Innehållsförteckning för April 2017 från Practical Caravan

Practical Caravan’s Digital editor Lizzie Pope is a frequent visitor to Bedfordshire, and more specifically Leighton Buzzard, where she has close family and friends. 1 Stay here There’s a number of Camping and Caravanning Club Certificated Sites nearby, the closest being College Farm and Hill Farm, both to the south. Want more? The full-facility Gulliver’s Milton Keynes C&CC Site (pictured) is 10 miles north; it’s open to members and non-members – and has a theme park on site! 2 See here Take a 70-minute round trip on the Leighton Buzzard Railway. It is one of England longest and oldest narrow-gauge lines and follows a route of just under three miles from Page’s Park to Stonehenge Works. 3 Eat here There are several good restaurants in Leighton Buzzard, including a tasty…

1 A menagerie on stage Some 75 puppets will tread the boards in productions of four brilliant tales, including the ever-popular storybook The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Catch it as it stops in St Ives, Cambridgeshire. Date 26 March Web www.hungrycater pillarshow.com Stay at Quiet Waters Caravan Park Web www.quietwaters caravanpark.co.uk 2 Eggcellent hunting Berrington Hall is hosting one of more than 250 Cadbury Egg Hunts. The trail will lead to a ‘knack shop’, where 18th-century children would have found all that they needed for hours of fun. Date 14-16 April Web www.nationaltrust. co.uk/berrington-hall Stay at Westbrook Country Holiday Park Web www.westbrook park.co.uk 3 A building frenzy Head to the National Space Centre for its ‘Brickish Weekend’ of Lego. Enjoy a treasure trail that could end with…

 I’M STILL COMING down from my incredible three weeks in the jungle as part of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!. ‘There is no luxury camp next door, with a twin-axle van, hook-up and plumbed-in water’ I thought I knew what it was going to be like. As I said in these pages before I left, I believed that my caravanning and camping experiences would prepare me for the trials and tribulations. I thought I’d figured out the things they would throw at me; the people I’d meet; and the effect that the whole thing would have on me. But NOTHING could have prepared me for my time in the Australian rainforest. Let’s start with a few ‘behind the scenes’ facts. There are 800 people working on I’m…

I wish I had been told that the horrible noise coming from the back of the car while towing wasn’t in fact something about to go horribly wrong. Two hours of stopping, looking, starting again and head-scratching later, the toy dinosaur in the boot that made funny noises was turned off! Simon Wright I’d love to have known how much cheaper – and fun – it is going abroad with three children in a caravan than going on a package holiday! Tracey Whitaker I wish we had switched from tent to caravan much sooner! It’s so much easier with a family: the girls are very relaxed straight away in the caravan. We have excellent weekends away. James Hopkins Buy decent waterproofs and NEVER forget your torch. We caravan all year…

WHEN TO GO You might think North Yorkshire in December would be closed off, but Vale of Pickering was by no means the only campsite open throughout the month. Heather lovers will be most rewarded in the late summer months, but a frosty winter here can be just as beautiful. FOOD AND DRINK • White Swan Inn A 16th-century coaching inn with a cosy dining room, a comfy bar, and a great menu full of delicious, hearty fare. Address Market Place, Pickering, North Yorkshire YO18 7AA Tel 01751 472 288 Web www.white-swan.co.uk • Lion Inn Way up on the moors, it serves a fine range of beers, does good pub grub, and has a live-music programme. Address Blakey Ridge, Kirkbymoorside, North Yorkshire YO62 7LQ Tel 01751 417 320 Web www.lionblakey.co.uk…

WE HAVE JUST spent another fantastic long weekend away at one of our favourite Certificated Locations (CLs). I thought I would share our experience and encourage others to forget those household chores for a weekend, relax, and make some wonderful memories as a family. There are around 2500 privately owned Certificated Locations across the UK, which offer a variety of settings reserved exclusively for members of the Caravan Club. These sites have just five pitches, and at any one time Club members can stay for a maximum of 28 days. Costs for a pitch are largely dependent upon the facilities available, but generally range between £10 and £15 a night, making for a relatively inexpensive short break for families. The Camping and Caravanning Club has a similar network of 1600-plus…

Crowds flock to Manchester show This year’s Caravan and Motorhome Show, which took place at EventCity in Manchester towards the end of January, included the first outing for Bailey’s Pursuit 570-6, the largest model in the newly revamped range. It features a set of fixed bunks in the offside rear, with a small dinette opposite that can turn into another set (above). The show also featured several dealer special debuts from Campbells Caravans, Kimberley Caravans and Leisure Sales. UK goes to the top of the class for Adria Adria’s UK division was the best performing among the Slovenian company’s 30 different markets around the world in 2016. Adria is currently in the process of being sold to the Trigano Group, which owns Chausson. Benimar and Auto-Trail, among other brands. Farewell…

Where tested Vale of Pickering Caravan Park, Allerston, Pickering, North Yorkshire YO18 7PQ When tested December 2016 YOU CAN SAY it’s a radical departure for an otherwise mainstream brand. You can say it’s really all aimed at outdoor types. You can say it’s a crossover vehicle. You can even say that, at £16,785, it looks a bit pricey. But whatever you say, Swift’s new Basecamp tourer has been eagerly awaited, certainly if the crowd gathering to see its launch at last October’s NEC show was anything to go by. They weren’t even put off by the no-show from Swift ambassador Sir Bradley Wiggins. Swift is certainly not the only manufacturer to offer tourers designed for people who want to take bulky sporting equipment away with them, of course. Many Continental…

First drive Renault Grand Scénic dCi 130 Price from £26,945 Kerbweight 1676kg* 85% match 1425kg Towing limit 1850kg Towball limit 75kg ACCORDING TO RENAULT, there are lots of drivers who need the practicality of an MPV but hanker after the rugged looks of an SUV. So the fourth-generation Scénic has abandoned the boxy and upright stance of a people-carrier in favour of a more dynamic and attractive design. As before, the car is available in five-seat (Scénic) and seven-seat (Grand Scénic) versions. There’s an £1800 premium for the extra row of seats, but that should be partly offset by better resale values. Both versions are available with a choice of petrol and turbodiesel engines, with a diesel-electric hybrid on the way. The trio of diesel units are expected to account…

How much? £2400-£25,000 It’s possible to bag yourself an early Insignia Sports Tourer from as little as £2400, but whether you’d want to is another matter; the Insignia was designed to do big miles, but we’d steer clear of cars with 150k+ on the clock. Upping the budget to £6k will net you an example with a five-figure mileage (some even starting with a five), and you’ll find some examples at Vauxhall main dealers. The forecourt is your oyster should you have as much as £13k to spend, because you can get a low-mileage two-year-old car with some warranty left. What will it tow? Kerbweight .......................... 1658kg 85% match...........................1409kg Towing limit........................ 1600kg Towball limit............................ 85kg (figures for 2015 2.0 CDTi Ecoflex) How much is a towball? Witter flange towbar...... £107.52…

Refine your search by location, make and model, price, berths and more to find your next tourer quickly and easily Scroll through our gallery of large images and get to know the van before hitting the road Explore each caravan’s vital statistics on our mobile- and tablet-friendly classifieds website to see if it’s the right tourer for you Our simple-to-navigate ads will help you check out each van and contact the seller ON THE LOOKOUT for a new caravan? If so, we can help! Just like our travel stories, expert reviews and advice, we reckon that our online classifieds are the best in the business – and now we’ve made them even better with a new search page that makes them even easier to use. So now you can read…

Layout Layout finder finder K G B This is a relatively new layout in the caravanning world, but one that’s proved popular: it combines the comfort of a fixed bed with practicality, because that bed can be retracted a short distance during the day. As a result, it’s much easier to access the rear washroom – which stretches across the whole of the rear of the caravan – during the day. The space eaten up by the washroom and fixed bed means that the lounge can be small, so check this if it’s important to you. Pros The fixed bed should be a good size, and comfortable. Plenty of room in the washroom Cons Guests sleeping up front will find it tricky to access the washroom at night. A There…

Layout finder S With a nearside-rear dinette as well as rear corner bunks, this layout has lots of space for the kids, while mum and dad relax in the lounge. The amidships kitchen is often short on work surface, but the side dinette provides extra room. The washroom, opposite the kitchen, is useful for nighttime visits, but there is not as much elbow room in the shower. Pros Children can take over the rear while their parents relax up front. The rear dinette offers a separate play space, and can usually be shut off from the rest of the van Cons The washroom has limited space, and the kitchen is squeezed between the lounge and the main door A This area may house a wardrobe or dresser unit B Fixed…

Focus on… T@B T@B caravans are miniature tourers for the seriously stylish – and not just because of their distinctive teardrop shape. They may have a trendy name, but it is derived from the company being part of the Knaus Tabbert group, which launched T@B in 2004. You can order your T@B in a range of very unconventional colours, including ‘Mexican Sunset’: it replaces the dark-grey edging with vibrant orange, an effect that’s repeated in a daring decal, too. Offroad models are so called because they come with higher ground clearance. Inside there is a lot to surprise you, too, including curved dinettes that look rather informal because they don’t sit squarely. There’s also a little shelf tucked into the porthole on some models. Getting your hands on one of…

WE SPEND A lot of our time testing new and used caravans, and suggesting great things to see on your touring holidays, but one of the most important aspects is where you choose to pitch up. This issue is all about the sites themselves, with the publication of our annual Top 100 Sites Guide, brought to you this year in association with our new sponsor Bailey of Bristol. As ever, it has been a fantastic effort by Guide editor Sarah Wakely and the team to bring it to you, but more importantly it’s a guide you can trust because the finalists are recommended by you! Of course, if even the most basic site is too much like luxury for you and you prefer wild camping, then this month’s cover star…

WRITE TO Letters, Practical Caravan, 69 London Road, Twickenham TW1 3SP EMAIL US AT letters@practicalcaravan.com JOIN OUR COMMUNITY AT practicalcaravan.com/forum facebook.com/  practicalcaravan twitter.com/  pcaravan instagram.com/  practicalcaravan The contributors of our Star letter and Star photo each win a pair of Milenco Grand Aero towing mirrors, worth £50. They’re designed to fit all wing mirrors and offer an outstanding view. If you have a top tip, send it in for a chance to win four Milenco Stacka corner feet, worth £14. For further details and a list of retailers, visit www.milenco.com…

BY NOW, YOU’RE sure to have noticed the free 116-page magazine that arrived alongside this copy of Practical Caravan – we’re proud to bring you our annual Top 100 Sites Guide once again, this time in association with new sponsor Bailey of Bristol. It’s a real labour of love for us: it’s so intriguing to see which parks from across the UK have proved popular with you over the past 12 months. If you’re not familiar with our Top 100 Sites Guide, the premise is really simple: each year, we ask you to nominate your favourite UK parks, and tell us why you love them. All of the votes are then counted up and verified, and our expert team goes through every single result to draw up the definitive list…

AS A FAN of ‘fun facts’, I am always on the hunt for a place with character, just waiting for its stories to unfold, and my parents, Peter and Josie are more than happy to tag along while I seek them out. At first glance, Ipswich may seem like any old town, with plenty of high street chains and sprawling housing areas. Delve a little deeper into its centre and you’ll find a wealth of history among its narrow streets. In fact, it is one of England’s oldest towns – thought to be one of the first established by the Anglo-Saxons at the end of the Roman occupation. Wealth of an era Having pitched our long-term Caravelair Antarès 476 at Polstead Camping and Caravanning Club Site, we jumped back into…

Price £32,690 What Car? Target Price £30,217 Retained value after three years 42% Kerbweight 1635kg* 85% of kerbweight 1390kg Gross vehicle weight 2275kg Max towing limit 2200kg Gross train weight 4475kg Towball limit 90kg Boot size 660-1950 litres Payload 640kg 30-60mph 12.0 seconds 50-60mph 5.1 seconds 30-0mph 11 metres Test conditions Damp Engine 1968cc turbodiesel Maximum power 187bhp @ 3500-4000rpm Maximum torque 295lb ft @ 1750-3250rpm Official combined fuel economy 55.4mpg Towing economy 27.9mpg CO 2  emissions 135g/km Insurance group 23 Euro NCAP overall protection rating…

Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer 2.0 CDTi 158bhp auto Having towed caravans now for over 20 years, this is the best car I’ve ever towed with.The automatic gearbox is a joy on motorways and the engine has plenty of pulling power. John Collins Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer 2.0 CDTi 158bhp auto This is the best outfit I have ever driven. My lightweight Sprite Musketeer caravan, the cruise control and the automatic gearbox seem to be the perfect combination. The Insignia is a real pleasure. Jags Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer 2.0 CDTi 138bhp I didn’t think I would get a better tow car than my Vectra 1.9 Elite hatchback but was I wrong.›The Insignia feels so surefooted and safe, it tows on any type of road perfectly and at times I forget,…

THE 17-YEAR-OLD awning light fitted to my parents’ ageing Abbey still worked, but shone a dull yellow rather than its original white. We’d cleaned the cover several times, but the plastic had discoloured with age. Not only that, but it also had its original bulbs, rather than energy-saving LEDs. It was time for a change. We bought a new twin-LED light incorporating a photocell. Although it was one unit, the lights operated independently of each other. The LEDs were wired separately to the main light, which was a power-hungry halogen bulb. So a new switch would be required, together with some re-wiring, and at the same time the halogen bulb would be changed for another LED unit. Because we would be working with the 12V system, both the mains power…

Layout Layout finder finder BB K G Centre washrooms – where the facilities cut right across the middle of the van – are all the rage right now, but this remains a popular variant: it features a rear island bed, with a side washroom over the axle. Space is saved by locating the kitchen opposite, meaning that this layout can be fitted onto a van with a shorter footprint. Elsewhere you'll find a lounge up front, with sofas that double as a bed. Pros The island bed is about as close to a domestic example as you can get. The lounge is usually of a good size. Cons Access to the washroom can be tight when someone is cooking. A The side washroom is likely to be on the narrow…

Focus on… Fifth Wheel Company This North Wales-based company first started producing fifth-wheelers – which use a heavy-duty hitch mounted in a pick-up’s load bed – in 2002. The founders had previously been importing fifth-wheelers from the USA to use at events to promote their Massey Ferguson tractor business, and realised that there was a gap in the market for a home-designed fifth-wheeler that met European standards, which are often very different from those in America. Along with the Celtic Rambler and Dreamseeker models, the company has now started producing the Inos, a more conventional caravan range that is still highly bespoke. It also benefits from the slide-outs that make the fifth-wheelers so spacious inside. More recently, in time for its 15th birthday, the company has itself become an exporter,…

Keeping your car clean Price £6.99 (for 1.5 litres) Web www.kemetyl.co.uk A lot of the best diesel tow cars on the market now require an extra additive called AdBlue to help reduce nitrogen oxides to safe and legal levels; in fact, more and more of our test cars use the urea solution alongside the Selective Catalytic Reduction technology that improves performance. The levels typically need to be refilled up to three or four times each year, but the filler cap is often located in the boot, in an awkward-to-reach spot, as it was in our Škoda Yeti. Although it’s perfectly safe, AdBlue is an irritant, so it’s important to avoid spills. That’s where Kemetyl’s clever way of connecting its AdBlue bottle to the tank is so handy – it…

New owner for Sandy Balls IF YOU’RE A regular visitor to New Forest campsite Sandy Balls, you may be interested to learn that it has changed hands. Holiday park company Away Resorts has bought the site, and it joins five others in the brand’s family: Tattershall Lakes in Lincolnshire, Whitecliff Bay on the Isle of Wight, Mersea Island in Essex, Barmouth Bay in Wales and Mill Rythe on Hayling Island. Away Resorts CEO Carl Castledine is keen to reassure Sandy Balls’ many fans that: “We very much want to retain the heritage of the estate and the fantastic experience that it provides to its guests.” The company has investment plans, but Castledine also says: “We will not be changing the overall feel of the place that so many people love.…

‘It’s refreshing to see how little modernisation has taken place’ When I said we were going to Scotland, our friends uttered two words: “rain” and “midges”. Well, it’s true that we’ve had rain before on our visits to Scotland. I remember Joe saying the immortal words as we drove down a rainy Glencoe, “It can’t possibly rain for three weeks, can it?” and me at the end of the holiday saying “oh, yes it can”. But we’ve also visited in the snow, and the worst sunburn I’ve ever had was in Scotland, partly because I hadn’t appreciated how strong the sun is when it does come out. Midges were something we’d never encountered, maybe we’d just been lucky. Anyway, I said smugly, we’re going to Dunbar, which is described as…

1 Marvel at a steely span For nearly two decades, the north-east has been carefully watched over by the iconic Angel of the North. The breathtaking, 20m-high sculpture by Antony Gormley first spread its wings in 1998, dominating the local skyline. Pay it a visit to feel the full magnitude of standing in front of 200 tonnes of steel! Bobby Shafto Caravan Park in Co Durham is an ideal base for exploring this area, which is rich in interesting architectural projects, both old and new. Don’t miss the innovative Millennium Bridge that connects Newcastle and Gateshead – and if you would rather leave your car on site, there are bus services from Gateshead Interchange and Eldon Square in Newcastle. Web www.bobbyshaftocaravanpark.co.uk 2 Topsail thrills Not only is Kingfisher Caravan Park…

1 Dockside revival Gloucester’s docks are home to beautifully restored warehouses; enjoy the great restaurants and shops at Gloucester Keys. Stay at Briarfields Touring Park Web www.briarfields.net 2 Unspoilt Devon The steep walk down to the harbour at Clovelly is well worth it for a small slice of heaven. It is tiny and picturesque. Stay at Wooda Holiday Park Web www.wooda.co.uk 3 North Sea gateway The village of Staithes in North Yorkshire, tucked between two cliffs, was once one of England’s busiest North Sea fishing ports. Stay at Serenity Camping Web www.serenitycamping. 4 Watch out for bats! Whitby’s harbour is easily among the most dramatic in Britain. The views from the Abbey ruins are spectacular. Stay at Whitby Holiday Park Web www.whitbypark.co.uk 5 Harbouring history The…

THE TRADITIONAL BRITISH caravan, with a double dinette or parallel lounge at the front that you rearrange to form the main double bed, still has a significant loyal following, according to a recent poll of the Practical Caravan social media audience. Although most of those responding to our Facebook (www.facebook.com/practicalcaravan) and Twitter (@pcaravan) question, asking ‘what’s your dream caravan layout’, favoured island beds, transverse versions were just as popular as the current fashion for central washrooms and rear bedrooms. Fixed single beds also featured strongly, as did the fixed nearside double – a layout that has been disappearing from manufacturers’ portfolios over recent seasons – with one respondent pointing out that any kind of island bed is almost always shorter than this option. Oldie but a goodie However, around a…

THE OWNER SATISFACTION Awards 2017 may have only recently been revealed, but we already need your help in making the 2018 awards the biggest and best yet. If you’ve bought a new or pre-owned caravan since 1 January 2014, and have owned it for at least six months, then we would love to hear from you – how were you treated during the purchase, how has the van behaved, and would you buy again from the same manufacturer or dealer? Launched in April 2012, the Owner Satisfaction Awards is the only industry scheme that is completely based on owners’ feedback, including both the practicality and reliability of the tourer itself, as well as the buying and owning experience. To have your say, simply head to www.practicalcaravan.com/oss2018 and start giving us…

Price £27,250 What Car? Target Price £25,529 Retained value after three years 47% Kerbweight 1662kg 85% of kerbweight 1413kg Gross vehicle weight 2250kg Max towing limit 2200kg Gross train weight 4450kg Towball limit 100kg Boot size min/max 491/1480 litres Payload 588kg 30-60mph 17.2 seconds 50-60mph 10.0 seconds 30-0mph 10.4 metres Test conditions Dry, some damp patches Engine 1995cc turbodiesel Maximum power 134bhp @ 2750-4000rpm Maximum torque 275lb ft @ 1500-2500rpm Official combined economy 54.3mpg Towing economy 26.5mpg CO 2  emissions 139g/km Insurance group 19 Euro NCAP overall protection rating Compass Casita 554 Perfect partner With a match figure of 1413kg for 85% of kerbweight, you can safely tow a…

BEFORE I GO any further, Al-Ko doesn’t recommend this upgrade to be a DIY installation for the following reasons. First, you will need torque wrenches capable of tightening bolts to 370Nm, which is a great deal more than the capability of your average home toolkits. Second, you will need to lift the caravan in order to get acceptable space to be able to tighten the above bolts. Third, getting the toe-in and camber adjustments correct is imperative, otherwise you could experience rapid tyre wear and/or odd towing characteristics from the caravan. Safety atop the agenda For more than 10 years, caravan chassis manufacturer Al-Ko has been developing a reliable, self-adjusting braking system that would work in all kinds of situations and climates; from the freezing temperatures of northern Scandinavia, to…

Layout finder K Featuring a full-width rear washroom and a pair of twin sofas that make up into a double bed up front, this layout is ideal for couples on tour. The washroom is usually spacious enough to also serve as a dressing room, while the kitchen is very often a really good size – ideal if you enjoy cooking up a storm while you’re away. You might get the option of additional seating in lieu of a chest of drawers between the lounge sofas. Pros This layout allows for a roomy washroom and kitchen even in more compact vans Cons Occupants need to make up the bed each night, leaving nowhere for anyone still up to lounge A Storage is limited, but you will find some under the sofas…

Layout finder AA This is a practical layout that allows you to enjoy the comfort of a fixed bed, while retaining a (usually) good-shaped lounge up front. If that lounge is big enough, you’ll often find that it can be made up into another double bed – handy if you have guests staying over. The kitchen can be on the small side, so make sure that it’s big enough for your needs. However, the washroom will almost certainly offer plenty of space for dressing, because it stretches across the full width of the caravan. Pros The fixed bed should be a good size, and comfortable. There’ll be plenty of room in the washroom Cons The fixed bed takes up a relatively large amount of floorplan A You’re likely to find…

Focus on… Eriba Eribas have to be some of the most recognisable tourers on the road, thanks to their iconic looks and minimal size. Eriba is not, however, a minimal manufacturer. The moniker comes from the first few letters of founder Erich Bachem’s name; he set up shop in 1957 with Erwin Hymer, who went on to develop motorhomes under his own brand. Eriba and Hymer merged as long ago as 1980. Nowadays, Eriba Touring vans come with pop-up roofs, so you don’t have to be tiny to stay in one. On the Continent they sell conventionally sized Eribas, too; however, in the UK these ranges – the Nova S and Nova GL – are marketed under the Hymer name. You can expect superior build quality inside the vans, but…