Park Holidays UK encourages customers to book up for summer 2010

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Caravan site operator Park Holidays UK is to offer mobile home owners a number of special deals for summer 2010.

The firm will welcome guests to its sites from just £13 per pitch per night during July and August, allowing them to make the best of the predicted warm weather.

It offers sites in Devon, Hampshire, Sussex, Dorset, Kent, Essex and Suffolk, meaning that caravanners in England have a good choice of destination.

According to Park Holidays UK, the best time to visit its site for a warm weather bargain is during July or the final week of August, with the three-night Friday to Monday deals offering particularly good value.

Those with kids will be glad to hear that there are also discounts available during the school holidays.

However, Brits have been encouraged to book up quickly as there are only a limited number of places and pitches are expected to sell out fast.

Meanwhile, Park Holidays UK recently gave away a Delta Santana Caravan at its Seawick Holiday Park in a prize draw.

Caravan firm owner jailed for theft

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Caravan enthusiasts in Lower Darwen were left thousands of pounds out of pocket by conman and businessman Ian Thane, it has been revealed.

The 46-year-old was recently sent to prison for 16 months after it emerged that he had stolen almost £114,000 from his customers.

He admitted 12 charges of selling caravans and pocketing the cash instead of handing it over to the owners.

Preston crown court heard how Mr Thane had used the money to pay bills and other expenses for his firm Ewood Caravans.

One of the victims lost out after entrusting the crook to sell his motor home for £34,000. However, despite two previous successful transactions with him, the customers never saw their money, the Blackburn Citizen revealed.

His insurance company also refused to pay out, leaving him with no caravan and no cash after buying it for £43,000.

Meanwhile, Police in Nafferton, North Humberside, are appealing for information after a touring caravan was stolen from a local farm, according to Nafferton Today.

Yorkshire caravan sites threatened by floods

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A number of Yorkshire caravan sites are said to be among the properties at risk of flooding in the area.

According to the Environment Agency, residents and businesses in the region may have to take action to protect themselves from rising water levels, as a number of rivers threaten to burst their banks.

Knaresborough Caravan Park is at risk of being waterlogged by the Nidd, which is also close to overflowing at Cattal and Hunsingore, the Yorkshire Post revealed.

Similarly, the Ure is posing a risk to Aldwick Bridge Masham and Roecliffe Caravan Park.

Strong winds have also been wreaking havoc in the area with a lorry being blown over in Penistone, causing the fire brigade to be called in to free the trapped driver.

The Environment Agency and Met Office warned that the north-west is likely to see up to 100mm of rain in the next 24 hours, further increasing the risk of flood damage.

Attitude, not age to blame for bad driving

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The AA has suggested that young drivers can be unfairly branded as dangerous drivers when, in truth, age has nothing to do with the increased risk of accident.

Instead it is the novelty of having a new car and trying to impress friends that often adds danger to the situation.

Head of road safety Andrew Howard explained that bad driving often came down to the driver’s attitude and suggested that there should be more focus on educating people against using their car as a means of “self-expression”.

“We need to be talking to people who are 13 and 14 about developing the right attitudes towards driving, not leaving it until [they’re] 17,” he said.

“There is a wonderful quote in one of our pieces of research in the 90s which said that young drivers drive badly not because they don’t know how to drive well but because they choose to drive badly.”

The comments follow statistics from The Co-Operative Insurance and Brake, which show that almost a third (30 per cent) of young drivers admit to dangerous or illegal driving.

Driving can be a useful skill for young people – especially if they plan to explore the UK or Europe in a caravan.

Holidaymakers beginning to ‘go it alone’

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The number of holidaymakers touring the UK and Europe by caravan on their own could be set to increase after ebookers.com suggested that solo travel is becoming more popular.

It revealed that the recession has influenced the market, with 15 per cent going it alone due to a lack of available finances from friends and family.

Commenting, Solotravel.org editor Anthony Page said the trend will only become more apparent, with a number of firms now offering tailored trips for one.

He said those heading off on their own should ensure someone knows where they are going and what their travel plans are in order to remain safe.

“When booking on tour or adventure group holidays make sure you call the operator beforehand to find out about the group dynamic, for example whether most people are in couples et cetera – this way you can ensure you are with other solos,” Mr Page advised.

The expert predicted that certain destinations were good for specific interest trips and gave the example of France for surfing.

Caravan Club and RSPB celebrate 5 years of partnership

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This week marks the fifth anniversary of the union between the Caravan Club and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

The partnership has seen the Caravan Club take an active role in helping to reverse the decline of the feathered creatures in the UK.

With more than 200 sites, the organisation offers its members the chance to explore wildlife hotspots all around the country and spokesperson Emma Cosby explained that it is committed to boosting biodiversity.

The club is particularly concerned with protecting the song thrush after it agreed to become a champion for the bird.

It has assisted the RSPB financially and created bird provisions at many of its sites around the UK.

The latest RSPB figures show that song thrush numbers have risen 25 per cent since the mid-1990s, helping to reverse the long-term decline.

The organisation revealed that British Trust for Ornithology data shows that song thrush numbers fell by 50 per cent in the UK between 1974 and 2003.

North-east business group expands caravan operation

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A group of businesses in the north-east is set to expand its caravan operations thanks to a growth in the market.

According to the Northern Echo, Teeside’s Hambleton Group will significantly increase its caravan storage space.

Work has begun to create room for a further 700 units at the Thornaby site, bringing total capacity to 1,000 caravans.

The group’s Teeside Warehousing has enjoyed a constant waiting list for its facilities since it opened.

“Caravans are a massive business and in the last two years it has grown rapidly,” explained manager Lisa Pluves.

“Caravanning has become more popular and within a lot of local authority areas or new housing developments, you cannot park caravans on your drive,” she revealed.

Ms Pluves added that the last expansion was a decade ago and was filled within months.

Caravan parks in the area include the White Water Caravan Club site in Stockton-on-Tees, which is part of the UK’s largest white water canoeing and rafting course.

Coventry caravan enthusiasts mourn industry pioneer

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The Midlands camping and caravan industry is mourning the death of one of its pioneers.

Catherine Jackson co-founded Jacksons of Old Arley with her husband Ronald in 1963, but has passed away at the age of 86, according to the Coventry Telegraph.

Originally from Scotland, the couple married in 1945 and began selling sleeping bags more than 50 years ago.

The firm is now run by their son Harry and daughters Theresa and Mary and caters for outdoor enthusiasts such as camping and caravan fans.

Harry described how his parents started out after seeing a newspaper article to sell sleeping bags for commission of one shilling and sixpence per transaction.

“That was the start of it. My father saw a niche in the market and, after moving to Nuneaton, my parents settled into Old Arley, where they opened their first camping shop,” he explained.

The funeral will be held tomorrow (November 18th), but the family has requested that anyone wishing to pay their respects donate cash to Mary Ann Evans Hospice and the Marie Curie Trust rather than sending flowers.

Meanwhile, the Northern Echo recently revealed that a Teeside caravan storage business is trebling its capacity due to levels of demand.

Park Holidays UK gives away caravan

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One lucky Brit is the proud owner of a new Delta Santana caravan after Park Holidays UK handed her the keys to the mobile home.

Doreen Cole won the caravan site operator’s Win a Caravan Competition and now has her very own holiday home at the firm’s Seawick Holiday Park in Essex.

Park Holidays UK operations director Ian Smith surprised Mrs Cole with the news of the win in an unexpected phone call.

“We’re extremely happy to bring Doreen so much joy and it’s therefore pretty clear that good things can happen to good people,” the firm said, adding that holidaymakers should be sure to enter its 2010 contest.

The Delta Santana is a 30ft by 12 ft model that is billed as being ideal for families.

Mrs Cole explained that she plans to bring her grandchild to the caravan park, which is located on a sandy beach, for regular holidays.

In other news, the firm recently announced that it will be offering a number of deals for the May bank holidays and July and August 2010.

Caravan occupant rescued after vehicle blown into river

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Three occupants of a caravan had a lucky escape recently when their wind-and-rain-battered mobile holiday home was blown over a wall and into a river.

The incident on the A4086 at Afon Nant Peris occurred as harsh weather pounded north Wales, the Daily Post revealed.

It explained how one of the trio was unable to scramble to safety and had to rely on the efforts of the local fire service to rescue him.

The men were all taken to Ysbyty Gwynedd hospital, Bangor, to be medically examined but there were no injuries.

“The three men were staying in the caravan in a lay-by on the pass. It was blown over the wall by the wind and into the river below,” a spokesperson for North Wales Fire and Rescue explained.

She added that there had also been a landslide in the area, which was causing problems with the roads.

The Met Office warned on Friday (November 13th) that the UK should expect heavy rain and gale-force winds this week.

Coastal caravan guests could try diving

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Caravan enthusiasts staying at one of the UK’s many coastal resorts could have world-class sporting facilities within easy reach without even knowing it.

That is because the 11,000 miles of coastline offer scuba diving that is equal to any destination in the world, according to the British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC).

Spokesperson Alison Dando said that those taking part in diving experience a “completely new environment”.

“There are so many places and, for UK divers, we all have our favourite and I think you will never run out of places to dive,” she said.

A BSAC members’ poll in 2008 found that Scapa Flow in Orkney was the favourite site among British divers.

Visitors to the area can see a fleet of around 12 German vessels scuttled during the second world war.

Meanwhile, the organisation recently revealed that its Try Dive sessions in September and October attracted almost double the number of people they did last year.

Five-star caravan clubs on the rise, Visit Britain figures show

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Nearly one in five of the sites run by the Camping and Caravan Club (CCC) have now been given five stars on the Tourist Board ratings from Visit Britain.

In another successful year for the club, both its Delamere Forest site in Cheshire and its Cannock Chase site in Staffordshire have been given five stars, taking its number of top-rated caravan holiday destinations up to 19, out of a total of 109 across the UK.

At the same time, Bakewell, Dartmoor Barley Meadow, Derwentwater and Tavistock have all been given four stars by Visit Britain, meaning 83 per cent of the CCC’s network now boasts either a four or a five-star status.

Welcoming the news, director Bob Hill said: “This is not just great news for the individual sites but also for the club as a whole, which is continuing to move from strength-to-strength.

“These ratings provide the reassurance campers and caravanners need about what to expect before they arrive.”

Other five-star sites include Hereford, Barnard Castle, Scarborough and Windermere.

This comes soon after the CCC announced that 24 of its sites are to remain open over the Christmas and New Year period.