POLL: Dogs on caravan sites – have your say and win prizes

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by Marcus Dubois and Chris Jefferies

Thank you for your entries, this competition is now closed

It’s the most popular topic in the Caravan Times community, and a debate which has raged for well over a year in our forum. Namely, should dogs be allowed on caravan sites?

Having recently broken through the 600 post mark, the topic continues to draw a huge variety of responses from all members of the caravanning family. And having seen many passionate posts from both sides, we at Caravan Times though the fairest way to settle this once and for all is with a good old fashioned vote.

Please do let us know your thoughts by filling in the short poll below. What’s more, Caravan Times readers who have their say by 26 August can be included in our latest prize draw – to win a copy of the new RAC guide “Walking the dog: Motorway walks for drivers and dogs”.

This handy little book should prove useful for dog owners looking to take their four-legged friend for a stroll on long journeys. Each walk in this pocket reference guide is less than five miles from a major motorway and full, clear directions are included.

Whether you’re looking for a sedate stroll in Swansea or a wistful walk in Winchester, there’s something on offer in this glove box guide. You’ll also find a list of natural highlights you can expect to see along the way, including urban farms and visitors’ centres. Best of all, author Lezli Rees tested out every walk in this book with her collie Jem and husband David. So all the pubs picked out for a quick tipple are certified as dog-friendly!

Cast your votes now and you could be in with a chance of winning one of five copies of this handy guide. All winners will be selected on 26th August and notified by e-mail.


TERMS AND CONDITIONS:
1. To enter a Caravan Times competition you must be:
(a) UK resident; and
(b) 18 years old or over at the time of entry.
2. Competitions are not open to employees (or members of their immediate families) of Caravan Times, or any subsidiary of Adfero.
3. No purchase necessary.
4. Only one entry per person.
5. If you want to enter this competition you must be a member of Caravan Times and fill out the Should dogs be allowed on caravan sites poll.
6. No responsibility can be accepted for entries that are lost or delayed, or which are not received for any reason.
7. The winner will be selected at random by the editor of Caravan Times, whose decision is final.
8. The closing date is as specified in each competition, and we reserve the right to amend the competition details at any time.
9. If you win a competition, we will notify you by e-mail. The organiser’s decision will be final, and no other correspondence will be entered into.
10. No part of a prize is exchangeable for cash or any other prize.

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VIDEO: Chris Gosling’s Caravan Diary – London sightseeing from Theobalds Park

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by Marcus Dubois

Ever wondered where you can stay around London when caravanning? At a place that’s quiet enough to feel like home, while also close enough to see the sights and sounds of the capital?

In this week’s Caravan Diary presenter Chris Gosling ventures into the heart of London from his base at Theobolds Park Camping and Caravanning Club. Set amongst fourteen acres, the Club site offers plenty of room for caravanners alongside ample facilities. Yet despite the rural setting, it’s only forty minute train ride away from Central London.

Follow Chris around town on a personal tour around some the best attractions London has to offer; while back at the campsite he gives his thoughts on the Theobolds Park site itself.

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Park owner escapes ban after overtaking caravan at 104mph

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by Chris Jefferies

The owner of a Scottish caravan park has narrowly escaped being banned from driving, after he was clocked at 104mph in his Audi R8 sportscar.

Despite owning Loch Ness Holiday Park, which has 56 caravan pitches, Robert Girvan clearly has little patience for tourers on the roads, as he was caught overtaking one at excessive speed earlier this year, the Highland News reports.

Inverness Sheriff Court heard how Mr Girvan, 41, overtook the rig on the A82 on April 8th at a speed more than 30mph in excess of the National Speed Limit.

And despite already having four points on his license, the park owner managed to avoid a ban after his lawyer argued that this would hinder his ability to run the business, given that he drives around 40,000 miles per year as part of his job.

When handing down the sentence Sheriff Margaret Neilson said to Mr Girvan: “I hope you have learned your lesson.”

Loch Ness Holiday Park offers fully-serviced pitches for caravan owners at a price of £21 per night. And the five-star site is clearly doing well for itself, as Mr Girvan’s sportscar would have cost at least £86,000 when new.

Do you pull your caravan over to let drivers get past? Or should motorists be more patient with towcar drivers? Share your thoughts in our forum.

Scottish caravan park put up for sale with £1.6m price tag

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by Chris Jefferies
Nethercraig Holiday park in the Scottish region of Perthshire is being offered to potential buyers with an asking price of more than £1 million.
The current owners are looking to sell up and focus instead on their business at Crofthead Holiday Park in Ayrshire, Business7.co.uk reports.
Facilities on site include pitches for 60 lodges and static caravans, as well as space for 52 touring caravan pitches and indoor storage for a further 60 tourers.
The new owners will also get a three-bedroom house thrown into the bargain, according the business website.
Richard Moss, a director at property agency Colliers International, which is handling the sale, said: “This is a really interesting prospect given the acreage and potential scope for further development.”
The site also boasts a series of accolades, including a five-star rating from Visit Scotland and a David Bellamy Gold award for conservation and environmental excellence.

Friendly Club opens 1,500th site in Pembrokeshire

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by Chris Jefferies
The Camping and Caravanning club has celebrated a major milestone this week after it opened its 1,500th Certified Site in the UK.
Dyfed Shire Horse Farm in Pembrokeshire is a “secluded and picturesque” spot, the Friendly Club claims, and members can enjoy free access to all the farm’s facilities during their stay, including toilets, showers and an on-site shop.
Furthermore, you can pre-order breakfasts or lunches during your stay, and a farm trail is available, featuring Shire horses, rare-breed pigs and sheep, as well as donkey rides.
Site owner, Huw Murphy, said: “As campers with two young children ourselves, we wanted to provide a smaller, less commercialised site similar to those we often look for when booking our own holidays.”
The site is open until October 31st at a price of £16 per night, but it can only accommodate a maximum of five caravans or motorhomes, so those looking for a rural break in the Welsh countryside are advised to book in advance.
Certified Sites are only available to members of the Camping and Caravanning Club. Membership costs £39 per year, plus a £10 joining fee.

BBC DJ Chris Hawkins: Caravans are cool again

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by Chris Jefferies
An Englishman’s home is his caravan, according to BBC 6 Music radio DJ Chris Hawkins, who has spoken of his new-found love for touring.
Speaking to OK! magazine, the 35-year-old father of one said that he finds caravanning very convenient for his family holidays.
His wife, ITV weather presenter Claire Nasir, will be joining him on the road, as will their 20-month old daughter Sienna.
“Clare and I have been to lots of music festivals before, but we’ve not been in a caravan until now,” he told the celebrity magazine.
“It’s brilliant, because we can enjoy a really good mix of music, and we’ll be able to take constant care of our daughter, with the caravan as our family base.”
When asked if caravanning was cool again, Chris said that caravans are “brilliant” and his family “love” the experience much more than camping, which he has vowed never to do again.
Chris Hawkins will be hosting the Summer Sundae Weekender in Leicestershire from August 12th to 14th, weekend tickets cost £115 and caravans are welcome for an extra fee of £35.
This year’s line-up includes the Mercury award-nominated act King Creosote & John Hopkins, as well as perennial family favourites McFly.

2012 Swift Challenger Sport and Sterling Eccles Sport: Pictures and layouts

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by Marcus Dubois

Swift Caravans has launched two all-new lineups to replace the popular but ageing Charisma and Europa lines. Called the Swift Challenger Sport and Sterling Eccles Sport, these ranges are completely new from the chassis upwards and feature restyled interiors in what is a departure for Swift in this caravan class.

Click here to see a gallery of the new 2012 Swift and Sterling models

Previously the Swift Charisma and Sterling Eccles occupied a segment in Swift’s caravan lineup for those looking for an affordable yet well equipped tourer. Yet while these new models occupy the same price bracket, Swift has made huge strides to improve the feel and finish of the vehicles both inside and out. The “Sport” suffix offers a useful clue here: the aim from Swift appears to be to create a caravan which emulates bigger brothers the Challenger and Eccles, but with a light enough weight to be towed by ordinary family cars.

New from the chassis upwards

Caravan Times got a sneak preview of the new Swift and Sterling models last month, and what immediately became apparent was the striking change in exterior shape. Clean, modern lines are the order of the day here, with a fuel-saving aerodynamic front echoing the Challenger of last year.

The front panel is particularly striking and features an optional panoramic front sunroof which extends into the roofline with dramatic effect. Swift here opted to use GRP for the front panels, citing the material’s greater durability when facing road debris. Meanwhile ABS is used on the all-new full height rear panel, and the awning channels are semi-recessed to keep the simple lines of the caravan.

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Little Clacton caravan arsonist caught on CCTV

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by Chris Jefferies
A caravan dealership in East Anglia has caught an arsonist on CCTV starting a fire inside a forecourt motorhome, it has been reported.
The blaze, which started early yesterday morning (August 1st), then spread to three other motorhomes, four cars and a caravan, doing more than £200,000 of damage in the process, according to the East Anglian Daily Times.
Carmel Button, managing director of the garage told the local paper that staff have watched the whole “terrifying” incident on CCTV and this evidence has sparked a police investigation.
“We’ve had things stolen before but nothing has happened to us like this. I haven’t got a clue why we’ve been targeted. We are still trading, we’ve got to,” she said.
The dealership has been open for 30 years and moved to Little Clacton ten years ago, the owner added.
Leading Firefighter Jim Bowyer praised his crew for the way in which they dealt with the incident, as no-one was hurt and the fire was extinguished in under two hours.
Local police are treating the incident as arson and are appealing for anyone with any information to come forward.

Double delight as Yorkshire family wins brace of AA awards

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by Chris Jefferies
Two Yorkshire caravan sites have proved that good hospitality runs in the family, after a daughter and her parents both scooped the AA Five Pennant Award last week.
Helen Hill, the owner of Cote Ghyll Caravan and Camping Park, phoned her parents to tell them her good news, only to find out that their holiday park has also scooped the top accolade, the Northern Echo reports.
Her mother, Barbara Armstrong has been running the nearby Golden Square Caravan Park for 28 years, and this honour will hopefully boost their business, which has been “very quiet” this summer, she told Caravan Times.
“It’s been disastrous this summer,” Ms Armstrong said. “We were alright up until the end of May, but due to the weather lots of people are taking shorter breaks just or aren’t turning up.”
For this reason, the park is particularly grateful to its loyal regulars. One woman, who had visited with her husband every year for the past 20 years, quit her job in April after she was told that she would not be allowed the time off for her touring holiday, Ms Armstrong added.
Golden Square Caravan Park is situated in the North York Moors National Park, and offers deluxe all-service pitches from March to October.
Just across the Moors, Ms Armstrong’s daughter Helen runs Cote Ghyll, which boasts modern conveniences such as Wi-Fi internet connections on a small and exclusive 18-pitch site.
Neither site could be accused of rolling out the red carpet to impress the judges, as the AA’s inspectors arrived incognito and the owners were only made aware that they had visited when they heard the decision.

Cornish Caravan Club site goes back to the 70s for birthday bash

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by Chris Jefferies
Caravan owners heading to the South West for a late summer break can catch some retro fun at the Caravan Club’s Merrose Farm site, which is celebrating its 40th birthday next month.
On September 24th the Cornish holiday park will be laying on 1970s themed entertainment as well as a raffle, a buffet and a guest appearance by author Christopher Macgowen.
The 176-pitch site, which is conveniently situated near Truro, boasts modern conveniences such as Wi-Fi internet access, while laundry facilities and late-night arrivals are also available.
Guests can explore the nearby Roseland Peninsula, which the Caravan Club claims is “as pretty as its name”, with sheltered beaches, quaint fishing towns and of course, plenty of wild flowers.
Meanwhile, caravan lovers staying at Merrose Farm can visit the nearby Eden Project conservation site, for a fun day out.
Prices for a late summer break at this Caravan Club site start from £6.15 per pitch per night, plus £5,70 per adult and £1.85 per child.

Caravanners demand refund after slurry stink ruins holiday

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by Chris Jefferies
Caravan owners in Northern Ireland have abandoned a holiday park in their dozens this week after the foul smell of slurry from a nearby field became overpowering.
Complaints about the stench at Drumhoney Caravan Park even led to environmental health officials being called in, the Belfast Telegraph reports.
The odour in question was caused by a nearby farmer spreading pig slurry on his fields, a move which left the caravan park’s owner out of pocket, as he was forced to fork out refunds to the fleeing customers.
Around 50 people were affected by the stink, the local paper adds, with many leaving the 50-pitch site on Monday evening (July 25th).
June Wilson, a regular who was staying at the site for her 12th year in a row, said: “It was just nauseating, it just puts you off eating.”
Site owner Ivan Bradshaw said that he had attempted unsuccessfully to contact 14 local government departments to report the problem, and he felt “totally and utterly let down” by the authorities responsible.
Robert Ford, director of environmental health services at Fermanagh District Council, responded that his department had launched an investigation and would “try to ensure that it does not happen again”.

Bowls Club site bids to provide competition for Norfolk caravan park

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by Chris Jefferies
Caravan owners visiting Kings Lynn could soon be spoilt for choice, as a bowls club in the nearby village of Pentney is considering setting up a 50-pitch site for touring holidaymakers.
Pentney Bowls and Leisure Club is already a popular venue, which attracts around 200 people a week to its Saturday night country music event, including several camper van owners, Lynn News reports.
Now, the club has submitted an application to Breckland Council to develop an empty field at its site into a fully-fledged caravan park, complete with shower and toilet facilities and a log cabin style shop and office.
Such a move would mean added competition for nearby Pentney Park Camping and Caravanning Site, which offers several serviced pitches and holiday homes.
However, the new Bowls and Leisure Club site would only be open for half of the year, during the busier months of May to November, the local paper added.
Furthermore, families may remain loyal to Pentney Park, as it boasts an indoor and outdoor heated swimming pool, a gym and a sauna, whereas the Bowls and Leisure Club offers regular darts and bingo nights to entertain its guests.