Table of contents for Summer 2024 in Caravan

SOPHIE BROMLEY-RICE CONTENT EDITOR Hi caravanners, we have a coastal-themed issue for you this time, to help get you in the summer spirit! One of the great things about having a caravan is the freedom to head off on holiday spontaneously and explore new places. We have some fantastic sites located by the sea on page 43 which might inspire your next trip for your dose of vitamin sea. I have been out of the office reviewing the all-new Capsule Mini this week! You can hear more about this cute new caravan in our news pages on page 74 and look out for our full review, coming in the next issue of Caravan magazine. I stayed on the lovely Ferry Meadows site in Peterborough which is a brilliant campsite with…

There are many good reasons for steering your caravan in the direction of mid-Dorset. The scenery is great; Purbeck stone cottages, distant seascapes and rolling heathland clad in yellow gorse, smelling, rather incongruously, of coconut. There is also plenty to do; ancient castles to explore, historic houses to visit and sandy beaches to walk along barefoot, although perhaps not in April! For us, in East Sussex, Dorset isn’t too far for a short visit, although heading west on the first weekend of the Easter holidays, was, frankly, a bit tedious. This was somewhat improved by the Sandbanks chain ferry between… well… Sandbanks and Shell Bay. However, Dorset had one particular attraction for this visit, a plethora of nature reserves with some rather rare and spectacular birdlife. We were staying at…

HELE VALLEY HOLIDAY PARK Hele Bay, Ilfracombe, Devon EX34 9RD T 01271 862460 W helevalley.co.uk OPEN 1 April – 31 October Located on the rugged north Devon coast, Hele Valley is half a mile from Hele Bay beach and only one mile from Ilfracombe Harbour. The site is nestled amid woodland on the edge of Ilfracombe with a tea room, supermarket and pub just a five-minute walk away. Hele Bay beach is backed by Hillsborough Local Nature Reserve, there is access to the South West Coast Path, and there are several little coves waiting to be discovered on this stretch of coastline. Set in a small, sheltered cove, Hele Bay is part sand and part shingle and ideal for anyone looking for a beach that doesn’t get overcrowded. Hele Valley…

Elddis ❚ W elddis.co.uk ❚ £40,649 The Crusader range has a long history, first appearing in 1976 and always at the top of its game, with Alde heating and lots of spec. In 2008 the range entered the family caravanning arena with the launch of the Tempest. Its innovative initial layout, with bunks on the nearside, and a longitudinally aligned shower room on the offside, proved to be a trendsetter, copied by other manufacturers. Today, Tempest continues to be at the forefront of family tourer layout innovation, now with a six-berth layout that creates a true family bedroom; it has bunks alongside a double bed. The shower room spans the width of the caravan forward of the bedroom, with doors to close it off from the bedroom and from the…

You may have experienced the frustrations of not finding various channels on your satellite TV. We bought an automatic Oyster Skew system along with a 7 Series Avtex TV in 2016. Recently, we have not been able to get various ‘mainstream’ channels. Sometimes, they can be found in remote areas of the list, but remembering their numbers is impossible. I contacted Oyster UK. I sent some pictures of our system, which involved unscrewing a panel above the fridge to see the Oyster sat box. The helpful engineer sent me an update file (ED: this was sent to us for reference). I tried this, but our Avtex would not accept it. The engineer advised me to contact Avtex direct. Avtex said the TV was now an ‘old model’ and required a…

Bridlington’s bracing seafront is very busy; fairground rides, fish and chip shops, ice cream and waffle kiosks doing a roaring trade. Yet the characterful narrow streets of the Old Town are eerily quiet in contrast. Whilst the promenade crowds appear to have come for the haddock and chips, a spin on the dodgems or to brave the wind whipping off the North Sea on one of the two vast sandy beaches, I’ve come to sample the history tucked away in the backstreets, a half-hour walk inland. As a fan of Dad’s Army I knew that Bridlington became Walmington-on-Sea for the 2016 movie. Admittedly, that was what had initially made me park opposite the Pack Horse in Market Place, expectant of being able to instantly recognise Jones’ butcher shop or Hodges’…

As far as I’m concerned our long weekend away starts the moment we drive onto the overnight ferry headed for Saint-Malo, a historic French port on Brittany’s north coast. Although we’d be asleep for most of the crossing, we’d wake up in France just in time for breakfast. My husband once visited Saint-Malo as a young boy. His family didn’t have money to burn, but Paul’s dad promised him a lovely, flaky sausage roll on the last day of their trip. He couldn’t wait! Unfortunately, the enticing pastry in the window display turned out to be a pain au chocolat. Delicious, of course, but less so if you’re anticipating a savoury supper… Saint-Malo offers a convenient entry point to France, and a handy overnight stop near the ferry terminal on…

East Fleet Farm occupies a unique location on the shores of the Fleet Lagoon in Dorset. Unwind in the peaceful countryside, or head into nearby Weymouth and enjoy the golden sands of the Dorset coast. Running along the edge of East Fleet Farm is the World Heritage Jurassic Coast footpath, making this campsite ideal for sunset strolls along the shore, and stargazing under the dark night sky. Plus, with a variety of pitches available to suit your needs, an on-site restaurant and bar, grocery and camping shop and a play area to keep the kids amused – where else would you rather be? Q Tell us a little about your site and what it offers. A East Fleet is set in a beautiful location in Weymouth overlooking Chesil Beach. We have…

Tow-tally empty Q We’re looking to buy a caravan, possibly from a dealership. I read somewhere that towing an empty caravan can be unnerving, and I wondered if it’s safe. A Yes, it’s perfectly safe to tow an empty caravan if you check a few things first. By empty, I mean a caravan with all the factory-fitted fixtures and fittings but has yet to accommodate additional items. When collecting a new caravan, I always check the noseweight and readjust where necessary. I’ll sometimes move seating cushions to the front of the caravan, or occasionally, I’ll take an awning with me and place it on the floor to get my noseweight just right. The correct noseweight makes a huge difference. Family holiday Q We are planning to take our grandchildren on their first caravan…

The Caravan and Motorhome Club’s new campaign, Read, Tour, Explore has been launched to encourage people to develop and expand their love of literature and visit campsites near to the locations of book settings. As part of the campaign, the C&MC has launched two new initiatives: a free one-day festival event in August for those staying at the Club’s Holkham Hall pop-up campsite and a free online reading portal. The Club teamed up with The Reading Agency charity and is offering members an online reading platform at W camc.com/rte encouraging them to read and caravanners are being asked to pledge to read every week with the Read Tour Explore: Road to Reading portal and see the difference it makes. In addition, those staying on the Club’s pop-up campsite at Holkham Hall…

sudoku If you are looking for a way to exercise your mind, sudoku is great and will certainly get the cogs turning! just for fun Find the 14 words related to holidays by the sea crossword ACROSS 1 A cultivated hazel tree that bears edible oval nuts (7) 5 Japanese rice dish (5) 8 In a vacuum (2,5) 9 Clamorous (5) 10 Like some terrain (5) 11 Really bad (7) 12 Beethoven’s “Moonlight ___” (6) 14 Father (6) 17 Fan (7) 19 Bitter (5) 22 Laika’s flagship motorhome (5) 23 Route (7) 24 In need of cleaning (5) 25 Made certain (7) DOWN 1 Complete trust (5) 2 What a campsite pitch should be (5) 3 Put into code (7) 4 Like some roads and radios (3-3) 5 Bright (5)…

It was a lovely sunny day when we arrived at Colemans Cottage Fishery Campsite in time for lunch, set up and went for a walk around the lakes. There are six lakes in total and we walked around three of them that afternoon, seeing lots of fishermen, people kayaking, and someone offering kayaks and paddleboards for hire. Before dinner, we headed into Maldon, the closest coastal town, to see the estuary. It has a delightful park called Promenade Park, with crazy golf, places to eat, and even a small zoo. You could comfortably spend a day here, but we just spent an hour taking in the sights and attractions in case we wanted to return for longer later in the week. In the evening the campsite was quiet. Just us…

Shortly after purchasing our first caravan, visiting the fringes of the next county seemed like a big deal. Our newly acquired but somewhat dog-eared Avondale Dart was there to transport us and the kids to the New Forest in neighbouring Hampshire and, at the time, towing a caravan to the near continent seemed like a pipe dream. As for crossing one continent to visit another, that was something reserved for Michael Palin. Fast-forward several years, and we soon realised that the dot-to-dot nature of caravan travel made it easy to visit new destinations in the UK and Europe. With a modicum of confidence built, our destinations gradually rippled outwards, and we began crossing the English Channel in search of new experiences. Then, as I thought our caravan trips had reached…

Salcombe is a picturesque coastal town in Devon, renowned for its stunning natural beauty and rich maritime history - it was a key port for the fruit trade in the nineteenth century, something that can be explored at the Salcombe Maritime Museum. Nestled within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Salcombe boasts a unique charm with its tranquil harbour, golden beaches, and rolling hills. Visitors to this area can enjoy idyllic scenery and outdoor activities such as sailing and coastal walking. The estuary, central to Salcombe’s allure, is a haven for water sports enthusiasts and provides a serene setting for leisurely boat trips. The beaches, including North Sands and South Sands, are perfect for sunbathing and swimming. Salcombe is also famous for its narrow streets and charming cottages.…

Caravans are a home from home, with many being fitted with all the luxuries we’ve come to expect, including a shower. Not only does a shower allow you to be self-contained, but it can also open up a wider selection of sites, such as Club CL or CS sites that may not have an on-site shower block. Modern heating and hot water systems allow couples, families, and solo travellers to take a shower whether they have a 230V hook-up or not, thanks to water heaters that can power showers with an array of energy types. In this guide, we’ll discuss the different types of showers, how they work, and also, how to fit an external shower point to your own caravan. DO ALL CARAVANS HAVE SHOWERS? Not all caravans have…

Campingaz 360 Grill If you’re a fan of gas bbqs, but want something more portable than the big boy you have at home, then there’s plenty of choice. However, there’s possibly none more stylish than this Campingaz 360. The black base and copper body look more like a set of weighing scales than a bbq, but this shape allows cooking from any angle around the stove, which offers a 30cm-diameter cooking area. You can also choose two different colours for the cooking bowl – anthracite and iron grey – but we love the copper version. The weight is 3.9kg for those counting the kilos. It’s got a single, powerful 360 ring burner that can be used with a pan support (max 26cm pan size), ribbed griddle and flat plancha. The…