Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2016 i Practical Caravan

 Where are we? Near Minions on Bodmin Moor, Cornwall ‘Many are put off by the narrow Cornish lanes, but the views are more than worth the squeeze’Bryony Symes What’s going on? The expanse of Bodmin Moor is littered with abandoned engine houses, quarries and railway lines – all reminders of an industrial past that our Bryony Symes was keen to delve into on her tour of Cornwall. The real beauty of this landscape is to be found in Mother Nature’s forceful reclamation of these long-forgotten relics of a once-proud industry Which outfit? Our long-term Škoda Yeti Outdoor 2.0 TDI negotiated the narrow lanes with a Swift Lifestyle 4 Marquis dealer special in tow…

WRITE TO Letters, Practical Caravan, 69 London Road, Twickenham TW1 3SP EMAIL US AT letters@practicalcaravan.com JOIN OUR COMMUNITY AT practicalcaravan.com/forum 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 facebook.com/  practicalcaravan twitter.com/  pcaravan instagram.com/  practicalcaravan…

1 St Nick takes to the caves The spectacular Clearwell Caves transform into an underground grotto, complete with a café, Christmas market and stories that make them come alive with festive cheer. Web www. clearwellcaves.com Open 26 November-23 December Stay at Hawthorne Cottage Caravan Site Tel 01594 563 117 2 Claus family Christmas Enter Celtic Manor’s busy Christmas Kingdom, where the Santa’s grotto experience includes helping Mrs Claus to decorate gingerbread while the reindeer rest nearby. Web www. celticmanor.com Open 24 November-1 January Stay at Tredegar House Country Park CC Site Tel 01342 327 490 3 Santa’s on steam Take a ride on one of East Lancashire Steam Railway’s Santa trains for some festive fun. There is a grotto at Bury station and Santa roams the carriages with…

A STRANGE CONFLUENCE of events – rivers of fate – has swept me out into a turbulent ocean of confusion. The first occurred when I was sitting on the pavement outside a WHSmith. Wofful, my labradoodle, and I had been banished from the shopping arcade, so we’d set off in search of some pigs’ ears. I’d grabbed a piece of rope from the car to act as a makeshift lead. On the way my iPhone had beeped, summoning the need to urgently respond to an email. I therefore slumped on the pavement by the shop entrance, freeing up an all-important thumb and finger for typing. Wofful duly curled up beside me. My concentration was broken by the overly loud comments of a passing couple. “Why do homeless people always have…

Just being in the caravan makes it perfect. Tracey Whitaker Our Nespresso machine and Von Shef milk frother. Jackie Hartley Lavazza filter coffee. We have the first cup at the side dinette before packing away the front bed. Chris Kearney Any coffee in the van that I don’t have to make myself! Alison J Walker Our Tassimo machine. Chris Gilbert Me! And the kettle of course. Graham Elvin Kenco Millicano is outstanding. Sandy Powell Our caravan’s Nespresso machine. John Williams Don’t miss our test of coffee machines in this issue – you’ll find it on p78 .…

with Peter Baber Ahead of our coverage of this year’s NEC show and some exciting reviews – including our verdict on Lunar’s luxury Alaria – we take a look around the dealerships to bring you the news that matters Lighter vans are about to return JUST WHEN YOU thought that the trend for caravans to become heavier and heavier was unstoppable, along comes a new Continental niche player that may just prove you wrong. Marquis Leisure has started importing the Antarès range from French manufacturer Caravelair into its 11-strong dealer network. With MTPLM figures starting as low as 750kg, even small cars should be capable of towing the vans. Certainly Marquis group marketing director Andy Brand is hoping that the first-time buyers who he sees as ideal customers for the…

ONLY A FEW years ago, most of us tea-loving Brits knew of just two types of coffee: instant and ‘proper’, the latter brewed by a filter machine, a percolator or in a French press. But high-street chains such as Costa and Starbucks helped change all of that. And, while filter coffee is a big taste step up from instant, Italian espressos, lattes and cappuccinos are in another league again. What’s less appreciated is that the coffee, not that fancy frothed milk, makes all the difference. Italian coffees should more accurately be termed espresso-based coffees because, regardless of what’s added to them, espresso is the foundation they’re built on. So what’s so special about an espresso? Well, it can only be produced by forcing water at very high pressure, and at…

Bailey Pageant Champagne (2002) Price £4995 (when purchased in 2013) Berths 4 Payload 206kg MTPLM 1291kg Time on the fleet Three years Likes Spacious end washroom; masses of storage space Dislikes The yellow-coloured carpet; small fridge Faults? The CD player stopped working Volkswagen Passat Estate 2.0 BiTDI 4Motion GT DSG Price £36,505 Kerbweight 1735kg Time on the fleet 6 months MPG (towing/solo) 24/38 Likes Exceptional towing performance and stability; rewarding car to drive solo Dislikes Price; thirsty when you use its pace; engine sounds gruff at high revs Faults? Washer-fl uid leak Ford Mondeo Titanium Estate 2.0 TDCi AWD Price £29,510 Kerbweight 1703kg Time on the fleet 6 months MPG (towing/solo) 23/42 Likes Fun solo drive and stable tow car; stylish looks Dislikes Poor fuel consumption on tow; boot smaller…

How much? £1200-£10,000 You could pay a four-figure sum that starts with a ‘1’ for a Mondeo, but it’s unlikely you’ll want to, because such cars are likely to have suffered a hard life and will have a seriously large number on the odometer. You’d be far better to go for a Mondeo that has been built after the 2010 facelift because these cars got even more equipment, a smarter interior and much-enhanced engine efficiency. A budget of around £8000 will net you a low-mileage Zetec or Titanium-spec diesel with a comprehensive paperwork file. What will it tow? Kerbweight ............................ 1611kg 85% match ........................... 1369kg Towing limit ....................... 2000kg Nose weight limit ..................90kg (Figures for a 2008 TDCi Estate) How much is a towball? Witter flange towbar..... £106.56 Witter detachable…

Layout finder R Flexibility is one of the strongest points of the popular front-lounge, rear-washroom layout: if you're travelling as a couple, you can choose to leave the lounge bed made up during the day, because you can still relax and eat at the side dinette. Those with children, meanwhile, will find that the dinette can often be made up into bunk beds, creating an extra berth over the single below. The full-width washroom is usually large enough to use as a dressing room. Pros A great-sized washroom. Two places to dine and lounge. Cons Shorter vans can sometimes have a smaller front lounge. A You'll usually find a great-sized shower cubicle in this layout B There should be lots of storage room under the front sofas C Check the…

ONE OF THE greatest benefits of being a caravan owner is the freedom and versatility it offers, especially when plans have to alter at the last minute. The Asquith family wasn’t expecting to go on holiday this year, having had to cancel our regular trip down to St Ives. I had resigned myself to a summer of clicking ‘like’ on the Facebook pages of my friends as they filled social media with photos of hot beaches, seafood restaurants and cocktails. But then a window of opportunity opened and I found myself searching for a caravan site in Cornwall that wasn’t already full to bursting. In August, this was no easy task. Eventually, I came across the St Agnes Beacon Caravan Club Site on the north coast. Positioned high on the…

IT STARTED ABOUT a year ago when Joe and I, on our annual trip to London, visited the Cutty Sark. We’d watched the progress of the ship’s restoration and were keen, at last, to visit her. We were very impressed by the whole exhibition. The ship has been raised so that you can walk underneath and there are lots of interactive and touchy-feely displays to play with. Definitely hands-on, and like big kids we had a great time trying everything out, all the while saying to each other, “Thomas and Daniel would like this.” Fast-forward 12 months and there we were with our grandsons. All nine of our grandchildren have been caravanning, either with us, with their parents borrowing our caravan, or with their other grandparents. Some of our grandchildren…

Highbridge makes a swift recovery Highbridge Caravans in Somerset says that business is almost back to normal, a week after a fire destroyed nearly 160 vans at the company’s Burnham-on-Sea site. The fire started in a shed during the early hours of the morning; miraculously, only the caravan section was affected. The company says that its accessories shop, awning showroom, workshop and parts department were completely unaffected, and that trading has continued as normal. Through the Arches for a dealer special White Arches Caravans has become the latest dealership to launch a dealer special. The new Archway Celeste (below) is based on the Swift Challenger range, but includes a number of extras such as a 100W solar panel, external locker, BBQ point, Omnivent in the kitchen, wheel locks, an alarm…

ON THE LOOKOUT for a new tourer? If so, we can help! Just like our travel stories, expert reviews and advice, we think that our online classifieds are the best in the business – and now we’ve made them even better with a new search page that’s even easier to use. So now you can read our review of your chosen caravan, watch the video, then find it online, making www.practical caravan.com the one-stop shop for all your touring needs. We know that 50% of you access our website via mobile devices, so our classifieds are fully responsive — they will work just as well on your tablet or smartphone as they do on your home computer. We’ve worked hard to make these classifieds as easy to use as possible, with…

Construction Al-Ko galvanised steel chassis with Euro-axle, overrun device and AKS 3004 stabiliser. ‘SMART Plus’ construction with ‘PURe’ timberless bodyshell; ‘sandwich’ panels with polystyrene insulation – 25mm sidewalls, 32mm roof. GRP underfloor skin, plywood floor and 44mm Styrofoam insulation. GRP roof, front and rear panels; aluminium sidewalls External equipment 100W solar panel; alloy wheels; sunroof; external 230V mains and gas barbecue points; full-width front gas locker; heavy-duty corner steadies; remote-controlled awning light; fixing bars for Thule Elite G2 two-cycle rack Heating Dual-fuel Truma Combi 6 Boiler (1.8kW electric/6kWgas/5.8kW combined) for hot water and blown-air ducted heating, with digital controller Lounge/bedroom Midi-Heki rooflight; two TV stations with 230V, 12V and aerial sockets; radio/CD/MP3 player with iPod connectivity; freestanding dining table; LED lighting throughout; Duvalay memory mattress for fixed bed, slatted bed…

Moka pots are as common in Italian homes as teapots are here. The simplest form of espresso maker, all they require is a stove. Water goes in the unit’s lower chamber and heat causes high-pressure water vapour to form in the top. This forces the hot water up a tube, then through the ground coffee before it goes up another tube, almost up to lid level and trickles down to fill the upper chamber. For us, moka pots are the perfect way to make quality coffee when mains hook-up isn’t available, even if moka espresso tastes different to other espressos. This can be offset by using a coffee blend formulated for moka pots, such as Illy’s Moka ground coffee. In part two of this month’s test, we use the same…

First drive Fiat Professional Fullback LX Auto THINK ‘FIAT’ AND you might not think ‘pick-up’. You wouldn’t be alone because this, the new Fiat Fullback, is the Italian automotive giant’s first one. It shares much with the Mitsubishi L200, which received a 3.5-star rating in our tow test last year, so this helps the Fiat get off to a solid start. British buyers will have the choice of three models, all powered by 2.4-litre turbodiesel engines. The base SX has 148bhp and 280lb ft torque, and a six-speed manual gearbox. There’s a 1045kg payload, a 2700kg towing limit and a 1765kg kerbweight, which means a pretty useful 85% matching ratio of 1500kg. The towball limit is 110kg. Want to tow a bigger tourer? The LX and LX Auto can help,…

SELF-ADJUSTING BRAKES are nothing new in the car world, but part of a caravan’s annual service has always been the strip-down, cleaning and manual adjustment of the braking system. Obviously there’s nothing wrong with that, and the set-up has worked well, but it’s almost been a case of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. And that, of course, is still dependent upon having the caravan regularly serviced (something that we strongly advocate, irrespective of the age of your caravan or the annual mileage covered). A year or so ago, leading caravan chassis manufacturer Al-Ko Kober introduced its AAA Premium Brake; it’s compatible with most of the company’s caravan/trailer axles, and is fully self-adjusting. The introduction is pre-empting legislation that was due to be implemented in 2018 (although, at the…

THE RECENT CARAVAN and motorhome extravaganza at the NEC gave a fascinating insight into the thinking of British caravan manufacturers. Alongside the usual round of revamps, two of the UK’s ‘Big Five’, Swift and Lunar, both introduced brand-new tourers for the 2017 season. Yet they couldn’t have been any more different – particularly in terms of approach and target markets. The Swift Basecamp (see p56) is a funky, lightweight tourer designed as the next step for someone upgrading from a tent, or the perfect partner to an active outdoor lifestyle. The Lunar Alaria (p60), in contrast, is aimed at experienced vanners, with an MTPLM that demands a hefty tug and a high-spec interior that comes hand-in-hand with a heady price. It will be fascinating to see how the market takes…

1 Stay here Bath Marina and Caravan Park has excellent links to the city centre, as well as miles of walks along the banks of the river, and plenty of spacious pitches. You can take the park-and-ride into town from just across the road, or walk or cycle along the towpath. There is even cycle hire available on site. 2 Eat here The city is full of independent restaurants and cafés, not to mention The Boathouse, a riverside pub near the site. I particularly like The Loft (pictured), hidden up a tiny street near the Costume Museum. Browse the shop while you wait for your delicious food. 3 Walk here The many parks of Bath are lovely for a stroll, and Alexandra Park has fantastic views of the jumble of…

How Brexit could affect our caravanning I’VE BEEN WATCHING the value of the pound fall against the euro for a few weeks and, at the time of writing, it was almost at parity. This, of course, pushes up the cost of a holiday in Continental Europe, and led to many families opting to stay in the UK this summer. This is borne out by a record number of day trips being recorded in August by Visit Britain. With Britain looking increasingly attractive as a cheap holiday destination for those in the euro zone, and Theresa May pledging £40 million to boost tourism, we can expect an increase in Continental caravanners visiting our shores, too. But is our campsite infrastructure ready for a surge in bookings, and will we have enough…

WHEN TO GO Cornwall is busy in the summer, but with planning – and the Wild Guide – you can still find space to breathe. If you’re not restricted by school holidays, go in the spring for hedgerows blooming with wild flowers, while autumn gives you warm seas, and it’s when they film Poldark. I’m just saying... FOOD AND DRINK The Driftwood Spars The Spars has three bars, a Seafood Bistro, a micro-brewery and a smugglers’ tunnel that burrows through the cliffs. The pub serves good food, while the Fitty Pysk is open in summer for locally sourced seafood and steak. Booking is essential. Address Trevaunance Cove, St Agnes TR5 0RT Tel 01872 552 428 Web www.driftwoodspars.co.uk Blue The view from this beach bar is splendid and the food is…

1 I spy, with my little eye Have toys, music or games for the journey. Our grandchildren are ‘Eddie spotters’ (Eddie Stobart trucks): it helps to look out of the windows if kiddies get car-sick. 2 Rain starts indoor play Have a wet-weather plan: lots of reading books, puzzle books, dot-to-dot, paper to write or draw on, pens and coloured pencils to play with in the caravan. 3 Save cash Use Tesco vouchers to buy a Railcard. With our Family and Friends Railcard (up to 30% off adult fares, up to 60% off child tickets) we bought one-day travelcards for London, which cover train, Tube, the Docklands Light Railway and buses. 4 Two for one When buying tickets to travel by train you can take advantage of 2-for-1 offers, which…

Kia Sorento 2.2 CRDi KX-2 auto Tested by Alastair Clements Price £33,750 Kerbweight 2107kg Towing limit 2000kg Towball limit 100kg IN A NUTSHELL Effortless towing ability during a lengthy Irish tour Versatility; relaxed, confident towing The Sorento makes a soggy solo drive Miles towed this month Towing mpg WHEN THERE’S A large twin-axle to haul, it’s our Kia that tends to get called into action. And when that large twin-axle needs to be hauled more than a thousand miles, along with a family and their gear for a two-week tour, it’s a no-brainer. The Sorento might not be the most exciting drive without a van hitched up, but it’s incredibly comfortable over long distances, and a truly effortless tow car. Our Swift Lifestyle 6FB was light for a twin-axle, at…

What’s new? THE LATEST VAUXHALL Astra Sports Tourer pulls off a neat trick: it’s lighter than the old model, but offers more space for passengers and luggage. Of course, reduced weight may improve economy and emissions, but it also makes for less favourable matching ratios. More interior space is welcome, though. Vauxhall promises a step forward in cabin quality, along with safety and connectivity technology. We’re testing the 1.6 CDTi BiTurbo in Elite Nav spec, a new addition to our long-term fleet. What are we looking for? How well does the Astra tow? Is it stable at speed and in emergency manoeuvres, despite its modest weight? We also want to see how well it stacks up as an estate car. Towing ability We’ve said it before but it bears repeating…

Ford Mondeo 2.0 140 Zetec I bought this car in 2009 with 30,000 miles on the clock, and there are now 83,000 miles showing. In that time we’ve had a few bulbs blow but the only other fault was the bonnet release breaking. I bought some aftermarket clips for the hatchback boot, which stop or at least limit the water ingress when opening the lid in the rain. The car is extremely good at eating miles and smooth with huge space. It averages about 47mpg on 65% motorway driving and general running around. I’d recommend this car to anyone wanting a combination of size, economy and smoothness. Andrew Leahy Ford Mondeo 2.0 140 Zetec I bought a 12-plate example with 10,000 miles on the clock. I’m 6ft 4in tall and…

IMPORTANT! Disconnect any mains supply and the 12V battery before you start JUST ABOUT EVERY rechargeable electrical item that you can buy these days comes with a USB lead. Mobile phones and tablets have done so for ages, but I recently bought a replacement charger for my camera batteries that has a USB lead to power it. However, the sole USB socket in our caravan is in the radio/CD player; it’s fine for charging mobile phones, but not so convenient for larger items – if it even works with them at all. Some caravan manufacturers now fit USB sockets as standard; certain companies have done so for several years, while others are just coming on board. That’s fine if you’re buying a new van, but what about those that…

Layout finder AG While the mid-washroom, transverse island-bed layout used to be rarely seen, and then only on top-end luxury models, it's become more and more popular in recent years. The washroom is often split across a central corridor, with one side featuring a shower, and the other a toilet. While it makes an en suite for the main bedroom, it can also be used by guests sleeping up front. Pros Occupants can use the toilet when another is showering. The island bed feels like a real, domestic example, and usually has lots of storage space beneath. Cons The fixed bed at the back can eat up quite a bit of the floorplan. A Check that the lounge area and the sofas are big enough B Shower cubicles are usually…

Layout finder EE Caravans with this layout – a front lounge, and a fixed corner bed with a washroom beside – are ideal for couples: they can tour in comfort thanks to not having to make up a bed each night, and relax on the sofas during the evening. What’s more, there’s often scope to make up a double bed or two singles in the lounge, too, meaning that visiting children, grandchildren or other guests can be accommodated overnight. Pros You’ll sleep well on a proper mattress. Front lounge offers two more sleeping berths. Cons The washroom is often narrow, and can be tricky to access. The front sofas are sometimes quite short. A You’ll often find that there’s no separate shower here B The area under the fixed bed…