Bailey Caravans to support Sir Ranulph Fiennes on polar trek

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by Jack Beresford

Bailey caravan owners braving the cold this winter may want to spare a thought for intrepid explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes.

The famous adventurer is currently preparing to set off on his latest and greatest challenge to date – attempting to cross Antarctica during winter.

Dubbed the Coldest Journey On Earth, Fiennes and his team of explorers are attempting to do something never before achieved.

And they are doing it with the backing of Bailey of Bristol, which is providing sponsorship for the expidition team.

As Nick Howard, managing director of Bailey, explained: “The Coldest Journey was something we really wanted to be involved in and we are consequently very proud to become one of the sponsors of this attempt to complete one of last great polar challenges.”

Under the current plans, the expedition team will depart London on December 6th, travelling aboard the ice-strengthened research ship the SA Agulhas.

Upon arrival in Antarctica on March 21st next year, a team of six that will be led by Fiennes will begin their six-month trek across the inhospitable continent.

It amounts to one of the most impressive and challenging feats ever attempted and a far cry from anyone enduring a windy night in Skegness!

Bailey are one of 165 sponsors that have backed Fiennes on this expedition, including the Caravan Club and Dometic.

New EU labels to make choosing caravan tyres easier

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by Arash Hekmat

New rules relating to the sale of tyres within the EU have came into effect this month, promising to make driving and towing safer, cheaper and better for the environment.

As of 1 November, car, caravan and motorhome tyres must all be rated under the new European tyre labeling regulations.

Each tyre is evaluated for stopping distances in wet conditions, fuel efficiency and noise while driving, and then give a rating like the one pictured (right).

It is hope that this information will be used by drivers to inform their tyre purchasing decisions, with a view to buying those compounds that are safer, more durable and less polluting.

Welcoming the new rating system, Ian Hewlett, technical manager at The Camping and Caravanning Club, said it should help consumers make better purchasing choices.

“This is a good first step for the EU and the tyre industry and this may push up the quality of the product being sold and help explain the difference in cost of tyres,” he told Club Care Insurance.

“With caravan and motorhome tyres, you will inevitably have less choice due to the quantities made, but it is still worth considering.”

Northamptonshire caravan park receives flood warning

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by Arash Hekmat

A caravan park in Northamptonshire has received a flood warning as several alerts are issued across the county, following heavy rainfall last weekend (3-4 November).

Cogenhoe Mill caravan park, just outside Northampton, received the warning directly from the Environment Agency (EA), according to the BBC.

It follows an incident in May when residents from the park and the surrounding area were forced to temporarily vacate due to flooding fears.

The current warning includes alerts for the River Nene, River Ise, River Tove and Welland Valley, as well as Harpers Brook and Willow Brook.

After a washout summer that forced many caravanners to cancel their holiday plans, the EA has stated that it expects an increase in winter flooding.

As a result of the unusually wet summer months, river levels are full and ground waters are high, with both the agency and the Met Office warning of increased flood risk from relatively small amounts of rain in November and December.

This isn’t the first Northamptonshire caravan park to face flooding this year, after Billing Aquadrome was evacuated back in May.

Yorkshire caravan thief hit with two-year jail sentence

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by Jack Beresford

A 45-year-old man has learned that caravan crime does not pay after receiving a two-year sentence for stealing a tourer in the Doncaster region.

Shaun Merchant, from Dunscroft, admitted to stealing a caravan from a residence in the Gildingwells area of the city on August 23rd, as the Worksop Guardian reports.

The vehicle thief was seen by a passer-by taking the caravan from the property of the owner.

This information was subsequently passed onto police who were able to track both Mr Merchant’s car and the tourer in question to a nearby address.

South Yorkshire Police then moved to arrest the thief, who is now facing a long period of contemplation behind bars following his sentencing at Sheffield Crown Court.

Guarding against caravan theft remains an important consideration for vehicle owners in the UK.

Back in September, a similar incident saw a much-cherished tourer taken from the home of a Wrexham-based couple in Wales.

West Dorset caravan park expansion plans meet with opposition

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by Jack Beresford

West Dorset Leisure Holidays is facing up to the prospect that it’s proposed upgrade plans for the Golden Cap caravan park, which is located in the region, may not be given the go-ahead.

It follows reports from Bridport News, which indicates that villagers and holidaymakers are opposed to the improvement work, which they believe will increase traffic in the region and remove much of the cosy appeal of the seaside resort.

The holiday provider is keen to add an indoor swimming pool, wildlife area, laundry and restaurant to the site. They are also eager to add lodge-style cabins to the park.

These plans have been met with strong opposition though, with the locally-based Chideock Society and parish council against the plans, which would see the site opened for 11 months out of the year.

Despite the opposition, park owner Martin Cox has defended the proposals.

“Golden Cap’s location and the old-fashioned bucket and spade holiday are no longer sufficient attractions for the park to compete in today’s highly competitive tourism industry,” he told Bridport News.

Pro-Tec caravan covers to feature on BBC Two’s Dragons’ Den

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by Chris Jefferies
Pro-Tec covers will be making an appearance on the popular BBC Two business investment show Dragons’ Den this week, it has been confirmed.
The Bradford-based company has let slip the news five days before their TV debut, which is scheduled for Sunday 11 November (9pm, BBC2).
Keith Proctor, sales director at Pro-Tec, told CaravanTimes: “It was a nerve-wracking experience, as you can imagine. But once you get to the stage where you’re talking about a product that you know well and are passionate about, it becomes like talking to a customer at show.”
Pro-Tec’s slot on Dragons’ Den will see them explaining the concept of bespoke caravan covers and camper trollies to the notoriously hard-nosed panel of investors, including Theo Paphitis, Deborah Meaden, Peter Jones and Duncan Bannatyne.
However, they aren’t the first caravan-related company to appear on the show – last summer saw Liz and Alan Colleran of Raskelf pitch their idea for a memory-foam sleeping bag called the Duvalay.
And Pro-Tec will be hoping to emulate their success, as Liz and Alan managed to secure an £80,000 commitment from the Den’s newest investor, Hilary Devey.
Whatever the outcome, the added exposure will surely help to raise the profile of the company, which recently saw a boom in trade at the NCC Motorhome and Caravan Show.
As well as winter storage covers, Pro-Tec also sells a range of towing covers to keep your tourer in pristine condition while in transit.
Keith adds that the latter product has been particularly popular: “The towing cover has taken off in recent years, it’s just gone from strength to strength.”
However, Keith was tight-lipped about his fortunes on the show, so we’ll have to wait until Sunday night to find out how the Pro-Tec team get on.

Camping and Caravanning Club to release 2013 bookings on 6 November

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by Arash Hekmat

The Camping and Caravanning Club is calling on customers to book ahead for their 2013 pitches, so they have something to look forward to during the dark days ahead.

The Club has 109 sites across Britain’s most outstanding areas of natural beauty, with most boasting access to a range of outdoor activities, such as hiking, cycling and watersports.

And all of these sites will be accepting bookings from members for the 2013 season from Tuesday 6 November, the club has confirmed.

Online booking is now open, and the Club’s Contact Centre is accepting telephone bookings on 024 7647 5426.

For those who are not yet done for the year, there are still opportunities to book a winter retreat to one of the 24 club sites that will be open over Christmas and the New Year, with prices starting at £9.35 pppn.

Bob Hill, sites director for the Camping and Caravanning Club, said: “Meeting and exceeding our members’ expectations is a priority for the club – we have always opened our booking lines early allowing our members to plan their camping holidays in advance.”

This news comes after the Club recently announced a 25 per cent increase in winter bookings for the upcoming low season.

Bailey of Bristol announces price rise for Pegasus, Olympus and Orion

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by Arash Hekmat

Bailey of Bristol has admitted that it will be increasing prices on its Orion, Olympus and Pegasus models next year.

From 1 January 2013, there will be a 1.5 per cent hike in the cost of all their non-price guaranteed caravans in these ranges.

However, the company said it would be freezing prices of models in its new Bailey Unicorn Series II line at their current levels, meaning that customers will be able to buy 2013 variants without a premium.

What’s more the price of the Bailey Retreat leisure home range will be held at the same level until 6 April 2013, when they will be subject to a 5 per cent price rise to reflect an increase in VAT on static and semi-static caravans.

The company said that it is making this decision in order to maintain the momentum in sales it has seen over recent months.

Since the start of September, Bailey has seen retail sales of its caravans up 24 per cent compared to last year, despite the fact that the wider market is said to be down on 2011.

The performance has been attributed to all of its ranges, but the business made special note of the new Unicorn, which has accounted for two-thirds of business in this period.

So far, it has secured more than 1,000 retail orders for the range, worth a combined total of £26.7 million.

The revised price list for the 2013 Bailey Caravans range is as follows:

Model Price
Orion 400-2 £13,190
Orion 430-4 £14,005
Orion 440-4 £14,105
Orion 460-5 £14,815
Orion 530-6 £14,915
Olympus 460-2 £15,220
Olympus 530-4 £16,235
Olympus 540-5 £16,340
Olympus 620-6 £17,555
Pegasus Genoa £16,540
Pegasus Milan £17,555
Pegasus Verona £17,455
Pegasus Rimini £17,760
Pegasus Ancona £17,760
Pegasus Bologna £19,180
Unicorn Seville £18,895
Unicorn Madrid £19,995
Unicorn Valencia £19,995
Unicorn Cadiz £20,195
Unicorn Barcelona £21,995
Unicorn Cartagena £22,245

Stray firework blamed for Northern Ireland caravan fire

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by Jack Beresford

While the majority of people understand the deadly threat posed by fireworks, last week saw a timely reminder of the devastation they can cause.

The warning follows an incident in which a man saw his five-berth tourer burned to the ground after a stray firework hit his caravan resulting in an out-of-control blaze.

Colm Black, the owner of the vehicle, was awoken in the early hours of Tuesday (October 30th) by what he described as a loud bang which was estimated to have occurred at around 2.45 am.

Looking out of his bedroom window, Mr Black saw the tourer engulfed in flames and quickly ran down to try and reduce the spread of the fire, though it ultimately proved fruitless.

“By the time that I put on some clothes and got down the stairs and out the back door, the whole street was out and the caravan was burnt to the ground,” he told the Lurgan Mail.

While the firefighters were able to eventually put the blaze out, the caravan was left totalled by the stray firework.

Last month a 28-year-old circus worker was left with serious burns following a caravan fire and while no one was harmed on this occasion the incident provides some food for thought ahead of Bonfire Night.

This Is England star speaks of ‘lovely’ Dorset caravan holiday

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by Jack Beresford

Up-and-coming actress Vicky McClure is flying the flag for caravanning holidays on the coast, after enjoying her own tourer-based experience earlier this year.

The actress, who recently appeared in the hit BBC One cop drama The Line of Duty, embarked on her camping experience during filming for a new ITV show back in the summer.

As the Belfast Telegraph reports, the 29-year-old star was put in a state-of-the-art caravan in the seaside location of Dorset, while filming for new ITV crime series Broadchurch.

The new show sees her rub shoulders with TV greats like David ‘Doctor Who’ Tennant and Olivia Colman of Peep Show fame.

And while some pampered stars may have turned their nose up at a stay in a tourer of this type, McClure actually asked to stay onboard one of the popular holiday vehicles.

“I requested to stay in a caravan when we were down there last, just to get the full holiday effect while we were there and it was lovely,” she told the news provider.

“It’s a beautiful place, the scenery there is absolutely stunning so it’s been nice to be there.”

Glow-in-the-dark road markings to be trialled in Holland

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by Jack Beresford

Artists in Holland are pioneering a new type of road marking that glows in the dark and could provide a major boost to road safety if it proves successful.

In addition to illuminating the roadways at night, the group has also created a reactive paint which, when covering the tarmac of the road, shows snow-flake graphics to warning drivers of the potential for icy conditions

The paints have been applied to a stretch of road in the southern region of the Netherlands as part of test run of the new system, as PistonHeads.com reports.

Motorists and caravan enthusiasts could be among those to benefit from the new system, which will encourage safe driving in winter and make travelling at night a far easier prospect.

Speaking to the news provider Studio Roosegaarde, the company which created the new paints, said that it may also help local councils who are being forced to make budget cuts.

Peter De Man, the head of the technical department at the studio, said: “They were asking, how many more traffic injuries will there be because we turn off the lights? Essentially, how much is a person’s life worth? So we wanted to do something positive.”

The developments come just days after UK campaigners urged the government to move the clocks forwards rather than back with the onset of winter, arguing that it would increase visibility during key commuting times.

Camping in the Forest sites claim 16 David Bellamy eco awards

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by Jack Beresford

The environmentally-friendly Camping in the Forest sites, which are the result of a partnership between the Camping and Caravanning Club and the Forestry Commission, have picked up a string of honours at a recent event.

Part of the group’s ongoing focus on providing greener holiday options, the Camping in the Forest initiative was the talk of the town at the David Bellamy Conservation Awards, picking up 16 Gold Rosettes.

The awards saw the group’s Ardgartan, Ashurst, Aldridge Hill, Beddgelert, Christchuch, Cobeland and Cashel sites win commendations along with the Denny Wood/Matley Wood, Holmsley, Hollands Wood, Ocknell/Longbeech, Roundhill, Postern Hill, Thorpe and Setthorns parks.

In each instance, these sites were commended for the notable lengths they went to not only protect the natural environment but also enhance to local flora and fauna that is present.

Assessors also looked at the efforts made to reduce energy use, water consumption and other resources along with the efforts made to maintain the land as a haven for natural wildlife with a particular focus on their efforts in recycling and the wider community.

The Camping in the Forest parks were not the only ones to receive David Bellamy Awards, with the Bakewell and Speyside Camping and Caravanning Club Sites earning similar Gold Rosette commendations.

Bob Hill, Club sites director Bob Hill said: “As a Club, we are dedicated to providing greener holidays and we hope our Camping in the Forest and Club Sites’ achievements demonstrate this.”