Monday mayhem as British roads see two caravan crashes in one day

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By Josh Budd

Closures on British motorways as two devastating caravan crashes grind roads to a standstill

Monday saw caravan destruction on British roads with two major crashes causing road closures and severe delays, as rescue crews rushed to each scene.

The first accident occurred at 10:50am yesterday morning on the M6 motorway, after a dangerous collision between a lorry and a caravan that was occupying the middle lane.

It appears that the accident arose when the driver of the saloon car towing the caravan, suddenly spotted a tyre lying discarded in the road, and, in a last-second attempt to evade it, swerved into the middle lane and into the path of an approaching HGV lorry.

Closing junction 13 near Stratford, rescue teams quickly responded arriving just seven minutes later and soon discovered with a sigh of relief that, miraculously, no one was injured.

The crash certainly took its toll on the caravan, however, with shocking and unsettling images of the resulting wreckage, revealing the caravan in question, almost torn in half, with the rear doors being completely decimated in the collision.

Later that afternoon, more chaos occurred as a caravan was overturned on the M40 heading southbound between junctions 5 and 6. The caravan owner’s family, who were passengers in the car towing the caravan, remained unscathed, managing to vacate the vehicle following the incident.

The scene was secured by two fire crews from High Wycombe and one from Thame, closing a single lane on the motorway.

Thankfully, no one was injured in Monday’s caravan fiascos, but the roads are bound to get busier this summer, as people all over Britain head off on their summer holidays.

Make sure you are extra vigilant and take regular breaks when hitting the road, to ensure you remain safe and your caravan remains intact.

Be a Happier Camper with a retro style campervan

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By Emily Boneham

New campervan brings the 50s style into the modern day

Think caravanning is not very rock and roll? Think again.

The new Happier Camper takes vintage style, VW features and modern day appliances and rolls them into one beautifully compact 4m by 2.1m bundle of loveliness.

The ‘Adaptiv’ system allows six basic components – a bench, kitchenette, table, cushion, floor panel and lid – and enables you to mix and match as you wish.

Fit the Happier Camper with up to five beds and simply leave the camper empty for as much space as possible. The possibilities are endless.

Such versatility almost takes us back to the 1976 Bailey’s Maestro C with it’s changeable seating.

You can also opt in for modern additions, like a Bose audio system or a heated shower.

You’ll have to hold on to your money just a little longer. In the US, the Happier Campers are currently on sale for around $13,950 (approximately £8950).

Unfortunately the UK will have to wait until at least next year. Until then, enjoy your Happier dreams!

Carl Fogarty supports Freedom to Go in Airstream caravan

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By Claire Lawson

Fogarty boosts Freedom to Go campaign in his own Airstream caravan

Former World Superbike racing champion, Carl Fogarty MBE is the latest celebrity to become ambassador for the Freedom to Go campaign.

The former motorcycle champion and winner of 2014’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here has chosen to enjoy his leisure time in his own Airstream caravan, providing him with a relaxing alternative to the high speed lifestyle he became famous for following retirement in 2000 due to injury.

Describing why he chooses to spend his time travelling around in his caravan, Foggy appreciates the quality with which the Airstream is built, along with the freedom he gains come rain or shine.

In an interview with Airstream, Foggy stated, “Just to go somewhere on the coast with a caravan, you set it all up with a barbecue outside. Or you get the push bikes out, or get the dogs out. It just makes you feel alive.”

Foggy has also become an ambassador for the Freedom to Go campaign in an effort to get people out into the UK countryside and to enjoy the leisurely lifestyle caravans allow.

“The UK boasts a wealth of natural beauty and culture, and leisure vehicles are a great way to make the most of this,” Foggy continued, whilst explaining how leisure vehicles played an important role during his racing days. “When I was on the Superbikes circuit, motorhomes played a huge role in letting me do what I loved best and I’m all for encouraging people to enjoy the freedom of going where they like, when they like and I’m delighted to be getting behind the campaign.”

Rachel Piggott, from Freedom to Go said: “Foggy embodies everything that the Freedom to Go campaign stands for and we want to inspire people to give leisure vehicles a go, and explore the best that the Great British Isles have to offer.”

Foggy joins the campaign with other sporting personalities including British racing driver Oli Webb and rising surf star Melodie King.

See the video below to find out why Foggy enjoys going out in his Airstream.

Acorn Wood wins The Camping & Caravanning Club Best Certified Site Award

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Claire Lawson

Small Lincolnshire campsite wins prestigious award based on customer reviews

Proving big isn’t always best, Acorn Wood caravan site has scooped the prestigious title of Best Certificated Site (CS) 2014.

The site, situated in Burton-upon-Stather in Lincolnshire and able to accommodate a maximum of five caravans, was awarded with the title based upon having received the most positive reviews and nominations by Camping and Carvanning Club members.

Various factors contributed to the win, including the site’s popular fishing lake as well as location, with Acorn Wood being situated very close to the Lincolnshire Wolds Area of Outstanding National Beauty and Peak District National Park.

The site was bought by Heather and Martin Thompson in the 1990s who then opened the site in 2008 to share their very own little slice of heaven.

“Martin and I are absolutely over the moon to have been given this award. It’s a huge recognition for all our efforts over the years, and we cannot thank everyone enough for all their support,” said Heather.

Acorn Wood also won the Best Facilities award 2014, and members love the spotless facilities and peaceful setting.

Darren Whittington, the Club’s membership services director, said: “Winning Best CS and being nominated for two other categories is testament to Acorn Wood’s popularity and appeal among Club members.

“Offering a beautiful fishing lake on Site, a nature reserve nearby and all within an hour’s drive of both Leeds and Hull, Acorn Wood is a great example of the diverse and unique nature of our Certificated Sites network,” he finished.

Caravan Club virtual Twitter tour with world’s first caravan, The Wanderer, will inspire `spirit of adventure`

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By Emily Boneham

The Wanderer celebrates 130 years since its first tour

This June marks the 130th anniversary of the The Wanderer’s maiden voyage. Owned by popular Victorian author, Dr William Gordon Stables, the world’s first purpose-built leisure touring caravan travelled 1,400 miles during the summer of 1885.

Twitter followers of The Caravan Club Collection, based at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, will be able to retrace the steps of The Wanderer online over the summer months.

It was towed by two horses from Twyford in Berkshire to Inverness, from where the caravan returned to London by rail before continuing its journey along the South Coast, reaching as far as Lymington in the New Forest.

Highlights of this pioneering journey will be shared on The Caravan Club Collection’s Twitter account along with accompanying blogs.

Details of the tour will be taken from Dr Gordon Stables’ account of his travels in his book The Cruise of the Land Yacht Wanderer, with photographs and illustrations of the caravan placed on public display for the first time.

In the 1960s, the caravan was bequeathed to The Caravan Club by Dr Stables’ daughter and has since been situated permanently at the Club Site at Broadway, Worcestershire.

“William Gordon Stables was a true adventurer, with a pioneering spirit and a genuine appreciation of the great outdoors and the benefits the natural world brings to mind and body,” explained Nick Lomas, director general of The Caravan Club.

“For many Club members this is still the essence of touring caravanning and the freedom that goes with it, so we are delighted to mark this anniversary and inspire others with that same spirit of adventure.”

To keep up to date with this celebration of The Wanderer’s first journey, follow The Caravan Club Collection on Twitter or through the hashtag #Wanderer130.

Followers will also be invited to share their own pictures of the towns, villages and landmarks which Gordon Stables visited en route.

Make Holidays Greener Month starts this July: Play your part!

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By Josh Budd

The Big Holiday Beach Clean starts this July

This July, Make Holidays Greener Month returns, encouraging holiday-goers to think about how they can contribute towards making our beaches cleaner, less polluted and more eco-friendly.

With this year’s theme concentrating on ‘cleaner, greener beaches’, Make Holidays Greener are set to launch a worldwide project with ambitions to clean over 100 beaches in 22 countries, by seeking the assistance of communities all over the world to participate in their large-scale beach clean-ups.

Along with hosting organised beach clean-ups, Make Holidays Greener will be offering handy tips and advice to help holidaymakers do their bit this summer, helping to reduce pollution and litter across beaches all over the world.

To make sure we can all enjoy pristine and beautiful beaches for years to come, some of the things Make Holidays Greener advise are:

  • Reduce the amount of excess packaging you plan to carry before you travel. Leave your plastic bags at home, as turtles can mistake them for jellyfish and eat them, causing them fatal harm.
  • Take an ashtray with you, to help limit the amount of pollution from cigarette butts that can severely damage our oceans.
  • Bring reusable drinking bottles instead of plastic ones, to reduce the chance of them making their way into the ocean.

According to research carried out, plastic particles from pollution and litter have significantly affected the wellbeing of our oceans, with 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic currently endangering the lives of our ocean’s inhabitants.

This new beach-cleaning initiative of helping to tidy up litter as well as protect the natural habitats of the ocean, endeavors to make us think about how we can often directly affect the environment without realising it, giving us the opportunity to play our part in keeping our holidays enjoyable for everyone.

To muck in and play your part for the environment this summer, visit the Make Holidays Greener website to find out how you can join in the next beach clean-up near you.

COMPETITION: Win a VARTA 6000 Indestructible Powerpack

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ByJoe Jeffrey

Win a handy little portable Indestructible Powercharger in our latest competition

When it comes to escaping in your leisure vehicle, the award-winning 6000 mAh indestructible Powerpack has certainly been designed with the camper and caravanner in mind. Offering enough power to charge your smartphone three times over, the Powerpack has also been designed to survive the toughest conditions there are and comes fully dustproof, waterproof and drop tested.

Both compact and light thanks to the highly durable acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic and aluminium alloy, the Powerpack also comes with two USB ports for simultaneous multiple charging functionality, offering the perfect solution for when you need to charge two devices at once after a long day out with not a socket in sight.

We’ve tested out the compact 6000 Indestructible Powerpack and can honestly say it lives up to its promises. CaravanTimes decided to really put the Powerpack to the test and, having dropped it onto a hard kitchen floor, poured water over it, and thrown it down a set of stairs, were pleasantly surprised to find it still worked, no matter how hard we tried to dispute those ‘indestructible’ claims.

As for the PowerPack’s charging capabilities, we were also impressed with not having to leave our phones by a plug socket when it came to charging them up. The ability to charge our phones on the move with such a compact little gadget, whilst storing the pocket-sized PowerPack on our person proved more than convenient and was light enough not to bother us when carrying it around.

Priced at £34.99, the VARTA Powerpack certainly packs a punch and is a must for those who like to remain fully charged at all times – wherever you are.

And now, CaravanTimes, in conjunction with those friendly people at VARTA, is giving members to the site the opportunity to win one of five Indestructible Powerpacks in our latest giveaway.

All you need to do to be with a chance of winning is like our Facebook page by clicking here and complete the form below. We’ll announce the winner in our e-newsletter on 3 July, so make sure you subscribe to see if you’ve won!

Competition rules:
Winners will be slected at random at midday on 3 July 2015 and will be notified via the email address supplied in the entry form
Only one entry per person
No purchase necessary
No cash or alternative will be offered
This competition is open to new or existing CaravanTimes members and Facebook fans only
No employees of CaravanTimes or StantonPace Ltd may enter
The competition is open to UK residents aged 18 and over

Nest releases state of the art glamping caravan

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ByClaire Lawson

Nest delivers new modern glamping caravan

Caravan manufacturer, Nest Caravan, have made their monocoque-built glamping trailer available for purchase following the prototype being completed in March.

The trailer, which has been designed for a more luxurious road-tripping experience, has integrated the frame and the body into a single monococque shell rather than building the camper body around a utility trailer which has pretty much become industry standard across the board.

The development of the shell allows the trailer to be 75 per cent lighter than the other caravans in the range and the infusion moulding process provides the structural strength necessary for a functional home away from home.

The outside of the camper is made of fibreglass creating a clean and sleek look that is continued on the inside as the interior materials have been selected from marine, homebuilding and aviation industries wherever possible.

Made for two, the camper is priced at US$29,995 (approximately £19,400) and the company is currently estimating a twelve-week lead time.

What do you think of this caravan from Nest? Is this something you’d want to two to your favourite park if it came to the UK?

Report on arrest rates for drug-driving reveals extent of problem

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By Claire Lawson

New report finds 400 people arrested for drug-driving per month

The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) has revealed the number of arrests from drug-driving in England and Wales since new laws were put into place on 2 March this year,with numbers indicating an average of 400 arrests per month.

The report, based on a Freedom of Information request made by the IAM to police departments in each area of England and Wales, reveals the total number of arrests has reached 902 making the average amount of arrests equivalent to one arrest every three days.

Findings have also shown inconsistency in comparison of areas where some police forces have made as many as 200 arrests where as others have made none at all.

The Metropolitan Police recorded the highest number of arrests, with 214 in just over two months which equates to three drivers every day since the law was changed. At the other end of the spectrum, forces in Leicestershire and Warwickshire have yet to make an arrest.

Sarah Sillars, IAM chief executive officer, said: “I am sure the majority of law abiding drivers would like to know why there is such a variation in the data we have received from police forces. It would be unfortunate if some people got the idea that some areas are softer on drug-driving than others.

“We have reached a point where drink-driving has become socially unacceptable, particularly amongst younger people. We now need a sustained campaign to back up the police enforcement effort and ensure drug-driving is seen in exactly the same way. The effects of driving under the influence of drugs can be devastating.” she finished.

What do you think of these findings? Let us know in the comments section below.

Future designer wows The Fifth Wheel Company with award-winning caravan lighting design

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By Joe Jeffrey
Bangor University student takes home the gold at design awards for innovative lighting creation
A student from Bangor University has designed a new lighting concept for The Fifth Wheel Company.

Adam Edwards, a first year Bsc Product Design student, designed a collection of LED lighting units for the company and won the most commercially viable award from Bangor University at the university’s recent design degree show awards.
The project was part of an ongoing partnership between The Fifth Wheel Company and Bangor University, where the company have tasked students in developing new fixtures and fittings to enhance their product range, whilst also offering student placements throughout the year.
The first year project set to Adam and his fellow class members was to re-design the lighting within Fifth Wheel’s caravans, which could vary from interior mood lighting to exterior styling lights. There were lots of innovative ideas including entrance lighting that displayed the company’s logo on the ground by the door to decorative multipurpose bedside lighting which tilted to enable the light to be used as a reading light or background mood lighting.
Fifth Wheel’s design director, Gethin Whitely, said of the winning design: “The competition was very tough and there were many potential winners. Adam’s design was of a high quality and could be fitted directly into our production models; it stood out above the competition due its functionality, aesthetic appeal and the ease of manufacture. Overall it’s a great product as it combines excellent design and practicality.”
When asked what he enjoyed most about the project Adam said: “I enjoyed the freedom to create and to have the chance to create something that could actually be used in the caravan industry”. When pushed he admitted the hardest part of the project was in fact the electronics.
Of the partnership between The Fifth Wheel Company and Bangor University, managing director Adrian Parry-Jones said: “I’m really pleased with the outcome of the project from all the students and feel it is really beneficial to have a working partnership between local businesses and the university as proven by this assignment. I believe having a brief that gives clear direct link to the ‘real world’ focuses the individuals and clearly gives great results.”
Founded in 2002, The Fifth Wheel Company has gone on to win numerous accolades including The Caravan Club design award for five years in a row. By continuing to work with up-and-coming designers of tomorrow, we’re pretty sure the company’s success will continue.
We here at CaravanTimes congratulate Adam Edwards on creating such an innovative design and wish him every success for the future.

Miniature caravan theatre brings shows to London

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By Josh Budd

Robin Linde Productions collaborate with IMMERGE to bring entertainment shorts to London

If you have a love for the theatre, and have a passion for caravanning, then a new project from IMMERGE will certainly be something that will interest you.

You rarely hear the words ‘theatre production’ and ‘caravanning’ in the same sentence, but if anyone can successfully marry the two, it’s Robin Linde Productions, as they team up with IMMERGE to bring the colourful, exciting and quality dramatic productions, titled Summer Shorts, to London.

Young, up-and-coming installation artist from the Netherlands, Rosa Sijben, has been responsible for crafting the stage for the event – a stage that certainly has a peculiar twist. With the exterior of a family caravan, Rosa’s theatre will be fully mobile, and the event’s performances will all take place upon her caravan-inspired stage.

Rosa’s latest project aims to elevate fine art above its current station in the theatre. Rather than being merely intended for the creation of props and costumes, Rosa utilises fine art in such a way that it becomes integral and inseparable from the core elements of the theatre, redefining the role art has in theatrical production.

As the popular MERGE festival nears, IMMERGE and Robin Linde Productions plan to showcase six different, fifteen minute shows, spanning across six weeks. The first scheduled show, entitled ‘Sea View’, even heavily features caravanning, following the story of a woman who moves to a caravan site to escape her hectic life to write a novel.

The Summer Shorts festivities begin on 10 June with the last week of performances ending on 18 July. This special event will take place in Borough Market, London.

If you are curious to see Rosa’s whimsical moving caravan-theatre in action, tickets are now on sale on. To buy your tickets, please visit the MERGE festival’s website here.

The Caravan Club saddles up for annual London to Brighton bike ride

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By Emily Boneham

Staff ride to raise funds for British Heart Foundation

The Caravan Club is getting set for its annual London to Brighton bike ride in aid of the British Heart Foundation.

On the 54 mile route, 10 Caravan Club staff will be joined by 28,000 other riders to pedal the route – now in its 40th year – on 21 June.

Starting bright and early at Clapham Common in London, the riders will take in the beautiful sights of the South Downs before speeding to a glorious finish at Brighton’s Madeira Drive around midday.

If the thought of putting on your lycra and helmet has left you wheely excited, the Caravan Club has just released 35 bike routes that start at Club sites across the UK.

In partnership with Sustrans, a leading charity that champions healthier travel options, The Caravan Club has developed a downloadable cycling route map showing the best and most stunning routes the UK has to offer. Make sure you check it out now.