by Victoria Pollitt | Feb 21, 2020 | Top Story, UK days out
A family day out at the Caravan, Camping and Motorhome Show 2020
The Caravan, Camping and Motorhome Show 2020 is a popular event every year with families.
The UK’s biggest display of leisure vehicles, static holiday homes, lodges and tents is spread over five halls at the NEC in Birmingham.
We’ve been today with our children – it was very appealing given the constant rain that has plagued the half-term holiday.
It’s a great price – adults are just £10 on the door this year (seniors £9) and children under 15 are free. Parking is free at the NEC but it is a long walk from the car park so consider getting one of the free shuttle buses especially if it is raining.
Once you get inside there are scores of caravans and motorhomes to explore – ours loved climbing inside, trying out the seats, working out how the beds worked and imagining they were ours.
There are lots of tents you can buy too, you can see all the different sizes and types all set up.
There are also extra activities, which make it more worthwhile taking children.
There is a climbing wall, a nine-hole mini golf course made out of miniature UK landmarks and a small circuit to try out electric bikes and electric scooters.
The Haven stand had a fantastic ranger from Nature Rockz teaching fire lighting.
There is a theatre area with special guests like Shane Richie, Matt Allwright, adventurer Darren Hardy and chef, author, and Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain.
We watched a chat with the rather lovely Dr Hilary Jones from ITV’s Lorraine, who was discussing the benefits of breaks and holidays, fresh air and exercise.
There was also a dog arena where we saw an agility demonstration and made friends with some gorgeous cocker spaniels.
Plus there are holiday lodges and glamping tents and representatives from holiday parks and other destinations offering ideas for family trips.
And lots of stands selling everything you need if you go camping or caravanning.
The show runs until February 23 2020 at the NEC in Birmingham.
by Victoria Pollitt | Jan 20, 2020 | News
We have tickets up for grabs for the February show at the NEC in Birmingham
It’s competition time! We have teamed up with the Caravan, Camping and Motorhome Show 2020 to give you the chance to win tickets to this great family day out.
The winner will be able to choose a date to visit the show, which runs for six days, from February 18 to 23 at the NEC in Birmingham.
We have two sets of two tickets to give away which will allow two families free entry as children 15 and under don’t pay.
How to enter on Facebook
To enter, go to our Family Holiday Guide Facebook page and comment on the competition post, telling us why you want to win. Don’t forget to like our page and tag friends and family who would love to win!
How to enter on Twitter
To enter you need to make sure that you have liked the Family Holiday Guide Twitter page and then RT the competition post.
Our emails
Sign up to our emails here. When you sign up, we’ll also automatically enter you into our current prize draw!
All you need to know about the show
The UK’s biggest display of leisure vehicles, static holiday homes, lodges, tents and more will be spread over five halls.
There will be lots going on for families with activities like climbing and crazy golf for children to enjoy.
Plus there is a new area where children and adults can try out some of the most cutting-edge electric ride-ons, from bikes to scooters, skateboards and even unicycles on a special indoor course.
There is a theatre area with special guests like Shane Richie, Matt Allwright, adventurer Darren Hardy and chef, author, and Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain.
Dog lovers can watch canine agility demonstrations and see the famous Springer Spaniel trio Max, Paddy and Harry, who have thousands of followers on social media.
Guests can try their hand at towing during free one-to-one sessions with experts from The Camping and Caravanning Club.
The Caravan and Motorhome Club will also be offering visitors the chance to get behind the wheel with campervan test drives and motorhome maneuvering sessions.
Plus the Holiday Park Experience and Glamping Village will be giving ideas and help for planning your 2020 trips.
Tickets
If you don’t win our prize then tickets for the show are available now and priced at £8 for adults and £7 for seniors.
Tickets on the door cost £10 for adults and £9 seniors – children 15 and under go free.
Competition terms and Conditions
We have two sets of two tickets for any day of the show.
Entries close at 11.59pm on February 10 and the winner will be announced on February 11.
No prize or part of the prize is exchangeable for cash or other services.
Entrants must be aged 16 or over and UK resident only.
The first correct entry selected at random after the closing date will receive the tickets.
More information
For further information about The Caravan, Camping and Motorhome Show, the latest news or to buy tickets visit the website.
by Victoria Pollitt | Aug 4, 2019 | News
A glamping website reveals its top five tips to make your family’s holiday a success – plus the most popular option to stay in
If your children are desperate to go camping but you’re not keen – why not try glamorous camping or ‘glamping’.
It’s a way to enjoy the great outdoors but in style – but without all the hard work and with a comfortable bed and bathroom facilites!
And Glampsites.com says an increasing number of their clients are picking yurts ahead of glamping pods (main picture) for their UK breaks this year.
Yurts are getting more popular
Tara Laird, from Glampsites.com, said: “When Glampsites.com began taking online bookings in September 2017, the glamping pod was a stand-alone favourite, dominating the vast majority of all bookings.
“However, although as popular as ever, glamping pods now face some healthy competition with holiday makers demanding not just a stay but an experience.
“Yurts are a burgeoning structure within the glamping industry, and they just keep getting better. Competition continues to drive the market forward, and with every yurt that adds an outdoor pizza oven, another adds a wood fired hot tub.”
The company has now compiled a list of advice for families planning a glamping holiday.
1. Compile a check list
No two yurts or glamping pods are the same, so conduct thorough research and planning to make sure exactly what is in your yurt, outside your yurt, and more importantly, what is not, so you can bring that equipment with you.
2. Prepare for a rainy day
Just in case the weather is bad, bring some board games. If you can’t quite bring yourself to leave iPads or tablets at home, maybe keep them in the car until you really need them for wet weather entertainment.
3. Get back to nature
The beauty of a yurt holiday is getting back to nature, so don’t try to cram in too many activities. Just sit back and appreciate your surroundings.
4. Scope out the area
Yurts are often in rural areas and undisturbed surroundings. But after a day or two you may need to get out and about so do a little research and check out things to do nearby for children.
5. Be willing to disconnect
Most yurts don’t have WiFi, so the advice is to embrace the opportunity to disconnect from the outside world and recharge.
For yurt holidays go to Glampsites.com
by Victoria Pollitt | May 17, 2018 | Accommodation, Ullswater
A family-friendly campsite in the Lakes with all types of accommodation from tents to cottages and even hobbit holes
The location
The Quiet Site is about a mile or so above Ullswater on a small road.
This large campsite has views across the fields, with some glimpses of the lake from certain points.
It is laid out around converted farm houses with plenty of land for playing on.
Accommodation choice
You can choose almost any sort of accommodation here. From pitching your own tent right through to large holiday cottages.
There’s also glamping options with hobbit holes (wooden buildings dug into the side of a fell), pods and bell tents. There are static holiday homes to buy as well.
A hobbit hole
We stayed in one of the two 16th century cottages, which was huge.
It had a large lounge, three good sized bedrooms and a well-equipped kitchen. There was also a decent sized garden shared with the adjoining cottage.
This cottage is one of the options
The facilities
There is a pub on site, the Quiet Bar, which is deliberately rustic having changed little since 1963.
It is cosy and homely with a log fire and pool table.
Elsewhere the site has cooking facilities, a small shop for food and drinks and there’s often a wagon selling sausage and mash in the evening.
The nearest restaurants are about a mile away.
Child-friendly
Little ones are well catered for, our holiday cottage had a brilliant trampoline, which we all tried out!
There was also a playhouse in the garden and plenty of DVDs and games in the house.
The main site has a large playground with swings, climbing equipment, a play fort and space to run around.
Adjoining The Quiet Bar is a soft play area, which is a useful rainy day distraction.
The walks
There are plenty of options from an eight-mile trek to Aira Force and back, through to a couple of miles around Little Mell Fell, which sits right above the site.
There are maps and guides on the website and the owners can help you when you arrive to point you in the right direction.
We went far enough with our two children to take in the wonderful scenery and feel like we were in the great outdoors.
There are walks from the site with views of Ullswater
In conclusion
A family-friendly, award-winning option with accommodation to suit all tastes and budgets.
For a review of the full holiday, see here.
Visit the Quiet Site website for more information and rates.
(We stayed as guests of the site for the purpose of this review. All views are our own).
