharf site, and had received in excess of 1,500 signatures.

Today we can report that after public outcry to save the Baltic Wharf site, The Caravan Club has worked with the Bristol City Council to ensure that the park stays for quite a while, and will be back to taking bookings soon.

The e-petition, which was created by local business owner, Matthew Gibbs, highlighted the fact that plans to move the Baltic Wharf site to make way for a primary school were originally made without any consultation from the public and the petition provided an outlet for the community to voice their opinion. A Facebook page and Twitter account were also created with the sole purpose of saving the site.

The public cited several reasons why they were opposed to the move, including the danger of a primary school so close to a very highly trafficked road, and the possible downside the move would have on the local economy. Many families visited the site as it is close to the Bristol Zoo and provided a great stopover for those travelling to Cornwall.

The Caravan Club will renew its lease on the Baltic Wharf site in September 2015, and will hold the site for another three years.

“We very much appreciate the concerns raised by members on the future of this very popular site and hope that our members will understand the sensitive nature of the negotiations that have been on-going to help achieve this agreement,” The Caravan Club said.

The Caravan Club is hopeful they will start taking bookings in the next week for any time after 31 August. To book your trip to the Baltic Wharf site, click here.

It is nice to see this story have a happy ending, and anything may be possible when a community and Caravan Club members work together.

Award winning NCC CRiS receives MP visit

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Ellie Pritchard

The CRiS VIN Chip praised by MP following visit to CRiS headquarters

The offices of the Central Registration and Identification Service (CRiS) have been visited by Chippenham MP, Michelle Donelan following the scheme receiving a prestigious award for ‘Best Application of Technology’ at the South West Contact Centre Forum (SWCCF) awards last week.

As well as visiting the offices, Donelan was shown the new Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) Chip scheme and the company’s plans for expansion.

CRiS, which was founded in 1992 by the National Caravan Council (NCC) in a bid to improve caravan security and help prevent and detect caravan related crime, maintains a register of touring caravan details and is recognised by the industry, consumers, regulatory bodies and government organisations as the national registration scheme for touring caravans.

Now, CRiS is moving towards bigger and better endeavours this summer as it has launched VIN Chip, a new improved theft deterrent and identification system for touring caravans. VIN Chips are unique because they have both visible and invisible markings containing a touring caravan’s specific 17 digit VIN.

Touring caravan VIN’s will be proudly displayed on tamper evident stickers to deter criminals. Hidden electronic Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips, that are traceable by the Police for identification and recovery of stolen touring caravans, will also contain the VIN.

How do you get one for your caravan? Well, all NCC member touring caravan manufacturers have adopted VIN Chip and all their 2016 touring caravan models will carry the new branding, and they will be put on windows and gas bottle lockers.

Donelan also learnt more about the NCC, the trade body for the industry in the UK and how important the £6 billion caravan sector is to the UK economy. The industry employs around 130,000 people and there are currently in excess of one million leisure accommodation vehicles in use in the UK.

Managing director of NCC CRiS, Sean Bailey, said: “We were delighted to welcome Michelle to our offices in Chippenham at such an exciting time for the company and the caravan industry as a whole. NCC CRiS continues to develop technologies to reduce crime and give caravan owners peace of mind.

“By working closely with the police we are confident that the new VIN Chip scheme will both deter caravan theft and help in the speedy identification and recovery of stolen caravans,” He continued.

“Our recent award for the best application of technology at the SWCCF is a ringing endorsement of our work and the fantastic team here in Chippenham.”

Of her visit, Donelan added: “It is really encouraging to see such an innovative organisation here in Chippenham and I welcomed the opportunity to learn more about NCC CRiS’ exciting plans going forward. The caravan industry is vital for the UK economy and I will be doing what I can to support its growth.

“Congratulations to Sean, Kelly and NCC CRiS’ hard-working team on their richly deserved award success.”

Caravan drivers voted the worst road users

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by Megan Henderson

Survey by Your Legal Friend finds caravanners at bottom of the best road users list

Many caravan drivers are quite comfortable behind the wheel, but – according to a recent survey – their comfort is what keeps other motorists angry.

A survey conducted by litigation firm, Your Legal Friend, has found that caravanners have been deemed the worst road users in the UK, despite 31 per cent of caravanners believing they are the best.

Other findings revealed that half of caravanners surveyed enjoy to relax while driving, while 61 per cent said they felt happy on the road. That being said, other motorists still ranked them at the very bottom of the list for road users.

The best road users – as voted by other motorists is as follows:

1. Car drivers
2. Lorry drivers
3. Pedestrians
4. Van drivers
5. Cyclists
6. Motorcyclists
7. Caravan drivers

Of the 2,000 motorists surveyed, only nine per cent thought caravanners were competent road users.

We at CaravanTimes have already reported that roads will be messy this summer according to the RAC, but with the number of caravanners on the increase, motorists are sure to get even more angry while on the roads.

Your Legal Friend solicitor, Philip Waters, said of the findings: “Caravan drivers have been a bugbear for motorists for a long time, but our road report shows they are some of the happiest and most relaxed drivers while at the wheel.

“It is of paramount importance that drivers, in any type of vehicle, are aware of the impact their driving has on other road users, especially as the roads become busier through the summer months. To minimise the risk of traffic accidents we call on all drivers to be extra vigilant and considerate of other road users, so we can all drive safely and enjoy the summer break.”

So watch out readers – you may be comfortable, but you’re making the motorists next to you angry. Do you think that you’re bad when it comes to getting behind the wheel and towing your caravan?

Will you be watching Carry on Caravanning on Channel 5 this evening?

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by Joe Jeffrey

Caravan documentary to focus on those that hit the road in their homes on wheels

Whatever your plans are for this evening, cancel them. Take the phone off the hook, put the kettle on, and make sure you’re sitting comfortably. For tonight, at 8pm, you’re in for a treat – we hope.

Channel 5 will be broadcasting a light-hearted documentary, entitled Carry on Caravanning, profiling some of the estimated one million caravanners in the UK.

With the caravan industry in the UK thought to contribute around £6billion to the economy each year, and its popularity is on the rise, particularly with people in their 20s and 30s, the documentary will focus on a selection of caravan-lovers and road-bound holiday-makers as they face the camera and demonstrate why they are willing to defy angry drivers, snobbish frequent fliers and the notoriously unpredictable British weather to spend leisurely weekends in their homes on wheels.

We here at CaravanTimes will certainly be watching with a close eye, so make sure you do too. And look out for a review on CaravanTimes tomorrow.

Will you be tuning in tonight at 8pm? How do you think caravanners will be portrayed in Carry on Caravanning?

Graeme Le Saux averts tragedy during motorhome blaze

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by David Bates

Former England footballer helps elderly couple during motorhome inferno

Graeme Le Saux proved rather much the hero earlier last weekend, following rushing to the aid of an elderly couple whose motorhome containing gas and petrol went up in flames.

The former Chelsea and England defender, who retired from professional football in 2005, marshalled traffic, contacted emergency services and aided the distressed couple after coming across the smoking motorhome near his home in Cranleigh, Surrey.

Le Saux’s wife, Mariana, told local newspaper, GetSurrey: “We assumed they had broken down. There was an older couple and the wife seemed agitated.

“My husband said he would go and see if they were alright, as we could see smoke coming from the side door. He said that the wife was concerned and told her husband to come away.”

After learning that the smouldering motorhome contained petrol and gas, Le Saux’s defensive skills certainly prevailed, as he prevented the 72-year-old-man, who was desperate to retrieve his wallet, from reentering the blaze.

Le Saux and his son then took to guiding traffic away from the fire, which became increasingly fierce and developed into a series of “mini-explosions”. Mariana went on to describe how the motorhome devastatingly went “from a motorhome to ashes in around 25 minutes.”

The 72-year-old man was taken to the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford, although his condition was not described as serious. The former Chelsea star took to twitter to modestly deny his heroism, saying: “It was more a case of getting to the other side of blaze and turning cars back than full on super heroes”.

Spinney’s 40th anniversary rally set to be packed full of summer fun

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by Ellie Pritchard

Don’t miss out on Spinney’s 40th anniversary weekend rally

It’s party time for all of you caravan enthusiasts, because Spinney will be turning 40 in the next few weeks! To celebrate this landmark occasion, the annual Rally Open Weekend in Goostrey will be back and better than ever this summer.

The annual Rally Open Weekend, taking place from 31 July until 2 August, will certainly be celebrating in style, with a 70s theme to celebrate the company’s 40th year – so make sure you dust off those bellbottoms and prepare to be taken back with a bit of Spinney Night Fever.

The Spinney team have really gone all out this year in celebration of their anniversary, and the lucky winners of the company’s 40th anniversary competition, Mr and Mrs Burge, will also be presented with their grand prize, a brand new Compass Corona Caravan, during the festivities.

As always, the weekend will be jam packed with camping, caravanning and entertainment, so make sure you don’t miss out. At just £10 per person for a weekend of fun, why would you?!

Quirky caravans make their way to the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show

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by Megan Henderson

Wales YFC members create themed caravans to win a free stay at Young People’s Village

The Royal Welsh Show got off to a tremendous start this past weekend, with young Welsh attendees putting their best design skills to the test and providing their own take on what they think caravans should look like in a bid to win a free holiday.

The competition, which saw members of Wales’ Young Farmers Club (YFC), pick up their paintbrushes to create some quirky caravan offerings, saw numerous designs submitted in order to win a free stay in the Young People’s Village next year, with the prize going to the “best looking pitch.”

All different kinds of caravanners have tossed their hat in the ring to take home the prize, and the themes are varied. This year there was a John Deere forager, a Dukes of Hazzard themed caravan, and even one painted in tiger stripes.

The decorated caravans come from all over Wales, with many months to complete. The John Deere forager caravan, in particular, came all the way from Carmarthenshire, and took two months to complete. The caravan was crafted by Hefin Jones, 19, Dan Jones, 21, and Sion Evans, 24.

The competition, open to 16 to 27 year olds and taking place in Builth from 20 to 23 of July, joins a whole host of other activities taking place during the show, including those based on forestry, crafts and sports, with the intention of the show being to showcase Welsh livestock, food and drink, as well as connect town and country.

Resurgent British summer sees spike in caravan popularity

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by David Bates

Caravan sales rise as traditional British summer returns

Britons keen to make the most of their summer are increasingly turning to camping and caravaning for weekend breaks, as well as longer holidays, whilst sales of traditional summer fare have increased markedly.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show, in some cases, a fourfold increase in the sale of caravan-related products; sleeping bags jumped from £1.3 million in 2008 to £4.9 million in 2014 and, across the same period, tent and caravan awning sales rose by 75 per cent to £18.4 million. Caravan sales have steadily risen by seven per cent from 2012, amounting to £341.4 million, £261.7 million of which was on small caravans – the equivalent to some 50,000 vehicles. This in turn increased travel demands, with luggage sales more than doubling from £13.2 million to £28.3 million.

Our reemerging affection for the great outdoors has also seen rises in sales of cider, beer and ice cream. In 2014, Britons spent £723 million on homemade ice cream and £911.2 million on cider, an increase of almost 50 per cent from 2008, thought to spring from increasingly popular, and especially summery, mixed-fruit ciders.

British consumption of beer and cider appears to reflect average annual temperatures. The colder summers of 2012 and 2013 saw a fall-off in sales compared to 2011 and 2014. Let’s hope the sun continues to shine in 2015.

Caravanners becoming increasingly acceptant of school term time holiday fines

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by Ellie Pritchard

With the increase in the price of holidays when school is out, parents are in defiance of being fined for taking their children away during term time

Parents looking to escape on their summer holiday early by taking their children out of school during term time in order to avoid a stark increase in prices are becoming more acceptant of fines implemented in order to prevent them from doing so, it has emerged.

With holiday prices rising rapidly during school holidays, many parents across the UK are willing to risk being fined £60, including over 1,000 parents in the county of Derbyshire alone.

Since 2012, Derby City Council has issued 3,075 fines to parents who have irresponsibly taken their children out of school.
During the 2012/13 academic year, 775 Derbyshire parents were fined, with the figure increasing to 1,196 during the 2013/14 academic year.

With one week still left to go for some schools, 1,104 parents have been fined this academic year, equating to a minimum of £184,000 in fines issues to parents who fail to abide by the rules.
Many Derby Telegraph readers said they would be happy to take the fine in comparison to forking out hundreds of pounds extra for a holiday out of term time.

One unhappy caravanner, Nikita Rusko, said: “Yes, I will continue to take my child out of school during term time as well, until the government start forcing holiday companies to lower their prices during the holidays. The difference is ridiculous!

“I’ve priced up a holiday for August at Haven. It would cost me nearly £1,000 for Monday to Friday in one of their basic caravans, yet if I were to book the same caravan on the same site but in June/July it would be about £200?”

Frustrated parent, Jimmy Watt agreed, saying: “The holiday companies take the Michael. There was £600 – £1,300 difference on some holidays we looked at.”
Jackie Wood was also left feeling outraged by the price of holidays during school holidays. She said: “We once booked a caravan at a Devon holiday park for a week during Easter and that cost us £580.
“If we had booked exactly the same caravan for a week during the six weeks summer holidays it would have cost us well over £1,000 and that’s in the UK!”
But there were other parents who didn’t agree with taking their children out of school to go on holiday was justified.

Annabelle Rowe said: “I personally don’t take my kids on holiday in term time, we go to the seaside at Easter when it’s a bit cheaper.

“I don’t think doing it as a one-off is a huge deal but I know of parents who do it three or four times a year, which is a lot of school to be missing really.”

The fine system was introduced by MP Michael Gove following abolishing the right for schools to give the okay for students to be awarded with up to ten days of holiday when he was education secretary.

This new rule ensured that parents were issued with a £60 fine if their child’s absence was not authorised by the school. Those who refuse the fine are subsequently faced with a further fine of £2,500 and could even face jail for a maximum of three months.

Of the increase in parents taking their children out of school during term time, Sir Michael explained to the Sunday Times: “I would like to see the fines raised. We have too many parents taking their children out in term time.”

The MP, better known for his Plebgate scandal than imposing fines on cash struck parents who struggle to meet exorbitant prices many holiday companies charge during school holidays, continued: “If parents are behaving irresponsibly then the state is right to say, ‘This is wrong and you are being a bad parent’.”

What do you think? Can taking children on holiday during school term time can be justified once in a while? Leave a comment below or voice your opinion in our CaravanTimes forum.

Caravanner struggles with tight squeeze in Cornwall

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by Megan Henderson

Caravan gets stuck in narrow lane, adding to locals’ woes

Caravanners beware, your caravan won’t fit on every lane.

A couple’s holiday hit a bit of a hitch before it had even begun yesterday, after becoming stuck in a narrow lane in southeast Cornwall. The holidaymakers were driving through the village of Polperro when their caravan got stuck, much to the embarrassment of those towing it.

The incident, which occurred around 9.30 am yesterday morning was Tweeted by a worker in nearby newsagents, Polperro News and has since been doing the rounds on social media.

Fortunately a local farmer helped the caravanners out of their bind and set them free to travel onwards to their final destination.

It has since emerged that Polperro locals are becoming more and more upset over incidents taking place similar to this, as, they claim, caravanners are bringing disruption and road blockages in the small fishing town.

We at CaravanTimes just want to remind all of our readers to remember the dimensions of your caravan, as some satnav systems do not account for them while you are travelling. We wouldn’t want anyone missing their holiday because they find themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Car and Caravan burst into flames on A55

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by Jessica Almeida

Lucky caravanners avoid injury due to caravan and car fire

A car and a caravan burst into flames on Thursday whilst travelling on the A55 in Anglesey.

Fire services responded to calls made by people at the scene concerning the incident and attended the scene to disperse the flames. According to a fire services spokesperson, both the car towing the caravan and the caravan itself were still burning upon their arrival and was contained shortly afterwards.

The fire was eventually extinguished and drives were warned to expect delays.

Drivers were subsequently diverted at junction 5 and the slip road was closed.

Aaron Roberts, a Daily Post reader said: “Just passed Llangefni turn off on the A55 Anglesey and captured a picture of a caravan on fire. Large amount of emergency services passed us on the way there. The car was travelling westbound towards holyhead.”

We here at CaravanTimes are pleased no one was injured as a result of the fire.

Thrifty Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh is living from his caravan

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by Megan Henderson

Hsieh could be living in an expansive home, but chooses to live in a small caravan park he owns in Las Vegas

If you were a CEO worth $820 million (£527 million) would you be living in your caravan? Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh is living in a trailer park in Las Vegas, even though he could certainly be living in a mansion.

Hsieh, described as a “frugal millionaire” by those in the know, made the move from a luxury condo to his caravan last year. Hsieh even owns the caravan park he is living in.

Hsieh certainly is not living without a bit of luxury. He calls a 2013 Airstream caravan home, which usually retails at $48,000 (£31,000). The caravans in Hsieh’s park have two TVs, Bluetooth stereo systems, and wood paneling.

There are 30 Airstream caravans in the park, and many house computer programmers from Silicon Valley, usually staying in the caravan park temporarily. The park is also home to Tumbleweed Tiny Houses.

Hsieh snagged the caravan park when it was just an empty lot, then slowly transformed it into a small caravan park with a community campfire and movies projected onto a blow up screen. The caravan park has become a breeding ground for shared ideas with the communal living.

Hsieh feels the caravans act as bedrooms while the campfire acts as a living room for the community. It’s suggested the park’s design was inspired by Burning Man, a popular musical festival in Nevada, USA.

Hsieh hopes to attract more business-minded people to the Las Vegas area; he wants to change the way that people see the city, and prove it is not all about gambling. Hsieh is so dedicated he has invested $350 million (£225 million) into downtown Las Vegas to add appeal for investors.

Hsieh sold Zappos to Amazon for $1.2 billion (£770 million) in 2009, but the sale has allowed Hsieh to run the company how he wishes and, similar to his caravan communal living, Hsieh lets all of his employees have a voice when it comes to running the company.

Erik Moore, an early Zappos investor, told Business Insider: “Money just doesn’t matter to him. If he only had a million dollars left, he’d spend $999,999 to make Vegas work. He would be just as happy with a dollar in the bank and being around people he cares about and care about him.”

Hsieh is perfectly happy to live in a caravan community. We here at CaravanTimes think it would be impossible not to splurge a little bit with that kind of money.