Welsh caravan site secures year-round opening times

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by Tom Walsh

Caravanners visiting Wales are now able to enjoy one site all year round.

Ogwen Bank Caravan Park in Bethesda has been granted permission to stay open 365 days a year by Gwynedd council, BBC News reports.

The controversial plans had been opposed over fears that it could have a detrimental effect on the Welsh language but the planning inspector dismissed these claims.

Ogwen Bank Caravan Park is normally closed for six weeks of the year but these new regulations will allow holidaymakers to enjoy the facility whatever the weather.

The site sits in North Wales and not only provides the perfect location for exploring the Welsh countryside but is also a short drive from the coast and the lively town of Bangor.

This news comes just after Glencote Caravan Park in Staffordshire was granted the same licence, ensuring that it can remain open during the Christmas period as well as the rest of the year.

Passengers confused by abandoned caravan at Paddington station

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by Jake Polden

Most people who use the Tube as part of their morning commute will tell you there is nothing more monotonous on the planet.

From pushing and shoving to being packed tighter than sardines, the only good part about getting the train is getting off the train.

So you can imagine the excitement commuters felt when they encountered an abandoned caravan at Paddington station’s main concourse on Monday (16 December).

Unassuming, as if it sneaked in during the night and got caught out when the station staff opened up for the morning, the caravan garnered much attention from sleepy-eyed commuters who probably thought they were still dreaming.

Put there to promote Temple Studios’ production of The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable, however, the caravan had a clipboard attached to the side, which provided potential audiences with an insight to the show:

“A bustling city station.
“Crowds of passengers, tourists, commuters pass through the central concourse.
“(Camera pans in)
“Through the chaos, something captures the stranger’s eye.
“A film studio trailer lies in the middle of the station.
“(Cut to close up)
“They glimpse a clipboard hanging from the trailer and carefully read a page of script. It dawns on them this trailer may contain a secret waiting to be discovered.
“They look through the window”.

For more information on the show, visit the National Theatre website.

FEATURE: Top-five caravan mini games to keep you going over Christmas

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by Ruchi Srivastava

This Christmas, after all the mulled wine, when you’re spread out on the floor, stuffed from all that turkey that you thought you could never possibly finish, how about livening yourself up through some light-hearted but strangely engrossing caravan games.

We can guarantee that it will make for a very entertaining time when you’ll feel like throwing something at your computer and will certainly wake you up from your post-Christmas stupor.

So without further ado, we present you with the top five caravan-related online mini games to keep you amused over the Christmas holidays.

Caravan racing

This game is ideal for nurturing the competitive streak in all of us…..or you could simply play just to have the satisfaction of beating the computer!

The game can be played with one or two players and gives you a chance to choose between canyon, city, park or volcano tracks. So get ready, set and go on ‘<' . strtolower('Array') href="http://www.miniclip.com/games/caravan-racers/en/" target="_blank">Miniclip.com.

Caravan parking

We challenge you to even complete one level of this fiendish game. With its ability to make you want to pull your hair out, or to permanently damage your keyboard, trying to get your car and caravan to park in the reserved spot is a game that is practically impossible.

If you can manoeuvre the caravan in the allotted time and manage to get it parked in all three levels, then we’ll consider it nothing short of a Christmas miracle. Test your parking skills on ‘<' . strtolower('Array') href="http://www.cargames1.com/play/caravanparkinggame.htm#.Uqg75vRdVik" target="_blank">Cargames1.com.

Match the caravan

Fancy yourself to be a caravanning connoisseur? How about testing yourself by matching different historical caravans with their respective cars?

You can even see if your knowledge matches the game master’s little fact file on each caravan.

The perfect game to soothe your nerves after the painfully hard caravan-parking game. Check it out on The National Motor Museum website.

Caravan parking and reversing

Another parking game that will cause you to seriously question your driving ability… well at least on the computer.
This game gives you six minutes to reverse, manoeuvre and ultimately park your car and caravan in a designated area.

Yeah, sounds much simpler than it is in (virtual) reality. Don’t believe us? Try the game yourself on ‘<' . strtolower('Array') href="http://www.bigfreeguide.com/camping/page.php?id=game" target="_blank">Bigfreeguide.com

Stuff the sack

Getting into the festive spirit, Coachman Caravans has come up with a Christmas gift for this year that is designed to spread a lot of seasonal cheer.

In this mini game, you play as Santa, and you need to catch as many gifts as possible while avoiding the dreaded bombs and bags of coal.

Extremely fast-paced, we definitely recommend this game for anyone needing some excitement on the morning after Christmas. Find it on the Coachman Christmas mini-site.

These games will be enjoyed by all, especially those who long for their quiet, aloof caravans after all the Christmas hustle and bustle. After all, you can never feel too far from your caravan with these great caravan mini games.

EXCLUSIVE: Inside the Bluebelle vintage caravan pop-up tea shop

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by Ruchi Srivastava

When we came across Bluebelle, we fell in love with her (no, seriously).

And then when we realised that she was an integral part of a bakery that served a delicious and colourful array of cakes we fell in love a little more.

Bluebelle Bakery is a passionately run business that functions on the basis of hard-work and creativity.

This creative streak is obvious from the very idea of using a vintage caravan as part of the business, and this certainly sets it apart from the rest of the bakeries that we know.

Using the vintage theme as her inspiration, Sonja Sharkey told us that the caravan seemed to fit in perfectly with what she did and her love for all things vintage meant that she could combine her passion for baking with the flexibility of a touring caravan and create something truly different.

A mum to three young children, Sonja explained that although she had previously worked in optics, her passion has always been baking and cooking ever since she could remember.

The Bluebelle Bakery business was actually the best accidents of sorts as it was not planned and the business developed through a series of baking assignments for friends which lead to their incredible popularity on Facebook.

Trying to pinpoint an exact time reference for her business, Sonja said that the baking had started in December last year when she started baking Christmas cupcakes for friends and family.

Once she put the pictures of the cupcakes up on Facebook, there was an instant stream of messages from people who demanded more.

Speaking about the unbelievable response, Sonja said: “I think I must have made 500 of them last Christmas!”

Sonja believes that most ideas and inspiration for baking comes from these very customers and who they are as people, especially if Sonja knows them well.

However, it wasn’t until the summer that Sonja decided to take her business on the road by investing in a classic caravan.

Speaking enthusiastically about her inspiration for Bluebelle, Sonja explained that the bolt of lightning struck her as she was wandering around a food festival with her sister, on a sunny day, in August.

As she soaked in the atmosphere with the enticing aroma of food, Sonja said: “I saw all these pop up pizza ovens and other lovely things and started to think to myself ‘why not have a pop-up vintage tearoom?’

“I love all things vintage so I thought I could get myself a cute little vintage caravan and turn it into one.”

And that is precisely what Sonja did, after a lot of searching, when she finally found her perfect caravan. She proceeded to turn the caravan inside-out and after two months of hard graft, Bluebelle was ready for business.

Curious about the namesake of the caravan, we asked Sonja if the name had been inspired by anything in particular, since it seems be reminiscent of a very vintage feel.

Walking down memory lane, Sonja spoke about the long, arduous process behind the name choice.

She had already decided that she would paint her caravan blue as it was her favourite colour and ‘Belle’ is the name of her daughter and therefore it seemed like the perfect choice for a name.

But the thing that really clinched the name ‘Bluebelle’ for Sonja was “the discovery of bluebells growing wild in my garden as I was thinking of the name. This felt like a sign to me.”

Although Bluebelle has only travelled to one baking event so far, Sonja is hopeful that she will get to see a lot more of the country in the future.

In particular, Sonja is wishing for lots of bookings for the new year as she reasoned that it is only a matter of knowing where to advertise for Bluebelle.

Finally, we asked Sonja about the highs and lows of owning as well as running Bluebelle.

She explained that the highs for her are the reactions that she gets from people when they see Bluebelle for the very first time.

There are usually exclamations of how pretty the caravan is and it makes her feel like all the hard work was worth it.

Choosing not to focus too much on the pitfalls, Sonja did admit that she felt like “giving up a thousand times” when she came across caravan problems like damp and broken electrics.

However, ultimately, our touring baker is happy and relieved that she chose to go ahead with Bluebelle and let her grow and blossom.

We at CaravanTimes wish Sonja well and hope that the Bluebelle Bakery comes to a town close to you very soon!

Staffordshire caravan park to stay open all-year round

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by Tom Walsh

Caravanners visiting Staffordshire are set to benefit from a local site being open all year round.

Glencote Caravan Park in Station Road, Cheddleton, has been given permission by Staffordshire Moorlands District Council to remain open for 12 months a year.

The facility was previously closed during January but councillors have approved plans to make it a year round attraction, Leek Post & Times reports.

Tom Burnside submitted the application to the local authority which will be able to accommodate up to 100 holiday units. This will include static and touring caravans, tents, motorhomes as well as space for a warden/staff unit.

“There has been increasing demand for opening in the New Year in recent years with many people wishing to take a holiday over the Christmas period running through into January or to celebrate the New Year away from home, but in affordable accommodation suitable for family use,” Mr Burnside told the news provider.

Glencote sits in the Staffordshire countryside and is only a short drive from the town of Leek.

Caravanners take twice as many holidays, says survey

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by Tom Walsh

The joy of having a caravan means you can simply travel to a different part of the country to experience a mini getaway.

And now, new research has found that caravanners actually take twice as many holidays as the average Brit, highlighting the ease with which people can up sticks and have a relaxing weekend break.

A report by the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) found that that the typical British family has around three holidays a year but Shield Insurance found that 19 per cent of caravanners took up to ten breaks.

It is not just a case of sticking to staycations, as the insurance company found that 43 per cent of caravan owners ventured abroad for their holiday with the likes of France, Spain, Italy and Switzerland all being popular destinations.

As Christmas approaches there will be caravanners all over the country that will be planning that one last getaway before the big day arrives on the 25th.

Woman found dead after blaze at Scottish caravan park

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by Jake Polden

Fire-fighters and police in Fife have launched an investigation in the hope of finding out what caused a fire that took the life of a woman at a Scottish caravan park.

Called to Kilrenny Mill Caravan Park at around 6:30am on Saturday (14 December), six fire-engines and support vehicles attempted to manage a blaze that was described as being “well developed”.

A team of over 35 fire-fighters, all wearing gas-masks, were required to extinguish the flames, before anyone was allowed inside to go and search for bodies.

After a thorough search of the area, a body of an unnamed was discovered. An elderly man was also taken in by ambulance staff and is being treated for smoke inhalation.

A spokesperson for the fire service said: “The tragic loss of life must always bring home the importance of working together to prevent fires and raise awareness of how to be safer from the risk of fire in the home.”

Welsh caravan park hits a hat-trick at Loo of the Year awards

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by Jake Polden

Located on the Cambrian Coast, Min-y-Don Holiday Home and Touring Park picked up a number of accolades at this year’s UK Loo of the Year Awards.

Winning the award for individual category as well as attendant of the year, the caravan park just missed out on achieving the coveted title of overall UK Loo of the Year.

Despite this, the park was given the highest platinum grading at the presentation ceremony in Solihull, and celebrated their success in a competition they have dominated four times over the last six years.

Min-y-Don park, which underwent a £2 million development in 2008, includes everything from five-star wash basins and toilets, to full disabled facilities and a laundry room.

But to win an award, this must all be maintained by a troupe of dedicated staff, if it is to continue scoring so highly in this accolade year-on-year.

Winning attendant of the year for the first time ever, couple Leslie and Andy Holland, who clean and maintain the whole toilet block, revelled in their achievement and received much praise from owners Sue and Richard Hodgson, who said:

“The awards are fantastic for the park and great credit is due to Lesley and Andy Holland, who take care of the cleaning and maintenance of the toilet block,”

“We believe it’s vitally important that we provide the best toilet facilities for customers and staff.

“We were thrilled to be nominated for the first time for the overall Loo of the Year Award and [win] two UK trophies and [are] delighted to receive the highest platinum grading, which is added to the five-star grading from Visit Wales”.

Caravan Club survey estimates there are 1.7m caravanners in the UK

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by Tom Walsh

The tourism industry is driving towards prosperity again and much of this is owed to those who enjoy holidaying in their caravans.

A recent survey from the Caravan Club found that 1.7 million people in the UK enjoy a caravanning holiday and there are more than one million caravans in the country.

Part of the reason for the popularity of caravan holidays is down to how cheap they are – the average pitch price on a Caravan Club site is £22 per night for a family.

Nevertheless, the caravan industry still contributes £6 billion per year to the UK’s local economies.

On top of that, respondents to the survey who were quizzed towards the close of the holiday season said that they main things they like about caravanning is the opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors, the freedom that holidaying in a caravan offers and the opportunity to select the perfect location.

Due to the influx of caravanners, the Caravan Club has also been able to open three new sites this year, including one in Strathclyde Country Park, which will be welcome guests during the 2014 Commonwealth Games in nearby Glasgow.

PREVIEW: What to look out for at the 2014 Manchester Caravan & Motorhome Show

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by Ruchi Srivastava

One of the biggest and most prominent caravan shows in the country, the 2014 Manchester Caravan & Motorhome Show is set to take place at EventCity from 23-26 January.

This event, which brings together the best of both the caravan as well as the motorhome worlds, will be displaying the latest 2014 caravan, motorhome and holiday home models.

With all the latest models made by top manufacturers on display under one roof, the show offers holidaymakers the ideal opportunity to compare and contrast the different interiors of the models, to ultimately discover their perfect holiday home.

Determined to tempt people and spoil them for choice, some of the top
manufacturers present at the show include Willerby, Swift, Eterniti, Omar, Cambrian, Prestige, Lissett Homes and BK Bluebird.

Other major manufacturers being represented by their respective dealer networks include Bailey, :Elddis, Compass and Coachman.

Also making an appearance at the show, The Caravan Club will be giving lucky visitors the chance to try one of their free ‘Motorhome Manoeuvring’ or ‘Towcar Try Before You Buy’ taster sessions.

There will also be opportunities to test-drive the winner of the respected 2014 Caravan Club Towcar of the Year award, the Skoda Superb.

Holiday inspiration

However, one of the most exciting attractions for the January show is likely to be the ‘Great Days Out’ area.

For the first time, the Caravan & Motorhome Show will be displaying this new attraction that is designed to get you thinking about the perfect holiday spots for the year ahead.

Offering vacationers a package deal at some of the best holiday destinations along with some amazing ticket offers, this attraction is bound to be a popular stop for adventurous families.

Besides, you may even be lucky enough to win free tickets to your dream destination in a series of competitions.

Also, without giving too much away, we can tell you that each holiday attraction will have something to give you a true taste of the experience that they can offer you.

Confirmed holiday attractions include the historic Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways set in the heart of Snowdonia, Wedgwood Visitor Centre, North Yorkshire’s
Flamingo Land Resort, Samlesbury Hall and Gulliver’s World.

Speaking about the newest attraction to their show, the Caravan & Motorhome Show spokesperson, Rob Hawthorne said: “Caravanners take an average of nine holidays every year so they are among the most ‘active’ and aware holidaymakers out there.

“There will be plenty to keep them interested and lots of exclusive deals for them to check out at the show this year.”

All kitted out

Now after providing you with visuals of beautiful and dreamy holiday destinations, it would be very remiss of the show to forget that you must be adequately equipped for your holiday.

However, the 2014 Manchester caravan show ensures that they make no such mistake by showcasing the new season’s most useful products.

Leading outdoor leisure retailers will be readily available to answer your questions and indeed to help you choose your products.

Again, with special show prices on offer, this is not something that you would want to miss. This year’s show will also have an added bonus for active families, as the 2014 show will have its biggest-ever tent array display.

As a result, families will have the luxury of finding a tent that exactly suits their purposes. Also, worth mentioning are the quick-erect option tents that will be available.

That has to be the perfect product for when you are off camping with the whole family.

Alongside the tents, there will also be an extensive choice of accessory retailers at the show displaying the latest holiday equipment and gadgets with one of the leading retailers being Towsure.

Hosting the show’s new Accessory Superstore, Towsure will be showing various, impressive products ranging from bike-racks, barbecues, sat-navs and outdoor furniture.

Basically everything and anything that you could need for a camping holiday will be available at this all-purpose show with the Camping and Caravanning Club also available to provide caravan safety advice and tuition.

As well as being an enjoyable experience, the show is good value for money, with free car parking free entry for under 16-year-olds.

Online advance ticket booking for the show is available through CaravanShows.com and closes on 22 January 2014 (9pm). The price for the standard advance tickets are £7.50, while on the door tickets are priced at £9.00.

So head along and get some inspiration for your next caravan-holiday extravaganza.

VIDEO: Exclusive features in the 2014 Swift caravan ranges

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by Chris Jefferies
What it comes to caravan specification, there are some things that every caravan has and there are some things that only luxury caravans have.
And for 2014 there are are some things that only Swift caravans have, such as Duvalay memory-foam mattresses and D-Mack tyres.
In our latest video, we talk to Nick Page, Commercial Director of Swift, about these exclusive deals for the upcoming season.
Nick tells us about the advantages of a Duvalay, which you may remember from the founders’ appearance on Dragons’ Den in 2011, when they won over the hard-nosed investors.

To hear from Swift suppliers Duvalay, Tracker and Impala click here.


We also find out about D-Mack’s rally pedigree and the benefits this brings to Swift, Sterling and Sprite caravan tyres.
Nick also explains how the Impala fabrics in some of Swift’s more up-market products can repel stains like ketchup, curry and red wine.
Finally, we discuss the Tracker Retrieve stolen vehicle recovery system and how it recently helped to catch a caravan thief in less than an hour.

VIDEO: Why Bailey of Bristol fits WSL wheel bolts to Alu-Tech caravans

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by Chris Jefferies
Sometimes it’s the small things that make the biggest difference, and this is why Bailey of Bristol has been making a song and dance about its new wheel bolts.
Since 2012, every new Bailey range has come fitted with WSL Caravan Wheel Safety Bolts – we saw them on the Unicorn II, the Pegasus GT65, and the recently launched Bailey Pursuit is no exception.
In this video, we catch up with Managing Director Nick Howard to find out why this component is so crucial to caravan wheel safety.
Nick explains how the floating collar design and non-slip finish helps to ensure that the bolts don’t become slacker and lose tension.
We also talk about the importance of having laser-balanced wheels to make your caravan run more smoothly.
Finally, we hear how Bailey came to be the first UK caravan manufacturer to fit Michelin tyres, following the testing and introduction of the ‘<' . strtolower('Array') href="/bailey-motorhomes/">Bailey motorhomes range.