Hi welcome to my first C&CC blog – just in case you’ve missed my quarterly column in the Club magazine.
I remember when we all first started using the term ‘staycation’ (I might have been presenting Wish You Were Here on ITV – it was that long ago). Anyway the noun has stuck and we’re still talking about them: “a holiday spent in one’s own country rather than abroad”.
Apparently they’re on the up and predictions for 2017 estimate that the number of camping, caravanning and motorhoming trips in 2017 are set to rise to about 17.9m, which backs up our own record membership figures – the highest in the Club’s history.
I wanted to go on a Ready Camp trip with the kids to the New Forest, where all you have to do is pitch up with the bedding (everything else is sorted including the tent and all the gear inside) – but couldn’t quite make the timings work. There are 39 Sites with Ready Camp tents around the UK, open April to October. I still managed to get the kids to Paultons Theme Park and more importantly to meet Peppa Pig. Ready Camp is the glamping adventure still to come for the Baby Bradbury’s.
Almost as exciting as meeting Peppa Pig was heading Down Under to Western Australia where I got to hang out with cute Quokkas on Rottnest Island (they’re a super-cute small brown furry marsupial), walk some of the Cape to Cape trail in the Margaret River wine region, and drink lots and lots of delicious red wine – all in the name of hard work. I know I know… my job sucks! Don’t hate me.
Western Australia is actually one of the Club’s Worldwide Motorhoming Holiday destinations, and I really recommend it. What a stunning part of the world – the scenery is breath taking and they give UK visitors a really warm welcome.
I want to congratulate my lovely friend Helen Skelton on the arrival of her second baby boy and good on her – she’s already thinking about the family holidays on the road. She pinged me an Insta message this week asking about campervans. Obviously I told her to check out the winners of the Tent, Caravan and Motorhome Owner Satisfaction Awards which I hosted in Manchester in January.
Anyone planning to buy a new camping unit should take note because these are based on ratings from real campers who’ve shared their own experiences of gear that they’ve bought and camped with. You'll find all the details on the club website.
Keep an eye for National Camping and Caravanning Week from 29 May-4 June. The theme is Share the Moment – Go Camping, which is all about encouraging people who haven’t camped before to come and have a go. Read more in my next blog.
And if you enjoyed my walking series Britain’s Best Walks on ITV then check out my website, The Outdoor Guide where you can download ALL of my TV walks for free – and there’s lots of good info on there too, including wheel friendly walks.
And before I go – congrats to 11-year-old Lauren who got in touch with me via Twitter this month – she’s bagged 210 Wainwright summits in the Lake District and only has 4 more to go this summer.
She’s raising money for the Patterdale and Keswick Mountain Rescue Teams who do an amazing job. Just to remind you – they are the volunteers who help us all out of trouble when we need it and they do it for love and a passion for the mountains that we all treasure. Big Up Lauren.
Get in touch if you’ve got a story you’d like to share – or just a nice photo. Twitter @JuliaBradbury.