VIDEO REVIEW: Inside the new 2012 Range Rover Evoque

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by Marcus Dubois

Its the most anticipated car launch of 2011, and promises to change the way we think about 4x4s. The Caravan Times video team were on hand at the first public viewing of the Range Rover Evoque in the UK, and we took a closer look at the latest Land Rover towcar.

The sleek coupe-like shape has generated plenty of headlines and is faithful to the Land Rover LRX concept of 2008. Yet it’s under the bonnet where some of the biggest advances have been made.

Land Rover has achieved its best fuel economy yet with the new ed4 diesel model, promising an unheard-of 58mpg (combined) and less than 130g/km of CO2. Two other SD4 diesel variants offer greater power, while the 2.0 turbocharged petrol is the performance choice.

Unlike its siblings, a manual shift option appears on this Range Rover. And three trim options are available from Pure through the luxury of Prestige to the sportier Dynamic interior. Let us know what you think of the new Range Rover Evoque using the comment box below

Devon holiday park offers half-price caravan breaks

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by Chris Jefferies

Caravan owners looking to take their tourer to Devon this summer have been offered a great value promotion by Woolacombe Bay Holiday Parks.

The popular coastal site is running a four-for-two promotion, whereby visitors arriving on Mondays can stay until the Friday and pay for just two nights.

This offer is open to anyone arriving with a tent, a touring caravan, or a motorhome between July 1st and 22nd.

Furthermore, those looking to take a long weekend can get three nights for the price of two when arriving on a Friday between those dates.

Guests wanting to take advantage of this offer must stay at Easewell Farm Holiday Village, which offers sea views and various leisure facilities, such as an indoor pool and an 18-hole golf course.

With this promotion, prices for a caravan pitch start at £60 for a three-night weekend stay or £61 for a four-night midweek break.

Caravan Club highlights great sporting days out

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by Chris Jefferies

British holidaymakers can discover their country’s rich sporting heritage this summer, from horseracing to cricket, the Caravan Club has said.

Those taking a caravan break within reach of London are advised to visit the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum, which gives a glimpse into how the game was invented over 450 years ago.

Furthermore, cricket fans are sure to be excited by a visit to the oldest sports museum in the world, the Marylebone Cricket Club Museum, which is the home of the Ashes.

Those looking to explore the Suffolk countryside can head to Newmarket and discover the National Horseracing Museum, which the Caravan Club describes as “a perfect destination for all ages”.

Special exhibitions on show at the museum this summer include the Heath and the Horse, and Man’s Best Friend: Dogs and Hounds of Field and Show.

Caravan owners heading to Newmarket this summer can stay at the nearby Caravan Club-certified sites Round Plantation and Cherry Hinton.

Manchester Caravan and Motorhome Show finds new home

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by Marcus Dubois and Chris Jefferies

While the caravan calendar is traditionally centred around shows in February and October, it’s often straight after Christmas that people make their first trip to see new models ahead of the summer. For years the Manchester Caravan and Motorhome Show has proved popular with visitors due to its location and attractions – and following a record 25 per cent increase in visitor numbers in 2011, the organisers have announced a move to larger premises.

Next year’s Caravan and Motorhome Show will leave its previous home at Manchester Central and move to the larger Event City near the Trafford Centre from 19-22 January 2012.

Organisers Clarion Events say that the move will allow them to increase capacity by 50 per cent, allowing more people than ever to see the new caravans after this year’s record attendance from enthusiasts.

Sam North, director of the Caravan and Motorhome Show, said: “We are delighted to take this extremely positive step. Adding a far greater choice of caravans, motorhomes and accessories is sure to create a fantastic opportunity.”

Next year’s event will take place from January 19th to 22nd and exhibitors already confirmed include the National Caravan Council, Swift Group, Campbells Caravans, Glossop Caravans, and the Camping and Caravanning Club. And with new additions to the calendar such as the NCC Motorhome, Caravan and Camping Show taking place in London during February 2012, this becomes a crucial show for those in the Midlands and North of England.

Event City is the second largest event space outside of London and is spread across a 24-acre site. Having opened in March last year, the venue can accommodate up to 150,000 visitors. And if you used to travel by train to the easily accessible Manchester Centre, then fear not: bus service X50 or 250 takes you directly from Manchester Piccadilly to the Trafford Centre, while bus 100 does the same from Manchester Victoria.

For more information on new venue EventCity please click here

Hobby caravan owner turned away from Yorkshire site

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by Chris Jefferies

An owner of a Hobby caravan has accused a Yorkshire caravan site of discrimination after he was turned away for his choice of vehicle.

Otterington Park caravan site, near Northallerton in North Yorkshire, said that they would not let Thomas Newby and his family into the site as it would encourage travellers to try and get in as well.

Mr Newby, a local businessman, told the Northern Echo: “I am frankly disgusted by [their] attitude and clearly discriminatory behaviour. We are not travellers, though that is beside the point.”

He added that discriminating against caravan owners because of their make of tourer is “unbelievable”.

Carol Bowe, the site’s owner, said that the park was privately owned and hence they could “take who we want and refuse who we want”.

German manufacturer Hobby is Europe’s largest caravan maker and many of its models are popular amongst the travelling community.

Cost of fuel can stack up on European caravan holidays

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by ChrisJefferies

Caravan owners thinking of heading abroad on a European touring holiday this summer have been advised that the rising cost of petrol is having an impact on the continent as well.

New research from the Post Office shows that a combination of a weak pound and the rising prices at the pumps means that caravan owners could pay up to 35 per cent more for the petrol in Europe this summer.

However, there is some good news, as the survey highlighted that Luxembourg and the popular holiday destination of Spain are cheapest places to buy petrol.

Sarah Munro, head of travel money at the Post Office, said: “The high fuel price increases in Europe mean that UK holidaymakers should plan their routes carefully in advance to cut costs.”

She suggested that motorists driving through eastern France should consider hopping over the border into Luxembourg, as they can save up to 27p a litre on unleaded.

Camping and Caravanning Club acquire site next to Alton Towers

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by Chris Jefferies

Caravan owners in Derbyshire are set to get a revamped site in their local area, after the Camping and Caravanning Club acquired Alton, The Star Club Site in Cotton.

This move was welcomed by Viscountess Cobham, chairman of national tourist board VisitEngland, who said that it would provide a boost for the local area.

The site boasts 195 pitches across two fields, as well as a large play area, ideal for families with small children, who can also explore the nearby Alton Towers theme park resort, which is just a five-minute drive away.

Lady Cobham, who officially opened the site last week (June 10th), said: “I am sure that Alton, The Star Club Site will be a great addition to The Camping and Caravanning Club’s network and for tourism within the area.”

She added that over half of all camping and caravanning site operators reported an increase in visitor figures this Easter, when compared with last year.

Caravan Times reader witnesses dramatic caravan meltdown

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by Holly Tribe

Hardly a week goes by without the Caravan Times newsdesk receiving reports about a caravan being destroyed by fire. And with the driest Spring on record, the threat of fire in the open countryside is an ever present worry for caravan owners.

Nothing illustrates this better than a post recently submitted in the Caravan Times forum by reader, Niel J.

As Niel left work yesterday afternoon travelling along in Southampton, he came across an abandoned caravan in a former school playing-field on the outskirts of Eastleigh. After noticing smoke rising from the vehicle he phoned the fire brigade and managed to photograph the ensuing destruction as the blaze tore through the caravan, burning it to the ground in a matter of minutes.

“I left work late [yesterday] afternoon, and stopping to photograph the rubbish left behind by some ‘caravan dwelling, fly tippers’ I spotted some wisps of smoke from a caravan left behind,” he explained.

Niel acted quickly to contact the fire brigade, who arrived in time to douse the remaining embers and stop the fire from spreading into the surrounding greenery: “It took about 7½ minutes from the first visible flame to total destruction and in less than ten minutes it was completely burnt out. The Fire Brigade arrived fairly quickly after my call but could only damp down the remains, and recover a gas cylinder left in the ‘van.”

These pictures, reprinted with the permission of NielJ, show the caravan before and after the blaze.

Caravans are constructed using a high ratio of combustible materials and the threat of contiguous fire between rigs at caravan parks poses a very real danger. This recent outbreak offers a stark reminder to caravanners to remain vigilant – turn off gas and electrical appliances when not in use and keep the caravan well ventilated.

Second time lucky for Bucks caravan thieves?

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by Chris Jefferies

A caravan was stolen in the Buckinghamshire village of Saunderton yesterday (June 8th), hours after a failed attempt to take a similar vehicle in the nearby area.

The thieves made off with a Burstner 445TS from the driveway of a home in the middle of the day, the Bucks Free Press reports.

Locals have been urged to keep a lookout for the stolen vehicle, which has a distinctive blue and yellow swirl on the side.

Earlier that same day, three men were disturbed when trying to steal another caravan from a house in the nearby village of Downley, the local paper adds.

The incident did result in a security lock being broken and damage being caused to a tow hitch.

It is estimated that the two incidents were less than two hours apart, but the local police did not say whether they are treating the two crimes as being connected.

Chrysler mocks up world’s first supercar motorhome

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by Chris Jefferies

Ever wondered what a motorhome would look like if the car it was based on was a bit more glamorous? US carmaker Chrysler clearly has, as this photo shows.

Petrolheads were alerted to a possible reincarnation of the popular Dodge Viper SRT-10 on the Chrysler Facebook page last night (June 9th).

With more than a hint of tongue-in-cheek, the Chrysler team behind the SRT-10 said: “We dodged death to sneak you this top-secret photo.”

The car this creation is based on is hardly what caravan owners would typically call a sensible tow car, as the Viper SRT-10 costs upwards of £50,000 when new.

Whilst it may do a top speed of 202 mph, the Viper was always renowned for its erratic handling, although the Chrysler team appear to have fixed that by adding an extra axle and two extra wheels.

Although they claim that this sketch is “a taste of what’s to come”, it’s hard to see this idea catching on in the UK’s camp sites.

British drivers oppose MOT test changes

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by Chris Jefferies

Almost two third of British drivers would oppose plans to make the MOT test a biannual event, a new motoring survey has found.

Under proposals laid out as part of the government’s Red Tape Challenge, it has been suggested that new cars should be exempt from the MOT test for their first four years on the road, and all other cars should be checked biannually.

Given the rising cost of driving, it would be reasonable to expect that caravan owners and other motorists would be in favour of reducing the frequency of this often costly test.

However, a survey of AA members found that 62 per cent had serious concerns that only forcing cars and towcars to be checked every other year would increase the number of unsafe vehicles on the UK’s roads.

Edmund King, president of the AA, dismissed the suggestion, saying: “It is a false saving which could lead to more expensive repairs later, and that’s before the safety argument.”

Richard Hammond of Top Gear discovers the joys of touring in a VW campervan

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by Holly Tribe

Top Gear’s terrible trio are well known for their derision of caravans, campers and, well, anything that might get in the way of flooring a Porsche 911 down the fast lane of a motorway.

But in an interesting turn of events, Richard Hammond and his family recently embarked on a touring holiday in Cornwall in a Volkswagen campervan, “And it was, without doubt, one of our most successful holidays ever and quite possibly my favourite of all time,” reported Hammond in the Daily Mirror.

The family hired the VW campervan from Danbury Motor Caravans in Bristol who import new models from a factory in Brazil. The base van was kitted out with all the mod cons, including cooker, fridge, TV and leather upholstery.

Hammond was keen to extol the virtues of the touring lifestyle, and take advantage of having a home from home out on the road: “Within half an hour of setting off I had found an excuse to pull over, pop the roof up and construct the first of a million cups of tea while Izzy, 10, and Willow, seven explored the roof bed – we called it the loft – and Mindy lay on the leather sofa.”

“As we dawdled about Cornwall I would keep an eye open for places to stop and enjoy the view. And make another cup of tea,” he said.

In fact, the family has been so enamoured with life on the road, they have sold the family car and bought their very own VW campervan; “It’s going to be pink – to keep the girls happy – it’ll be ready in three months and I shall spend the entire summer in it.”

Hammond, who has penned two books about caravanning; A Short History of Caravanning and Richard Hammond’s Caravan Confidential, has been more of a sympathiser to the Great British touring tradition than his colleagues, Jeremy Clarkson and James May.

Their previous tricks have included ploughing an airborne caravan into a field and ‘accidentally’ setting one alight. But whether this will bring an end to the caravan pranks often filmed on the popular BBC One motoring show Top Gear remains to be seen.