Last week myself and Rachel were invited along to the Caravan and Camping Show at the NEC. This is not something that I would usually choose to go to as I don’t own a car or a caravan and can’t afford to spend £50,000+ on a motorhome, however we were invited along by The Caravan Club who were looking for a young fresh perspective on caravanning and camping. The Caravan Club actually had a big announcement to make at 10:30am which was live streamed on Facebook and they also had a couple of celebrity presenters to help them with breaking the news.
Although The Caravan Cub has been known by that name since 1907, they’ve now had a major rebrand to also include motorhomes and are now to be known as The Caravan and Motorhome Club. There was a mostly positive response when this was announced, although I did hear an elderly lady having a moan about it! It seems like there is a bit of rivalry between the caravanners and the motorhomers! Because of the rebrand, they were offering free Motorhome Manoeuvring lessons which proved to be very popular, as the slots all filled up by 11am! Luckily, they’d saved a slot for us and as I was the only one with a driving license, I got to drive the motorhome while Rachel feared for her life (I’m joking!) and sat in the back.
Considering I actually hadn’t driven anything since I passed my driving test two years ago, I was surprised that I did really well driving a huge motorhome! I was slightly nervous, but it was a lot easier than I was expecting and I managed to drive it around the makeshift roundabout that they’d set up, pull in and out of bays and even reverse in and out of bays. I definitely feel like I could drive a motorhome and go on holiday in one now, whereas the thought was a bit daunting before!
We spent the rest of the day having a wander around the exhibition – I didn’t realise there were so many different types of caravans and motorhomes! We chose which ones we would like to buy if we won the lottery and I really love the idea of doing a motorhome holiday now, there’s so many sites you can use across the world and I think it would give you a great sense of freedom being able to drive wherever you want.
The Caravan and Motorhome club even offer tours across the United States which Rachel was really interested in as she’s planning to spend a couple of months there later on this year. If you can’t drive or don’t really like the idea of having to drive on the opposite side of the road, then you can go on an escorted tour. They offer locations such as Yellowstone and the Rockies, Route 66 and the Hawaiian Islands.
I never would have thought about caravanning or using a motorhome when considering a holiday before, I have stayed in a static caravan many times when I’ve been on holidays to the UK but after learning a lot more about The Caravan and Motorhome Club, I’m really considering going on one of the escorted tours in Europe. If I could hire a motorhome for a week or two, I would love to drive through The Netherlands, Germany and Austria. I’ve realised that caravans and motorhomes aren’t just for the elderly, they can be a lot of fun and people of all ages can enjoy them.
Love it! Glad you had a good time, Hayley. Maybe we’ll see you on a motorhome holiday yet…
If that was me, I’d be sitting and testing out every vehicle
I was going to come along too! I didn’t realise you’d gone to the show – my parents are massive caravan junkies so they went to it. I adore spying into other people’s campers and seeing what I could do with them 🙂
I’ve never been a camping person but I don’t mind caravanning. Sounds like u had a lovely time at this event.
I had no idea that they offered escorted tours! What a brilliant idea. I would love to travel route 66 at some point!
I have always wanted to rent a big motorhome with a few friends and go around the coast, but I’ve never really thought I could drive one but maybe I’ll give it a go next summer!
I love retro caravans. I’d love to stay in one – could be a fun UK staycation 😀
Awh I love this post, we had such a good day! I’m still impressed by your Motorhome Manoeuvring skills haha! xo
I went to the show on Saturday 🙂 we drive through Austria and camp there and there is so much freedom compared to staying in a hotel. I’m hiring a camper van for my honeymoon and doing route 500 in Scotland!
This looks like it was a fun day looking at all of the caravans and motorhomes and even getting to drive one. I think going on a caravan or motorhome trip would be such fun and even an escorted tour in the US would be exciting as well x
I do think they can be super useful if you’re doing a lot of moving around. We hired a motorhome for Glastonbury last year and it was such a great decision x
What a lovely day you had. I’d love to own one!
You must be an excellent driver then to have driven it after two years of not doing so!!!
Hiring a motorhome would be a great holiday to visit a few locations in one trip!
Sounds like fun! My dad did up a van to make it a campervan.I like the sound of tours like America, but driving is scary enough for me, let alone in another country haha x
My mummy went up to the caravan show around 6 years ago…can’t really remember why, just because it looked like an interesting day out. We loved the teardrop caravans x
Looks great, my granparents always used to go to this or a version of this at the GMEX in Manchester when I was a kid. They had a static caravan in NYorks
That show looks like it was fun I’ve never been in a campervan. They must be great for trips.
It definitely looks as though you had an amazing time and I never knew such shows even existed x
Looks like you guys had a great time at the event x
Looks like a really fun event, motorhomes are great for holidays
honestly i would love a motorhome! wouldn’t trust myself driving it though ha but imagine being free and going where you want
Ive never done a caravanning holiday but i love the idea of being able ago wherever you want whenever you want. And to wake up somewhere new everyday would be amazing. Looks like you had loads of fun!
Ah how fab, I love that you found something you’re possibly interested in that you would never normally have thought of! How cool would it be to travel around Europe in a motorhome?
I’ve never been on a caravan, but it looks pretty awesome and adventurous ;))
I have always wanted to own my own little caravan. Can pack up and go on little adventures
Bucket list! You’re so lucky. I’ve always wanted to travel via caravans. I looks like you got to check out some good ones.
Looks like a great day! AmAzing how so many have such a “home feel” xo
It looks like you had such a lovely day, it’s nice to step outside of your comfort zone sometimes.
I’ve always wanted a motor home so I can just go anywhere and everywhere! Looks like you guys had a great day at the show xx