Indholdsfortegnelse for January 2023 i Practical Motorhome

1 Spent a lovely few nights at Low House Farm, Ireby, Yorkshire Dales. That’s what I call a view! If you’re heading along the A65, don’t miss the Courtyard Dairy, just south of Austwick, for the cheesiest experience since the 1970s. Andy Shepheard 2 Fabulous family reunion in Keswick. The Lake District at its best, with views from Castlerigg Hall stunning, and sunshine! Muriel motorhome enjoyed her holiday, too. Alex Morton 3 This was on a tour of Brittany, and in the background is the highest stone lighthouse in the world, the Ile Vierge. Peter Boardman Email your pictures and their stories (40 words, plus name, address and contacts) to hotshots@practicalmotorhome.com. The best photo will win these guides: All the Aires Spain and Portugal; All the Aires France (North and…

ELTERWATER What makes it special? At 0.17km², Elterwater is one of the smallest lakes in the Lake District, but no less beautiful for it. The lake lies between the villages of Elterwater and Skelwith Bridge in the dramatic Great Langdale Valley. The River Bray, flowing through it, connects the lake’s southern end to Windermere. Sitting in a valley surrounded by pikes and fells, the stillness of Elterwater makes it feel like the land that time forgot. With winding woodland footpaths and an accessible lakeside, the area is perfect for families or those who prefer gentler terrain without compromising on views. WHAT TO DO Elterwater to Skelwith Force If you’re after a tranquil stroll or somewhere safe for kids and dogs, Elterwater is perfect. There’s a flat gravel footpath running alongside…

Arallying cry came from up ahead: “Come on, hurry up, we don’t want to miss it!” Harrison’s words floated back to us on the cool evening breeze as he disappeared from sight, engulfed by the yawning darkness that brought with it a sense of our complete isolation from the rest of the world. It was a feeling we had grown used to in the mountains of Montenegro, a place where we rarely encountered others, lost in landscapes that drew us in with their beguiling beauty. Red sky at night Now, standing at our lofty location high in the majestic Durmitor National Park, the imposing and distinctive peak of Prutaš looming behind, we could look down on what felt like a different world below. A world ablaze with a fiery red…

If you’re looking for castles, cathedrals and coastline, look no further – Durham has them all. This elegant cathedral city can be traced all the way back to the 12th century and is just brimming with fascinating legends and history. The lively local community is bolstered by some 20,000 students attending Durham University and the city centre is full of vibrant independent bars, restaurants, cafés and shops. With the dramatic sandflats of Seaham Beach to the east and the rolling countryside of the North Pennines to the west, Durham is perfectly placed for exploring the beautiful north-east. DAY 1 9am Cathedral city Steeped in history, Durham is studded with interesting heritage sites. A great way to start your trip is with a visit to the magnificent Durham Cathedral, set in…

New Baileys and Swifts at NEC Two new models from Bailey and two new ranges from Swift were among the many attractions drawing public interest at the Motorhome and Caravan Show at the NEC in October. A pair of new Adamo models takes the line-up in Bailey’s Continental-inspired range to five in all. The two new line-ups from Swift included the Carerra, a five-strong van conversion range with eye-catching innovative features, and the Ascari, a two-model compact low-profile range. Both are based on Fiat. The show, which is expected to have attracted over 100,000 visitors, also hosted the UK debut of the Hymer Venture S, the new off-road vehicle from Hymer with an inflatable roof. See our coverage of the show on p72. DVLA reprimanded for unclear van conversion rules…

SWIFT BRINGS OUT TWO MORE Swift Group included two additional new ranges in the line-up on its stand. As well as the Ford-based Voyager, which we revealed in issue 265, models from the new Carrera van conversion and Ascari low-profile ranges were on show. Both are based on a Fiat Ducato. Carreras (1) come with a Lanzarote grey exterior and include cruise control and DAB radio as standard. Luxurious washrooms feature marble-effect walls and a turquoise splashback behind a two-tone fold-up handbasin. Other innovations are the small exterior table that folds out from the outside edge of the kitchen peninsula, and extensions that you draw from the edge of the kitchen unit and slot into place, instead of folding out. There are five models in the range, three of which…

ROMAHOME ON MICRO JAPANESE PICK-UP TRUCKS 1982-1992 It is neither the first British demountable motorhome, nor the first on a micro base vehicle (that was the Mini-based Wildgoose), but it did become the most popular micro motorhome ever! In 1976, imports began of a tiny twin-cylinder 354cc pick-up truck, the Honda TN7. Subsequently, innovative auto and marine designer Barry Stimson built a demountable pick-up campervan body for it. The design was modified and it gained an overcab for the slightly longer and more powerful Honda Acty. Isle of White-based boatbuilders Island Plastics bought the design and mass production of the moulded GRP Romahome commenced. The product was further developed by MD Brian Bailey. A small child could sleep in the overcab, but it was more often used for storage. Two…

Any security is better than none, of course, but an experienced thief can remove a budget lock in seconds, so it pays to buy wisely. Follow our guide to the top 10 security measures for your motorhome, and you will be making life as difficult as possible for any potential intruders if you put your ’van into storage over the winter months. 1 Wheel locks Motorhome wheel locks come in all shapes and sizes, but bear in mind that in general, the more you spend, the better – and the more secure – your chosen product is likely to be. If there’s one thing not to skimp on, it’s this – buy the best you can afford. Better still, buy more than one. These days, there’s a wide range of…

Coordinates 40.0673° N, 22.4053° E Why tour here? You can almost taste the ambrosia as you set foot on Mount Olympus, the legendary home of the Greek gods and the country’s highest peak at some 2917 metres. For tourists, the area’s natural beauty is the big attraction and it rightly has national park status. There is an impressive array of flora (more than 1700 species) and fauna, and some of the highest forests in Europe. Discover more about touring Greece in Peter Genet’s trip report on p46. Don’t miss… Hiking trails abound, with options for all levels of ability right up to mountaineers, and with good travel connections to Athens and Thessaloniki, there’s plenty of opportunity for exploration. practicalmotorhomeuk…

Guild 100 lumen head lamp No arsenal of touring accessories is complete without a head torch. Whether it’s for fiddly repairs or a midnight trip to the toilet, you’ll find you’re always glad to have one. This torch from Guild ticks all the boxes, with three adjustable head straps, three brightness settings and an adjustable tilting torch head. The beam reaches up to 10m and has a 100 lumen output. This reliable model comes with three AAA batteries and a storage bag. Price £8 Web argos.co.uk Forclaz foam seat pad Say goodbye to soggy bottoms with this ultra-light and compact seating pad! At 29 x 9.5cm when folded, it makes the perfect companion for a rainy-day hike. The robust quilted design is made from coated foam, making it waterproof and…

Brownhills goes employee-owned One of the UK’s largest single-site specialist motorhome dealerships is now employee-owned. This means that every member of the staff team at the Newark, Nottinghamshire, dealer will have a say in the way the company is run, and benefit from the profits it makes. A company spokesperson said: “Brownhills Motorhomes Ltd became an employee ownership trust (EOT) back in May, which was duly filed with Companies House. “The directors of Hosting Developments Ltd (which owned Brownhills Motorhomes Ltd) sold 100% of their shareholding to Brownhills Motorhomes EOT Ltd. The directors will be continuing to run Brownhills Motorhomes Ltd and currently have no plans to retire.” As far as we are aware, this is a first among motorhome dealerships, although Volkswagen campervan converter Jerba went down the employee-owned…

Winner Auto-Sleeper Legend on Ford Transit The fact that so many of these are still around is clear testament to how well they were built. The cabinetwork was assembled by time-served craftsmen and women, and featured hardwood-framed doors and lockers. The vehicle body is a classic ‘Sleepers’ GRP monocoque (so no seam or joint leaks), and was originally designed by William Towns of Aston Martin Lagonda fame, and mounted on the Bedford CF chassis-cab. This decade’s winner is behind the famous blue oval, a short-wheelbase version of Ford’s ubiquitous Transit. All of this generation of Transits are rear-wheel drive. Standard motive power is Ford’s 2.0-litre Pinto petrol engine, linked to a manual gearbox. This is a smooth, civilised engine, unlike the (bombproof) 2.5-litre direct-injection diesel alternative, which is rather percussive.…

Winner Swift Escape 664/686/696 (CB) on Fiat Ducato The previous decade’s winners were aimed to appeal to those buying their first brand new motorcaravan. However, over time, market drift occurred. This is when constant upgrades to the standard spec meant that they were no longer a VFM offering, but were ‘promoted’ to the mid-range league, with a price increase to match. Swift’s Escape was designed to fill the resulting gap, and did so magnificently. The original blue cab and contemporary furniture gave it a vibe that attracted more youthful buyers, in particular families with young children. These featured Escapes are completely family-friendly. All berths are adult-sized, avoiding the need to change ’vans when small children grow into lanky teenagers. Escape 664 is the shorter of the two and the only…

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Many motorhomes remain idle for some 95% of their lifetime, according to estimates by one hire firm, and it does seem wasteful to have a motorhome and then only use it sporadically. You still have to pay insurance and tax, and leaving it standing for long periods never does any good mechanically Times are tough for everyone at the moment and what with rising energy prices, war and economic turbulence, we all need to save cash and find new ways to make money. So on the face of it, renting out your motorhome is a bit of a no-brainer. Rather than your ’van simply sitting dormant, why not let another family have the use of it – and pay you for the privilege? In theory, it could make you money…

Many people in the UK will only use their motorhome for three seasons, parking it up over the winter. You might think that not using your vehicle would be straightforward, but come the springtime, it can create problems if you don’t lay up correctly. Switching off your ’van and parking up in October, then not switching it on again until March, is a surefire way to create potentially expensive problems. So how can you prevent this? TOUR ALL YEAR Resting your motorhome over winter never does it much good and with the vehicle’s rubber components – such as the drivebelts, cambelt and tyres – all set in one position, can cause problems, including flat spots on the tyres and premature failure of the drivebelts. This is one reason why you…

■ Insulation Motorcaravanning during the winter is a unique experience, and with a little preparation, a hugely positive one. For starters, it really helps if you have a motorhome or campervan with the best insulation possible. Those hardy folk who decide to head out on tour in the worst weather conditions will benefit from looking for a motorhome or camper boasting Grade 3 insulation. This is the official accreditation for four-season use, otherwise known as BS EN 1645-1 accreditation. The NCC manages this accreditation, and all accredited vehicles are embossed with a special ‘Approved’ badge. It makes hundreds of British and EU standard compliance checks on leisure vehicles. One section of BS EN 1645-1 covers levels of thermal insulation. Each model is chilled to -15°C in a cold chamber. The…

letter of the month I was sorry to hear about Christine and Bob Walton’s recent experience in France (Practical Motorhome issue 264). My wife Alison and I took our Swift Norden 599FB van conversion to France for the first time this summer and heeded the advice to avoid motorway service areas for overnight stops. Instead, we used the All the Aires guides from Vicarious Media (www.vicariousshop.com) to find suitable off-motorway stopping places. On the recommendation of our French friends, we also used the park4night app on our Android tablet (I understand that it’s also available for Apple), which we can thoroughly recommend. This can be used to search for aires around a place or along a route, and also gives useful reviews. Finally, our thanks to Christine and Bob for…

Christmas markets… eat, drink and shop! Bath Christmas Market 24 November - 11 December 2022 The city is beautiful at any time of year, but the lights of the 150 or so pop-up craft chalets on Bath Street give it a truly festive atmosphere. Treat yourself to handmade jewellery and personalised presents, and enjoy a bite to eat at the superb food stalls. ⓦ bathchristmasmarket.co.uk Stay at… Bath Chew Valley Caravan Park ⓦ bathchewvalley.co.uk Belfast Christmas Market 20 November - 22 December 2022 This large market returns to the city centre with more than 100 chalets selling a cornucopia of gifts and foodie treats. There’s an emphasis on local produce, with stallholders offering lobster burgers (Mourne Seafood), men’s grooming products (Belfast Beard Company), and fine ice-cream from the North Belfast…

What to do when you want to go exploring in the dark days of November? For us, the default is to throw on an extra layer, waterproofs and a scarf, and just get out there for a spot of puddle jumping and mud splashing. You really can’t beat the fresh smells of the earth following a rain shower, or the sparkling scenery on a clear frosty morning. But this time, we wanted to mix things up and do something a little different. So with thinking cap firmly in place, I pondered our options. The freedom to do some more leisurely, relaxed Christmas gift shopping, rather than the quick Saturday afternoon dash, seemed like a good idea, combined with the opportunity for some towny sightseeing and exploring. After further use of…

Back for the second year in their current new form, the Practical Motorhome Awards feature the best motorhomes, campervans and accessories available on the market today. With 21 awards overall, we’ve included 15 motorhome and van conversion awards that cover a range of budgets, sizes and types. All shortlisted entries must be new or revised for the 2023 season. We also have categories featuring cleaners, covers, bike racks, sat navs and other specialist accessories, helping you to kit out your motorhome ready for next year’s tours. What’s more, this year we asked our expert Gentleman Jack to lead the team in judging the best used buys out there, too – you’ll find our special round-up, with our stars from previous decades, beginning on p78. Read on to find out who…

Looking for a proven top-seller? Here it is. The fact that the Warwick XL format remains virtually unchanged since its introduction in 2013 says it all. Along with the news that since then, this has been up there as one of the most popular Auto-Sleeper van conversions, every year. Introduced as a longer version of the Warwick Duo (as it was renamed), the XL retains the rear lounge, but sees the kitchen and washroom swap sides, compared to its shorter sibling. Another reason to buy pre-owned? Auto-Sleeper owners, in particular, seem to take especially good care of their vehicles. They tend to be quite scarce on the used market, so you will need to do a fair bit of searching to find pre-owned models for sale. But you could take…

Winner Hymer B-564/B-544 (A) on Fiat Ducato Although Hymer might win a prize for the most confusing model names – their B-Class models are actually A-class integral coachbuilts – they were definitely winners in this decade’s motorhome awards. The B-Class began in the late 1970s, grew in popularity in the 1980s, and became really strong sellers in the UK after their revamp in 1996, to coincide with the launch of the X/44 Ducato with its cutting-edge fasciamounted gearlever. Hymer’s B-Class is built on a chassis-cowl which enables the body to be the same width throughout its length, adding a real feeling of spaciousness (because it is!) and offering a ‘Monarch of the Road’ driving experience through the large windscreen. Above the cab is an additional drop-down transverse double bed, which…

Cotswold-based Auto-Sleepers are our oldest volume motorhome builders, and have established an enviable reputation among their many loyal purchasers. But when their GRP monocoque coachbuilts became too expensive to produce and changes to driving licence entitlements meant that folk wanted more payload on motorhomes on a 3500kg chassis, they had a problem. Their solution was to launch the Peugeot Boxer/Ford Transit-based Styrofoam coachbuilts Ravenna, Pollensa and Pescara. Then the 2004 season saw the Inca launched as their Boxer-based replacement. The Inca is a shade longer and slightly wider, but still highly manoeuvrable. The most popular layouts were retained. EL – as the initials suggest – is an end-lounge model featuring a forward habitation entrance door with nearside kitchen and forward offside washroom ahead of the wardrobe. The lounge converts to…

The 20-year-old awning light fitted to my parents’ elderly ’van still worked, but shone a rather dull yellow rather than its original white. We’d cleaned the opaque cover several times, but the plastic had discoloured with age. Not only that, but it was still using the original bulbs, rather than energy-saving LEDs. So it was time for a change. We could have just replaced like for like, but we thought that it might be handy to fit a unit with a photocell, which would cause the light to switch on when it was dark outside. If you use brightly lit full-facility campsites, an awning light isn’t really a necessity, but on a smaller site or a CL/CS, they can be invaluable. What better way to help you find your keys…

Your motorhome is a great place for making wonderful memories, but it is also a major investment, so keeping an eye out for signs of damp is a key part of maximising its life. Moist air in a ’van can be caused by a number of factors, such as condensation – from cooking and showering – and water ingress, where rain gets in through gaps. Knowing what to look for is very important, whether you’re checking your own ’van or buying pre-owned. Moisture traps Shane Malpass from We Buy Any Motorcaravan explains: “Damp is what happens when moist air is trapped in a small space. Motorhomes are confined living spaces, the perfect trap for moist air. The UK has a wet climate, so there is always plenty of moist air…