Ludlow site praised as ‘the Savoy’ of caravan parks

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by Chris Jefferies

Recently approved plans for a 20-acre caravan site in Ludlow have been given a major boost after a local councillor threw his weight behind the project.

The development on Overton Road will be ‘the Savoy of caravan parks’, according to Martin Taylor-Smith, who sits on Shropshire Council.

“It is very good news for Ludlow. This is the ‘Savoy’ of caravan sites and will encourage more people to visit the area,” he said.

Situated between the River Teme and the A49, the new site will use land that was formerly an RAF camp, the Ludlow and Tenbury Wells Advertiser reports.

In total, it is estimated that it will cost £3 million to overhaul the site, with the first visitors expected to be welcomed next year.

Camper vans, touring caravans and tents will all be accommodated on site, the local newspaper adds.

Owner Morris Leisure of Shrewsbury already operates four caravan parks in Shropshire and Snowdonia.

Driver hospitalised after caravan rolls on M4

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by Chris Jefferies

Caravan owners have been warned to be extra cautious when driving in windy conditions, after a woman was injured when her caravan and tow-car rolled over on a motorway.

The incident took place on Sunday morning (June 19th), when a gust of wind flipped over the woman’s Land Rover and the caravan it was towing, Thisisbath.co.uk reports.

Shocked motorists saw the tourer and towcar roll over several times on the M4 westbound, near the entry sliproad at junction 18.

The driver, a woman in her 40s, was later freed from her car by the emergency services and was taken to hospital, where she received treatment for a gash to the head.

Fortunately, local police believe that she will recover fully, and added that she was conscious throughout.

Richard Crocker, a police officer who was at the scene, said: “It was a nasty head injury. However, once she has been stitched up, she should make a full recovery.”

Tow car drivers urged to be safe and belt up

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by Chris Jefferies

One in 20 drivers in the UK still do not wear a seatbelt, according to the latest road safety survey from the AA.

Tow car drivers are being urged to consider their safety, after the study of 40,000 drivers found that nearly five per cent of motorists are failing to take this basic safety measure.

Furthermore, 3.6 per cent of the cars on UK roads have faulty break lights, while nearly ten per cent drive through junctions too quickly.

On the plus side, the message about the dangers of driving with a mobile phone appears to be sinking in, as only 0.23 per cent of drivers were observed committing this particular offence.

Those in the West Midlands were the worst offenders for not wearing a seatbelt, while the North East was found to be the worst region by far for speeding, with more than one in five motorists judged to be approaching junctions too quickly.

Dog rescued from overheated caravan

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by Chris Jefferies

Caravan owners have been reminded of the dangers of leaving a dog trapped in a hot caravan, after an animal was rescued from a ’25-degree death trap’ in Brighton.

Local animal experts from Brighton and Hove City Council made this damning assessment of a caravan parked in Stanmer Park, the Brighton Argus reports.

A border collie named Robbie was rescued from the overheated caravan, where he did not have any water to drink, and now the Raystede Centre for Animal Welfare is searching for a new home for him.

The negligent owner was even threatened with prosecution if he did not give up the canine to the authorities.

Nigel Mason, chief executive of the Raystede centre, said: “With the summer here, we would like to remind all dog owners not to leave their animals in cars. Even with the windows open, it can still get very hot, very quickly, which can prove fatal.”

Five-star Shropshire caravan park gets approval

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by Chris Jefferies

Plans to create a five-star caravan park near Ludlow in Shropshire have been approved by the local council, it has been reported.

The new 20-acre site will contain pitches for 135 touring caravans between the River Teme and the A49, Shropshire Live reports.

Developers Morris Leisure hope to start work as soon as possible on the park, which has an estimated value of £3 million, with a view to completion in time for next summer’s caravan rush.

Edward Goddard, managing director of the leisure company, said: “We are delighted that council has approved our plans for this five-star park, which we believe will generate around £1 million a year for Ludlow and enhance local tourism.”

Morris Leisure already owns four caravan parks in Shropshire and Snowdonia – Stanmore Hall Touring Park in Bridgnorth, Riverside Touring Park in Betws-y-Coed, Oxon Hall Touring and Holiday Home Park in Shrewsbury and Bow House Country Park in Bishops Castle.

Caravan owners to benefit from bumper butterfly season

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by Chris Jefferies

Wildlife enthusiasts have been given yet another reason to fire up their tow car and take the caravan out over the coming months, as the National Trust claims that this will be the best summer in more than 30 years for spotting butterflies.

June is halfway through the butterfly season, the wildlife organisation says, and these beautiful insects have seen their numbers increase strongly in the UK.

The warm spring period has resulted in the earliest sighting of a White Admiral on Bookham Common in Surrey for nearly 120 years.

Matthew Oates, wildlife adviser and butterfly expert at the National Trust, said: “The populations of spring butterflies are as good as they can be. It’s all gearing up to what could be the best butterfly summer for a generation.”

This blockbuster butterfly summer is expected to culminate in August, when around 40 species should be in flight across the UK.

To co-incide with this, the National Trust will be running its first annual Love Butterflies weekend from August 6th to 7th.

Scottish man has lucky escape after caravan fire

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by Chris Jefferies

Emergency services in Scotland have said that a man who escaped after a caravan fire was very lucky, as he was saved by a passing ambulance.

In the early hours of Saturday morning (June 11th) a caravan, parked near the man’s home in Prestonfield, caught fire and the flames spread to the adjacent building, the Scotsman reports.

The unnamed man was reportedly asleep when the fire started and was only alerted to the blaze by paramedics, who happened to be passing in an ambulance.

A spokeswoman for the Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service said that there were gas cylinders inside the caravan, which could have helped the fire to spread quickly.

“The man was lucky he was taken out of the house when he was,” she added.

Two dogs were also saved from the building, although the roof collapsed and the house was later deemed to be unsafe by the local authorities

Caravan park proposed again for Derbyshire

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by Chris Jefferies

Caravan owners looking to explore the Peak District may be given another option before long, as plans for an 11-acre site in the village of Riddings have been submitted to the local council.

The new site on Bullock Lane would be able to hold up to 75 caravans as well as several tents and a shower block, Ripley and Heanor News reports.

However, success is by no means guaranteed, as the owners of the land have previously been denied planning permission by Amber Valley Borough Council, due to a green belt land related dispute.

The first such application, which included plans to house 150 static and touring caravans, met with 117 formal objections from local residents last year, the newspaper added.

Holidaymakers can choose to stay at several nearby Derbyshire touring sites certified by the Caravan Club instead, including Blackwall Plantation and The Firs caravan sites.

Lakes comedy festival to delight caravanners

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by Chris Jefferies

Caravan owners visiting the Lake District this summer can catch some of the UK’s funniest stand-ups at an annual comedy festival.

The second Lake Comedy Festival will start on July 1st and feature popular acts, such as Lucy Porter (July 2nd) and Jon Richardson (July 8th), who TV addicts may be familiar with from the BBC show Mock The Week.

Furthermore, Simon Donald, creator of classic British comic Viz, will be appearing at the festival on July 9th at the Alhambra Theatre in Keswick.

Various venues across the Cumbria region will be taking part, including the Theatre by the Lake in Whitehaven.

Tickets are on sale now, with prices starting at just £8 per head.

Those looking to combine a caravan break with some stand-up comedy can choose from a range of Caravan Club-accredited sites in the nearby area, including Dockray Meadow and Low Manesty.

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Vauxhall Astra Tourer named greenest caravan tow car

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by Chris Jefferies

With the price of petrol spiralling ever upwards, energy-efficiency is becoming more and more important for towcar buyers, so the Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer could see a rush in sales after winning a recent award.

The diesel version of this British-built towcar scooped the Green Award at this week’s Towcar of the Year awards 2011, as well as taking plenty of praise for its mid-range acceleration.

Under testing, the Astra Sports Tourer 1.7 CDTi SE ecoFlex was able to get from 30 to 60 mph while towing a caravan in an impressive 19.2 seconds, meaning it won’t take too long to get up to cruising speed on dual carriageways or motorways.

The judging panel concluded: “The Astra Sports Tourer is an excellent small estate with impressive economy and low emissions.”

Other key winners at the Towcar of the Year awards included the Land Rover Discovery 4 3.0 SDV6 XS model, which was named as the winner of the 1900kg category for the second year running.

Award-winning Airstream caravan gets revamp

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by Chris Jefferies

The latest version of the Airstream Series 2 International 684 has been unveiled and this tourer has quite a reputation to live up to.

Following in the footsteps of the original International 684 was a challenge for Airstream, who wanted to capitalise on the popularity of the model that was named Best Caravan in the Caravan Club Design Awards for three years running.

The all-new body shell includes a ‘loft-style’ interior and new features include 12 drawers – twice as many as in the old model.

Despite the chassis and shell being no bigger, Airstream’s clever use of space means that the shower is now 15cm wider, the kitchen is 10cm longer and the seating space is 30cm bigger.

With modern caravan owners in mind, Airstream has included a dedicated storage space for laptops and books, as well as a drinks holder in the seating area.

The kitchen boasts a clever rotating worktop extension, which Airstream hopes will add to the overall ‘wow-factor’ of this exciting new tourer.

Anthony Slocock, technical director of Airstream, said: “With the Series 2, a big goal in the design phase was to look at the most common after-sales comments to try and design any minor faults out of the trailer and increase customer satisfaction.”

Prices for the new Airstream Series 2 International 684 start at the princely sum of £52,575.

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