Police launch inquiry into eight caravan inferno in Derby

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by Tom Lowenstein

Police have launched an investigation following an eight caravan fire in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Fire crews from Kingsway station in Derby were called into action at 3.36am to deal with the blaze at a caravan park on Willington Lane, Willington, the Burton Mail reported.

Four caravans were initially involved in the fire before it spread to four more and a trailer. It is unknown what started the blaze .

As huge plumes of smoke billowed into the sky and threatened to obscure the nearby intersection of the A38 and A50, fire stations in Burton, Swandlincote and Derby’s Ascot Drive all sent firefighters to help tackle the blaze.

The situation was made even more complicated by the danger of the caravan’s gas cylinders exploding while a faulty fire hydrant made it difficult for firefighters to do their jobs properly.

Fire crews had to use four jet hoses to fight the flames and a water foam carrier was deployed from Ilkeston as motorists were advised to drive with care because of decreased visibility.

New Land Rover Discovery 4: More power, lower emissions

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by Chris Jefferies

The perennial towcar favourite from Land Rover has been refreshed for 2012, with a more powerful engine, an eight-speed automatic gearbox and lower carbon emissions.

Fans of the Discovery 4 may be excited to learn that the 4WD best-seller is getting the ZF gearbox range from Jaguar, which offers a rotary gear-shift selector and a flappy-paddle option.

The eight-speed automatic transmission results in improved fuel efficiency and brings the CO2 emissions down to just 230g per km, which is outstanding for such a large towcar.

Even with prices starting from the slightly higher price of £37,995 on the road, the Discovery 4 is almost £5,000 less expensive the equivalent 2012 Porsche Cayenne.

The price tag does invite comparisons with the luxury market though, showing how far the Discovery has come from being known as a utility family car.

Clean, mean machine

A power boost to 256bhp gives you more poke for your pound, while the 500Nm of torque can be delivered at 2,000rpm in just half a second – ideal for towing large tourers at low speeds.

Furthermore, Land Rover claims that the 3.0-litre diesel engine is one of the cleanest on the market resulting in almost 35mpg on country roads, which is no means feat from a car that weighs more than two and a half tonnes.

On the entertainment front, there’s a new colour-screen audio system, which you can connect to via Bluetooth or USB, while the radio can play DAB channels. For the boy racer in you, there’s an even the option of a more powerful 825W 17-speaker set, while the Disco also comes with 19-inch alloys as standard.

A helping hand

Continuing from the 2011 edition is the Hill Start Assist system, which retains the brake pressure while you move your foot over to the accelerator.

Caravan owners can also benefit from Land Rover’s Tow Assist system, which uses the rear parking cameras to detect the shape of your tourer and guide you when reversing.

What’s more, the Tow Hitch Assist system makes it easier to precisely line up the tow bar with a tow hitch by using the main dashboard screen.

Finally, with petrol prices spiralling upwards it seems like the super-efficient 3.0-litre diesel will be your one and only option.


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Everything must go – Discover Leisure to sell off £1m of stock in fire sale

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by Chris Jefferies
Savvy caravan buyers looking to land a bargain can make the most of the demise of Discover Leisure this week, as the defunct retailer is flogging off all its remaining stock for the next six days.
The administrators KPMG published details about the event late on Friday (November 11th), including a full list of the £1m worth of caravans that are up for sale.
Caravanners looking to snap up a cheap tourer can visit the dealer’s five outlets in Birtley, Coppull, Darlington, Delamere and York from 9am to 5pm every day until Saturday (November 19th) and from 10am to 3pm on Sunday (November 20th).

Discover Leisure called in the administrators last month in a dramatic turn of events, which saw the UK’s largest dealer network pull out of the NEC Motorhome and Caravan Show.
This move ultimately lead to around 240 staff losing their jobs and many new customers losing their deposit; although those with outstanding warranties have been offered support by manufacturers Elddis and Bailey.
What’s more, the company’s stock of 300 caravans was put up for sale to the industry, and although the majority have been sold, the remaining 26 tourers will be flogged off on a cash deposit only basis.
As well as several used models from Bailey and Elddis, there are a few new models from Swift, Sterling and Compass that are being sold.
The remainder of the company’s assets, including commercial vehicles and workshop equipment, will be sold off next month in an online auction, which will run from December 6 to 8.
Below is a full list of the remaining caravans (including four new models market with an asterisk) as published by the company’s appointed surveyors Sanderson Weatherall:


DL Branch Make Model Year
Birtley Bailey Pageant Majestic 2003
Birtley Coachman VIP 460/2 2007
Birtley Swift Challenger 530 2003
Coppull Abbey GTS Vogue 416 1995
Coppull ABI Sprinter 400D 2000
Coppull Compass Rallye 460/2 2001
Coppull Crown Crest GT 1998
Coppull Elddis Gulfstream EX2000 2000
Coppull Elddis Wisp 350/2 1991
*Coppull Sterling Europa 550 2011*
Coppull Sunncamp 240S 2011
Coppull Swift Challenger 500 2002
Coppull Swift Challenger 520SE 2000
Coppull Swift Corniche 40619 2002
Coppull Swift Lynmere Harringtons SE 2000
Darlington Cabannon Atlantis DL Delux 2006
*Darlington Swift Charisma 230 2011*
Delamere Bailey Senator Arizona 2004
Delamere Bailey Senator Vermont 2008
Delamere Bessacarr Cameo 645GL 2007
York Bailey Pageant Moselle 2002
York Bailey Senator Oklahoma 2002
York Bessacarr Cameo 625GL 2002
*York Compass Venture 495 2010*
York Swift Bridgemere 2001
*York Swift Charisma 545 2011*


Ade Edmondson tours Britain in Teardrop caravan for ITV show

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by Tom Lowenstein

TV funnyman and star of Bottom Adrian Edmondson has been travelling up and down the UK in style for his latest television outing on ITV’s Ade in Britain.

On a mission to discover the culture behind some of Britain’s best loved foods in his new documentary, Adrian has hitched up a custom-built caravan to the back of his faithful Mini for the round-the-UK tour.

Viewers of the series can follow the comedian around the UK as he tries his hand at making some uniquely British cuisines, while learning all about them and sneaking an odd taste here and there too.

Adrian’s terrific teardrop tourer has been handcrafted by artisan caravan maker Richard Stark, who has created a uniquely retro caravan that suits its owner perfectly.

The carpenter enjoyed refurbishing an old caravan so much that he decided to do it full-time and now hand-makes beautifully English caravans to his clients’ specifications.

Richard takes a custom-built chassis and then constructs the whole caravan from hand on top, meaning his clients get their dream caravan in exactly the style they want.

For Adrian, that was the retro beauty he’s taken on tour, but Richard can offer any kind of wood, fabric and layout that’s asked of him.

Adrian’s travels have so far taken him to North Wales, the Lancashire coast, Gloucestershire and The Fens.

Though he may be more used to touring with his acclaimed folk-punk band The Bad Shepherds than with his retro caravan, he’s certainly had a whale of a time.

Having really hit it off with a cheesemaker in Lancashire it seems the bespoke caravan is obviously helping the comedian make friends wherever he goes.

On a tour of the Mrs Kirkham’s Lancashire Cheese farm Adrian got involved in the cheesemaking process, to the delight of the farm’s owner, Graham Kirkham.

Speaking to the Lancashire Evening Post he said: “He’s really good fun.

“It’s a shame really because we could have spent all day chatting about food and things but his film crew kept rushing us along.”

If you want to catch up the first two series of Ade In Britain, you can catch all the episodes on ITV Player.

Adria Caravans: `The secret is finally starting to get out`

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by Chris Jefferies
When it comes to choosing a new touring outfit, most Brits are much more likely to opt for a UK-made caravan than a foreign one, and as a result the market is dominated by home-grown tourers.
However, Venture Caravans has claimed that this is all about to change, as the benefits of buying Slovenian are finally starting to catch on.
Since they are the UK’s official partner of Adria Caravans they might well say this, but this claim is backed up by the recent NCC Motorhome and Caravan Show.
The brand new Adria Astella 613HT was one of the most popular caravans to look inside at last month’s NEC show, with curious punters crawling all over it, and despite its high price tag of £17,990, it was the company’s best seller at the six-day event.

As well as boasting Alde wet heating, the interior of this luxury caravan is immediately striking, mostly because Adria have moved the kitchen to the front, but also because it is eight foot wide, allowing six inches more internal space than a traditional British-built caravan.
This is made possible by a recent change in the UK’s road laws, allowing extra-wide caravans to be towed by normal cars.
Nevertheless, Mark Turley, Partner at Venture Caravans, doesn’t see the British makes trying to follow suit.
“The eight-foot wide body gives a lot of advantages, such as wider beds. Adria can do this in a cost-effective way because their factory is already set up to make caravans this wide,” he explained.
“I can’t see it becoming the norm in the UK, but it was interesting to see the type of customer it attracted. They mostly use a seasonal pitch and only tow twice a year.”

“The product is a well-kept secret, but the secret is finally getting out,” he added.
Eastern invasion
Buying from a manufacturer that is located over 1,000 miles away may seem to make little sense at first, but as Mark explained, the repairs and warranty service is very reassuring.
Click here to continue reading 


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Wedding photos mysteriously returned, 17 years after caravan theft

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by Tom Lowenstein

Nigel and Gillian Stewart from County Down in Northern Ireland gave up hope that they would ever see their treasured wedding photographs again when they disappeared inside their stolen caravan nearly two decades ago.

Despite media appeals for the return of their album, it seemed as though they would never be able to show their kids their romantic pictures.

Yet on Tuesday afternoon (November 8th), a surprise package left at their front door reunited them with the long lost album, the BBC reported.

Pregnant with her son at the time the caravan was stolen, Gillian never had the chance to show her children what their dad looked like before his hair went grey so was delighted when the photo album was anonymously returned.

“I thought I was seeing things, I was absolutely stunned. Speechless,” she told the news provider.

Whether it was the person who stole the caravan who returned the photos remains a mystery, but the Stewart’s are just pleased to have them back after all this time.

“I would just love whoever it was to come forward, so I could thank them in person,” Gillian said.

Rescue services `delighted` after Skegness caravan park donates £7,000

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by Tom Lowenstein

Over the last few weeks, several caravan parks have announced how much they have raised for charity, but a site in Skegness appears to have outdone them all with its fundraising efforts.

Thanks to the generous caravanners and campers at Taggs Caravan Park, two rescue charities have had their coffers boosted by a grand total of £7,000.

In a ceremony last week, the park on Wainfleet Road presented two cheques of £3,500 each to its local Royal National Lifeboat Institution and the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance service, the Skegness Standard reported.

Throughout the summer months the caravan park held raffles, bingo games and asked for donations in a bid to raise as much as the lofty target they set themselves last year.

“We were a bit concerned that we wouldn’t raise so much this year because of the economy,” Taggs’ Gordon West told the local newspaper.

“But we went into it thinking, ‘whatever we raise, is whatever we raise’ and fortunately we were able to match last year’s amount.”

Thanking the park for their generous efforts, chief executive of the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance Peter Aldrick said they were delighted to receive the donation.

Free caravan check-up offered at new Fifth Wheel Co service centre

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by Tom Lowenstein

Caravanners in North Wales and Cheshire have been offered the chance to claim a free (yes, free!) caravan service as part of a company’s training to become the first centre in the region with Approved Workshop Status.

As they practice to achieve the caravan industry-recognised status, Fifth Wheel in Denbighshire announced yesterday (November 8th) that they are offering the free once-over to six caravan owners who live in the region.

The company has recently opened a brand-new 10,800 sq foot specialist service centre for caravans and the free tune-up is part of the training they are receiving from caravan industry body CITO.

“We are creating a dedicated service centre for caravan owners across North Wales and Cheshire,” said Adrian Parry-Jones, sales director at Fifth Wheel.

“We will be able to service any caravan at the centre so it will benefit a lot of local people.”

For those wishing to take advantage of the offer, the services are only available on Wednesday 16th and Thursday November 17th and can only be carried out on single axle caravans younger than three-years-old.

To find out more about the free servicing offer contact Fifth Wheel on 01745 583 000.

At last month’s NCC Motorhome and Caravan Show, Fifth Wheel Co gave a public debut to their first-ever luxury touring caravan, the Inos, which features a large slide-out section to significantly expand the interior space.

Caravan Club changes the name of 13 top caravan sites

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by Tom Lowenstein

The Caravan Club has decided to rename 13 of its caravan and camping sites in a bid to make them easier to find when scouring the map for the next destination to take your tourer.

Following feedback from club members, the Club found that some people were having trouble locating certain sites and so decided to overhaul the names of parks up and down the country.

Explaining the decision to change the names, The Caravan Club said in a statement yesterday (November 8th): “Many members don’t realise just how convenient some of our sites are for access to major cities or towns of historic interest.”

Let’s just hope that caravanners who made regular trips to the sites don’t find the new names too confusing.

Here is the full list of The Caravan Club sites that have changed names:


Was known as Now known as
Four Oaks Henley Four Oaks Caravan Club Site
Cherry Hinton Cambridge Cherry Hinton
Losehill Castleton Caravan Club Site
Grin Low Buxton Caravan Club Site
Normanhurst Court Battle Caravan Club Site
Notgrove Bourton on the Water Caravan Club Site
Hillside Salisbury Caravan Club Site
Threeways Marazion Caravan Club Site
Lower Clough Foot Hebden Bridge Caravan Club Site
Grange Durham Grange Caravan Club Site
Seaview Berwick Seaview Caravan Club Site
Dalchalm Brora Caravan Club Sitee
The Invercauld Braemar Caravan Club Site

Paul Merton discovers the joys of caravanning in new Channel 5 show

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by Chris Jefferies
Better known for cracking jokes than cornering with a caravan, Paul Merton is one of the country’s best-loved comedians, so it comes as little surprise to find out that his first attempt at towing was suitably comic.
The 54-year-old funnyman has been travelling the globe as part of his latest TV series Paul Merton’s Adventures for Channel 5.
In the newest episode, which will be on TV tonight at 10pm, Paul tries a staycation, and chooses a new Swift Challenger Sport 524 to help him explore the best that England has to offer.
Before he can set off, he is given a crash course in towing and reversing at Swift Caravans HQ in Hull, which has predictably hilarious consequences.
At the outset, the Have I Got News For You star is cautiously optimistic: “The caravan will go where the car goes, I assume. You see people driving caravans all the time, so it can’t be that hard, I imagine.”
Learning the hard way
After a very frustrating reversing experience, Paul gives up and has a go at towing the world’s smallest caravan, the QTvan with a shopmobility scooter (pictured right).
Despite this being small enough to manoeuvre down the aisles of a local supermarket, it doesn’t stop Paul from crashing again, so he reluctantly takes to the road with a Land Rover Discovery towing his Swift.
On his travels, he meets a friendly pair of caravanners, Paul and Lester, who show him the ropes, from levelling to EHU (electric hook-up). They even try to teach him how to reverse properly, with mixed results.
The hour-long show includes a whistle-stop tour of the South of England, which takes in competitive egg-throwing in Lincolnshire, a music festival in the Malvern hills, a circus in the Cotswolds, and a Pagan ritual in Cornwall.
Seasoned caravanners will certainly find the first 15 minutes of inept fumbling hilarious, while the rest of the show will certainly help inspire next year’s holiday plans.
If you missed Paul Merton’s Adventures: in a Caravan you can watch the full episode online

What did you think of the show? Did it make caravanning look appealing? Or would it put off any newcomers? Share your thoughts in our community forum

Thetford offers customers a free drainage solution for C250 caravan toilets

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by Tom Lowenstein

Caravan toilet manufacturer Thetford has announced it is to give away a new drainage device to customers with a C250 CWE toilet in a bid to prevent more flush pumps being broken.

Following a number of reports of broken pumps, Thetford has identified that C250 CWE cassette toilets which were manufactured before April 1st 2010 are susceptible to the problem, which in most cases has been caused by frost.

To avoid the problem, the company – which provides toilets to many of the leading caravan manufacturers – has designed a new drainage solution which they say guarantees better drainage of the flush and water tank system.

Utilising an additional drain tube, the solution removes the issue for the affected models as well as improving the drainage capability of the more recent versions of the toilet.

The Dutch company, which recently celebrated its 40th birthday, has therefore made the additional retrofit drainage tube available free to anyone with a C250 CWE model cassette toilet, regardless of whether it was the older or newer versions.

A quick fix

Customers who request the new drain tube have been advised that they should be able to install it themselves.

Thetford say that it takes around ten minutes to attach and in most cases a professional won’t be required to fit the new device.

Anyone who wishes to request the drain tube along with installation instructions free of charge has been asked by Thetford to email them at C250draintube@thetford.eu.

Emails must include contact details, the serial number that is written on the bottom of the toilet’s holding tanks and the make and model of their caravan as well as its chassis number.

Thetford also announced the launch of its new website this week (November 8th), which the mobile sanitary system manufacturer has developed in partnership with its web marketing partner, eFocus.

Friendly Club caravan site braced for tug-of-war over expansion plans

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by Tom Lowenstein

Plans to extend a Camping and Caravanning Club site in Derbyshire have hit a snag after the local parish council objected to the extension.

The Bakewell site in Hopping Lane, Youlgrave lies in the Peak District National Park and had applied for permission to build another 22 surfaced pitches as well as a new service point and an area for storage.

A request to stretch the season which currently runs from March until October by three months so that it would be open from February 16th to January 5th was also submitted by the park’s owners, the Yorkshire Post reported.

However, Youlgrave Parish Council claims that its village roads cannot sustain the increased caravan traffic and opening throughout winter would be too much.

Despite 13 letters of objections and the attitude of the parish council however, planning officials have recommended that councilors grant the site permission to extend.

Planning officers said: “A conditional approval would properly balance recreation interests with the conservation purpose of the national park’s statutory designation and the economic and social welfare of the local community,” the newspaper quoted.

The plans will now go before a showdown meeting at the Peak Park authority’s offices in Baslow on Friday when The Camping and Caravanning Club will learn the fate of its proposals.